Phantoms Dash Past Admirals

The Norfolk Admirals continued their playoff push Tuesday night at home against the Adirondack Phantoms. Norfolk head coach Trent Yawney elected to start 22-year-old Frederik Andersen in net and Adirondack bench boss Terry Murray countered with 36-year old Brian Boucher.

Erik Gustafasson scored the game’s first tally midway through the first. Gustafsson skated in on Andersen and buried his shot beating him stick side. As the buzzer sounded to end the first period, the Phantoms overruled the Admirals in shots 12 to 6.

Adirondack stretched their lead by two early in the second period when 22-year-old Tye McGinn broke away from the play tickling the twine on Andersen’s glove side. Minutes later Adirondack defenseman Danny Syvert shot a blue line bomb that deflected off the post and into the net stretching the Phantoms lead to three goals. Syvert’s tally was scored on the power play.  The Phantoms repeated what they did in the first outshooting the home team 23 to 17.

Norfolk’s Devante Smith-Pelly scored Norfolk’s first goal of the game at the midway mark of the third period. While on the power play Smith-Pelly was in a scramble for the puck in front of the Phantom’s crease. The second year pro found the puck and managed to poke a shot that slipped through Boucher’s five hole; however; Smith-Pelly’s goal was the lone Admiral score of the night.

Norfolk was one for four on the P.P. while Adirondack was one for six. Tye McGinn scored an empty net goal with 14.7 seconds left in the game to seal their four to one victory. Frederik Andersen suffered his thirteenth loss of the season while Boucher picked up his fourth win of the 2012-2013 campaign.

The Admirals looks to redeem itself and push towards the playoffs Wednesday night as the same two Eastern Division foes duke it out in downtown Norfolk. The puck drops at 7:15.

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