TROIS-RIVIvières, Quebec (WAVY) — A late rally fell just short for the Norfolk Admirals as they dropped Game 2 of the ECHL North Division semifinals with Trois-Rivières, 5-4 before 3,116 at the Colisée Vidéotron.
The loss levels the series at 1-1 going into Saturday’s Game 3. Faceoff is at 7 p.m.
The Admirals had trailed 5-2 with less than two minutes remaining in the third period when they scored a pair in 90 seconds to make the game interesting.
Chesapeake native Brandon Osmundson scored his second goal of the third period off a deflection from Josh McDougall’s shot, and then with 35 seconds left, Brady Fleurent’s tap-in goal cut the Lions’ lead to one. Trois-Rivières held on in the last 30 seconds for the win.
After goaltender Oskari Salminen was called up to AHL affiliate Manitoba, the Admirals started Yaniv Perets, who had a shaky outing in making 20 saves of 25 shots faced.
The Lions scored just 89 seconds into the game, and the Admirals were down 2-0 before getting on the scoresheet later in the period on a goal from C. Musser. Trois-Rivières scored twice more in the second period to extend its lead to 4-1.
Osmundson got a goal back at 9:42 in the third period, but less than two minutes later, the Lions restored their three-goal advantage on Cedric Montminy’s second goal of the game, his second two-goal game of the series.
The Admirals got two goals back, but their comeback ran out of time.
Note: The Admirals signed goaltender Logan Neaton to an amateur tryout contract and joined the team in Canada ahead of the Game 2 matchup. … As a result of Friday’s loss, the Admirals are guaranteed at least two games at Scope Arena in the division semifinal series, with Game 4 scheduled for 7:05 p.m., Wednesday, April 24, and Game 5 set for 7:05 p.m. Saturday, April 27. If necessary, Games 6 and 7 would also be played at Scope Arena. Game 6 would be at 7:05 p.m., Sunday, April 28, and Game 7 would be at 7:05 p.m., Wednesday, May 1.