JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Icemen's season came to a halt last night after falling to the Florida Everblades in Game Seven of the first-round series of the Kelly Cup Playoffs.
This is the third year in a row the Everblades have sent the Icemen packing, and this time, Jacksonville had the upper hand with a 3-1 series lead and getting to play the decisive Game Seven at home.
"Still processing it. It's a bit of a shock especially with the way we were set up in the series having the lead there. It's tough. It was hard to get up this morning to be honest with you. It's a devastating blow when your season ends, and it just ends like that," said Icemen head coach Nick Luukko.
Luukko said he likes the makeup of the team and hopes to keep its core for next season, but they are missing one key ingredient.
"As a group next year, developing that killer instinct mentality where we can end a team's season... A loss like this should fuel the fire for the training for the summer and guys will come back hungry in the fall," said Luukko.
Being a part of the Icemen since Coach Luukko's tenure began, defenseman Brandon Fortunato now feels the responsibility lies with the core players to tackle the challenges ahead.
"Just the culture we've built here and the progress we've made over the past three years, it's something pretty special, and we are proud of that. And that builds the foundation, and it's definitely really important for the core guys to kind of put their minds together and figure out how to become better," said Fortunato.
Off the ice, the support for the Icemen continues to grow as they led the ECHL in attendance with an average of almost 9,000 fans per game, which is an increase of over one thousand from last season.
"It's definitely motivation because you have the turnout. You have the support. The fans are awesome in Jacksonville. We travel a lot in our league, and you play in some arenas that are empty, and it's hard to get up for those games. For us, when we come at home we have a packed arena. It's awesome to be a part of," said Luukko.
The Icemen finished their season with 40-plus wins, marking the third consecutive season they have achieved this milestone.