Admirals Battle Back to Earn Point in Hershey
Published on December 31, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Norfolk Admirals News Release
HERSHEY, Penn. - Mike Kostka's third-period power play goal forced overtime, but his Norfolk Admirals (20-11-0-2) fell to the Hershey Bears (19-8-3-3), 3-2 after a shootout, on Saturday night at Giant Center. The Admirals will ring in the New Year on Wednesday night with a road contest against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Ondrej Palat also scored for Norfolk, which fell in the shootout session, 1-0. Jaroslav Janus stopped 37 of 39 shots through regulation and overtime before allowing one goal on four shots in the shootout. The Admirals are now two points back of the Bears for first place in the East Division. The Penguins are one point behind Norfolk.
The game began well for Norfolk, as Palat put the Admirals ahead, 1-0, only 1:59 into the contest with his second goal of the season. He sent a pass to Richard Panik in the left circle. Panik then sent the puck back to Palat in the slot, and Palat shot the puck through the leg pads of Bears goaltender Braden Holtby.
However, the Bears came back in the second period to take the lead with a pair of shorthanded goals. Keith Aucoin sailed a pass from the right point toward the net, and Chris Bourque redirected the puck past the left leg of Janus at 7:16. Christian Hanson then sent a shot off the crossbar and into the net at 15:34.
The Admirals forced overtime by tying the game at 2-2 with a power play goal 5:31 into the third period. Kostka sent a shot from the high slot that deflected twice of Hershey defenders before sneaking past Braden Holtby.
After a scoreless overtime, Keith Aucoin scored the only goal of the shootout in the bottom of the fourth round. Holtby denied Tyler Johnson's shootout bid in the top of the fifth round to seal the win for Hershey.
Jaroslav Janus (7-4-2) stopped 37 of 39 shots in regulation and overtime before stopping three of four shooters in the shootout for the shootout setback. Braden Holtby (11-7-1) stopped 26 of 28 shots in regulation and overtime and all five shooters he faced in the shootout for the win.
Norfolk was 1-for-6 on the power play while the Bears were 0-for-5.
The Admirals will next square off against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Wednesday night from the Mohegan Sun Arena. The puck drops at 7:05 p.m. Tune in to 102.1-FM, 1490-AM, 1021TheGame.com or AHLLive.com.
The Admirals return to Norfolk Scope Arena next Friday and Saturday nights as they host the Albany Devils in a pair of matchups. Game time for Friday's contest with the Devils is set for 7:30 p.m.
Individual tickets for all regular season games start at just $12. Tickets are available now at the Scope Box Office, all Ticketmaster Outlets, charge-by-phone at 1-800-745-3000 and online at ticketmaster.com.
Don't miss a minute of the action by purchasing your 2011-12 season tickets today. Season tickets start at just $350 while 10-Packs are available for as little as $110. Stop by the Admirals' Administrative Offices at Scope, call (757) 640-1212 weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or visit norfolkadmirals.com anytime!
American Hockey League Stories from December 31, 2011
- Peoria tops Rockford, 3-2 in a penalty filled affair - Peoria Rivermen
- Rampage End 2011 with 4-3 Victory Over Barons - San Antonio Rampage
- Kings Starts Fireworks Early - Manchester Monarchs
- McCollum Leads Griffins to Big NYE Win - Grand Rapids Griffins
- New Year's Eve Overtime Win - Adirondack Phantoms
- Peoria Outlasts Rockford 3-2 - Rockford IceHogs
- Devils Fall in OT at Adirondack - Albany Devils
- Admirals Battle Back to Earn Point in Hershey - Norfolk Admirals
- Bears Shoot out of 2011 with 3-2 Win Over Norfolk - Hershey Bears
- B-Sens Fizzle in 2011 Finale, Fall to Crunch 6-2 - Binghamton Senators
- Monsters End 2011 with Come-From-Behind Shootout Win - Cleveland Monsters
- P-Bruins Fall to Monarchs 2-1 - Providence Bruins
- Falcons Fall to Whale - Springfield Falcons
- Crunch Close 2011 with 6-2 Win Over Binghamton - Syracuse Crunch
- Ads Fall to Grand Rapids to Close out 2011 - Milwaukee Admirals
- Whale Cloe out 2011 with 5-2 Win - Connecticut Whale
- Sound Tigers Fall 4-2 to Penguins - Bridgeport Islanders
- Second-Period Burst Leads Penguins Past Sound Tigers - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Sharks End 2011 with a Thud, Fall 4-2 in Portland - Worcester Sharks
- IceCaps Release Shayne Wiebe - St. John's IceCaps
- Charlotte Snaps Wolves Home Streak - Chicago Wolves
- Checkers Extend Point Streak to Five Games - Charlotte Checkers
- Bulldogs Earn One Point in 3-2 Shootout Loss - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Oilers Assign Colten Teubert to Oklahoma City - Oklahoma City Barons
- Panthers Send Dadonov to Rampage - San Antonio Rampage
- Adam Cracknell Returns to Rivermen - Peoria Rivermen
- Rangers Return Sean Avery to Whale - Connecticut Whale
- Sabres Recall Defenseman Brennan - Rochester Americans
- Griffins Call on McCollum - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Blue Jackets Recall Defenseman David Savard from AHL's Springfield Falcons - Springfield Falcons
- Bears Sign Forward Matt Pope to Two-Year Contract - Hershey Bears
- Sound Tigers Comeback Falls Short in 3-2 Loss to Admirals - Bridgeport Islanders
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