Sports stats



AHL Norfolk Admirals

Admirals Allow Three Unanswered Goals to Penguins in 4-2 Defeat

January 23, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Norfolk Admirals News Release


NORFOLK, Va. - The Norfolk Admirals and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins traded leads Friday night, but three straight goals helped the Penguins to a 4-2 victory at Scope Arena.

It didn't take long for the scoring to get going, and the visitors capitalized first. Nick Drazenovic took the puck up ice into the Admirals' zone and centered a pass to Conor Sheary, who shifted to his backhand and slid it past Norfolk goaltender John Gibson. Tom Kostopoulos earned the secondary assist at 4:19 to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead.

The Admirals made it an even game early in the middle period. Chris Wagner controlled the puck in his own end and raced into the Penguins' zone. Closing in on netminder Matt Murray, Wagner wristed a pass into the slot that deflected off a Penguin's stick and into the back of the net. The centerman's unassisted tally at 2:38 knotted up the contest at 1-1.

Norfolk took the lead on the power play with just over two minutes to go. Kevin Gagne handled the puck at the point and shoveled it to Nic Kerdiles at the hash marks, who fired it on net. Murray stopped Kerdiles' shot but gave up a big rebound that bounced right onto Andrew O'Brien's stick in the left circle. O'Brien didn't waste his chance, and slapped the puck home at 17:52 to give the Admirals a 2-1 lead.

Unfortunately for the Admirals, the Penguins got right back in it. With less than a minute remaining in the period, Andrew Ebbett, Drazenovic and Derrick Pouliot entered the offensive zone on an odd-man rush. Ebbett corralled the puck at the top of the left circle and released a rocket. The puck found twine top shelf at 19:22 and evened the game once more, 2-2.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton earned the go-ahead goal off a fluky play in the Admirals' zone. Norfolk turned the puck over in the corner and Wilson emerged with it. Emerson Etem attempted to block Wilson's shot, but the puck took an odd bounce off his stick and redirected into the net. The Penguins took a 3-2 advantage at 10:10 of the third period.

The guests sealed the game with six seconds to go. Wagner won the draw cleanly just outside the zone, but the puck tracked all the way to the Admirals' empty net. Ebbett was credited with the goal at 19:54 and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton captured the game, 4-2.

Murray saved 27 of the 29 shots he encountered, while Gibson saved 29 of 33. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton went 0-for-6 on the power play, and Norfolk went 1-for-5 on the man-advantage. The Admirals close out their five-game homestand tomorrow night in a rematch against the Penguins, beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Check out the Norfolk Admirals Statistics

• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...

American Hockey League Stories from January 23, 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