AHL Norfolk Admirals

Admirals are in the playoffs

April 12, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Norfolk Admirals News Release


VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Though Norfolk won just one of its last three regular season games, that victory coupled with a Hershey loss on Sunday allowed the Admirals to lay claim to the fifth and final playoff spot in the East Division. On Thursday, April 8, a pair of goals late in the third period gave Bridgeport a 2-0 win over the Blue and Gold. The Admirals bounced back the next night to shut out Binghamton by a 3-0 count. Chris Bala's two goals lifted Hershey to a 3-1 decision over Norfolk on Saturday, April 10.

The #5 seeded Admirals visit the #4 seeded Binghamton Senators (Ottawa Senators) in the best-of-three East Division Qualifying Series this week, with all games taking place at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. The squads face off Wednesday, April 14 and Friday, April 16 at 7:05 p.m. (If necessary, Game 3 will be at 7:05 p.m. on Saturday, April 17.)

For the latest Calder Cup 2004 Playoffs standings and information, visit caldercup.com.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Game 1 - Wednesday, April 14 ... Norfolk @ Binghamton Senators ... 7:05 p.m.

Game 2 - Friday, April 16 ... Norfolk @ Binghamton Senators ... 7:05 p.m.

*Game 3 - Saturday, April 17 ... Norfolk @ Binghamton Senators ... 7:05 p.m.

(*If necessary)

The Blue and Gold finished the regular season at 5-3-0-0 versus the B-Sens, including a 2-2-0-0 mark at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. Norfolk holds an 8-4-0-0 advantage in the teams' all-time series. In their eight match ups this year, the Admirals scored three or more goals seven times while the Senators were held to one goal three times and shut out twice. Ajay Baines led Norfolk in scoring versus Binghamton with 2+5=7 points, while Quintin Laing (3+3) and Igor Radulov (2+4) chipped in six points each. Craig Anderson was 4-1-0 with a 1.40 GAA and a .935 spct. in five starts, and Michael Leighton was 1-2-0 with a 2.34 GAA and a .920 spct. in three outings. Denis Hamel tallied the most points against Norfolk with 4+3=7 points, while Charlie Stephens (2+2) and Julien Vauclair (1+3) each had four points in the season series. Billy Thompson played in four games, going 2-1-0 with a 3.01 GAA and a .907 spct. Ray Emery absorbed four of his team's losses, finishing at 1-4-0 with a 3.02 GAA and a .913 spct. in five appearances. During the 2003-04 campaign, Hamel was Binghamton's team-leader in goals (29), assists (38) and points (67). He finished tied with Aaron Gavey (SJS) for 11th on the AHL scoring list. His four shorthanded tallies gave him a share of the League-lead with several others in that category. Julien Vauclair's 39 points (9+30) ranked him 12th among AHL defensemen in scoring. Peter Smrek's plus-11 rating was the highest among current Senators while David Hymovitz's minus-20 was the lowest. Brian McGratton had 327 PIM to lead the team and rank him second in the AHL behind Peter Vandermeer (398 PIM). Between the pipes, Ray Emery was 21-23-7 with a 2.47 GAA and a .922 spct. in 53 appearances. Billy Thompson was 13-14-2 with a 2.89 GAA and a .906 spct. in 34 games.

TEAM NOTEBOOK

* Only Marty Wilford and Ajay Baines skated in all 80 games for Norfolk this year. Baines led the club with 15 goals and 41 points, while Wilford led the squad with 35 assists. Wilford also was the club's top-scoring defenseman with 40 points.

* Michael Leighton tied his own franchise record for most saves in a period, 22, with his third period performance against the B-Sens on Friday night. Leighton's other outing with a 22 save period took place on February 16, 2002 at Cincinnati.

* Mikhail Yakubov finished with the highest plus/minus rating on the team at plus-10. Matt Ellison led all Admirals' rookies in scoring with 14+21=35 points.

* Shawn Thornton was ninth in the League in penalty minutes with 259 PIM. He now has 1,968 AHL career PIM, placing him sixth on the AHL career PIM leaders list, two PIM shy of fifth-place Greg Smyth (1,970 PIM) and six PIM short of fourth-place Serge Roberge (1,974 PIM).

* Norfolk outshot their foes 2408 to 1978 this year, a +408 differential. The club also allowed the fewest shots per game in the AHL, at 24.73. However, in its last two games, Norfolk was outshot 37 to 34 in Hershey and 44 to 43 in Binghamton.

* The Blue and Gold never rallied to win a road game this season when trailing after two periods of play (0-16-1-0), and in fact, posted just one come-from-behind victory all season long (1-25-1-0, 3-2 OTW versus Albany on Oct. 18, 2003).

* With a 2-0 shutout loss in Bridgeport on Thursday, April 8, the Admirals were blanked for the 14th time this year. Far and away a franchise record. The previous mark was six, in 2002-03.

* Norfolk has advanced to the Calder Cup Playoffs in each season of its AHL existence. This year's fifth place finish is its lowest-ever, as the squad had previously never finished lower than third in its division.

* As Ryan Gaucher is injured and unable to play, he has returned home.

ON THE RADIO

All games are broadcast on the Admirals' Flagship Station, AM-1230 WJOI. The games are also cybercast on the World Wide Web at SportsJuice.com. Go to www.SportsJuice.com, or click on the link at www.norfolkadmirals.com. Pre-game broadcasts begin 15 minutes prior to game starting time.

TICKET INFORMATION

Calder Cup 2004 Playoff Packages are on sale through the Admirals' office. No home games are currently scheduled. Should the Admirals advance to the Conference Semifinals, dates and times for those contests will be posted on the club's website at www.norfolkadmirals.com. For more information, visit www.norfolkadmirals.com or call the Admirals at (757) 363-1900.

Check out the Norfolk Admirals Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from April 12, 2004


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central