Sports stats



AHL Norfolk Admirals

Admirals Buck the Odds in Win over Penguins

February 2, 2008 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Norfolk Admirals News Release


WILKES-BARRE, PA - Entering Saturday, the East Division's second place team, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, had the American Hockey League's best defense and penalty kill. The seventh-place team in the East, the Norfolk Admirals, had only five road wins on the season and they had not won a regular season game at the Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza in 18 games since Valentine's Day of 2004.

But the Admirals (15-27-2-4) bucked the odds on Saturday afternoon in Pennsylvania, as third period power play goals by Paul Szczechura and Radek Smolenak led the Admirals to a 4-3 victory over the Penguins (27-17-0-2).

Despite being out-shot 11-4 in the opening period, the Admirals took a 1-0 lead into the locker room after one period with a shorthanded goal. Bracken Kearns and Norm Milley broke in on Wilkes-Barre goaltender David Brown late in the period. Kearns sent a pass from the left circle to Milley at the opposite post, and Milley lifted a shot over Brown's left shoulder at 16:13. Boutin stopped all 11 shots he faced and the Norfolk penalty kill negated four penalties in the opening twenty minutes.

The Penguins once again had the edge in shots in the second stanza - this time 12-5. But once again, a Kearns-Milley play led to the only goal of the period. After winning a faceoff, Milley sent a pass from the right corner into the slot between the hashmarks. Kearns collected the pass and rifled a slap shot top-shelf to Brown's glove-side at 11:51.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton knotted the contest at 2-2 with quick goals in the first 3:30 of the third period. Tim Brent opened scoring for the Penguins on the power play with a wrist shot from the slot that beat Admirals goaltender Jonathan Boutin five-hole at 2:19. Just 1:11 later, Chris Minard's snap shot from the left hashmarks beat Boutin glove-side at 3:30.

But a pair of Penguins' penalties at the 4:05 mark proved costly for the home team, as the Admirals scored on a five-on-three power play at 4:37. Kyle Wanvig sent a pass from the left corner that was redirected in the crease by Paul Szczechura between Brown's pads for a 3-2 Norfolk lead.

The Admirals re-established a two-goal lead with another power play goal less than eight minutes later. Vladimir Mihalik sent a shot from the left faceoff circle that was deflected by Szczechura and glanced off Brown's left leg pad. Radek Smolenak found the rebound and swept it into the cage at 12:15.

The Penguins mounted another comeback attempt by pulling their goaltender while on the power play in the game's final minute. Mark Ardelan sent a wrist shot from the right point that beat a screened Boutin at 19:03. However, the Penguins could not find the equalizer as the Admirals pulled out the victory.

Jonathan Boutin (32 shots, 39 saves) earned the win. David Brown (16 shots, 12 saves) got the loss.

Norfolk was 2-4 on the power play. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was 2-7.

The Admirals will return to Scope for a six-game homestand beginning on Wednesday against the Penguins at 7:15. Be sure to call (757) 640-1212 today to get your tickets to the Admirals Hall of Fame Dinner for Thursday. The Admirals will honor Blake Cullen, John Brophy, Al MacIsaac and Rod Taylor as the first class of the Admirals Hall of Fame. For more details, please visit norfolkadmirals.com.

To purchase tickets to any Admirals game, you may visit the Scope Box Office weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., visit any Ticketmaster outlet, call Ticketmaster at (757) 671-8100 or visit Ticketmaster online at www.ticketmaster.com. To purchase Admirals season tickets, ten packs or group tickets, please stop by the Admirals' administrative offices at Scope or call (757) 640-1212 weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Three Stars:

1. Paul Szczechura - NOR

2. Norm Milley - NOR

3. Bracken Kearns - NOR

Notes: The Admirals went 0-11-0-2-4 between victories in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton ... Norfolk now has points in a season-high six straight games (4-0-1-1) ... Paul Szczechura has goals in five consecutive games (5G) and has points (6-6-12) in all eight games since joining Norfolk in a January 15 trade from Iowa (AHL). The goal-scoring streak is the longest current streak in the AHL and the point streak is the fourth-longest current streak in the league ... Szczechura has been a star of the game in his last four games - including back-to-back first-star billings ... Radek Smolenak has goals in back-to-back games and points in seven straight games (3-4-7) dating back to January 18 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton ... Rookie blueliner Vladimir Mihalik notched his second pro/AHL two-point game with a pair of assists ... The Admirals won have won three consecutive road games for the first time since December 15-17, 2006 ... Forwards Shawn Collymore and Chris Lawrence and defenseman Andy Rogers missed the game due to injury, while forwards Rob Klinkhammer and Zbynek Hrdel were healthy scratches ... Attendance: 7,823.

Check out the Norfolk Admirals Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from February 2, 2008


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