Alex Gerard stopped 33 of the 34 shots he faced to slow down the 87’s offensive attack while Ben Carfora had a goal and two assists, putting New Hampshire one win away from its first EHL title since 2019.
Avs Head Coach Chris Cerrella spoke about the team’s effort in Game One and said they got better as the game went on.
“In the third period, I think we started showing our speed and we really took it to them. They had trouble getting out of their zone and I think that our depth slowed them down a bit,” he said.
New Hampshire was outshot in the first period 12-7, but they opened the scoring with a goal from O’Leary. Off an offensive zone draw, Danny Storella skated the puck to the goal line and found O’Leary alone in the slot where he banged a one-timer blocker side.
O’Leary spoke about his first goal and the set play his line executed off the draw. “Yeah, we have a couple of different plays, we got some funny names for them that I won’t disclose, but it was a set play, and Ben and Danny are great at those.”
Storella made it 2-0 with 2:59 left in the second period. A couple of 87’s defenders blocked some shots right in front of the crease, and Storella managed to pick the puck away from the scrum and loft a shot over the glove of 87’s goaltender Florentin Fally-Puskàs for his sixth goal of the playoffs.
The 87’s finally got on the board with 8:32 left in regulation. Legkov dished the puck to Sergei Shcherbakov on a two-on-two rush, and he gave it right back to Legkov as he stuffed the puck into a wide-open net to cut the deficit to one.
New Hampshire put the game out of reach as O’Leary scored his second goal of the game with 6:01 left in regulation. Cory Alissi rushed the puck up ice on a three-on-two and dropped it back to O’Leary, and he ripped a shot between the legs of Fally-Puskàs for his fifth goal of the postseason.
O’Leary credited his linemates, Carfora and Storella, on the chemistry they have had throughout the season. “They have great vision and we work really well together,” he said.
Gerard made some timely saves throughout the game. His best stop came late in the second period while the Avs were on the powerplay. 87’s forward Dale Campbell started a two-on-rush while shorthanded and laid a pass across to Tyler Gearman, but Alex Gerard went into a split to make an incredible kick save with the left pad, keeping the 87’s off the board at that point.
He made another big stop five minutes into the third period as Legkov received a pass right at the doorstep for a one-timer, but Gerard closed down the angle to make the save at point-blank range.
Cerrella spoke in detail about Gerard, offering insight as to why he sat out the first round against Valley Jr. Warriors and how he won back the starter’s role.
“Gerard was injured for about six weeks. I think it was just his time, he was in a groove. He fought through it and won the spot, and he’s been hot since. He’s going to do an excellent job at Fitchburg State next year, and you could see it right there,” he said.
Cerrella also spoke about Gerard’s save on the 87’s shorthanded chance. “For coaches, we like to have goalies that make saves, but we also like goalies who can make that game-changing save, and Gerard’s been able to do that all year, so it’s been very impressive to watch him grow.”
With their Game One win, the Avalanche can close out the series on Friday with another win. Game Two will take place at 7:30 p.m. at Schneider Arena.
