Norfolk, VA — After taking two of three last weekend, the Norfolk Admirals were back inside a lively Norfolk Scope for the first of two games against the Savannah Ghost Pirates. With the building packed and the team debuting their newly revamped Military Appreciation camouflage jerseys, Norfolk came up short on Friday night, falling 5–2.
Alex Worthington made his fifth start of the season and battled hard between the pipes, finishing with 27 saves on 31 shots.
Savannah set the tone early with two goals in the opening period. Nicholas Zabaneh got them on the board midway through the first, tapping in a loose puck after Worthington’s initial stop. A few minutes later, Liam Walsh took advantage of a turnover in the Admirals’ zone to make it 2–0. Worthington kept the score from getting worse, but Norfolk couldn’t find much offense early and trailed 2–0 after one.
The second period didn’t start any easier. Robert Mastrosimone ripped a shot over Worthington’s shoulder off an offensive-zone faceoff to push Savannah’s lead to three. Shortly after, Logan Drevitch buried another loose puck to make it 4–0. Norfolk finally broke through late in the frame when Kristóf Papp scored on a strange bounce from behind the net, giving the crowd something to cheer about. Even with the Admirals outshooting Savannah 25–10 in the period, they still trailed 4–1 going into the third.
Norfolk kept pushing in the final twenty minutes. Jaydon Dureau cut the deficit to 4–2 with a clean back-door finish from Jack O’Leary, giving the Admirals life down the stretch. But Savannah’s defensive effort held up the rest of the way, allowing them to leave with the Friday night win.
Sentara Three Stars of the Game
1. SAV - M. Simpson (37 saves off of 39 shots faced)
2. SAV - L. Drevitch (1 goal, 1 assist)
3. NOR - J. Dureau (1 goal, 1 assist)
Next Up
The Admirals and Ghost Pirates square off once again tomorrow night inside Norfolk Scope with puck drop slated for 7:05 P.M.
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