Skating into the playoffs: Icemen defeat Atlanta, clinch berth in ECHL's Kelly Cup
The defensemen did double duty — and now, the Jacksonville Icemen are bound for a repeat trip to hockey's postseason.
Goals from defensemen Jacob Panetta and Mackenzie Dwyer, sandwiched around Matheson Iacopelli's go-ahead score, rallied the Icemen from a second-period hole to defeat the Atlanta Thrashers 4-3 Friday night at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.
The prize: a top-four finish in the ECHL South Division and a berth in the Kelly Cup playoffs, with home playoff hockey at a date to be determined. The club announced playoff ticket sales would begin Saturday.
The playoff visit will be the third all-time for the Icemen, who also qualified in 2018-19 and in 2021-22.
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Second-period flurry turns game
Jacksonville (40-23-3-1), which had let one playoff-clinching chance slip away with Wednesday's loss to the Florida Everblades, trailed 2-1 midway through Friday's game before three rapid-fire goals turned the night upside down.
Panetta buried a shot at 9:55 of the second period, recent acquisition Iacopelli notched the go-ahead goal at 12:19 and defenseman Dwyer netted his first goal since joining the club two minutes later.
Atlanta (34-28-6-1) made the finish tense with Sanghoon Shin's goal inside the final five minutes, but goaltender Olof Lindbom (23 saves) and the Jacksonville defense nailed down the lead before 8,535 fans inside the arena.
Named top stars on the night were Dwyer and Panetta, who tallied a goal and assist apiece.
Road to the playoffs: Icemen's key to success
Friday's one-goal triumph exemplified Jacksonville's gritty season.
Without a prolific attacking unit (only team captain Christopher Brown, with 23, has netted more than 20 goals), the Icemen have relied on teamwork, stamina and defensive solidity. Only Idaho, Toledo and South Carolina have yielded fewer than the 194 goals allowed by the Icemen through Friday night, and only Reading gives up fewer shots per game.
They've been at their best in close contests, winning 12 of 16 overtime games, while defending late leads tenaciously: When ahead entering the final period, the Icemen hold a record of 26-0-1-0.
But with playoffs on deck, the Icemen must recapture their midseason form, when they went 18-4-1-0 from the first week in December to the first week in February. They hit a six-game skid on March 11, going 4-6-1-1 since and sliding from the top of the division.
Jacksonville, though, has been resourceful: Three of Friday's scorers (Iacopelli, Dwyer and Chris Grando) were added in-season.
ECHL playoffs: What's next for Icemen?
Under second-year head coach Nick Luukko, playoff hockey is becoming a habit for the Icemen.
The ECHL playoffs are scheduled to begin on April 19, although individual series dates may vary.
The Icemen could finish anywhere from first to fourth in the ECHL South, which would affect their number of home games in a best-of-7 series. The South Carolina Stingrays, Greenville Swamp Rabbits and Florida Everblades are likewise jockeying for playoff seeding.
Last year, the Icemen swept Atlanta in the playoffs' opening round before losing to the Everblades.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: ECHL hockey 2023: Jacksonville Icemen defeat Atlanta, clinch playoffs
