Written by Jake WheelerNORFOLK, VA- The Jacksonville Icemen fell to the Norfolk Admirals 4-2 at the Norfolk Scope on Wednesday as Noah Corson picked up two goals for the Admirals. The Icemen received tallies from Travis Howe and Pavel Vorobei in the contest.
The Icemen were able to kill off an early penalty and moments after Travis Howe had a quick shot, he picked the puck back up and skated behind the net for a wraparound goal to give the Icemen the first lead of the game.
The Admirals utilized an Icemen turnover to even up the score as Blake Murray scored  on a shot from the right dot to tie the game at one goal apiece.
The Icemen got into a little bit of penalty trouble as Ian McKinnon and Craig Martin were both assessed minor penalties on the same play which resulted in a 5-on-3 for Norfolk for a full two minutes. While on the powerplay, the Admirals scored as Noah Corson tipped and redirected a cross-crease pass from Alex Tonge on the right wing to take their first lead of the game. Norfolk eventually took the 2-1 edge into the second break.
A few minutes into the third period, the Admirals scored again as Greg Betzold crashed toward the net and tipped and redirected a Kyle Rhodes shot from the point to steer the puck past Icemen goaltender Charles Williams to give Norfolk the 3-1 cushion.
Nealry halfway through the period, the Icemen went back on the powerplay, and they were able to capitalize to pull within one. Â Pavel Vorobei scored on a one-timer off of a pass from James Sanchez to give the Icemen second life.
The remainder of the period featured fast paced, back-and-forth hockey as Jacksonville tried to score the equalizer, but Norfolk netminder Dylan Wells made several quality saves to keep Jacksonville off the board.Â
The Icemen eventually pull the goaltender to allow for the extra skater on the ice, but it would lead to an empty-net goal for Norfolk’s Noah Corson that sealed the 4-2 victory.
The Icemen play again on Friday, April 1st at 7:30 pm against the Norfolk Admirals.