The Squirrels tallied back from a 3-0 deficit Wednesday, but lost in the final minutes to the Whale, 4-3.

The last time the Squirrels played the Whale, the Squirrels barely survived. Playing without Casey Carpenter and Jeff Ford didn’t make it any easier in the first round of the playoffs, but the Squirrels still managed to regain their footing in a 6-1 win.

The game was uncomfortably even until a 3 on 3 gave the Squirrels some momentum. Stu Miller and Mark Tessar scored on that shift, giving them a 2-0 lead after the first period.

Tessar scored early in the second period, and Wes Gassert put the Squirrels up 4-0. The Whale found some life with a goal of their own, but Don Marks and Vivek Pinto also scored put the game away. The Squirrels move on to the semifinals, Wednesday at 9:30. They will face That’s What She Said, who beat Silver Spring in an 8-round shootout.

The Squirrels won their ninth in a row Wednesday, narrowly avoiding giving up the game-tying goal in the final seconds as they escaped with a 6-5 win over the Whale. Up 4-1 in the first, the Squirrels then surrendered four of the next five goals before Mark Tessar scored the winner with less than two minutes remaining. Tessar scored twice, as did Casey Carpenter. Jeff Ford and Rob Myers also scored.

The Squirrels won their second game in two nights with a slightly different lineup Thursday, this time outscoring Whale, 7-4. Despite the loss, Whale played a great game, outshooting the Squirrels and oftentimes controlling the offensive zone as if they were on a power play, though they weren’t. The Squirrels, however, opened the floodgates, as both Casey Carpenter and Stu Miller each scored three goals, while Mark Tessar had the other.

The Squirrels held a 5-2 lead at the half, then extended it to 6-2 before both teams went another 13 minutes without scoring. The Whale cut the lead to two with 38 seconds remaining but the Squirrels not only held on, but netted another, and improved their record to 3-2 on the season.