Admirals Fall To Idaho On Kanzig's Late Minute Goal

Written by Kristopher Clark

NORFOLK, VA  --  The Norfolk Admirals were looking to rebound off after a 2-0 loss Wednesday Night against the Idaho Steelheads. Brandon Halverson was strong in the game, but 42 saves weren’t enough as Idaho found the twine with just under five minutes remaining in the third period and added a late empty net goal, as they won by a 4-2 final score.For Friday’s contest, rookie goaltender Roman Durny got the start between the pipes for the Admirals on Saturday. It would be his first start since November 26 against Orlando.The Admirals jumped out front first with a goal from Phil Hudon. Alex Jaeckle knocked a puck down on an attempted shot, found Sam Povorozniouk on an outlet pass and slid the puck to Hudon in the right circle. He was able to bury the puck over the glove of Colton Point to give the Admirals a 1-0 lead.Idaho answered the Norfolk tally three minutes later on a goal from Max Coatta. The Admirals has an attempted breakout pass intercepted in their own zone, which led to the Steelheads gaining control of the puck. AJ White skated into the left circle and played the puck across into the ice for Marc Roy. He dropped the puck to Coatta in the slot who wristed a shot past Durny to tie the game at one.The Admirals took the lead just 22 seconds later on a goal from Zach Phillips, his third in four games. Povorozniouk played a pass into the middle of the ice for Shawn McBride who found Phillips in the right circle who deked around Sholl and potted the puck into the net to make the score 2-1.The score would remain 2-1 until Coatta would score once agin to tie the game at two. White dumped the puck into the Norfolk zone which which was deflected along the wall by Mitch Moroz. Coatta gathered the loose puck behind the net and out muscled McBride and banked the puck off the right post and into the net to tie the game at two.The score was knotted at two and it looked like the game was headed to overtime. But a turnover in the neutral zone by Norfolk led to a shot and face-off to the left of Durny. The Admirals were tied up on the draw, but Keegan Kanzig picked up the puck and unleashed a slapshot that beat Durny to the blocker side and gave the Steelheads a 3-2 lead with only 14 seconds remaining in the period.Idaho won the face-off and ran the remaining time off the clock and took the game by a 3-2 count. Point made 22 saves on 24 and claims his fifth win of the season, while Durny looked tremendous, as he made 39 saves on 42 shots suffers his fourth loss of the season.