Admirals Defeat Stingrays Behind Halverson’s Strong Performance

Norfolk, VA- Brandon Halverson made 45 saves on 47 shots as the Norfolk Admirals topped the South Carolina Stingrays Wednesday night at Scope Arena. Philippe Hudon added two goals and an assist in the win. Alex Rodriguez had a goal and an assist, while Casey Bailey scored twice for the Stingrays. 

The Admirals scored the first goal in four straight games. But tonight, Bailey got the scoring started for South Carolina.. Tommy Hughes dumped the puck into the Norfolk zone along the left-wall, where Mark Cooper fed a pass to Bailey in front of the net who put the puck over the pad of Brandon Halverson to give Stingrays a 1-0 lead. 

Norfolk tied the game with a tally from Philippe Hudon. Brandon Rumble shot the puck from the right point which was deflected past the glove of Logan Thompson to tie the game at one.

The Admirals took the lead on a goal from Alex Rodriguez as Ben Holmstrom cycled the puck around the boards for Alex Jaeckle at the right point. Jaeckle fired a shot towards the net that was redirected off the stick of Rodriguez to give Norfolk a 2-1 lead at 15:22 of the second period. 

Norfolk extended their lead to two goals with a 5-on-3 goal from Johnny Coughlin. Coughlin played pitch-and-catch with J.C. Campagna at the circles, then Campagna fired a pass across the ice where Coughlin one-timed a shot over the glove of Thompson to extend the Norfolk lead to 3-1. 

The Admirals added another power-play goal just moments later as Hudon’s attempted shot towards the Stingrays net took a deflection in the slot. The puck found the stick of John Gustafsson right outside the crease where he slid the puck past the blocker of Thompson to make it 4-1. 

South Carolina cut into the Norfolk lead with a strike from Bailey for his second goal on the night. Bailey got the puck in the slot from Matthew Weis, then Bailey shot the puck over the glove of Halverson off the post which made the score 4-2.

Hudon added a late power-play goal on an empty netter and the Admirals pulled out a 5-2 win. Logan Thompson made 19 saves on 23 shots and takes the setback for South Carolina. Brandon Halverson improves his record to 2-2 on the year. The Admirals now move to 2-3 on the season.

The Admirals are back in action at Scope Arena on Friday, October 25 for game two of the three-game series with South Carolina. It’s #VBStrong Night at the arena, with tickets still on sale at the Scope Box office.