Enduring a third-period meltdown before 6,010 fans at Scope, the Norfolk Admirals lost 7-4 Saturday night to Greensboro.
Thanks in part to Deni Goure’s hat trick, the Gargoyles leveled their series by gaining payback for the Admirals’ triumph against them Friday in North Carolina.
The teams, who occupy the bottom two positions geographically and in the standings of the ECHL’s North Division, will settle the series with a 3:05 p.m. clash Sunday at Scope.
The first two periods were evenly matched, finishing 3-3 as neither team led by more than a goal. Ben Zloty and Chesapeake native Brandon Osmundson scored for Norfolk (17-25-2-0) in the first period, and Connor Fedorek gave the Admirals a 3-2 edge 4:39 into the second period. The Gargoyles’ Anthony Messuri scored at 8:28 of the second to force a tie.
Andre Sutter’s first goal as an Admiral gave Norfolk a 4-3 lead 2:01 into the final period. But then usually effective Admirals goalie Isaac Poulter and the Norfolk defense were bombarded.
Blake Biondi tied the score at 3:23, and Noah Delmas put the Gargoyles (13-25-5-1) ahead 5-4 at 8:50. Goure netted his second goal at 11:14 and completed his hat trick via an empty-netter with one minute remaining.
Poulter yielded six goals while making just 13 saves. Greensboro goalie Ruslan Khazheyev made 24 saves for the victory.
Along with Goure’s hat trick, Messuri and Delmas each had a goal and an assist. They were named the night’s three stars, though their teammate Patrick Newell had three assists.

