Three’s company: ‘Blades top Admirals to stretch win streak to 3

NORFOLK, Va. — Four different players scored a goal and Jamie Phillips made a season-high 31 saves to give the Florida Everblades a 4-2 victory over the Norfolk Admirals on Wednesday night at the Norfolk Scope.

BOX SCORE

The Everblades (8-5-2-0, 18 pts.) scored twice in the first and added one goal in each of the final two periods to drop Norfolk (9-6-0-1, 19 pts.), the South Division’s second-place team, and earn their third straight win.

Derek Sheppard started the scoring with his third goal in as many games, a power-play tally 12 minutes, 24 seconds into the first. Sheppard found space at the left point and rifled a shot to beat Norfolk netminder Ty Reichenbach. Jordon Southorn and Joe Cox assisted to run their point streaks to three games apiece, while Sheppard increased his goal streak to three games, tying John McCarron for the longest goal streak by an Everblades player this season.

In his first game back with Florida after being reassigned from the American Hockey League’s Charlotte Checkers, Steven Lorentz helped make it a two-goal Florida cushion. Lorentz slipped around an Admirals defenseman into the offensive zone to create an odd-man rush. Although Reichenbach stopped Lorentz’s initial shot, Mitch Vandergunst tracked down the rebound and shoveled it into the back of the net at the 16:56 mark of the opening frame.

Kyle Platzer then provided what proved to be the game-winning tally only 4:21 into the middle period. With Norfolk on the power play, Reichenbach attempted to play the puck behind the net, but Platzer stole it from him and deposited it in the vacated goal. That shorthanded tally was Florida’s second in its last three games.

Norfolk cut into Florida’s lead with a pair of goals in the first five minutes of the third. Matt McMorrow deflected Jacob Graves’ shot past Phillips 3:26 into the third to get the Admirals on the board, and Darik Angeli struck just 69 seconds later to make it a 3-2 game.

But Florida had the final goal of the night to draw into a tie for third place in the South Division. In his Everblades debut, Shane Walsh converted on a rebound from the top of the crease with 8:10 left in the game, his fourth goal of the season and first since being acquired earlier in the week in a trade with the Reading Royals.

In the win, Platzer, Sheppard and Lorentz also extended each of their point streaks to three games. Southorn (2a) and Platzer (1g, 1a) each picked up their third multi-point games of the season.

Phillips made 30 or more saves for the first time this season to earn his sixth win of the year.

The series with Norfolk takes a one-day hiatus for Thanksgiving before resuming with a 7 p.m. matchup on Friday at the Norfolk Scope.

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The Everblades are the proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes