AHL Norfolk Admirals

Admirals Begin 2012 Calder Cup Playoffs Tonight at Scope

Published on April 20, 2012 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Norfolk Admirals News Release


NORFOLK, Va. - After finishing the 2011-12 regular season with 28 straight wins, the Norfolk Admirals roll into the 2012 Calder Cup Playoffs tonight and tomorrow night at Norfolk Scope Arena with Eastern Conference Quarterfinals matchups against the Manchester Monarchs.

The Admirals closed out the regular season with three straight wins on the road last weekend. On Friday in Albany, Michel Ouellet posted a goal and two assists and Jaroslav Janus made 20 saves as Norfolk defeated the Albany Devils, 5-1. On Saturday night, Alex Killorn tied the game midway through the third period and Trevor Smith deflected a Mark Barberio shot 2:04 into overtime as the Admirals defeated the Binghamton Senators, 3-2. On Sunday night, Cory Conacher netted a hat trick to win the AHL's goal scoring title and propel Norfolk past the Adirondack Phantoms, 4-2.

The Admirals and Manchester Monarchs square off in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals tonight at Scope at 7:30 p.m. The teams then face off again on Saturday night at 7:15 p.m. in Game 2 before the series shifts to New Hampshire next week. Tickets range from $15.50 - $21.50.

FINAL STANDINGS

The Admirals (55-18-1-2, 113 points) won the AHL's Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy after they finished the regular season with the best record in the league by 14 points over the Oklahoma City Barons (45-22-4-5, 99 points). They claimed the Eastern Conference's top seed by 19 points over the St. John's IceCaps (43-25-5-3, 94 points) and won the Frank Mathers Trophy as East Division regular season champions by 18 points over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (44-25-2-5, 95 points).

Rank

Team GP W L OTL SL PTS PCT

1 * Norfolk Admirals 76 55 18 1 2 113 0.743

2 * St. John's IceCaps 76 43 25 5 3 94 0.618

3 * Bridgeport Sound Tigers 76 41 26 3 6 91 0.599

4

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 76 44 25 2 5 95 0.625

5

Hershey Bears 76 38 26 4 8 88 0.579

6

Connecticut Whale 76 36 26 7 7 86 0.566

7

Syracuse Crunch 76 37 29 5 5 84 0.553

8

Manchester Monarchs 76 39 32 2 3 83 0.546

9

Portland Pirates 76 36 31 4 5 81 0.533

10

Adirondack Phantoms 76 37 35 2 2 78 0.513

11

Springfield Falcons 76 36 34 3 3 78 0.513

12

Providence Bruins 76 35 34 3 4 77 0.507

13

Worcester Sharks 76 31 33 4 8 74 0.487

14

Albany Devils 76 31 34 6 5 73 0.480

15

Binghamton Senators 76 29 40 5 2 65 0.428

*Division Leader

CALDER CUP QUALIFICATION RULES AND SERIES FORMATS

Eight teams in each conference qualified for the 2012 Calder Cup Playoffs. Following the conclusion of each team's 76-game regular season, the three division winners in each conference were seeded first through third (in order of regular-season points) and the next five best teams (in order of regular-season points) were seeded fourth through eighth.

Home ice advantage in the Conference Quarterfinals was granted to those teams seeded first through fourth in each conference. In the Conference Semifinals and Conference Finals, teams will be reseeded according to the same criteria as the Conference Quarterfinals (division leaders will be seeded first and granted home ice advantage while remaining teams will be seeded in order of regular-season points).

Home ice advantage in the Calder Cup Finals will be determined by the higher number of points in the final standings at the end of the Schedule of Championship Games.

The Conference Quarterfinals will be best-of-five series. All other series are in a best-of-seven format.

NORFOLK'S EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS SCHEDULE

Game 1 - Fri., April 20 ... vs. Manchester Monarchs (Los Angeles Kings) ... 7:30 p.m.

Game 2 - Sat., April 21 ... vs. Manchester Monarchs (Los Angeles Kings) ... 7:15 p.m.

Game 3 - Wed., April 25 ... at Manchester Monarchs (Los Angeles Kings) ... 7:00 p.m.

*Game 4 - Fri., April 27 ... at Manchester Monarchs (Los Angeles Kings) ... 7:00 p.m.

*Game 5 - Sat., April 28 ... at Manchester Monarchs (Los Angeles Kings) ... 7:00 p.m.

*If Necessary

ADMIRALS VS. MANCHESTER MONARCHS NOTES

- Norfolk and Manchester did not meet during the 2011-12 regular season. The teams last met in the 2010-11 season when both the Admirals and Monarchs won two of four games.

- Manchester enters the playoffs in the same position as their NHL parent club, the Los Angeles Kings. The Monarchs are the #8 seed entering the playoffs, as are the Kings. Los Angeles leads #1 seeded Vancouver, three games to one, in the NHL's Western Conference Quarterfinals.

- Manchester went 10-4-2-0 in its final 16 games to qualify for the post-season.

- Justin Azevedo (22g, 22a, 50pts) led Manchester in regular season scoring and is second on the Monarchs' all-time post-season scoring list (23gp, 6g, 13a, 19pts).

- Manchester leading rookie scorer Linden Vey (19g, 24a, 43pts) was the WHL's leading scorer last season, edging Norfolk's Tyler Johnson by one point for the honor. Vey posted 116 points (46g, 70a) in 69 games with the Medicine Hat Tigers in 2010-11 while Johnson posted 115 points (53g, 62a) in 71 games with the Spokane Chiefs.

- The team with the lead entering the third period during this playoff series has a good chance of winning the game, as Norfolk finished the regular season 35-1-1-0 when leading after two periods while Manchester was 25-0-0-1.

- The Monarchs had the AHL's 21st-ranked power play (47/303, 15.5%) and 8th-ranked penalty kill (279/332, 84.0%). Manchester led the AHL with 15 shorthanded goals.

- The Monarchs (208 goals allowed) trailed only the Admirals (180 goals allowed) in defense in the Eastern Conference.

- Manchester joined Binghamton as the only AHL teams to have two goaltenders each appear in 40 or more games in the regular season: Jeff Zatkoff (44GPI, 21-17-1, 2.49 GAA, .920 SV%) and Martin Jones (41GPI, 18-17-2, 2.60GAA, .919SV%).

- Two current Admirals are former Monarchs. Brandon Segal posted six goals and 14 points in 21 games with Manchester in 2009-10 - his only season in the Granite State. Richard Petiot, a Los Angeles Kings draft pick, played most of his first three professional seasons with the Monarchs, recording seven goals and 23 points in 116 games with Manchester from 2005-06 - 2007-08.

- No current Monarchs have played for Norfolk.

- Norfolk defenseman Jean-Philippe Cote began the 2011-12 season with the Monarchs' ECHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, under an ECHL contract.

NORFOLK REGULAR SEASON LEADERS

Goals : Cory Conacher (39)

Assists : Mark Barberio (48)

Points : Cory Conacher (80)

Games : Cory Conacher, Tyler Johnson (75)

PP goals : Cory Conacher (14)

SH goals : Tyler Johnson, J.T. Wyman (2)

+/- Rating : Trevor Smith (+34)

PIM : Radko Gudas (195)

GAA : Dustin Tokarski (2.23)

Spct : Jaroslav Janus (.914)

Wins : Dustin Tokarski (32)

Losses : Dustin Tokarski (11)

GPI : Dustin Tokarski (45)

Minutes : Dustin Tokarski (2583)

MANCHESTER REGULAR SEASON LEADERS

Goals: Justin Azevedo (28)

Assists: Patrick Mullen (28)

Points: Justin Azevedo (50)

Games: Andrew Campbell, Thomas Hickey (76)

PP goals: Justin Azevedo, Brandon Kozun (7)

SH goals: Stefan Legein (5)

+/- Rating: Thomas Hickey (+16)

PIM: Richard Clune (253)

GAA: Jeff Zatkoff (2.49)

Spct: Jeff Zatkoff (.920)

Wins: Jeff Zatkoff (21)

Losses: Martin Jones, Jeff Zatkoff (17)

GPI: Jeff Zatkoff (44)

Minutes: Jeff Zatkoff (2432)

PLAYOFF TICKETS NOW ON SALE

Individual ticket prices for the first round of the Calder Cup Playoffs are $21.50 for Gold, $18.50 for Red and $16.50 for White. Fans receive a discount when purchasing playoff tickets in advance of the day of the game, with $18 tickets for Gold, $15 tickets for Red and $13 tickets for White. In addition, 10-seat corporate boxes are available for $310 per game by contacting the Admirals at (757) 640-1212.

Fans should use tickets labeled "Game A" for the game on Friday, April 20, at Norfolk Scope Arena. Fans should use tickets labeled "Game B" for the game on Saturday, April 21, at Norfolk Scope Arena. These tickets are on sale now at the Scope Box Office, any Ticketmaster Outlet, charge-by-phone at 1-800-745-3000 or online at ticketmaster.com. The Scope Box Office is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. through 5:30 p.m., or 10:00 a.m. through game time on Admirals game days.

ADMIRALS' LOG

- Norfolk finished the regular season with the AHL's best overall record (55-18-1-2), home record (27-9-1-1) and road record (28-9-0-1).

- Norfolk's 28 road victories tied the AHL record set by the 2007-08 Providence Bruins. The Admirals won 28 of 38 road games while Providence won 28 of 40 road games.

- The Admirals led the AHL in offense (273 goals scored) and goal differential (+93) while ranking third in defense (180 goals allowed).

- Cory Conacher finished the season as the AHL's top-scoring rookie and overall goal-scoring leader. With a hat trick in the season's final contest, Conacher added the Willie Marshall Award as the AHL's top goal scorer to his collection of awards that include AHL MVP, Rookie of the Year, AHL Second-Team All-Star and AHL All-Rookie Team.

- Conacher joined Trevor Smith (Oct. 21 vs. Binghamton) as the only Norfolk player to record a hat trick in 2011-12.

- Norfolk finished the season with four players in the top-15 of AHL scoring: Conacher (2nd), Trevor Smith (6th), Tyler Johnson (7th) and Mark Barberio (T-14th).

- Smith finished the season with a plus-34 rating, edging teammate Pierre-Cedric Labrie (+33) for the best plus/minus rating in the AHL in 2011-12. Barberio (+28) finished third overall while leading all league defensemen in plus/minus, while defenseman Jean-Philippe Cote was tied for fourth at plus-26.

- Smith, Labrie, Barberio and Cote each eclipsed the previous AHL Admirals record for plus/minus in a single season of plus-22 by Dmitri Tolkunov during the 2001-02 season.

- Dustin Tokarski led all AHL goaltenders with 32 wins, edging out Milwaukee's Jeremy Smith (31).

- Both Tokarski (5th) and Jaroslav Janus (14th) finished in the top-15 of goals-against average in the AHL.

- Norfolk was one of only three AHL teams to boast two goaltenders with 20 or more wins, as the Admirals (Tokarski, 32 wins, and Janus, 23 wins) joined the Abbotsford Heat (Leland Irving and Danny Taylor with 22 each) and Chicago Wolves (Eddie Lack, 21 wins, and Matt Climie, 20 wins).

- Barberio led all AHL defensemen in points, assists, power play assists, power play points and plus/minus.

- In addition to winning their final 28 games overall, the Admirals also won their final 22 games without requiring a shootout - including 20 consecutive regulation wins between February 24 - April 13. Norfolk won 26 games in regulation, one game in overtime and one game in a shootout during its winning streak.

- Norfolk broke an AHL record with standings points in 28 straight games, eclipsing the former single-season record of 27 straight games set in 1947-48 by the Cleveland Barons.

- The Admirals won three of the 28 games during the winning streak when trailing after two periods.

- Defenseman Keith Aulie, who was assigned to the Admirals by the Tampa Bay Lightning last week, posted a pair of assists and a plus-3 rating during his Admirals debut on Friday in Albany.

NORFOLK'S WINNING STREAK BY THE NUMBERS

The Admirals ended the 2011-12 regular season with wins in each of their final 28 games. The following numbers are for Norfolk during its 28-game winning streak from February 10 to April 15, 2012:

- 354 saves by Jaroslav Janus

- 322 saves by Dustin Tokarski

- 107 total goals scored

- 84.6% penalty kill efficiency (15/104)

- 69 goals scored at even strength

- +65 goal differential

- 55 goals scored by rookies

- 42 total goals allowed

- 40 points by Tyler Johnson, led the team

- +27 plus/minus rating by Jean-Philippe Cote, led the team

- 26 different skaters appeared in at least one game

- 24 different skaters had an even or better plus/minus rating

- 23.9% power play efficiency (31/126)

- 22 different skaters had points

- 22 goals allowed at even strength

- 20 different skaters had goals

- 16 goals scored by Tyler Johnson, led the team

- 15 consecutive wins at home (franchise record)

- 15 different skaters had game-winning goals

- 15 consecutive wins by Jaroslav Janus

- 13 consecutive wins on the road (franchise record)

- 13 consecutive wins by Dustin Tokarski

- 11 different skaters were rookies

- 5 different skaters appeared in all 25 games

- 4 game-winning goals by Cory Conacher, led the team

- 1.62 goals-against average by Dustin Tokarski

- 1.40 goals-against average by Jaroslav Janus

- .944 save percentage by Jaroslav Janus

- .939 save percentage by Dustin Tokarski

FLORIDA EVERBLADES UPDATE

Lightning-contracted goaltender Pat Nagle posted a 24-save shutout to lead the Florida Everblades, the ECHL affiliate of the Admirals, to a 2-0 win over the Elmira Jackals on Wednesday night in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference Semifinals series. Florida leads the series, three games to one, with the chance to clinch the series on home ice tonight in Game 5.

Lightning/Admirals-contracted players in the Kelly Cup Playoffs include Nagle (3GPI, 2-0, 1.50 GAA, .938 SV%, 1 SO, 1 assist, Lightning contract), defenseman Sebastien Piche (7GP, 1G, 4A, 5PTS, +3, Lightning contract), Kevin Quick (7GP, 1G, 2A, 3PTS, -1, Admirals contract) and Charles Landry (5GP, 0G, 1A, 1PT, +3, Lightning contract).

AHL CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS SERIES

E1 Norfolk Admirals vs. E8 Manchester Monarchs (series begins tonight)

E2 St. John's IceCaps vs. E7 Syracuse Crunch (series begins tonight)

E3 Bridgeport Sound Tigers vs. E6 Connecticut Whale (Connecticut leads, 1-0)

E4 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins vs. E5 Hershey Bears (series begins tonight)

W1 Oklahoma City Barons vs. W8 Houston Aeros (Oklahoma City leads, 1-0)

W2 Toronto Marlies vs. W7 Rochester Americans (Toronto leads, 1-0)

W3 Chicago Wolves vs. W6 San Antonio Rampage (San Antonio leads, 1-0)

W4 Abbotsford Heat vs. W5 Milwaukee Admirals (series begins tonight)

NORFOLK TRANSACTIONS OF THE PAST WEEK

None

ON THE RADIO/INTERNET

All games will air live on "The Game" 102.1-FM, 1490-AM and online at 1021TheGame.com. AHL Live also carries online video of every Admirals game on a pay-per-view or season pass basis. Fans can log in to watch, listen or get more information about AHL Live's online audio and video features at ahllive.com.

Check out the Norfolk Admirals Statistics

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