Playoffs: Squirrels 4, Bullets 2

The Squirrels advanced to the division finals by knocking out the top-seeded Bullets on Thursday, dominating most of the game en route to a 4-2 victory.

Marc Irby scored – on his birthday – less than a minute into the game by knocking a rebound into a gaping net. At 12:48, the Squirrels made a routine zone entry as Jon Danziger carried in the puck from the left wing, and centered to Vivek Pinto who had enough room to slide the puck into the net.

Despite out-possessing the Bullets and outshooting them 47-23, the Squirrels had a hard time getting pucks past goalie Shane Smith. A misplay of the puck out of the crease by Smith, however, was the break the Squirrels needed to extend their lead, as Brent Machado found himself with a puck at the blue line and a wide-open net to shoot at. Right off the next faceoff, Machado scored again, and the Squirrels appeared to be blowing the game open. They’d have many more chances but Smith kept the puck out of the net for the remainder of the game.

The Squirrels had more chances in the third but the Bullets pressed, finally scoring twice in the last four minutes and came an inch from scoring a third with about ten seconds remaining.

The Squirrels will play the Whalers on Sunday at 3:10 p.m. for the championship.