5-goal first period, 5-1 lead not enough as Admirals fall in OT

NORFOLK

It may go down as the night the playoff push died.

If the Norfolk Admirals fail in their increasingly longshot bid to reach the postseason, they will no doubt remember the consecutive nights against the Worcester Sharks in which they couldn’t close the deal.

On Friday, the Admirals blew a 2-0 lead in a 3-2 shootout loss. And on Saturday, the fourth-largest crowd in the franchise’s AHL history watched in disbelief as the Admirals blew a 5-1 advantage and fell in overtime 6-5 on Pink at the Rink Night at Scope.

At least they got the color right this time. A year ago, the inaugural breast-cancer awareness game was played on dark-hued ice that was a visual delight but caused the players to lose their bearings.

This time, the game played out on a cotton candy-colored surface through which all lines and circles were clearly visible.

A boisterous throng of 7,595 turned out, and for one period, the Admirals treated them to a spectacular show.

After Worcester’s Patrick Traverse opened the scoring 34 seconds in, the Admirals responded with a franchise record-tying five goals the rest of the frame. Bracken Kearns scored for the fourth straight game, Blair Jones added a pair and Chris Gratton and Chris Lawrence chipped in single markers for the Admirals, who skated off to a standing ovation.

Indications that the Sharks would not just pack it in came quickly, though. Ryan Armstrong made it a three-goal game just 16 seconds into the second period. The Sharks would go on to dominate the middle frame, outshooting the Admirals 17-6 and adding shorthanded and power-play goals to roar into the second intermission trailing by just one.

The Sharks completed their comeback at 8:36 of the third period when a Jason Demers’ centering pass ricocheted off Mike Lundin’s skate past Admirals goalie Karri Ramo.

Finally, at 3:04 of the extra period Sharks all-star Ryan Vesce punched a rebound past a prone Ramo for the game-winner.

The Sharks finished with a 44-37 shot advantage. The Admirals also hurt themselves by going 0 for 5 on their suddenly slumping power play. In addition, Brandon Segal was denied on a third-period penalty shot that could have given Norfolk a two-goal lead.

Standings-wise, the loss isn’t devastating as Norfolk (16-19-2-5, 38 points) picked up a point for a tie in regulation.

The emotional toll of the defeat may be a different story. The Admirals talked about needing to win at least 7 of 9 on their homestand. Five games in, they’ve lost three.