NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk Admirals saw their nine-game point streak (7-0-1-1) end on Saturday night with a 5-1 loss to the Hartford Wolf Pack.
Next up for the third-place Admirals is an important East Division matchup on Wednesday night against the sixth-place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at Scope. The Penguins trail Norfolk by only four points in the standings.
The Admirals took a 1-0 lead 3:17 into the game. Juraj Simek knocked the puck off a Hartford defender’s stick near the left half wall. The puck wound up on the blade of Justin Keller at the edge of the left circle bordering the slot, and Keller fired a wrist shot past the glove of Wolf Pack goaltender Matt Zaba for his ninth goal of the season.
Norfolk’s lead was short-lived, as Hartford knotted the score at 1-1 just 37 seconds later. Corey Potter sent a feed from the left circle to Derek Couture in the slot. Couture redirected the puck past the outstretched right leg of Admirals netminder Dustin Tokarski.
The Wolf Pack took a 2-1 lead with 1:28 left in the first period on a fast-developing play. Justin Soryal entered the Norfolk zone at the right point and sent a pass to Andres Ambuhl in the high slot. Ambuhl deked from forehand to backhand in the slot before sending a feed toward the net. Soryal redirected the pass at the top of the crease past the right leg of Tokarski.
Hartford doubled its lead 5:03 into the second stanza. The Admirals attempted a breakout pass from their own zone that was intercepted by Nigel Williams at the left point. Williams fired a shot from the left faceoff circle. Couture scored his second goal of the night off a forehand redirection past the left leg of Tokarski.
The Wolf Pack went up 4-1 nearly seven minutes later. Corey Locke sent a pass from the right half wall to the right point for a high one-timer by Corey Potter. The shot was redirected down and into the net by Dane Byers in the low slot at 11:43.
Hartford tacked on a fifth goal 5:18 into the final frame. Locke looped a shot high into the air from the right point and Kenny Roche deflected the shot down from the slot. The puck bounced off the ice and hopped over the right arm of Tokarski for a final score of 5-1.
