Only one of the three New Jersey Devils’ organizational teams made the playoffs in 2025-26. That team is the ECHL’s Adirondack Thunder.

The Thunder finished third in the North Division setting up a matchup with the Maine Mariners. Below is the schedule courtesy of the ECHL:

Game 1 – Friday, April 24 at 6 p.m. ET at Maine
Game 2 – Saturday, April 25 at 6 p.m. ET at Maine
Game 3 – Wednesday, April 29 at 7 p.m. ET at Adirondack
Game 4 – Friday, May 1 at 7 p.m. ET at Adirondack
Game 5 – Saturday, May 2 at 7 p.m. ET at Adirondack (If Necessary)
Game 6 – Tuesday, May 5 at 7 p.m. ET at Maine (If Necessary)
Game 7 – Wednesday, May 6 at 7 p.m. ET at Maine (If Necessary)

All games will be on FloHockey, a paid subscription service. We will have updates on our social media pages as well.

How Did They Get There?

Adirondack has had an up-and-down season to say the least. Their playoff berth was spearheaded by a 10-game win streak spanning February 1 through February 25. However, after that 10-game stretch, the Thunder ended the season 6-11-6. They notably had losing streaks of seven and five over that 6-11-6 stretch. Not to mention, they played an abnormal amount of overtime games, 24 to be exact, which led the ECHL. Overall, they finished 37-24-11 on the season which notched them the third of four playoff spots in the North Division.

Team Statistics

Adirondack finished 16th in goal scoring while averaging 29.47 shots per game (20th). Defensively, they were 15th in goals against per game allowing 29.53 shots per game (10th-lowest in the league). Their power play ranked 11th and penalty kill sat at 18th.

Player Statistics

Utica was led offensively by breakout star Brannon McManus. McManus finished the regular season with 31 goals, 36 assists, and 67 points across 72 games. He was named to the ECHL All-Second Team. Overall, he finished seventh in scoring league-wide.

Defenseman Jeremy Hanzel was second on the team in scoring. He posted 49 points (41 assists) across 72 games which was good for eighth among all ECHL defensemen. He was acquired in the Erik Haula trade prior to the season from Nashville. Behind Hanzel, as far as defensemen go, Luke Reid had 19 points in 60 games and Ryan Wheeler had 18 points in 72 games.

Other notable offensive contributors were Alex Campbell, Tag Bertuzzi, and Dylan Wendt. Each did not play the number of games some others did, but based off point-per-game product were strong. Campbell had 34 points in 46 games, Bertuzzi had 31 points in 38 games, and Wendt had 21 points in 30 games. Each are forwards and Bertuzzi and Wendt both spent some time with Utica at the AHL level this season.

In net, Jeremy Brodeur, who was an ECHL All-Star, and Tyler Brennan shouldered the load. Brodeur played in 41 games and posted a 23-12-5-1 record with a 0.908 save percentage. Brennan got out to a terrific start but his save percentage on the season, across 28 games, dipped below 0.900 to 0.898. One would expect Brodeur to get the load of the work in the playoffs.

Notes

The Thunder announced their playoff roster on Monday. The most notable are forward Josh Filmon and defenseman Jackson van de Leest. Each spent a good run of the season with AHL Utica. Filmon, 22, played in 31 games for the Comets and only 11 for the Thunder. Additionally, Van de Leest, 24, played in 18 AHL games this year and 25 in the ECHL.

As expected, other AHL contributors this year in Dylan Wendt and Tag Bertuzzi are indeed on the roster.

You can find the Thunder’s playoff roster here.

Brief Opponent Overview

As mentioned above, Utica is taking on the two-seeded Maine Mariners. The Mariners finished the season 42-21-9 which locked down the second playoff slot in the North Division giving them home ice advantage over Adirondack in the first round.

The two teams faced off 15 times this season. The Thunder won 10 of those games, however, eight of the 15 went to either a shootout or overtime.

Maine ranks 13th in goals for per game, averaging 31.25 shots per game (13th) and fourth in goals against per game, allowing 29.82 shots per game (15th). Their power play ranks fifth (21.8%) and penalty kill fifth (85.1%).

Individually, Maine as led by a rio of Brooklyn Kalmikov, Max Andreev, and Robert Cronin. Each posted 56 or more points, with Kalmikov and Andreev at 62 points apiece. Additionally, Jacob Perreault, who only skated in 39 games, posted 39 points. Each of the aforementioned are forwards.

Maine got really strong performances in net as well. Brad Arvanitis and Luke Cavallin split time in net. Arvanitis posted a 0.929 save percentage and Cavallin had a 0.917 save percentage. Arvanitis played in 38 games to Cavallin’s 34. Arvanitis led all ECHL goaltenders to play at least nine games.

You can find the Mariners’ playoff roster here.