The St. John's IceCaps are moving into the next round of the AHL playoffs, after beating the Albany Devils in Friday night's match.
In a best-of-five series, the IceCaps ousted the Devils in game four of the playoff series with a 4-1 win.
Andrew Gordon started the scoring early, and finished the game with a hat trick.
He said it was important for the team to get an early goal in to win the game.
"They're a team that plays really tight defensively. If they get up a goal or two, it's tough to come back on them, so we wanted to make sure we got a lead and make them sort of take some chances," said Gordon.
Andrew Gordon scored the first goal of the game on Friday, and ended with a hat trick. (CBC)
IceCaps coach Keith McCambridge said Albany put up a good fight — in what has been a tough series between the teams.
"They're an excellent team, great goaltending, big strong defence and a lot of skill up front, but I thought as the series wore on we had a chance to wear them down, had a chance to continue to get on the body, continue to pressure pucks," said McCambridge.
"That's when it pays off, in these game fours. Real credit [goes] to the players in there to get the job done here tonight instead of stretching it out until tomorrow."
The IceCaps will move on to round 2 in the AHL playoffs against a yet-to-be determined opponent.
