The Squirrels and the Jesters games have been extremely competitive in the past few years, and Thursday’s was no different up until an awful 5:18 in the second period when the Squirrels yielded three straight. From there, the Jesters held on to the 5-2 win.

Former Squirrels player Ed Owen played remarkable in net for the Jesters, robbing the Squirrels multiple times. Casey Carpenter and Vivek Pinto scored for the Squirrels, while Bryan Bednarczyk  scored four times for the Jesters.

The Jesters eliminated the Squirrels from the playoffs Wednesday with a 6-3 victory.

Down 4-2 in the final minute, the Squirrels scored twice in 43 seconds, including one at the buzzer to force a shootout. But that’s where things ended poorly for the Squirrels, who fell to the Jesters, 5-4. Greg Hainer had two goals and an assist for the Squirrels.

The Squirrels exploded for six goals in the second period Tuesday en route to a 7-4 win against the Jesters. Charles Warner had four goals to lead the Squirrels.

Casey Carpenter and Bob Sewell, the youngest and the oldest members of the team came up big Thursday night.

The Screaming Squirrels advanced to the finals for the first time in three years with a hard-fought 2-1 win against their biggest rival as of late, the Jesters.

Casey Carpenter scored short-handed in the first period, but the lead didn’t last long as the Jesters struck back only moments later. A Don Marks slap-shot early in the second period put the Squirrels back up, and they held on for the win. Bob Sewell made 29 saves in net.

The Squirrels will play the Dinosaurs in the Finals on Tuesday at 8:30. The Dinosaurs, who beat the High Rollers, 3-1, to advance, split the season series with the Squirrels at one game apiece. The Squirrels dealt them their only loss of the season, 5-2, back on July 1.