For the final time this weekend inside Norfolk Scope, the Norfolk Admirals and Trois-Rivieres Lions went to battle. The weekend series was split at one, with the Admirals taking game one 5-2 and the Lions taking game two 3-0. A brutal third period collapse by the Admirals saw their 3-1 lead fade away into a 4-3 loss in 20 minutes as the Lions took game three of the weekend.
In an occasion that seems rare with these three in three games, the Lions turned back to Luke Cavallin. He turned away 19 shots in the game. The Admirals, after resting in last night’s contest, turned back to Domenic DiVincentiis. He turned away 22 of the 26 shots he faced in the loss.
Norfolk Admirals vs. Trois-Rivieres Lions Game Recap
Scoring goals never comes easy when you are looking for the pretty ones. A greasy play will find the back of the net more times than not, and Brandon Osmundson opened the scoring that way. Getting a bounce off the end boards, he turned to swat the puck with his backhand, which beat Cavallin low along the post. With just 1:20 to go in the first period, the Lions tied the game on a power-play goal by Logan Nijhoff. Nothing more would happen as both teams went into the locker room knotted at one. Trois-Rivieres led 9-7 in shots.
An early power play in the second period saw Brady Fleurent capitalize with another greasy goal to make it 2-1 just 3:31 into the middle frame. With just under a minute to go, the Admirals tallied another power-play goal on a five-minute major assessed to Xavier Cormier. Filip Fornaa Svensson drove hard to the net, put a shot on goal, and got his own rebound, which went off a Lions’ skate and into the back of the net. The Admirals took a 3-1 lead into the locker room. They held an 18-16 shot advantage through 40 minutes.
With 5:50 gone by in the third period, the Admirals were on the bad side of a lucky bounce. Tommy Cormier’s shot was deflected off an Admirals’ stick, went over DiVincentiis, hit the crossbar, and lay in the blue paint for Metis Roelens to bang home and make it 3-2. The Lions would get away with a penalty in their own zone, which allowed them to transition the other way for Roelens to tie the game at three. With just 1:47 to go, a defensive breakdown allowed the Lions a 2-on-0, with Isaac Dufort burying the go-ahead goal. Time ran out on the Admirals as they fell by a 4-3 final, blowing a two-goal lead in a 13-minute span.
Both teams will have a few days off to rest and get back to work in practice before meeting again on Friday night in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec.
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