Filip Engaras scored three goals as the Thunder posted their fourth consecutive victory — after winning three straight on Norfolk’s home ice at Scope — to end the Admirals’ best season in a decade.

Norfolk, after a 21-win, last-place finish last season, was making the club’s first postseason appearance since 2014.

The Admirals won the first two games of the series in Glens Falls, and finished with a 32-29 shot advantage Tuesday night. But they couldn’t stop the momentum after Adirondack won Game 3 in Norfolk.

Norfolk coach Jeff Carr declined an interview request after the game.

The Thunder advance to play the Florida Everblades in the Eastern Conference finals.

Engaras gave Adirondack an early lead on a rebound after Travis Broughman forced his way to the net and took a shot on goal. The Thunder led 1-0 just 2:05 into the first period.

Both teams had a number of chances throughout the rest of the frame, but the goaltending of Adirondack’s Isaac Poulter and Norfolk’s Yaniv Perets continued to be spectacular. The period ended with Adirondack in front 1-0.

The Admirals tied the game 5:12 into the second period. Brady Fleurent tapped home a loose puck in front on a power play to tie it at 1. Danny Katic and Denis Smirnov picked up assists on the play.

The Thunder dominated the remainder of the second period. Just two minutes later, Tristan Ashbrook received a cross-ice pass from Shane Harper and sent in a goal to give Adirondack a 2-1 lead. The Thunder then struck on the power play at 14:58 for a 3-1 lead when Engaras scored his second goal of the game.

Engaras and Harper added third-period goals within three minutes of each other to put away the Admirals.

ITS A LOUD HOUSE IN GLENS FALLS@ECHL pic.twitter.com/IpU1T1IaDE

— Adirondack Thunder (@ECHLThunder) May 15, 2024

Perets made 24 saves and Poulter had 31 saves.

Norfolk outshot Adirondack 13-7 in the final period.

The Admirals took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series and will return to home ice Wednesday night at Scope.

Game 3 is set for 7:05 p.m. Wednesday at Scope. The first 2,000 fans get an Admirals team poster, and the team is calling the game a “Whiteout.” Fans are encouraged to wear white to pay homage to Norfolk’s NHL affiliate, the Winnipeg Jets.

Norfolk, after scoring four times in the third period in Game 1, got goals from Austen Keating, Danny Katic and Mathieu Roy in the decisive period Saturday.

Yaniv Perets made 41 saves on 43 shots for the victory.

Keating and Thomas Caron finished with two points each.

“We played two huge games and going back home with two wins is huge,” Caron said.

The Admirals won despite being outshot 43-29.

“These types of series and games, there is so much respect between both teams,” Norfolk coach Jeff Carr said. “Playoffs in May are not over until the league says you have won four games. For us, we know we have a game Wednesday and we are playing a really tough opponent at home.”

The Admirals got on the board first. Keaton Jameson poked home a rebound on the power play 12:52 into the first period. Carson Golder and Keating continued their hot postseason by earning the assists on the play. The Admirals headed into the locker room with a 1-0 lead at the end of the first frame.

The Thunder scored halfway through the second period, with Yushiroh Hirano scoring for the second straight night.

The tie game would not last long as Brady Fleurent fed a pass to Stepan Timofeyev, who scored his third goal of the playoffs to give Norfolk a 2-1 lead heading into the third period.

As in Game 1, the third period carried the Admirals to a victory.

Tristan Ashbrook got the Thunder back even with a shot from the slot that beat Perets to tie the game at 2.

Norfolk responded with three straight goals to walk out of the Cool Insuring Arena up 2-0 in the series.

Katic took a rocket of a shot that beat Poulter for the first Admirals goal of the period. Ten minutes later, Keating scored his fourth goal of the playoffs to make it 4-2.

Just like in Game 1, captain Mathieu Roy scored an empty-netter. It came with just seven seconds remaining to seal the victory.

The Norfolk Admirals rallied behind a massive four-goal third period to come away with a 7-4 victory over the Adirondack Thunder. Carson Golder had one goal and four assists to lead Norfolk.

“Adirondack is a dangerous team. You look up and there were 14 shots on the board and four goals. They did a really good job coming off of a series against Maine,” Norfolk coach Jeff Carr said. “I just thought we dictated the pace and continued to wear them out the rest of the game and we capitalized on our chances.”

The Admirals got on the board first with a down-low pass from Golder to Thomas Caron, who tipped the puck past goalie Isaac Poulter just 2:01 into the game.

Norfolk wouldn’t lead for long as Adirondack’s Yushiroh Hirano earned his second goal of the postseason on a power play.

The first period also saw the physicality pick up, with the Thunder’s Zach Walker receiving a game misconduct and boarding call that gave Norfolk a five-minute power play. The Admirals’ Danny Katic put a huge hit on Colin Felix that earned him a boarding call for two minutes. The first period ended in a 1-1 tie.

The fireworks were just getting started. The second period got off to a quick start with Keaton Jameson scoring for the Admirals just 52 seconds in. The Thunder responded almost immediately with Ryan Wheeler burying a rebound in front.

Adirondack took its first lead of the game at 3-2 with 5:02 gone by in the second when Ryan Smith tipped in a long shot from the point.

The Admirals caught a break as Austen Keating had a wraparound attempt kicked into the Thunder net by defenseman Ryan Conroy, evening the game at 3.

With less than seven minutes to play in the second, Adirondack retook the lead in almost a mirror image of the Thunder’s third goal. Smith tipped in a long shot from Conroy to give them a 4-3 lead. Norfolk goalie Yaniv Perets yielded nothing else and finished with 20 saves.

The final frame sealed the deal for the Admirals. Norfolk, coming off almost a week of rest, put up four unanswered to close the game.

“The days off were huge. We are at the point right now where the last month of the year was the first pocket of time where we actually had some time to breathe a little,” Carr said.

GOLDY BLOCKER SIDE FOR THE LEAD@CGolder9 scores his 3rd postseason goal off this shot from the slot to give us the 5-4 advantage! A big start to the third period for Norfolk! @ECHL | #AllHandsOnDeck pic.twitter.com/v3qmhvBAxx

— x – Norfolk Admirals (@NorfolkAdmirals) May 4, 2024

Caron scored his second goal of the night to tie the game at 4 just 1:45 into the period. Golder and Stepan Timofeyev rattled off back-to-back goals to make it 6-4. The final tally came from team captain Mathieu Roy, who buried an empty-netter for his first goal of the playoffs.

THE CAPTAIN SEALS THE DEAL

Mathieu Roy nets his first postseason goal with this empty-netter to make it 7-4 Admirals! @ECHL | #AllHandsOnDeck pic.twitter.com/rUAysJkj82

— x – Norfolk Admirals (@NorfolkAdmirals) May 4, 2024

“We have been facing those guys all year and we know what they can do. We need to put this game behind us and come back for Game 2 and start over tomorrow,” said Roy, whose team beat the Thunder in five of eight regular-season games.

Game 2 is set for 7 p.m. Saturday before the series shifts to Scope, where the Admirals are planning “white-outs” for each game.

Young people should be more included in American politics. Many believe that the next generation’s role should be limited due to a lack of knowledge and understanding. But the America of tomorrow refuses to be silenced. We are starting to understand the power of our voice and assembly.

A country deeply divided on critical issues should look toward the next generation for effective solutions. We should strive to be an intergenerational democracy that includes the perspectives and views of all of its citizens. Some of the most pressing issues before lawmakers are those that primarily affect future generations. These include abortion, climate change, school funding, gun control and racial divides. Decisions on issues such as these are often made without the proper representation of the people who are impacted the most.

This is due to the lack of respect on both sides. I have experienced moments in which I’m silenced for my “immaturity.” Instead of getting upset and responding in a disrespectful manner, I choose to take a step back and try to understand where my seniors are coming from.

I understand the many vicissitudes that older Americans encountered. Recognizing that wars, segregation and drugs were all issues older generations faced helps me to respect their experiences. This helps build a road to a more open dialogue and bridges the gap between their experience and mine.

This tactic is very beneficial because, while the details may be different, these core issues being discussed today are variations of the ones faced by previous generations. One example of this is discussions over school funding. While funding in previous generations may have been focused on things such as better access to textbooks, today discussions have shifted to things such as virtual learnings and access to online avenues to promote academic success.

I was recently fortunate to participate in the Constitutional Academy at the Bill of Rights Institute in Washington, D.C. I had the privilege of engaging with peers who share my interests in law and politics and had the opportunity to speak with my representatives’ staff.

Through those interviews on Capitol Hill, I learned the leaders of today feel that youth involvement is lacking, which I found shocking. I felt that especially in today’s social climate, young people were very active and involved in politics.

However, I was coming from the perspective of rallying and protesting. As young people who often feel unheard, we sometimes fail to recognize that our leaders are longing to hear our voices.

Through my visits on Capitol Hill, I’ve discovered that the most effective mode of involvement is being present in their forums of discussion. An example of this would be showing up and voicing our opinions at our local school board and city council meetings. We often don’t understand the full scope of how local government affects our lives. Young people of today focus more of their political attention on the federal government, but shouldn’t ignore issues closer to home.

Another important factor in youth involvement with politics would be the simple fact that many of my peers are disengaged. This leads to the lack of consistency that is seen today. It is very apparent that today’s youth yearn to be “woke,” but we often try to address problems through protests and then revoke our engagement when the protests end.

In these scenarios, in which we strive to have our voices heard, it is imperative to look to the generation that has already brought about change. Joan Mandle, a champion in the civil rights movement, spoke about the importance of mentorship in a movement saying, “We were taught how to organize by those who came before. Many of us even went to an organizing school.”

This speaks to the significance behind organizing, something that our generation often lacks. However, I feel that the older generation has to be open and willing to provide adequate support to a new generation of leaders.

Jacob Johnson is a rising junior at Maury High School in Norfolk who recently attended the Constitutional Academy at the Bill of Rights Institute in Washington, D.C.