Between the pipes, Isaac Poulter made his 18th appearance of the season and his eighth straight start, turning aside 31 of 34 shots to help Norfolk secure the win.
Norfolk opened the scoring early in the first period. Just two minutes later, Brady Fleurent scored his twelfth goal of the season, capping a two-on-one with a one-timer after a perfectly placed feed from Grant Hebert. The Admirals held the lead until Worcester tied the score midway through the period, when Ryan Miotto converted a faceoff win in the offensive zone to make it 1–1.
After Norfolk’s early goal, Worcester controlled much of the opening frame and kept the Admirals in their own zone for long periods. The match remained tied after 20 minutes, with the Railers outscoring Norfolk 15-3 in the first.
The second period remained tight until the Admirals found the go-ahead late. Kristof Papp put Norfolk back in the lead with his thirteenth goal of the season. He scored from the top of the crease to send the Admirals into the second break with a 2-1 lead. Norfolk had a slight edge in mid-frame shots, 11-8.
Worcester came out flying in the third period, scoring twice in the first two minutes to take their first lead of the night, 3-2. Norfolk responded with a powerful push and Chase Yoder brought the building back to life as he tied the game at three with a soft redirection forward for his ninth goal of the season.
From there the admirals took control and completed the job. The eventual match winner came with just under 14 minutes remaining when Brehdan Engum fired a shot from the blue line that found its way through traffic for his first professional goal. Norfolk remained calm throughout and Poulter turned away late chances to stop Worcester from replying.
With less than two minutes remaining, Fleurent sealed the victory with an empty-net goal – his second of the night and 13th of the season as the Admirals completed their seventh straight win.
Sentara Three stars of the game
1. NOR – B. Engum (Winning goal, 1 assist, +2)
2. NOR – G. Hebert (3 assists, +2)
3. NOR – B. Fleurent (2 goals, +3)
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