A Very Good Friday In Norfolk

I had every intention of taking today off, and it almost seemed like I accomplished my goal of spending Good Friday working on another project. While I did get a pile of work done on said project, the ECHL's Norfolk Admirals brought me back to the keyboard this evening thanks to a player doing something I'll always highlight: goalies scoring goals. The Admirals also did something tonight they haven't done in a decade as well, so it was a big night in the Virginia city for their professional hockey team as the Winnipeg Jets' ECHL affiliate had a night!

The Atlanta Gladiators were visiting the Admirals tonight, and a win by the Admirals would send them to the Kelly Cup Playoffs for the first time since joining the ECHL in 2015-16. Clearly, they had motivation to pick up a victory, but Atlanta was in town to spoil the fun. With 5167 fans inside Scope Arena for a chance to see the Admirals book their ticket to the dance, the scene was set for what could be a big night for the Admirals!

Clearly, the title gives away the ending in this one, but Brady Fleurent and Stepan Timofeyev put Norfolk out in front by a pair of goals in the first period before Timofeyev made it 3-0 in the second period. Atlanta would get one back before Brandon Osmundson scored off an assist by former Calgary Dinos defenceman Dakota Krebs for his first professional point, but Atlanta would score again with 38 seconds to play to make it 4-2.

This game seemingly was over, but one player wasn't done scoring.
Winnipeg Jets goaltending prospect and current Norfolk Admirals netminder Oskari Salminen added his name to the ECHL record books when he fired the puck down the ice with 24 seconds remaining and hit the empty net. That would make Salminen the 16th goalie in ECHL history to have scored a goal and the first in just over a year with Ryan Fanti having scored the last one. The fun part? This is Salminen's second goal in his career as he recorded one in Finland with Savonlinnan Pallokerho, better known as SaPKo, in the Mestis league!

I went looking for the SaPKo goal, but my Finnish isn't quite up to "Google search" level so I didn't find much. There are highlights of Salminen with the club, but SaPKo actually went bankrupt in 2022, making any contact with the club impossible since they haven't existed for a couple of years now. I'll keep scouring the internet to see if I can find something, but this Metsis goal scored by Salminen may just remain Finnish hockey lore at this point.

In any case, Salminen's name is now part of the list of ECHL goalies with a goal as the 16th player on the list!

• Oskari Salminen (NOR) vs Atlanta - March 29, 2024
• Ryan Fanti (FWK) vs Rapid City - March 25, 2023
• Francois Brassard (MAI) at Adirondack - December 18, 2022
• CJ Motte (QCM) at Fort Wayne - December 9, 2017
• Alex Nedeljkovic (FLA) at Atlanta - December 30, 2016
• Brian Foster (CIN) vs Trenton - February 15, 2013
• Timo Pielmeier (BAK) at Utah - December 19, 2009
• Jonathan Quick (REA) at Pensacola - October 24, 2007
• Trevor Koenig (ACB) at Wheeling - March 2, 2005
• Brian Eklund (PEN) at Mississippi - December 5, 2003
• Mike Smith (LEX) vs Dayton - October 26, 2002
• Mark Bernard (TOL) vs Johnstown - March 27, 2001
• Nick Vitucci (CHA) vs Louisville - March 6, 1996
• Sean Gauthier (SCS) at Raleigh - December 19, 1995
• Olie Sundstrom (ERI) vs Wheeling - December 15, 1995
• Corwin Saurdiff (HRA) vs Charlotte - March 18, 1995

Based on that list, it appears that Oskari Salminen is also the first Finnish-born netminder to have scored in the ECHL, so there's another cool first for the 24 year-old as he writes his hockey story. Atlanta, as shown above, now joins Wheeling as the only ECHL clubs with two goalie goals surrendered in their histories.

Salminen improves to 7-2-1 with the Admirals after his 25-save night this evening while sporting a 2.99 GAA and a .893 save percentage. More importantly, Norfolk is now 38-21-6, and they earned the "x" beside their name as they clinched a playoff spot! They're still trying to hunt down the first-place Adirondack Thunder in the ECHL's North Division, but they sit four backs of the Thunder with seven games to play - one more against Atlanta tomorrow before three against the Reading Royals and three against the Newfoundland Growlers, assuming they're still playing, to close out the season.

In short, it was a big night in Norfolk with a goalie goal capping off a playoff-clinching win for the Admirals, sending them to the Kelly Cup Playoffs for the first time in franchise history, but the fun is far from over as the Admirals set their sights on the Thunder in order to improve their odds for a deep playoff run. Based on how he's playing, Oskari Salminen looks like he'll be a big part of that effort, and there may still be time to double his goal-scoring totals for this season before the playoffs start!

Congratulations to the Norfolk Admirals on clinching a playoff spot this season, and congratulations to Oskari Salminen for scoring his first professional goal in North America!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!