NORFOLK, Vir – Sitting in the locker room prior to game two of their AHL Eastern Conference final with the Norfolk Admirals, the St. John’s IceCaps discussed the importance of getting off to a good start. Coming off a 6-1 loss in game one of the series, St. John’s was determined to give a better showing in game two of the best-of-seven matchup.
But just 51 seconds into game two on Saturday night, the IceCaps found themselves trailing 1-0 when Norfolk’s Richard Panik beat St. John’s goalie Eddie Pasquale with a wrist shot from just inside the blue line. With that, the wind was gone from the IceCaps sails as they went on to fall 3-1 to the Admirals.
Norfolk now leads the series two games to none, with game three taking place in St. John’s on Monday.
“Any time you get scored on in that first shift, it’s mentally tough to turn that page and get back to where you need to be,” St. John’s coach Keith McCambridge told the Canadian Press. “Especially with the guys really wanting this game. You could feel it in the dressing room, and to have that start makes it an uphill climb to get back to where you need to be.”
Despite the loss, McCambridge says there are positives to take from game two. His club was a perfect five-for-five on the penalty kill in the contest, and were only a goal away from tying the score going into the game’s final minute.
Overall, the IceCaps effort and execution were much improved from game one when they were dominated from opening puck drop to final buzzer.
“When you compare it to the first game, I thought we did a much better job,” McCambridge said to the Canadian Press. “We’ve got to do a better job of getting to the second and third chances in front of their net to get some rebounds. But their goalie isn’t giving up many.”
Panik’s goal 51 seconds into the first period gave the Admirals an early 1-0 lead, but the IceCaps managed to tie the score just 1:51 into the second frame with a goal from John Albert. Alexandre Picard put Norfolk back on top with goal at 15:38 of the second period, while his empty-net marker at 19:07 of the third sealed the 3-1 victory for the Admirals.
With a 2-0 series lead in hand, the Admirals are now just two wins away from earning a berth in the Calder Cup final. However, Norfolk coach Jon Cooper insists his players are focused only on Monday’s game three at Mile One Centre in St. John’s and are not getting too far ahead of themselves yet.
“You have to win four,” Cooper told the Virginian-Pilot. “There’s still a lot of hockey to be played. We’re just two games closer than they are.”
Dustin Tokarski made 30 saves to earn the win in goal for the Admirals. Eddie Pasquale made 35 stops in the IceCaps’ net.
Contact Darcy.MacRae@prohockeynews.com
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