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AHL Norfolk Admirals

Admirals Battle Back with Five in Final Period, Defeat Bears 6-3

December 18, 2011 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Norfolk Admirals News Release


HERSHEY, Pa. - With five-unanswered goals, the Norfolk Admirals (18-11-0-1) erased a two-goal deficit in the final period to defeat the Hershey Bears (16-8-3-2), 6-3, on Sunday night at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania. With the victory, Norfolk moves into a three-way tie with Hershey and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for first place in the AHL's East Division.

Six different Admirals netted a goal in the come-from-behind victory. Michel Ouellet's sixth goal of the season opened the scoring for the Admirals in the first period. In the third period, J.T. Wyman, Phillip-Michael Devos, Trevor Smith, Richard Panik, and Tyler Johnson each netted a goal of their own to complete the comeback victory. Defenseman Mark Barberio pitched in with three assists in the final period.

Admirals goaltender Jaroslav Janus turned aside 22 of 25 shots for his seventh victory of the season and second victory of the season over the Bears.

Hershey took a 1-0 lead early on in the first period. Julien Brouillette fed a cross-crease pass to Joel Rechlicz. The enforcer picked up the pass and fired the puck high over a sliding Janus at 2:47 of the first period.

The home team doubled their lead to 2-0 with just over seven minutes remaining in the first. Jacob Micflikier collected the puck behind Norfolk's net and deflected a shot off a skate and under Janus at 11:46 of the opening stanza.

Norfolk cut the Bears lead to 2-1 with less than five minutes to go in the first. Phillip-Michael Devos sent a pass from deep in the Bears' zone into the slot. Michel Ouellet collected the pass and fired a shot under Bears netminder Braden Holtby for his eighth goal of the season.

In the waning seconds of the first period, Chris Bourque extended the Bears lead to 3-1. Boyd Kane tipped a pass in the neutral zone to Bourque who skated in all alone on Janus. Bourque fired a shot from the left circle of the glove hand of Janus with just four seconds remaining in the period.

After a scoreless second period, the Admirals comeback began just over four minutes into the third period.

Norfolk climbed within one at 3-2 when J.T. Wyman netted his sixth goal of the season. Defenseman Mark Barberio broke up a Bears' rush up the ice and poked a loose puck to Wyman along the boards. Wyman skated into the Bears zone and tucked the puck under Holtby for his sixth goal of the season at 4:33 of the final stanza.

Just over two minutes later, Phillip-Michael Devos tied the game at 3-3 with his first AHL goal. This time, Barberio found Devos streaking into the Bears zone. Devos picked up the pass in the right face-off circle and skated around Holtby and fired the puck into the gaping net at 6:43 of the final period.

The Admirals comeback continued with less than seven minutes remaining in regulation. While the Admirals enjoyed a five-on-four man advantage, Barberio sent a shot from the left point that Ouellet knocked out of midair. Admirals' point-leader Trevor Smith picked up the loose puck and snuck it around a sprawling Holtby for his 14th goal of the night at 13:59 of the third.

Just 59 seconds later, Richard Panik extended the Admirals lead to 5-3. Panik picked up a loose puck in front of the Bears' net and sent a backhander under Holtby for his fourth goal of the season at 14:58 of the final period.

Tyler Johnson capped off the comeback with an empty-net goal, his 12th of the season, with just 1:08 remaining in regulation.

Jaroslav Janus (7-4-1) stopped 22 of 25 shots in the victory. Braden Holtby (9-7-1) turned aside 25 of 30 shots he faced in the defeat.

Norfolk was 1-5 on the power play. Hershey was 0-2 with the man advantage.

The Admirals return home on Wednesday, December 28, to face off against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The puck drops at 7:15 p.m. in another Admirals Value Night, featuring Family Fun Packs and Student Rush Night tickets. The game also features the third post-game skate of the season.

Family Fun Packs include four discounted Red Level Tickets for just $48 plus four free hot dogs, four free popcorns, and four free sodas. Fans get all of that for just $48 - that's a savings of $37. Student Rush Nights provide $8 White Level Tickets (normally $12) for students with a valid current high school or college ID. In addition, when you buy a Student Rush Night Ticket, you get a buy-one, get-one free offer for the next Student Rush Night.

Family Fun Packs are available at the Scope Box Office, all Ticketmaster Outlets, charge-by-phone at 1-800-745-3000 or online at Ticketmaster.com. Student Rust Night tickets are available ONLY at the Scope Box Office after 2:00 p.m. on the day of the game.

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!

Three Stars:

1. Phillip-Michael Devos - NOR

2. Mark Barberio - NOR

3. Joel Rechlicz - HER

NOTES ... Devos' third-period tally was his first career AHL goal in just his seventh game since being reassigned from Florida (ECHL)... The come-from-behind victory was the Admirals fifth victory after trailing entering the third period... With his third period goal, Trevor Smith extended his point streak to six-games (4G, 8A)... With three assists in the contest, Mark Barberio now leads all AHL-defensemen with 23 assists and 26 points... Did not play: Richard Petiot, Kevin Quick, Alexandre Picard, Pierre-Cedric Labrie, and Matt Fornataro

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