NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



Norfolk Admirals

Third-Period Comeback Not Enough as Admirals Tumble in Shootout

November 27, 2015 - ECHL (ECHL)
Norfolk Admirals News Release


NORFOLK, Va. - The Norfolk Admirals scored three goals in the third to force overtime before succumbing in a shootout to the Manchester Monarchs, 6-5, Friday night at Scope Arena.

Norfolk drew first blood with a goal from Nicolas Blanchard, who made his debut as an Admiral. After a tie-up against the boards in the left corner, Michael Pelech pushed the puck out to Jonathan Lessard, who fired from the middle of the left circle. There to knock down the attempt was Monarch netminder Michael Houser, but Blanchard finished the rebound, putting the Admirals up, 1-0, at 2:51 in the opening frame. Manchester responded with an unassisted goal at 6:08 from Matt White, tying the score at 1-1 after the first 20 minutes.

The Monarchs moved in front at 6:03 of the second period on Stefan Legein's first marker of the evening, a snipe that snuck in top shelf on Norfolk goalie Ty Rimmer from the left circle. He followed that one up eight minutes later with another strike at 14:19 on the power play, stretching the lead to 3-1. David Kolomatis completed a semi-breakaway for the fourth goal and Manchester enjoyed a 4-1 advantage with less than five minutes to play in the second.

The Admirals sparked the comeback shortly after a goal was waved off when Steven Whitney barged into the crease at 17:55 of the second to scoop a loose puck into the net, shrinking the gap to 4-2 at the end of the middle frame.

In the early stages of the third, Norfolk's Charles-Olivier Roussel transferred a cross-ice pass to another blue-liner, Ben Betker. Betker's shot along the ice glanced off Whitney's stick and past Houser just 38 seconds into the third period on a power play to make it 4-3.

At 7:49, Betker earned another assist by going low to Michael Pelech behind the Manchester cage. Pelech fed a pass in front to Blanchard, and a one-time flick by Blanchard from point-blank range leveled the score, 4-4.

Legein reappeared nearly three minutes later to complete a hat trick at 10:25 of the third, and the Monarchs reclaimed the lead, 5-4. The back-and-forth continued when the Admirals' Alexandre Ranger used a Monarch's skate to bank the equalizer in at 17:54 in the final frame, knotting the score and sending the teams into overtime.

After a scoreless extra skate, both teams missed their first two attempts in the shootout, but scored on the third. Three more misses for each team left the shootout in a 1-1 tie heading to the seventh round. Gabriel Verpaelst lost control of the puck on his attempt and opened the door for Michael Boivin. Boivin lit the lamp to end the Admirals' night to the tune of a 6-5 shootout defeat.

Rimmer saved 37 of 42 total shots through 65 minutes, while Houser blocked 32 of the Admirals' 37 attempts. Both teams converted on a power play. Norfolk capitalized on one of its six man advantages as Manchester went 1-for-4.

The Admirals will face the Monarchs again Saturday night for the second half of a back-to-back matchup at Scope Arena. Game time is slated for 7:15 p.m.

Check out the Norfolk Admirals Statistics

• Discuss this story on the ECHL message board...

ECHL Stories from November 27, 2015


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Norfolk Admirals Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central