Whale Sink Admirals 5-2 as Admirals drop 5th straight

Connecticut victorious 5-2 as Admirals ship is sank for 5^th consecutive game
Written By:  Brad Johnson

Hartford, CT -   The Admirals (7-10-0) closed out their short two-game road trip with a 5-2 loss against the Connecticut Whale (8-7-1-0).  The loss marks the fifth consecutive loss for the Admirals and their 8^th loss in their past 10 contests.  Norfolk heads home to faceoff against arch rival Hershey on Wednesday night at Scope.

Kolarik was the star for the Whale tonight scoring a Hat Trick and doubling his season scoring totals.  Kurtz and Etem were the goal scorers for Norfolk while Andersen turned aside 33 of 37 shots faced suffering the setback.  Talbot stopped 29 of 31.

The Whale came into the game tonight ranked ninth in the league with the man-advantage and quickly showcased their scoring ability.  Chad Kolarik gave his team the early lead as John Kurtz watched from the penalty box serving a minor for interference.  Kolarik would bang home his own rebound past the outstretched right pad of goaltender Frederik Andersen as Hendry was unable to clear the puck just 2:40 after the opening faceoff.

Norfolk would get a power play opportunity of their own at the midway point of the opening period; the best scoring chance coming when Corey Elkins rang a wrist shot of the post.

Connecticut outshot the Admirals 15-10 after 20:00 of play.

The second period started off quietly until the 14:15 mark when John Mitchell boarded Connecticut defenseman Matt Gilroy.  Mitchell heading towards the sin bin to serve his infraction was met by former Admiral and 2012 Calder Cup Champion Brandon Segal who took exception to the hit on his teammate.  Segal and Mitchell dropped the gloves with Segal landing several quick punches before both players fell to the ice.  The Whale would have been heading to the power play had it not been for Segal letting his fists voice his frustration, he would receive the fighting major along with an instigating minor and misconduct to nullify their power play opportunity.

John Kurtz put the Admirals on the scoreboard at 7:56 of the second period as he buried a rebound glove-side off a Chris Wagner slapshot.  The tie was brief as Kolarik scored a rebound goal of his own for his second of the night to give the Whale a 2-1 advantage at the 9:28 mark of the second period. 

Norfolk sustained some offensive pressure in the final minutes of the period and once again found iron as Smith-Pelley tipped one off the cross bar in the final two minutes of the period, however, the Admirals were unable to find the equalizer.  Shots in the second period were 11-10 in favor of the visitors.  Norfolk has now trailed after two periods of play in nine consecutive contests.

The Admirals entered the period trailing by just a goal but Connecticut wasted little time expanding their lead adding two quick lamp lighters early in the third.  Logan Pyett fired a hard slapshot that Andersen appeared to have stopped, however, the puck trickled through and Kolarik was in the right place skating behind the Admirals netminder to slide puck over the goal line just 1:04 into the period as Kolarik completed his Hat Trick.

Tommy Grant would get on the score sheet just over a minute later expanding the lead to 4-1 at 2:18. 

The Admirals would make it 4-2 when Etem deked a defender in the left circle and fired a high wrist shot behind Talbot for his fourth goal of the season at 13:26 of the third.

Connecticut closed out the scoring with an empty-net tally from Newbury.  With the Admirals netminder pulled in favor of the extra attacker and the faceoff deep in the Whale zone, Newbury gained possession in the corner and cleared the puck the length of the ice into the empty net for a 5-2 Whale victory.

With time ticking down on a fifth consecutive Admirals loss, Connecticut defenseman Blake Parlett made a careless decision to charge and hit Hampus Lindholm at the blue line with just 49 seconds remaining in the contest.  Norfolk took exception to the unnecessary infraction and the games final minute featured two simultaneous scraps.  Maroon came to the defense of Lindholm quickly dropping his gloves and landing several hard punches to Parlett.  Holland and Miller would also settle their differences by dropping the gloves before the final horn.

Power Play:

Norfolk: 0 of 3
Connecticut: 1 of 6

Talbot:  Stopped 29 of 31 Shots to earn the victory

Andersen:  Allowed 4 goals on 37 shots faced

Three Stars:
1. Kolarik
2. Hrivik
3. Talbot