Filip Engaras tallied a hat trick, and Isaac Poulter stopped 31 of 32 shots on goal, as the Adirondack Thunder punched their ticket to the ECHL Eastern Conference Finals on Tuesday night.
The Adirondack Thunder punched their ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals after defeating the Norfolk Admirals, 5-1, in Game 6 of the ECHL's North Division Finals on Tuesday night.
Filip Engaras tallied a hat trick, while Isaac Poulter stopped 31 of 32 shots on goal. With the win, Adirondack improved to 6-0 when scoring first in the postseason and became the first home team to win a game in this series. Added, the Thunder became the 20th team in ECHL postseason history to win a best-of-seven series after losing the first two games.
The Thunder are back in the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since the 2017-18 season and will face the Florida Everblades, who eliminated them in five games that year. The Everblades knocked off the Orlando Solar Bears in five games to reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the third consecutive season.
1st Period
Adirondack jumped out to a fast start and registered the first three shots on goal. The Thunder broke through at the 2:05 mark of the first period after Filip Engaras, who entered Thursday with just one goal in the playoffs, cleaned up a loose puck following Travis Broughman's initial chance on net. The goal was reviewed for potential goaltender interference, but the officials determined it was a good goal.
Norfolk responded with a series of shot attempts on the Adirondack net. However, after Dmitry Kuzmin was assessed a cross-checking penalty, all the momentum was killed. Including the Adirondack's power play time, Norfolk went over eight minutes without a shot on goal in the second half of the first period.
Yaniv Perets came up big for the Admirals late in the frame, making a stop on a partial breakaway. Adirondack's Isaac Poulter returned the favor with a big-time save on a broken play in front of the Thunder net.
2nd Period
Adirondack nearly scored its second goal in the early stages of the second period on a partial breakaway, but Perets turned away the shot attempt.
The Thunder's Matt Stief was called for interference, sending Norfolk to its first power-play of the game. Approximately 30 seconds into the man advantage, Brady Fleurent cleaned up a bouncing back to even the score at 1-1. The goal was reviewed for high-sticking, but, like the Thunder's first goal, the officials determined a good goal on the ice.
The Thunder regained the lead shortly after Norfolk turned the puck over in the neutral zone, aided by a thunderous hit from Adirondack. The play went the other way, with Tristan Ashbrook recording his seventh goal of the playoffs to give the Thunder a 2-1 lead.
The Admirals and Thunder exchanged back-to-back power-play opportunities, with Norfolk nearly scoring on a shorthanded breakaway that drew iron. Shortly after, Engaras potted his second of the night on a centering feed from the ring-wing circle to give Adirondack a 3-1 lead on the power play.
The Thunder continued to control the pace of play, with Perets having to make back-to-back saves after the Thunder forced a turnover in Norfolk's defensive zone. Adirondack had another power-play opportunity late in the frame, but Mac Welsher's one-timer, the best look for the Thunder on the man advantage, was turned aside.
3rd Period
Adirondack and Norfolk each went on the power play in the early parts of the third period, but neither team could find the back of the net. However, Adirondack quickly made it a 4-1 contest on Engaras's third goal of the night, which came in even-strength play after Norfolk turned the puck over in the offensive zone.
Less than two minutes later, Shane Harper's wrister as he was falling down was the proverbial dagger for Adirondack, taking a commanding 5-1 lead with just over nine minutes left in regulation.
The Eastern Conference Finals will get underway on Friday, May 17. Adirondack will host the Everblades in Games 1 and 2 before the series shifts to southwest Florida.