Friday night, the Savannah Ghost Pirates played their season-opening game for their second season against the Norfolk Admirals. The Norfolk team is one the Ghost Pirates have never played against before. However, we acquired Michael Bullion and Elijah Vilio from the Admirals, giving us a bit of an understanding of their skill and playing styles.
There were many new changes to the game in terms of graphic effects for the newest established team, with one of these being the video intro. A lot of the elements were still similar, but the whole aspect of it was new and improved. The same goes for the video intro for the third period, which was mainly just a change in music. The team was announced and welcomed on the ice as they were introduced one-by-one before puck drop.
Neither team scored in the first period, showing a fierce defensive effort on both sides of the ice. Shots on goal were in favor of Norfolk 9-3. There was a lot of physicality throughout the whole game, starting off pretty rough in the first period.
The Ghost Pirates initiated the goal-scoring in the game just 33 seconds into the second period with an amazing goal from Vincent Marleau with the help of Brandon Estes. The score remained unchanged for the rest of the second period but finished with 10 total Norfolk shots to 8 from Savannah.
While there were some more scrambles here and there in the middle period, as well as some offensive power from Savannah, the third period got even more anxiety-inducing. Just as Sebastian Vidmar scored his first goal wearing Ghost Pirate green on assists from Robbie Fromm-Delorme, the Admirals struck back with two goals just about 30 seconds apart. The game went into an uneventful overtime period, then into a shootout. Brent Pederson and Alex Swetlikoff ended up being the only two shooters needed from Savannah, given that Norfolk’s two shooters missed their one-on-one shots.
The Ghost Pirates reigned victorious 3-2 in a shootout, leaving the ice with 23 shots to Norfolk’s 33. They fought hard and played tough, showing the other team no mercy. Friday night’s game shows promise for this season for the still young and fresh team.
The Savannah Ghost Pirates will play at home again next Sunday for an early game against the Swamp Rabbits.
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