AHL Norfolk Admirals

Admirals Continue March to Playoffs

March 18, 2013 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Norfolk Admirals News Release


NORFOLK - The Norfolk Admirals look to continue their drive for the playoffs with a mid-week series against the Adirondack Phantoms at Norfolk Scope Arena.

The Admirals won two of three on the road last week. The Admirals started the road trip with a 3-2 victory over the Charlotte Checkers on Wednesday night. John Mitchell scored twice and Frederik Andersen picked up the win. Two nights later in Syracuse, the Admirals downed the Crunch, 4-3, in a shootout. The Admirals wrapped up the road trip in Binghamton with a 5-1 loss to the Senators on Saturday night.

The Admirals take on the Adirondack Phantoms on Tuesday and Wednesday nights at Scope. Wednesday is team poster giveaway night as the first 2000 fans will receive a 2012-13 Admirals Team Poster courtesy of SUPERCUTS. Both nights are Admirals Value Nights with Family Fun Packs and Student Rush Night tickets available. Please see below for more details. The Admirals close out the week on Saturday on the road against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

STANDINGS UPDATE

At 29-27-4-1 (63 points), the Admirals are in 5th place in the East Division and tied for 11th place in the Eastern Conference. They are currently five points out of the eighth and final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. Below are the current AHL Eastern Conference standings:

Rank

Team GP W L OTL SL PTS PCT

1 * Syracuse Crunch 62 37 17 3 5 82 0.661

2 * Providence Bruins 62 38 19 0 5 81 0.653

3 * Springfield Falcons 61 34 18 5 4 77 0.631

4 Binghamton Senators 62 37 19 1 5 80 0.645

5 Portland Pirates 61 34 22 3 2 73 0.598

6 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 63 34 26 2 1 71 0.563

7 Hershey Bears 62 30 24 3 5 68 0.548

8 Connecticut Whale 63 30 25 5 3 68 0.540

9 Albany Devils 60 27 22 1 10 65 0.542

10 Manchester Monarchs 62 29 26 3 4 65 0.524

11 Worcester Sharks 59 28 24 1 6 63 0.534

12 Norfolk Admirals 61 29 27 4 1 63 0.516

13 Bridgeport Sound Tigers 61 26 25 6 4 62 0.508

14 St. John's IceCaps 62 25 32 1 4 55 0.444

15 Adirondack Phantoms 61 24 32 2 3 53 0.434

*Division Leader

Eight teams in each conference shall qualify for the 2013 Calder Cup Playoffs. Following the conclusion of each team's 76-game regular season, the three division winners in each conference will be seeded 1-3 (in order of regular-season points) and the next five best teams (in order of regular-season points) will be seeded 4-8.

THE ADMIRALS' WEEK AHEAD

Tue., Mar. 19 ... vs. Adirondack Phantoms (Philadelphia Flyers) ... 7:15 p.m.

Wed., Mar. 20 ... vs. Adirondack Phantoms (Philadelphia Flyers ... 7:15 p.m.

Sat., Mar. 23 ... at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (Pittsburgh Penguins) ... 7:05 p.m.

ADMIRALS' LOG

Since February 8th, the Admirals have gone 11-4-2-0 (24 points). This record is good for the third-most points in the league over that stretch and has vaulted them into playoff contention.

During that time, the Admirals are tied for second in defense in the entire league. They have allowed an average of only 2.24 goals per game over those 17 games.

Sami Vatanen leads the team with 14 points (2g, 12a) over that stretch while Josh Brittain, Peter Holland and Patrick Maroon have five goals during that time.

Admirals captain Nate Guenin is on a six-game point/assist streak, which is the longest such streak in his professional career and is the longest active assist streak in the AHL.

In eight March games, Vatanen has nine points (2g, 7a) and a +7. His nine points lead the team this month. Vatanen also has 31 assists, which is tied for 13th in the league. His 37 points (6g, 21a) on the season is tied for third among AHL defensemen and tied for ninth among AHL rookies.

Frederik Andersen is second among active AHL goalies in goals-against average (2.20). Andersen is also first among active AHL goaltenders in save percentage (.928).

Norfolk is ninth in league in penalty killing with an 84.8%. Last week, the Anaheim Ducks completed two trades affecting the Admirals. First on Monday, the Ducks acquired forward Kyle Wilson from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for forward Dan Sexton. Wilson has one goal and two points in three games since joining the Admirals.

On Friday, Anaheim acquired forward David Steckel from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for former Admirals forward Ryan Lasch (who had been playing in Europe) and a 2014 seventh-round draft pick. After the move, the Ducks assigned forward Patrick Maroon to the Admirals.

Maroon was named the CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending March 10th after posting four goals and two assists in three games.

SCOPING THE COMPETITION - SCOUTING REPORT FOR UPCOMING HOME GAMES

Adirondack (24-32-2-3, 53 points) is fifth in the Northeast Division and fifteenth in the Eastern Conference.

Jason Akeson is tied with Admiral Patrick Maroon (among others) for fifteenth in the league with eight power play goals.

Zach FitzGerald is tied for sixteenth in the league with 147 penalty minutes. Adirondack is tied for eleventh in the league, killing 84.4% of opponent's power plays. Adirondack has given up 54 goals in the first period of games this season while only scoring 38. Adirondack has defeated the Admirals in both meetings between the two teams this season. The last time these two teams played was on February 1st with the Phantoms victorious by the score of 5-2.

Jeff Dimmen Admirals forward Patrick Maroon was acquired by the Anaheim Ducks along with current Phantoms forward David Laliberte from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for current Phantoms defenseman Danny Syvret and current Phantoms forward Rob Bordson on Nov. 21, 2010.

Bordson leads both clubs with three goals in the season series between Norfolk and Adirondack.

DUCKS SITTING IN SECOND

The Anaheim Ducks (20-3-4, 44 points) haven't lost in regulation since February 25th and have points in 10 straight games. They are currently second in the Western Conference and tied for second in the entire league with 44 points. Former Admirals Kyle Palmieri, Emerson Etem, Brandon McMillan, Peter Holland and Viktor Fasth are currently on the Ducks' roster.

THE ADMIRALS HOUR IS TUESDAY AT 4:00 PM ON 102.1 THE GAME

The Admirals Hour, presented by Michael and Son, airs on Tuesdays from 4-5 p.m. on 102.1-FM, 1490-AM and 1021TheGame.com. This week "The Voice of the Admirals" Pete Michaud and "The Original Admiral" Dennis McEwen will talk Admirals hockey from Scope. To join in the conversation, call (757) 490-2750.

ADMIRALS VALUE NIGHTS

The Admirals return to Scope Tuesday and Wednesday as they face off against the Adirondack Phantoms in two more Weekday Value Nights. The games will feature Family Fun Packs and Student Rush Nights.

Family Fun Packs include four discounted Red Level Tickets for just $54 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 $9 White Level Tickets (normally $17 on game days) for high school and college 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 Rush Night Tickets are available ONLY at the Scope Box Office after 2:00 p.m. on the day of the game.

ADMIRALS TEAM POSTER GIVEAWAY, COURTESY OF SUPERCUTS

The first 2,000 fans through the gates on Wednesday will receive the 2012-13 Admirals team poster, courtesy of SUPERCUTS.

NORFOLK LEADERS

Goals : Peter Holland (19)

Assists : Sami Vatanen (31)

Points : Peter Holland (38)

Games : Mat Clark (58)

PP goals : Patrick Maroon (8)

SH goals : Troy Bodie, Emerson Etem, Peter Holland, Chris Wagner (1)

+/- Rating : Nate Guenin, Chris Wagner (+8)

PIM : Patrick Maroon (115)

GAA : Frederik Andersen (2.20)

Spct : Frederik Andersen (.928)

Wins : Frederik Andersen (16)

Losses : Igor Bobkov (16)

GPI : Frederik Andersen (33)

Minutes : Frederik Andersen (1882)

ADIRONDACK LEADERS

Goals : Jason Akeson, Brayden Schenn (13)

Assists : Jason Akeson, Danny Syvret (24)

Points : Jason Akeson (38)

Games : Rob Bordson, Danny Syvret (61)

PP goals : Jason Akeson (8)

SH goals : Rob Bordson, Sean Couturier, Brayden Schenn, Harry Zolnierczyk (1)

+/- Rating : Ben Holmstrom (+3)

PIM : Zack FitzGerald (147)

GAA : Scott Munroe (2.78)

Spct : Scott Munroe (.912)

Wins : Scott Munroe (12)

Losses : Scott Munroe (15)

GPI : Scott Munroe (30)

Minutes : Scott Munroe (1685)

WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON LEADERS

Goals : Trevor Smith (18)

Assists : Trevor Smith (23)

Points : Trevor Smith (41)

Games : Riley Holzapfel, Trevor Smith (63)

PP goals : Dylan Reese, Trevor Smith, Paul Thompson (5)

SH goals : Brian Gibbons (2)

+/- Rating : Philip Samuelsson (+10)

PIM : Bobby Farnham (210)

GAA : Jeff Zatkoff (2.04)

Spct : Jeff Zatkoff (.917)

Wins : Jeff Zatkoff (20)

Losses : Jeff Zatkoff (18)

GPI : Jeff Zatkoff (40)

Minutes : Jeff Zatkoff (2296)

TICKETS

Individual tickets are on sale 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 Admirals action by purchasing your season tickets today. 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.

ON THE RADIO/INTERNET

All regular season games will air live on "The Game" 102.1-FM, 1490-AM and online at 1021TheGame.com. AHL Live will also carry 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



American Hockey League Stories from March 18, 2013


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