Adirondack Thunder playing with heightened confidence going into Eastern Conference Finals

GLENS FALLS, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Adirondack Thunder just continue to find ways to forge ahead in the Kelly Cup Playoffs. After their gritty, seven-game series win over Maine to start the postseason, the Thunder fought back from down 2-0 in the North Division Finals against Norfolk, winning four straight games - three in Virginia…to advance and land in the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2018.

Awaiting the Thunder in the ECF is the same team they lost to in this round six years ago: the Florida Everblades.

Adirondack took two of three from Florida at home earlier this season, but dropped three straight meetings on the road in mid-February while very short-handed - dealing with a number of injuries and players having been called up to Utica.

The Thunder found a second gear against the Admirals after their overtime win in game three, which shifted the tide of that series. To take the East title, the team believes it's critical to carry the swagger they've been playing with of late into this matchup with the Everblades.

"Sometimes when you just get put against a wall like that...your best game comes out," said forward Ryan Smith, who tallied six goals in the North Division Finals. "I guess that's what it took for us to find ours. Like you saw after that, we've been rolling. Our offense is clicking. We're playing a lot better in our [defensive] zone. We're managing the puck better; we're winnin' battles. So, we've got a lot of confidence now, and that might be kind of what we needed to get going."

To Florida's credit, the South Division champs have won 10 straight postseason series, including the last two Kelly Cup championships.

But with two series victories under their belt, the Thunder feel like they can beat anybody at this point.

"We can't be too focused on, on Florida and what they've done, and what they are; how good of a team they are," said head coach Pete MacArthur. "We know that. We're aware of that. And I think if we get too focused on what they're trying to do, and...stray away from what makes us successful, it's just...it's a distraction. We respect Florida. We understand how they play and what they do to be successful. But we also...respect our game, and we have confidence in how we play. We deserve to be at this moment. So, we want the guys to enjoy it and go out there and compete to the bitter end like they have all year."

Game one of the Eastern Conference Finals gets underway Friday night at Cool Insuring Arena. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m.