NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — It has been a long time since the Norfolk Admirals played meaningful hockey in the month of April.
Like, a long time.
The Admirals this season are one of the best teams in the ECHL, and they have a golden opportunity to do something special in the postseason.
You have to go back to 2014 to see Admirals playoff hockey. Back then, they were the AHL affiliate to the Anaheim Ducks.
And a lot has changed. But the hunger to get back to the postseason never went away.
“There wasn’t really another option,” said Norfolk coach Jeff Carr. “We were going to succeed this year.”
This past Friday, the Admirals (39-21-5-1), who are now affiliated with the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets, clinched a spot in the ECHL postseason, marking their first trip to the playoffs in 10 years.
“The city deserves it, [and] you can see it at the Scope whenever we’re there,” said Brady Fleurent, who has 12 goals and 15 assists, and was the most recent ECHL player of the week after scoring four goals in Saturday’s win over Atlanta. “The crowd is always awesome [and] the fans, I’m just excited to bring playoff hockey back home to them.”
The Admirals are one of the hottest teams in the ECHL, and they’ve won four in a row and six of their last 10. If they keep pace, they’ll have the most points in a season since they won the AHL’s Calder Cup in 2012.
“I think the fun’s just getting started here,” Fleurent said.
“We know that nobody likes us, we know that we’re not going to get the calls, but we go in there and just try to work hard and just get things happening right now with this group,” said Chesapeake native Brandon Osmundson, who has nine goals and 19 assists.
Since joining the ECHL in 2015, the Admirals have only finished above sixth place in the division one time. Now, they’re second, just two points behind the Adirondack Thunder, and other teams don’t like it.
And the ultimate reward?
Another championship parade.
