AHL Norfolk Admirals

Norfolk Falls to Lehigh Valley in Eight-Round Shootout, 3-2

December 27, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Norfolk Admirals News Release


ALLENTOWN, Penn. - It took eight rounds of the shootout to decide Saturday night's matchup, but the Lehigh Valley Phantoms came out ahead, 3-2, over the Norfolk Admirals at the PPL Center.

Despite some close calls by the Admirals, it was the home team who got on the board first. Zack Stortini picked up the puck at the Admirals' goal line and sent a quick pass to Nick Cousins. Cousins' blast was set to go wide, but took an unfortunate bounce off Norfolk's William Karlsson and fooled goaltender John Gibson. Jason Akeson picked up the secondary assist at 18:57 of the first period, and Lehigh Valley's 1-0 advantage would last into the intermission.

With Mat Clark in the box on a double-minor for high-sticking, the Phantoms extended their lead. Akeson jumped on an Admirals turnover in the high slot and took the puck in deep on the right side. The shot beat Gibson top shelf at 1:29 of the middle frame and put the Phantoms up 2-0.

The Admirals took over the scoring a minute later courtesy of Louis Leblanc. Stealing the puck in his own zone, Leblanc skated up with Nic Kerdiles and Karlsson on a three-on-two. Kerdiles spun away from a defender and backhanded a shot on net, which netminder Martin Ouellette stopped. However, Kerdiles pounced on the rebound and passed it across to Leblanc who fired on net. Karlsson gained the secondary helper at 2:53 to cut the Phantoms' lead to 2-1.

With under three minutes remaining in regulation, Max Friberg caught the puck at the right wall and sent a cross-ice pass through traffic. Mat Clark redirected it to waiting Wagner on the goal line, who elevated the puck over a sprawling Ouellette to knot the game at two. The tying marker came at 17:32.

Neither club scored in the overtime session, which forced a shootout. In the eighth round, Lehigh Valley newcomer Adam Comrie entered from the left side and slid the puck through Gibson's five-hole. Antoine Laganiere was unable to connect on his chance, and the Phantoms skated home with a win.

Ouellette stopped 33 of 35 shots, while Gibson made 42 saves on 44 shots.

The Phantoms went 1-for-5 on the power play, and the Admirals went 0-for-3 with the man-advantage.

Norfolk continues its three-game road trip when they visit Wilkes-Barre/Scranton tomorrow afternoon at 4:05 p.m.

Three Stars:

1) LV #27 Adam Comrie (GWG)

2) LV #38 Jason Akeson (1 G, 1 A)

3) LV #33 Martin Ouellette (33 saves)

NOTES ... It was Kevin Gagne's 100th game as an Admiral and John Gibson's 50th ... William Karlsson has three points against the Phantoms this season ... Kerdiles has five points in his last six games and Max Friberg has seven in his last nine ... Mat Clark has three points in his last six games after notching only two in his previous 13 games ... Blair Jones, Jay Rosehill and Zack Stortini are all former Admirals.

Check out the Norfolk Admirals Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from December 27, 2014


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