Admirals squander fast start, fall to Worcester

Staff report

Norfolk blew a rare fast start as Worcester pumped in four unanswered goals to race past the Admirals 4-3 Wednesday at the DCU Center.

Paul Szczechura - with his team-leading ninth goal - and Wyatt Smith staked Norfolk (5-8-1-3, 14 points) to its first 2-0 lead of the season.

But ill-timed penalties again contributed to the Admirals' demise. A cross-checking infraction on Jamie Heward 15 seconds into the second period led to Mike Moore's game-tying power-play goal. In the third period, Cory Larose's tap-in put the Sharks ahead just after another Worcester power play had expired.

Heward got the Admirals to within one with 47 seconds left, but Norfolk's desperation bid for the equalizer died when Zenon Konopka was sent off for boarding with 13 seconds remaining.

The Admirals played without forward Brandon Segal, their third-leading scorer who sat out with an upper body injury.