The Norfolk Admirals joined the Adirondack Thunder on Friday Night becoming the second team in the Eastern Conference and North Division to clinch a Kelly Cup Playoff berth after defeating the Atlanta Gladiators by a score of 5-2 which included a goalie goal by Oskari Salminen. This is a huge accomplishment for the Admirals, who are heading to the Kelly Cup Playoffs for the first time as an ECHL franchise after joining the league prior to the 2015-16 season and have always been at the bottom of the standings in the North Division and have yet to have a winning season as an ECHL franchise as the last time they had a winning season was during the 2013-14 season when the team was a part of the AHL.
They’ve been dying for a serviceable hockey team let alone a winning hockey that wants to do something special, I’m sure they’ve been reenergized, and they’ve been huge for us the back half of the year the fans have really done a good job energizing our team and we hope to do something special for them”
Norfolk Head Coach Jeff Carr when talking about what a Kelly Cup Appearance would mean for the people of Norfolk
Norfolk is one of those teams that doesn’t have one or two guys who are going to light up the scoresheet as they only have one 20-goal scorer this year which is Danny Katic who has already surpassed his goals and points total from last season as he leads the Admirals with 24 goals and 20 assists for 44 points in 56 games this season. As a team, Norfolk is fourth in the league with 225 goals and are averaging 3.52 goals per game, both of which are top five in the ECHL. On the defensive side, they are fourth in the league allowing only 27.33 shots to opponents all game, and are ninth in goals against per game allowing three goals per game.
“It’s gonna be special, we’ve talked about it for the last year or so, we knew it was coming, we knew what we had in the locker room, and I think it’s gonna be a real special moment when we finally do, we’re not just about clinching one playoff spot, we wanna make a big run” Danny Katic
Dany Katic when asked last weekend what it’s going to mean to the team when they finally clinch a Kelly Cup Playoff Berth
Norfolk will now continue to chase the Adirondack Thunder for the North Division Title, The Admirals took two out of three from the Thunder last weekend.
“Guys are just sticking together, they wanna do something special this year. Obviously, this organization has had some tough times for last eight or nine years, it’s not just the guys, it’s the guys, the organization, the owners, the people who have been here before, our coaching staff, our trainers, our fans, I can just keep naming people, our affiliation have been great, Manitoba, Winnipeg, and then getting assigned some guys from Carolina and ultimately into Chicigo, so we really feel like it’s a really full circumference that’s been put together, we wanna do that for each other and everyone who has helped that”
Jeff Carr on Norfolk’s Season
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