NORFOLK, Va. (theahl.com) … Two down, two to go.
The Norfolk Admirals defended their home ice for a second straight night and took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Calder Cup Finals series with a 4-2 win over the Toronto Marlies at a sold-out Scope Arena on Saturday.
The series heads to Toronto for Game 3 on Thursday night and Game 4 on Saturday afternoon. Game 5, if necessary, would be Sunday afternoon in Toronto.
Richard Panik got Norfolk on the board first in Game 2 with 5:22 remaining in the first period. Streaking down the right side, Panik avoided a Ben Scrivens poke check and slipped the puck home for his fourth goal of the playoffs.
Joe Colborne tied it at 1-1 with a power-play goal at 18:20 of the first, firing a shot over the shoulder of Dustin Tokarski (10-2). It was Colborne’s second postseason goal and ended an 0-for-15 Marlies slide with the man advantage.
Alexandre Picard put Norfolk back on top for good with 4:43 left in the second period, burying a rebound of a Mike Angelidis shot.
Brandon Segal and Trevor Smith scored in the third period to break the game open for the Admirals, and Tokarski made 12 of his 30 saves in the final frame to preserve the victory.
Angelidis, Evan Oberg and Keith Aulie all notched two assists for Norfolk, which won its eighth straight game and improved to 41-3 in its last 44 contests.
NOTES: With Juraj Mikus scoring for Toronto in the final minute of regulation, Norfolk allowed as many as two goals in a game for the first time in its eight-game winning streak… Ben Scrivens (11-4) made 28 saves for Toronto… The Marlies were 1-for-4 on the power play; the Admirals were 0-for-4… In Calder Cup history, teams leading the series 2-0 have won 39 of 42 previous Finals… Attendance was 8,661, the largest Calder Cup Playoff crowd in Norfolk team history.
2012 Calder Cup Finals – Series “O” (best-of-7)
E1-Norfolk Admirals vs. W2-Toronto Marlies
Game 1 – Fri., June 1 – NORFOLK 3, Toronto 1
Game 2 – Sat., June 2 – NORFOLK 4, Toronto 2
Game 3 – Thurs., June 7 – Norfolk at Toronto, 7:00
Game 4 – Sat., June 9 – Norfolk at Toronto, 3:00
*Game 5 – Sun., June 10 – Norfolk at Toronto, 3:00
*Game 6 – Wed., June 13 – Toronto at Norfolk, 7:15
*Game 7 – Fri., June 15 – Toronto at Norfolk, 7:30
*if necessary… All times Eastern
