Norfolk, VA. – Two late second period goals helped the Wings sneak past the Admirals 3-2 on Friday night at the Scope.
Rookie TJ Moore scored his third goal of the season in the second period, giving the forward points in each of the last three games. Jordan Haskell made his professional debut, recording two shots on goal.
Kalamazoo got on the board early in the first period. Brendan Bradley tipped a puck towards the net before Jimmy Mullin caught Jamie Murray at the far post and slapped the rebound home to give the Wings the early lead. Late in the first period the Admirals went on the offensive and tied things up. Max Cook sprinted towards the Kalamazoo cage and redirected a feed from Darik Angeli into the top corner of the cage with 1:17 left in the opening frame. Norfolk and Kalamazoo headed into the break knotted at 1-1.
Norfolk took a lead early in the second period. Taking their first power play of the night, Patrick D’Amico threw the puck towards the front of the net finding rookie TJ Moore on the back door. Moore quickly sent the puck to the back of the net, giving the Admirals a 2-1 lead, 5:19 into the second. Late in the second period Kalamazoo struck twice in a span of 2:34 to retake the lead. Tyler Heinonen walked off the top of the right circle and wristed a shot through traffic that snuck past Murray to tie the game. Just over a minute left in the period the Wings took the lead for good. Jimmy Mullin took the initial shot of what turned into a loose puck bouncing around in front of the net. In front of the net Josh Pitt corralled a rebound and snuck a shot between the arm of Murray and the post. Pitt’s 31st of the season gave the Wings the 3-2 lead after the second period.
Norfolk outshot the Wings 17-7 in the third, but was unable to sneak another puck past Joel Martin. Kalamazoo claimed the first game of the two-game weekend, topping the Admirals 3-2.
Jamie Murray stopped 27 of 30 shots in the loss, while Joel Martin stopped 32 of 34 in the win.
Norfolk and Kalamazoo are back in action on Saturday night at the Scope.
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