Norfolk, VA - In front of their largest crowd of the season, the Norfolk Admirals did not disappoint. After falling to the Jacksonville Icemen on Friday, the Admirals returned the favor and scored a 4-1 victory themselves behind two goals from Stepan Timofeyev.
Yaniv Perests made his ninth appearance of the year and had a stellar performance with 22 saves made off of 23 shots.
In the opening period, it was the Admirals who struck first as Keegan Iverson wristed his shot past Matt Vernon to make it 1-0. Perets was a vital part of the Admirals as he made some big saves to keep the Admirals ahead. The lone goal from Iverson was the only score in the period.
Coming out of the break, the pace of play slowed down as teams weren't able to maintain possession on each end of the ice, but as the Admirals have struggled in the middle frame this season, that was not the case on Saturday. In the final seconds of the period, Justin Robidas netted his sixth goal of the year off the faceoff where his power-play goal made it 2-0 going into the final 20 minutes.
The Icemen vamped up their pressure early on in the third period looking to get back in the game. Just two minutes into play, Jacksonville got on the board to cut into the Admiral's two-goal advantage as Matt Iacoppeli got the puck past Perets. With it being a one-goal game, that did not phase Norfolk the rest of the way.
Timofeyev scored the last two goals for the Admirals, increasing their lead from 2-1 to 4-1, leading to a significant bounce-back victory and avoiding a sweep during the weekend. With this win, the Admirals now have a record of 11-7-1-1 (24 points) for the season, which is their best start since the 2010-2011 season.
Sentara Health Three Stars of the Game
1. NOR - S. Timofeyev (2 goals, 1 assist, +2)
2. NOR - J. Robidas (1 goal)
3. NOR - Y. Perets (22 saves off of 23 shots)
What’s Next
The Norfolk Admirals will travel to the great white north for a three-game series against the first-place Trois-Rivières Lions. Game one will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 13 with puck drop slated for 7 p.m.
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