RECAP | Admirals Sail Into 2025 With Dominant Win Over Greenville

Greenville, SC - After their decisive victory on Sunday, the Norfolk Admirals concluded their four-game road trip with a New Year's Eve matchup against the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. Despite conceding two early goals, the Admirals responded with a remarkable performance, scoring eight goals and securing an impressive 8-3 victory to conclude the year 2024 on a winning note.

Dom DiVincentiis made his 13th appearance as the goaltender and displayed a great performance with his 36 saves made off of 39 shots faced in the Admirals' win.

The game commenced with the first goal being scored merely 70 seconds into play. A turnover by L.A. Grissom enabled Tyson Fawcett to secure a straightforward scoring opportunity in front of the net, allowing the Swamp Rabbits to establish an early lead of 1-0. With eight minutes remaining in the first period, Arvid Caderoth extended Greenville's advantage with a power play goal, raising the score to 2-0 in their favor.

The Admirals dominated the rest of the way.

The score remained unchanged until the final three minutes of the period when the Admirals responded with their initial goal of the evening. Josh McDougall netted his third goal of the season with a shot from the front, placing the puck top shelf and reducing the deficit to 2-1. DiVincentiis successfully recorded 16 saves on 18 shots during the first 20 minutes, while Norfolk contributed 12 shots of their own, leaving the score at 2-1 as the teams headed into intermission.

Norfolk quickly demonstrated their prowess at the beginning of the second period, scoring twice within a short span and gaining their first lead of the contest. Sean Montgomery commenced the scoring for the period, netting his sixth goal of the season just two minutes in, equalizing the game at 2-2. Almost three minutes later, Pavel Padakin capitalized on a turnover by the Swamp Rabbits, securing his seventh goal of the year and granting the Admirals a 3-2 lead.

With seven minutes remaining in the period, Montgomery recorded his second goal of the evening and seventh of the season with a well-executed one-timer shot from the slot, increasing the score to 4-2 in favor of the Admirals. This scoring streak, culminating in four unanswered goals, established a two-goal lead for Norfolk. The period concluded with Norfolk demonstrating dominance, outshooting Greenville 16-8.

At the twenty-second mark of the third period, Filip Fornåå Svensson capitalized on a rebound from an initial shot taken by Ryan Chyzowski, thereby securing his seventh goal of the season and increasing Norfolk's lead to 5-2. The Admirals continued to exhibit offensive prowess by adding two additional goals later in the period. Denis Smirnov contributed his 11th goal of the season, further extending the lead to 6-2. Justin Young also joined the scoring effort, netting his fifth goal of the year on a power play, which brought the score to 7-2 in favor of Norfolk.

The Swamp Rabbits managed to score five minutes before the conclusion of the match, with Austin Saint finding the net to decrease the deficit to 7-3. However, Fornåå Svensson responded by adding another goal to the Admirals' tally, with just ninety seconds remaining in the game, securing another power-play goal and concluding the scoring at 8-3 in favor of Norfolk.

Norfolk goes back to second place in the North Division with 41 points going into 2025.

Sentara Health Three Stars of the Game

What’s Next

The Admirals will return to Norfolk Scope for an important weekend series, hosting the Wheeling Nailers, who currently hold first place in the North Division. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. on Friday evening, which will be Teachers and Educators Night.