JACKSONVILLE, FL – Saturday night at the Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, the Jacksonville Icemen (4-11-1-1) ended a two game home series with the Norfolk Admirals (6-13-1-0). The Admirals won the first meeting on Thursday, November 30th by a final of 4-3 with Grant Basse scoring the only goal in the shootout.
Jacksonville started Colton Phinney (2-2-0-1) in goal while Norfolk started Jamie Murray (3-4-1-0). The same two goalies faced off Thursday night also.
Jacksonville got started early with the scoring when at 1:06, Elgin Pearce stole a Norfolk clearing pass in the Admirals zone and beat Murray high to the glove side. It was Pearce’s fourth of the season and was unassisted.
One minute later, the Icemen took a two goal lead when Garet Hunt beat Murray low to the glove side. It was his fourth of the season and assists went to Jimmy Lodge and newcomer Chris Joseph.
Less than two minutes after that at 4:06, Jacksonville took a three goal lead when Hunt recorded his second of the night, beating Murray on a breakaway. That was enough for Admirals head coach Robbie Ftorek who pulled Murray and replaced him with Ty Reichenbach.
Norfolk got one back ten seconds into a power play when Thomas Frazee got his sixth goal at 10:25, beating Phinney. Michael Young got the only assist.
Norfolk then got within one on their second power play goal of the night at 18:01 when Darik Angeli’s shot found a crack between the post and Phinney’s right leg. It was Angeli’s eighth of the season with the assists going to Tim Daly and Young.
A wild last two minutes of the first period continued when Jacksonville took the lead back to two 33 seconds later as Pearce got his second of the night and fifth of the season, beating Reichenback on the stick side. Alexandre Goulet and Scott Savage got the assists.
The scoring was not done yet for the first period. With 29 seconds left, Savage got his fourth goal of the season, off assists from Emerson Clark and Goulet. On that note, a wild first period ended with the Icemen leading 5-2.
Norfolk went seven minutes into the first before recording their first shot on goal but ended the period with 14. Jacksonville only had seven shots in the period but scored on five of them. Jacksonville had thirteen penalty minutes to 11 for Norfolk.
The second period had to be calmer and it was over seven minutes before one of the teams scored and that was Jacksonville. On a 2-on-1 break, Cameron Critchlow maneuvered the puck to the front of the net. His wrister was then deflected by Lodge, who recorded his fifth of the season. Dylan Blujus also was given an assist.
Down by four, Norfolk started to chip away again at the lead. First it was Patrick D’Amico, who scored his third of the season 83 seconds after Lodge had scored his. D’Amico’s shot deflected off the far post and in. Angeli and Max Cook were given the assists. It was Norfolk’s third power play goal of the game.
Norfolk ended the scoring in the second by cutting the lead to two when Don Olivieri scored his first of the season, scoring over a prone Phinney. Brodie Dupont and Besse got the assists.
The second period ended with Jacksonville leading 6-4. Shots in the second were nine each, Norfolk having a 23-16 overall edge. Jacksonville had six penalty miniutes in the period, Norfolk had two.
Norfolk did not wait long into the third period to cut the lead down further. Just 17 seconds in, it was a one goal lead when Young recorded his third, beating Phinney on the stick side. Dupont and Daly were given assists.
For a while, it looked like Jacksonville might hang on but with 3:27 left, Norfolk tied the game when D’Amico’s shot was deflected past Phinney by Cook. For Cook, it was his first goal of the season.
Regulation ended after that and, for the second time in two meetings, the two teams went into overtime. Jacksonville was held to two shots on goal by Norfolk in the third period. Norfolk had eight and a advantage of 31-18 in the game. No penalties were called in the third period.
Both teams had their chances in the overtime but, in the end, it was Norfolk who won the game when Angeli got his ninth of the season, beating Phinney. Dupont and Daly got assists and Norfolk won the game 7-6. Norfolk won the overtime shot on goal battle 4-3 and the game 35-21.
Icechips: Ty Reichenbach got the win for the night, his record on the season is now 3-5-0-0 while Phinney’s record fell to 2-2-1-1… The seven goals given up by Jacksonville is the most they have given up in one game this season and the thirteen goals total by both teams is the most scored in an Icemen game this season… Seven is the most goals scored by Norfolk in a single game this season and the thirteen is also the most combined by both teams in a Norfolk game this season… Attendance was posted as 5,232… The three stars of the game were: First Star – Darik Angeli of Norfolk; Second Star – Garet Hunt of Jacksonville and Third Star – Elgin Pearce of Jacksonville…The Icemen head out on a three game road trip with the first game on Wednesday against Atlanta… The Admirals five game road continues now up north as they travel to Manchester for a game Friday night.
Contact the author at kenneth.holdren@prohockeynews.com
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