The Norfolk Admirals couldn’t translate Friday’s victory into sustained success, losing 7-3 Saturday night at Reading in the middle game of a three-game, three-day, two-city ECHL series.
Hunter Johannes scored a hat trick for the Royals, an affiliate of the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers.
The teams will play the rubber game at 3:05 p.m. Sunday at Santander Arena in southern Pennsylvania, where 2,687 came to see the Royals gain payback for Friday’s 5-1 defeat at Scope, which ended Norfolk’s seven-game regulation losing streak.
It took Reading all of 2 minutes and 10 seconds to score more goals than in Friday’s loss. Johannes and former Admiral Carson Golder did the damage, though Norfolk replied to the first score with Kristóf Papp’s goal at the 51-second mark.
The Admirals pulled even at 2 when Brady Fleurent scored 54 seconds into the middle period. Carter Berger put Reading ahead at 5:39 of the second, but Chesapeake native Brandon Osmundson scored off Grant Hebert’s second assist of the night for a 3-3 deadlock at 7:29.
But again, the Royals moved back on top — this time in just 23 seconds, thanks to Johannes. Goals by Alec Butcher and Nolan Burke expanded the lead to 6-3 before Johannes completed his hat trick into an empty net with 2:15 remaining in the game.
Losing goalie Christian Propp and Alex Worthington each yielded three goals for the Admirals. Winning goalie Keith Petruzzelli made 29 saves.
