Crunch Defeat Admirals 4-2
By Ted Warren
The Syracuse Crunch got the better end of the stick Friday night downing the Norfolk Admirals 4-2. The loss for Norfolk was only its third regulation loss in December. Norfolk’s record now reads 13-14-1.
Mark Barberio notched his 6th goal of the campaign midway through the first period as he blasted a one-time shot from the point that beat Admirals goaltender Igor Bobkov on the power play that gave Syracuse a 1-0 lead.
The one-time shot paid dividends for Harvard grad Alex Killorn as he too ripped a one-timer past Bobkov minutes later on the power play that gave the Crunch a commanding two-goal lead. Killorn’s marker was his 11th goal of the season.
The Admirals sunk into the two-goal lead as Kyle Palmieri netted his 10th goal of the campaign getting the better of Crunch goalie Dustin Tokarski on a breakaway when Palmieri slid his shot around Tokarski’s right leg.
Ondrej Palat scored on a rebound shot that restored the Crunch’s two-goal lead at the 5:00 mark of the third period. The Admirals however didn’t go down without a fight as rookie defenseman Sami Vatanen netted his fourth goal of the year which pulled Norfolk within one goal.
Second year pro Tyler Johnson scored the 4th and final goal for the Crunch on the power play that eluded Bobkov and paved the way for the Crunch’s 19th win of the season. Norfolk was 0 for 2 on the power play while Jon Cooper and company scored on 3 out of 4 chances.
No rest for the weary though, Norfolk plays in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton tonight at 7:05 pm and Sunday they wrap up their 3 in 3 game set against the Springfield Falcons in Springfield, Massachusetts before returning to Scope to take on the Syracuse Crunch in a weekend series the 4th and the 5th of January.
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