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There are certain postseason games that don’t just determine a series — they define it.
This afternoon in Hartford, beneath a cool late September sky, the crowd of 43,351 at the Civic Center was treated to the kind of theater that only playoff hockey — or in this alternate world, playoff baseball between hockey teams — can provide. The Hartford Whalers and New York Islanders — two proud franchises with deep roots in the sport’s lore — went ten innings in a classic Game 5 that had everything: power, poise, pressure… and finally, one perfectly placed swing.
The Whalers, down but never out, erased a late two-run deficit and outlasted Long Island, 8–7, in extra innings to take a 3–2 series lead and move to the very edge of the Conference Finals.
It was a night when stars shone bright. Gianfrancesco Arriola — the Hartford third baseman whose name sounds like it belongs on a marquee — belted two home runs, driving in a pair and electrifying the home crowd. And then there was Mike Zuke. Four hits. A double. Two triples. A postseason average that now soars to .682. He’s not just hitting; he’s carving his name into the fabric of this series.
But in the bottom of the tenth, with the game tied and the season tilting in either direction, it came down to Thie Peters. A 29-year-old veteran, neither the biggest star nor the loudest voice in the room. But postseason lore is written by players like Peters. One swing, a single up the middle, and Hartford walked off into the night, one win away from the next round.
For the Islanders, the frustration was palpable. They led 7–4 after a four-run seventh, powered by home runs from A. Esparza and J. Valenzuela. But a relentless Hartford lineup clawed back — a solo shot by Arriola in the ninth setting the stage for extra innings.
Rafael Ruiz got the win in relief, steadying the ship after the Whalers’ bullpen had been rocked earlier. On the other side, Marcos Quintana was tagged with the loss, unable to record an out in the tenth.
The final line tells the story: Hartford, 8 runs on 14 hits. Long Island, 7 runs on 10 hits. One error. One swing. One game away.
As postseason history so often reminds us, it’s not always the stars who decide the outcome — but the moment itself. On this September afternoon in Hartford, the moment belonged to Thie Peters and the Whalers.
Game 6 awaits on Saturday at UBS Arena in Belmont. And if this series has taught us anything, it’s that it isn’t over until it’s truly over.
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