It is almost 2,500 miles from Albany, New York to San Diego, California. Also, there’s playing on the road, and there’s playing on the road in the playoffs. The FireWolves had a long way to go for game one of the semi-final round in this year’s playoffs, and boy, they did not squander that opportunity.
We’ve discussed before that Albany’s team average in age is 26 years young. Saturday night at Pechanga Arena, they looked like a group of grizzled veterans, specifically, Alex Simmons, who has been a rookie phenom for his club this year. Simmons led the way with ten points (second highest all-time for a rookie in the playoffs), and the FireWolves held off a Seals’ push late, en route to a 14-12 victory.
One way to hype up the home crowd is opening the scoring quickly. Cue Dane Dobbie. He buried the first goal just 40 seconds in, but Simmons had the answer after a few minutes of back and forth. Curtis Dickson gave the Seals the lead back, but it was quickly lost as Albany scored the quarter’s last two goals, specifically, Ethan Walker and Sam Firth. 3-2 ‘Wolves after one.
To go with the two goals to end the first, Albany kicked it up a tick with the first three of the second quarter. Uh oh. Simmons, Walker, and Tye Kurtz all lit the lamp, and after a quick blink of the eyes, Albany was running away. Dobbie and Wesley Berg cut the deficit with the final two goals of the second quarter, making it 6-4 Albany at the break.
The goaltending battle was intriguing as well. On one side, Doug Jamieson has been arguably the hottest goaltender in the league. Dougie made 14 saves on 18 shots. On the other end, Christopher Origlieri is making himself a household name, and will be for the foreseeable future. He stopped 21 of 27.
“We just have to stick to our game plan,” said Simmons. “We just have to keep doing what we’re doing. I like our pace, we got to their goalie early, continue to move the ball and we’ll be alright.”
Albany most certainly stuck to the gameplan in the third quarter, as they continued to build their lead. The FireWolves outscored the Seals 5-2 in the frame, and once again, had complete control of this one. Tre Leclaire and Dickson were the goal scorers for San Diego. For Albany, it was Simmons thrice and Grenon twice. 11-6 Albany after three.
Let’s not forget, while Albany is the youngest team in the league, San Diego is the oldest. They have a ton of players that have been to the top of the mountain before, and they don’t just roll over. The comeback seemed to be on for San Diego, as they turned on the offensive jets. Austin Staats finally got his name in the goal column and was followed up by Berg. Credit for a moment to Albany, as they matched those two goals to maintain their lead. Those two goals were scored by Mike Byrne and Marshall Powless. Then, the wheels kind of fell off for Albany, as San Diego rattled off four straight in a span of 2:25 and all of a sudden it was a one-goal game. Those four were scored by Leclaire, Dickson twice, and Dobbie. With just over a minute to play, and with an empty San Diego net, the Seals were setting up their offense. A loose ball push was called and away went the Albany transition, ultimately resulting in a Colton Watkinson empty netter. That ended up being the dagger, giving us our final, 14-12 FireWolves.
Players of the game for Albany were Simmons (5+5), Walker (2+5), and Kurtz (1+4). Jamieson, with the exception of that late run, was extremely stingy, making 27 saves on 39 shots. For San Diego, Dickson (4+2), Dobbie (3+1), and Berg (2+4) led the way. Origlieri settled in late, but it was in fact, too late. The youngster made 38 saves on 51 shots.
“Without Doug Jamieson, we don’t win this game,” said Simmons. “We kept our composure, we had a little scare at the end there, but you just battle through those things. We can’t wait to take it back to Albany.”
Albany is in the driver seat winning a crucial game on the road. They can lock up their spot in the Finals with a win Sunday on their home floor at MVP Arena. Faceoff in that game is at 3 p.m. ET.
