NORFOLK, Va. – Ondrej Palat scored with 5:21 remaining in regulation time, helping the Norfolk Admirals earn their 10th consecutive win with a 2-1 victory over the HERSHEY BEARS on Wednesday night at Norfolk Scope.
The two teams battled through a scoreless first period, a frame in which the BEARS owned a 10-5 shot advantage. The visitors also killed off the only power play of the period, not allowing a single shot on goal in the process. Admirals netminder Jaroslav Janus had to make a shorthanded stop on Chris Bourque to keep the BEARS off of the scoreboard.
Norfolk finally broke through to take a 1-0 lead at 6:20 of the second. The hosts earned a power play on a Graham Mink slashing call. The BEARS tried to clear the defensive zone, but Norfolk recovered and sped back across the blue line with an odd-man rush down low. Tyler Johnson fed the puck across to Cory Conacher, who one-timed his 30th goal of the season past Braden Holtby.
The BEARS finally cashed in on a third-period power play to solve Janus. Bourque fed the puck toward the slot where Cody Eakin collected it. Eakin faked a shot on goal, then passed to Boyd Kane at the right of the crease where the captain slammed home his 15th of the campaign to tie the score 1-1 at 12:56.
But the Admirals would answer back, just under two minutes later. Palat skated with the puck through the neutral zone, and let a wrist shot go that got past Holtby’s blocker at 14:39, putting the hosts ahead for the remainder of regulation.
Holtby drops to 19-14-2 with the setback, making 18 saves. Janus turned aside 29 shots to improve to 12-8-2. The BEARS finished the night 1-for-3 on the power play and 4-for-5 on the penalty kill.
The BEARS return home to host the Binghamton Senators on Saturday, March 3 with faceoff at 7:00 PM. Tickets for this and all regular-season home games are on sale by calling (717) 508-BEAR, or by visiting ticketmaster.com.
Game Recap: http://theahl.com/stats/official-game-report.php?game_id=1009477
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