Goaltender Madsen Leads Norfolk Past Rays

Chris Crane scored twice and goaltender Merrick Madsen made 34 saves as the Norfolk Admirals (3-1-0-0) defeated the South Carolina Stingrays (3-3-0-0) by a final score of 4-1 on Wednesday night at the Norfolk Scope.Defenseman Tim Davison scored the lone goal for South Carolina on a redirect from the side of the net, while Adam Morrison got the start and stopped 17 shots in a losing effort.Despite out-shooting Norfolk 35-21 in the game, the Stingrays struggled to solve Madsen, who seemingly was up to the task all night and turned aside numerous chances throughout the contest. Former Stingray Taylor Cammarata cashed in on the Admirals’ first power play opportunity of the game and gave Norfolk an initial 1-0 lead at 9:26 of the opening period. Crane then doubled Norfolk’s advantage to 2-0 with a strike off the rush at 17:06.Davison gave South Carolina life at 1:56 of the second just after a power play had expired when he attempted a cross-ice pass that got redirected through the legs of Madsen and into the Admirals’ net. Assists on the goal that cut the Norfolk lead to 2-1 were credited to forwards Sam Fioretti and Matt Pohlkamp.But Crane scored his second of the night on a 4-on-2 rush at 16:31 of the middle frame to give the Admirals their two-goal lead back at 3-1. John Gustafsson added the final tally at 12:18 of the third, scoring unassisted for the lone goal of the last period.Cammarata’s goal was the only special teams marker of the night, with Norfolk going 1-for-4 on the man-advantage while South Carolina finished 0-for-6.The Stingrays continue their 3-game series in Norfolk against the Admirals on Friday night at 7 p.m. South Carolina returns home on Saturday, Nov. 10 for Health and Wellness Night presented by Planet Fitness against the Orlando Solar Bears at 7:05 p.m.Season tickets are also on sale now! For more information or to purchase, contact the Stingrays by phone at 843-744-2248 or visit 3300 W. Montague Ave. Suite A-200 during business hours.For all the latest news and updates, head to StingraysHockey.com and follow the Stingrays on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.Photo Credit: Sarah Hobday