QUÉBEC, QC — Following their game one victory, Norfolk returned to the ice at Colisée Vidéotron for the second installment of their seven-game series against Trois-Rivières. Despite scoring two goals in the final 90 seconds, the Admirals' late comeback fell short 5-4 after falling behind early against the Lions.
Yaniv Perets made the start in goal for the first time in the ECHL playoffs and had a rocky performance. He finished the night with 20 saves off of 25 shots faced in the Admirals' defeat.
The Lions quickly gained a two-goal lead that began just 89 seconds into the game. Tyler Hylland scored his first playoff goal with a shot that beat Perets on the blocker side. Norfolk fought back with a strong forecheck and had several chances to score, including shots from Thomas Caron, Danny Katic, and Brandon Osmundson. However, the Lions' goaltender Zachary Émond made some impressive saves to keep them at bay.
Cedric Montminy scored his third goal of the series midway through the period with a shot from the slot that beat Perets' blocker. The Admirals incurred a penalty after the second goal due to an interference on Darick Louis-Jean but were able to withstand the Lions' man advantage and prevent any further damage. With six minutes left in the period, Carson Musser scored his second goal of the playoffs with a shot from the slot that beat the glove of Émond, cutting the deficit to one.
The score remained 2-1 after 20 minutes, following late chances from Norfolk to potentially tie it. The Admirals outshot the Lions 9-6 in the opening period.
To begin the second period, the Admirals had a power play but were unable to equalize, despite putting pressure on the goal. Following the kill, Trois-Rivières managed to increase their lead substantially. At the five-and-a-half-minute mark, Jakov Novak scored his first playoff goal for the series after grabbing the loose puck and firing it past the glove of Perets.
The opposition added another goal to their tally when Anthony Beauregard's shot squeaked past the pads of Perets, making the score 4-1 in their favor. Norfolk struggled with turnovers and inconsistency on the forecheck throughout the middle period. The Lions outshot the Admirals 11-3, but the score remained the same after 40 minutes.
The third period was the best period of hockey out of the Admirals this evening as they made a late comeback attempt. With the game still at 4-1, it was Osmundson who brought the Admirals' deficit to two goals with his shot that found the back of the net. Less than two minutes later, it was Montminy once again for his fourth goal of the series to make it 5-2 Lions.
As time ran down on the scoreboard, the Admirals' chances of a miraculous comeback were dwindling. It wasn't until the final two minutes of the game when Norfolk found the back of the net twice to make it very interesting. With less than 90 seconds in the game, Osmundson scored the third goal of the night off a deflection from Josh McDougall's shot to cut the lead to two. With 35 seconds left in the contest, Brady Fleurent made it 5-4 with his tap-in goal for his third goal of the series.
Norfolk had a chance in the final 30 seconds to equalize the game heroically but was not able to get the tying goal as Trois-Rivières held on for the victory.
The series is now tied at 1-1 through two games.
