The Montreal Canadiens ECHL affiliate fell short in the fourth game of their opening round playoff series.
The Trois-Rivieres Lions are in trouble in their best-of-seven series, trailing 3-1 following a 6-3 loss on Wednesday against the Norfolk Admirals (Winnipeg Jets). Wednesday's matchup was the first in Virginia after three contests held at Colisee Videotron.
The visitors came out strong out of the gates, dominating the first half of the period and outshooting their opponents 12-3.
Momentum swung the other direction right after as Norfolk scored on their next two shots. First, a turnover by Cory Thomas in the offensive zone led to the Admirals heading the other direction and Gehrett Sargis redirected the puck across the goal line.
Forty seconds later, Austen Keating tipped Josh McDougall's point shot behind Zachary Emond to double the lead.
Prior to the first intermission, Norfolk added to their lead as Sargis completed a one-timer blast that found the top corner of the net.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=065fOjQ567Y[/embed]
Former Lion Thomas Caron created additional separation in the first minute of the second period as he skated around Thomas and beat Emond on the first shot of the frame.
Trois-Rivieres got on the board later in the period when Cedric Montminy's wrist shot found the back of the net. It was the captain's fifth goal of the series.
Later in the period, Jakov Novak extended his point streak to three games as he jumped on a rebound and slipped the puck behind Yaniv Perets.
Novak's night ended two minutes later after receiving a major and a game misconduct for slashing an opponent in the neutral zone. The league's player safety department will likely review the incident. During the five-minute sequence, Emond stopped all seven shots he faced.
Jacob Paquette silenced the crowd in the third period with a shot through traffic that ended up behind the net to make it a one-goal game. Nolan Yaremko extended his point streak to four games with an assist.
With under five minutes remaining in regulation, Simon Kubicek gave Norfolk a two-goal with a power play blast while Yaremko sat in the penalty box.
Former Lion Darick Louis-Jean ended all hope with an empty net goal before the final horn.
The temperature risks to rise for the balance as the game ended with a scrum involving all 10 skaters on the ice.
The Lions will fight to avoid elimination on Saturday with game 5 at the Norfolk Scope Arena scheduled at 7:05 p.m. Eastern time.
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