Game Day: Home Stand Ends with Monday Matinee

Game #53

Admirals (20-26-5-1) vs. Icemen (18-28-3-3)

Scope Arena

2:00 pm

Last Time Out:

TJ Melancon scored in the last five minutes of regulation to break a 3-3 tie, giving the Admirals their fourth straight victory over the Swamp Rabbits and fifth place in the South Division.

Christian Horn opened the scoring midway through the first period, chipping a rebound past Ty Rimmer in the Greenville net. Horn’s ninth of the season was the only goal of the first period. In the second TJ Melancon netted his first of the night on the power play as Norfolk took a 2-0 lead just 0:34 into the first. Greenville would sandwich a pair of goals around Grant Besse’s 22nd of the season, staying within one goal of the Admirals heading into the second intermission.

In the third the Swamp Rabbits were able to knot the game up with just under eight minutes remaining in regulation. The deadlock wouldn’t last long however, as the Admirals would retake the lead less than four minutes later. TJ Melancon, cutting in front of the net, put a back hand past Rimmer, for the winning tally. Melancon (2g, 1a) was one of three Admirals to finish the night with multiple points. Brodie Dupont celebrated his 31st birthday picking up three assists, while Grant Besse notched four points (1g, 3a). Jamie Murray, recording his second straight victory, made 36 saves on 39 shots.

Head-to-Head:

The visiting team has controlled the season series so far between the Admirals and Icemen. Jacksonville leads the series having won three of the first five games. Every game had gone into either overtime or a shootout before the Icemen topped Norfolk 5-2 on Wednesday night.

Norfolk’s Brodie Dupont leads the series with 11 points (2g, 9a) in the five games. Darik Angeli ranks second among all skaters having notched nine points (5g, 4a). Jacksonville has been led by forward Jimmy Lodge who has scored four times and added three assists in the five game set. Elgin Pearce ranks second among all Icemen with six points (4g, 2a).

Scouting the Icemen:

Heading into the Monday game the Icemen find themselves four points back from the Admirals in the South Division standings. Jacksonville comes to the Scope after dropping their last game on Friday night in Charleston against the Stingrays.

Rookie Elgin Pearce leads the way offensively for the Icemen with 39 points (15g, 24a) in 47 games this season. Fellow rookies Jimmy Lodge (32 pts) and Cameron Critchlow (27 pts) round out the top scoring leaders for the Icemen.

Goaltender Colton Phinney, who has appeared in 19 games, has posted a record of 4-8-1-2 paired with a 3.17 goals against average and a .888 save percentage during his inaugural pro campaign.

Moving On Up:

Back-to-back victories over the weekend gave the Admirals sole possession of fifth place in the South Division. Norfolk, two points clear of sixth place Greenville, is currently six points behind Orlando with one game in hand. The Solar Bears currently hold the fourth and final playoff spot in the South Division. In addition, third place Atlanta is currently only nine points clear of the Admirals, having place three more games than Norfolk.

Happy Birthday Cap:

Admirals captain Brodie Dupont celebrated his 31st birthday on Saturday night netting a trio of assists for the Admirals. Dupont, in his 11th professional season, is currently tied for third in the ECHL in scoring with 56 points (19g, 37a). The captain leads the Admirals and has six more points than linemate Grant Besse, who’s currently second on the team in points. Besse is currently second among all rookies, trailing Cincinnati’s Justin Danforth by nine points.