Ross Scores In Debut As Stingrays Defeat The Ads, 4-1

NORFOLK, VA  --  The Norfolk Admirals were looking to end their three-game losing skid headed into Friday Night’s game against the South Carolina Stingrays. Brandon Halverson was sent down from the AHL last week and Rod Taylor elected for Halverson to man the pipes against the first-place Stingrays..It was South Carolina who opened the scoring thanks to a goal from Cam Askew. The Admirals were unable to clear the puck out of their own defensive zone, which allowed Mitch Vanderlaan to gain control of the puck below the Norfolk goal line and fire a pass out front that was redirected in front by Askew.The score would remain 1-0 until Taylor Ross netted his first as an Admiral just 38 seconds into the second period. JC Campagna started a rush up the ice and played a centering pass into the slot where the puck ricocheted off the stick of Josh Holmstrom.  It went onto the tape of Ross’s stick, who was able to roof a shot over the shoulder of Logan Thompson.South Carolina regained control of the lead just over halfway through the second period on a goal from Max Novak. The Stingrays were on the power-play as Andrew Cherniwchan played the puck to Novak at the center point for a shot that was initially saved by Halverson but deflected past him off the pads to give the Stingrays a 2-1 lead.South Carolina extended their lead only four minutes later on a goal from Tommy Hughes. Tim Harrison skated into the Norfolk zone on the left side, protected the puck on his forehand, skated into the right circle and fired a pass back to Hughes. His shot hit off the pads of Halverson and into the net to extend the lead to 3-1.Mark Cooper added an empty net goal to make the score 4-1.The Admirals would fire a flurry of shots towards Thompson but couldn’t cash in, as he turned aside 29 of 30 shots to pick up his 17th win of the season.

Written by Kristopher Clark