NORFOLK, VA – The Norfolk Admirals wrapped up their three-game weekend series against the Trois-Rivières Lions on Sunday afternoon at Norfolk Scope, hoping to bounce back after Saturday night's shootout loss. However, despite a second-period power-play goal from Holden Wale, the Admirals struggled to find their footing offensively and fell to the Lions, 7-1, to close out their first homestand of the 2026-27 regular season.

Goaltender Matt Vernon returned between the pipes for Norfolk, making his second start of the season and finishing the afternoon with 19 saves on 26 shots faced. Wale scored the Admirals' lone goal, while Grant Hebert and Kristóf Papp each picked up an assist.

The opening period saw Norfolk battling through several penalties, as the Admirals found themselves shorthanded three times in the first 20 minutes. Trois-Rivières eventually broke through at the 7:16 mark when Kaleb Ergang scored his first goal of the season, giving the Lions an early 1-0 lead.

Norfolk looked to answer, but the Lions doubled their advantage at 13:59 when Nathaël Roy found the back of the net for his third goal of the season, extending the lead to 2-0.

Despite generating a handful of opportunities, the Admirals couldn't find a way past Trois-Rivières goaltender Hunter Jones. The Lions carried their two-goal lead into the first intermission, outshooting Norfolk 9-7.

The Admirals came out with a response early in the second period. At the 3:21 mark, Wale capitalized on a power-play opportunity, scoring his first goal of the season to cut the deficit to 2-1. Hebert and Papp earned assists on the play, giving Norfolk some much-needed momentum.

However, that momentum would be short-lived.

At 8:30, Isaac Dufort restored Trois-Rivières' two-goal advantage with his third goal of the season. Less than two minutes later, Brooklyn Kalmikov added another at 10:09, putting the Lions ahead 4-1 midway through the period.

Norfolk continued battling to get back into the contest, but the Lions did a good job of limiting the Admirals' opportunities. With 40 minutes in the books, Trois-Rivières held a 4-1 advantage and had outshot Norfolk 19-14.

Entering the third period, the Admirals faced a three-goal deficit and needed an offensive spark to get themselves back into the game.

Unfortunately for Norfolk, the Lions continued to add to their lead.

At 8:14, Anthony Beauregard scored his first goal of the afternoon to make it 5-1. Penalty trouble continued to affect the Admirals in the final period, and Trois-Rivières capitalized once again when Beauregard scored his second of the game on the power play at 11:13, extending the lead to 6-1.

The Lions added one final tally at 15:10 when Jake Gravelle scored his first goal of the season, putting the finishing touches on a 7-1 victory.

Norfolk managed to outshoot Trois-Rivières 9-7 in the final period but couldn't solve Jones, who finished the afternoon with 22 saves.

The Admirals finished the game with 23 shots on goal compared to the Lions' 26. Norfolk went 1-for-5 on the power play and successfully killed off six of its seven penalties.

With the loss, the Admirals conclude their opening homestand with one point from three games and now hold a 2-3-1 record through their first six games of the 2026-27 season.

THREE STARS OF THE GAME

TR – Anthony Beauregard (2 Goals, 1 Assist)

TR – Brooklyn Kalmikov (1 Goal, 2 Assists)

TR – Jake Gravelle (1 Goal, 2 Assists)

NEXT UP

The Admirals will look to get back on track as they prepare for another three-game series, this time against division rival Greensboro Gargoyles. Norfolk will host Greensboro on Friday, October 30, and Saturday, October 31, at Norfolk Scope, with puck drop scheduled for 7:05 p.m. both nights. The series concludes Sunday afternoon in Greensboro at 3 p.m.