NORFOLK — Stepan Timofeyev scored twice and chipped in with an assist as the Norfolk Admirals breezed to a 5-2 win over the Atlanta Gladiators and booked a ticket to postseason play for the first time in a decade Friday night at Scope in front of a raucous crowd of more than 5,000.
The Admirals (38-21-5-1) last appeared in the postseason in the American Hockey League’s Calder Cup playoffs in 2014, when they fell in the second round to the St. John’s IceCaps. It’s the first time the Admirals have qualified for the Kelly Cup playoffs since reforming into an ECHL team for the 2015 season. They won the ECHL title three times in the 1990s (1991, 1992, 1998) and the Calder Cup in 2012.
“It’s been two long trips across the country and back,” Admirals head coach Jeff Carr said of his team’s previous six-game trip to Utah and North Division leader Adirondack. “We couldn’t wait to get back to our home crowd. They were awesome tonight. To do this, on home ice for the fans, it was awesome for our group and for them.”
Brady Fleurent opened the scoring by knifing through three defenders and then firing a backhanded delivery into the net’s top shelf with a little more than six minutes remaining in the first period. Timofeyev’s defense-splitting pass sprung Fleurent.
Two minutes later, on the power play, after receiving the puck at the point, Dmitry Kuzmin carried it deeper into the Gladiators’ zone and fired a pass just to the right of the net. He found Danny Katic, who corralled the puck and found a streaking Timofeyev on the left. He also went high to put it past Gladiators goalie Josh Boyko.
Timofeyev pushed the lead to 3-0 less than four minutes into the second period during another power play after following in his own rebound. This time, it was Fleurent’s nifty stick work and pass that put Timofeyev through on goal.
“Both of those guys aren’t the biggest in stature, but they play with a lot of heart and they have a lot of chemistry working with (linemate Denis) Smirnov,” Carr said. “They’ve been the consummate pros and they keep on working to get better and better.”
Oskari Salminen notched five of his 25 saves in the first period, including a couple of stops in one-on-one situations and getting down low in the butterfly position to stymie a Gladiators attacker with a kick save.
“Those were huge,” Carr said of his goalie, who allowed five goals in his last game a week ago. “He didn’t have the game he wanted to have against Adirondack. For him to bounce back after sitting for two (games) with that performance was incredible.”
The Gladiators’ Ryan Cranford spoiled the shutout attempt with less than four minutes remaining in the third period, slotting the puck in off a rebounded shot from Jackson Pierson. That sparked a flurry of scoring in the final minutes of the game.
Atlanta pulled its goalie while trying to cut the deficit to a goal, but a minute later, Chesapeake native Brandon Osmundson fired the puck into the empty net to bring the Admirals’ cushion back to three goals.
With less than 40 seconds remaining, Micah Miller knocked in the Gladiators’ second score of the evening, and they pulled the goalie again on the ensuing faceoff.
Twenty seconds later, Salminen launched a clearance puck that found its way into the empty net for the final margin. That brought a loud roar from the fans, who now know that the Admirals’ season will continue past mid-April.
The Admirals have four home games remaining and next play Atlanta at 6:05 p.m. Saturday.
