NORFOLK, VA – Wednesday night, The Jacksonville Icemen defeated the Norfolk Admirals in a contest that saw two determined teams going at it. When all was said and done, the Icemen had themselves a 3-2 victory.
Jacksonville’s Kris Newbury got the scoring started early in the first with his 13th goal of the season at 3:24. It came off a turnover in the Norfolk end that led to a cross-ice pass by Cody Fowlie to Newbury who fired it home.
Norfolk would respond soon after, when Jalen Smereck put home his 4th of the season to tie the game up at 5:02. Matt McMorrow started the play when he won a faceoff over to Luke Nogard who sent the puck back to Smereck at the point for a shot that found its way in.
The Admirals had a chance to take the lead on the power play mid-way through the second period. Norfolk, however, had a hard time keeping the puck in the offensive zone, as the Icemen cleared it quickly soon after the Admirals crossed the blue line on each attacking attempt.
The third period saw excellent goaltending. Norfolk’s Merrick Madsen made an incredible pad save to keep the Icemen from taking the lead at 5:51. Soon after, Cameron Critchlow gave Jacksonville the lead during a scrum in front of the net. The tally was his 5th goal of the season with the assists going to Garet Hunt and Dajon Mingo.
The Icemen looked much more determined after Critchlow’s go-ahead goal, as their shots increased noticeably. The surge in energy paid dividends when Tyson Fawcett took a pass from Mingo and sank a quick shot into the back of the net while being dragged to the ice by two Norfolk defenders at 16:53. The secondary assist on the play went to Hunt.
The Icemen seemingly had the victory in sight until Kelly Klima sent one into the back of the net at 18:17 to bring the Admirals within one at 3-2. Jacksonville would hold off the last Norfolk push to reign victorious.
Tanner Jaillet stood tall in net for Jacksonville, turning away 21 of 23 Norfolk shots to earn the win. Merrick Madsen stopped 34 of 27 Icemen shots in the loss.
The Icemen will be back in action January 18th against the Norfolk Admirals. Game time is set for 7 p.m. EST.
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