The Jacksonville Icemen picked up their third win in a row with a 4-1 victory over the Norfolk Admirals. The two points move the Icemen into fifth place in the South Division and just five points back of the Atlanta Gladiators for a playoff berth.
Both teams started this afternoon's game with little rest and tired legs, but that didn't stop the offenses from piling up shots on goal in the first period. Each team traded quality scoring chances, before Tanner Eberle scored late in the period. Brendan Collier skated into the offensive zone, stopped and then fired a shot on goalie Ty Reichenbach. Eberle was wide open in the slot and pounced on the rebound before beating Reichenbach at 14:50 in the period. The Icemen penalty kill came up big late in the frame to keep the lead after 20 minutes.
In the second period, the Icemen would not take their foot off the gas pedal. At 13:50 in the middle frame, Jimmy Lodge took the puck behind the net and then dished the puck to Eli Lichtenwald, who connected for the second straight game. Lodge's assist extends his point streak to four games and the forward now has points in six straight away games. Austin Lotz stopped all six Norfolk shots and the Icemen skated into the third period with a 2-0 lead.
Minutes into the third period, Elgin Pearce skated from the defensive zone to the offensive zone and then made a centering attempt that was put in the net by an Admirals player for the 3-0 Icemen lead. Austin Lotz's bid for his third shutout of the 2017-18 season, presented by Community First Credit Union, was ended when Max Cook deflected Alex Pompeo's slapshot to get Norfolk on the board. With under a minute to play, Matt Ustaski put the game away with an empty-net goal and the Icemen earned their third victory in a row.
The Icemen have four days off before beginning a back-to-back series against the Greenville Swamp Rabbits on Friday, March 23 at 7:00 p.m. Don't miss out when the Icemen return home for their next game at Veterans Memorial Arena against the South Carolina Stingrays on Friday, March 30 at 7:30 p.m. Click here to secure your tickets today!
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