Playing at home in front of their boisterous fans Tuesday, the Red Storm left that tough finish well in the past to kick off the playoffs.

With junior captain Austen Reyell recording a hat trick to lead the way, Saranac Lake upended Saranac Central 8-3 to advance to the semifinal round where it will face Plattsburgh on Thursday. Rhett Darrah also had a big night with a pair of goals and an assist, and Ben Casagrain, Dylan Amell and Robert Stephenson added single tallies in the win.

Granted, fourth-seeded Saranac Lake was taking on a young fifth-seeded Chiefs team that only managed to pick up two wins this winter, but nevertheless, the Red Storm were impressive, and especially when it came to offensive firepower. In a quarterfinal matchup that went back and forth early, Saranac Lake broke a 3-3 deadlock by scoring the final five goals of the game.

The Red Storm finished with an overwhelming 52-12 advantage in shots on goal, with the Red Storm’s biggest barrage coming in the second period when they peppered Chiefs netminder Konnor Shea with 25 pucks, including four that got past the senior who was playing his final high school game.

“Our plan was to control play and keep our game simple,” Saranac Lake head coach Will Ellsworth said. “For the most part, we got pucks north, our turnover ratio was better than any game this year, and that’s a goal of ours. Our guys played probably our most disciplined game all year, and that’s a positive thing going into playoffs.”

Saranac Lake was without senior captain Brett Dawson, which prompted some changes to be made on the ice, including a reunion of Reyell, Darrah and Amell on the Red Storm’s first forward line. And once that trio got going, they were tough to stop.

It didn’t take the Chiefs long to get on the board when Austin Carpenter beat Saranac Lake junior Bruno Freeman on a breakaway just 52 seconds into the game. But the Red Storm answered quickly with two tallies. Reyell snuck in his first of the game at the 2:39 mark on a sharp angle from the left wing, and netted his second at the 12:05 mark to send Saranac Lake into the first intermission with a 2-1 lead.

The teams then traded tallies to start the second. Saranac got another quick one at the outset of the period as Keegan Eick deadlocked the score at 2-2 on another breakaway goal at the 51-second mark, and Darrah then pushed the Red Storm back into the lead with his first of the game, which came with 2:04 gone in the period. The Chiefs tied it up one more time when Aidan Recore beat Freeman with traffic in front the the net to make it a 3-3 contest at the 5:06 mark.

Saranac Lake then took control. Darrah netted what proved to be the game-winner midway through the second, and Casagrain, a senior, netted the next Red Storm goal late in the second for a 5-3 edge for the hosts. All three third-period goals belonged to Saranac Lake. Amell lifted the Red Storm to a 6-3 edge with 8:52 gone in the third, and Reyell rounded out his hat trick with 4:46 left in the game.

With the victory sealed, Ellsworth emptied his bench during the closing minutes, and two players who don’t get a lot of ice time connected for the final tally of the night, with senior Bryan Sullivan setting up Stephenson for a score with 1:55 left on the clock.

In addition to his three goals, Reyell added two assists for a five-point performance.

“This was our last game at home, and the momentum of the fans really brings us up,” Reyell said. “Our line with Rhett Darrah and Dylan Amell goes back to the pee wee days. Coach threw us together for the first time in three or so games, and we were in on seven of our eight goals. It really worked. I’ve been more of a passer trying to play my position, but tonight, I just shot the puck tonight and it found net.”

Despite the loss, Saranac Central head coach Shon Lilledahl was happy with the effort turned in by his squad, which has just three seniors. Eick, Donovan Hack and Shea were the seniors playing their final game for Saranac Central.

“Our kids battled, and we played well,” said Lilledahl, who was coaching in his final game while ending a 12-year run with the Chiefs hockey program. “I think we had some tough luck, we got behind and then had some penalty trouble in the third, and it was hard to come back. Other than that, I’m happy with how the boys played.”

“Saranac Lake was tough with the body, they put shots on net, and they just hustled,” Lilledahl added. “They got to the puck, they won the little battles, and you have to be ready for them. They came out and jumped on us.”

Saranac Lake’s reward for advancing is now a date with the high-flying Plattsburgh Hornets, who own a 17-2-1 record and are ranked third in the New York State Sports Writer Association poll.

Reyell said his looking forward to the challenge.

“We played a very good controlled game tonight,” Reyell said. “We controlled all play. Our defense got the puck out of the zone, we forechecked hard, and that’s what got us through. We played playoff hockey, and that’s our goal for the next game. We’re facing a really good team. We’re going into the game heads held high. We’re going in momentum strong.”

In other Section VII playoff action Tuesday night, Lake Placid lost 9-0 against Northeastern Clinton. The Cougars outshot Lake Placid 43-11.

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Saranac Lake 8, Saranac Central 3

Red Storm 2 3 3 — 8

Chiefs 1 2 0 — 3

Scoring

First Period

1. SC, Carpenter (Minor), :52; 2. SL, Reyell (Darrah), 2:39; 3. SL, Reyell, 12:05.

Second Period

4. SC, Eick, :51; 5. SL, Darrah (Reyell), 2:04; 6. SC, Recore (Carpenter), 5:06; 7. SL, Darrah, 7:29; 8. SL, Casagrain (Reyell), 11:04.

Third Period

9. SL, Amell (Sturgeon), 8:52; 10. SL, Reyell (Dukette, Sturgeon), 10:14; 11. SL, Stephenson (Sullivan), 13:05.

Shots on goal: SL 52, SC 12.

Saves: SL, Freeman 9; SC, Shea 44.