What may have been the best part of the game never made it to the score sheet. During pre-game warm-ups, Cody Bass had some choice words for Pierre-Cedric Labrie. Following Bass were Greg Amadio and Adam Mair. In short order, and with no officials on the ice, mayhem ensued. Chalk it up to the bad blood that was carried over from Friday night’s loss, when Labrie and Amadio went at it briefly late in the third period.
As for the game itself, suffice it to say that it was over before the first period was. Goals by Cory Conacher (31st), Michel Ouellet (14th) and Tyler Johnson (19th) opened up a 3-0 Norfolk lead before the Falcons even were able to register a shot on Dustin Tokarski.
The three spot was enough for coach Rob Riley to put Mike Spillane in net for Springfield. Spillane is in on a PTO while Manny Legace rehabs back in Springfield from an injury suffered last week. Spillane did well in the second stanza, holding the Admirals scoreless.
Brent Regner scored his second goal of the season at 8:15 of the third period to close the gap to 3-1. Assisting on Regner’s tally were David Savard and Wade MacLeod.
Savard went to the penalty box for slashing at 10:05, opening the door for a Norfolk power play goal at 10:19 by Richard Panik (13th). Forty-one seconds later, Johnson picked up his second of the night and 20th of the season, sealing the game and earning first star recognition for the night.
The Norfolk win extended their winning streak to 12 consecutive games. That’s the longest winning streak in the AHL in over two years. The Falcons will be glad to leave Virginia. They’ll be stopping off in Hershey, PA for a 5PM Sunday matchup with the Bears.