NORFOLK — The Norfolk Admirals return to Scope on Wednesday night with a 2-0 series lead against the Adirondack Thunder in the best-of-seven North Division finals of the ECHL Kelly Cup playoffs, spurred by back-to-back quality appearances by rookie netminder Yaniv Perets.
Perets, on an entry-level contract with the Carolina Hurricanes, stopped 20 of 24 shots in a 7-4 victory Friday in Game 1 and then had 41 saves in a 5-2 victory the following night in Game 2.
“We’re still taking it one day at a time, like we have all season,” Admirals coach Jeff Carr said. “Following Yaniv’s performances over the weekend, we like where we’re at in the series, but there’s still a long way to go.”
Norfolk’s defense received an unexpected boost on Monday when the Winnipeg Jets reassigned goaltender Oskari Salminen from the Manitoba Moose to the Admirals. Salminen made 33 saves in a first-round playoff opener against Trois-Rivieres and in 12 appearances with the Admirals this season went 8-2-1 with a 2.82 goals-against-average.
Perets, though, has made seven postseason appearances for the Admirals with a 5-2 record. He’s recorded 195 saves with a 3.18 goals-against average.
The win and save totals rank second and fourth in the ECHL playoffs, respectively.
Perets “closed out the Trois-Rivières series and he’s had a great start to this one,” Carr said. “Adirondack has been throwing everything at him and he’s been getting better as the playoffs have been going on.”
A little more than a year ago, Perets won the NCAA hockey national championship with Quinnipiac University in Connecticut. Three days later, on April 12, 2023, he signed with Carolina.
The return of Salminen illustrates another key factor in Norfolk’s success this season: team depth. Norfolk’s roster features 10 players with four or more points since the start of the playoffs. In the series against Adirondack, Thomas Caron led the Admirals with two goals in the first game, while Austen Keating had a goal and an assist to power them in Game 2. Both players, along with Danny Katic, Mathieu Roy, Keaton Jameson, Stepan Timofeyev and Carson Golder, have recorded points against the Thunder.
“Everybody has the next-man-up mentality,” Carr said. “Depth and conditioning have been strengths we’ve been working on all year that highlights everyone’s competitive side. They like sticking their noses in on the ice and getting dirty.”
The puck drops at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday for Game 3, while Game 4 is on Friday at the same time. If necessary, Game 5 will also be at Scope at 7:05 p.m. Saturday. Games 6 and 7 would be back at the Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls, New York, next Tuesday and Wednesday.
The winner of the North Division finals advances to the Eastern Conference finals and will face the winner between the Florida Everblades and the Orlando Solar Bears. Florida currently leads the South Division finals 2-0.
Norfolk has a 5-3 overall record against the Adirondack Thunder, starting 1-3 in the regular season, but are currently on a four-game winning streak, including consecutive wins on March 23 and 24.
“They’re probably coming in with an eye-for-an-eye mentality,” Carr said. “We just need to keep the defense insulated on the back end by stalking them in the neutral zone and then use our speed against them on the counterattack.”
Game 3, North Division finals
Adirondack Thunder at Norfolk Admirals
When: 7:05 p.m. Wednesday at Scope
Tickets: Start at $19 on norfolkadmirals.com
Promotion: The Admirals are hosting a “Whiteout the Scope” and are asking fans to wear white for home games Wednesday, Friday and Saturday (if necessary).
