Admirals Drop Puck on Round 2 Tonight at Scope
Published on May 2, 2012 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Norfolk Admirals News Release
NORFOLK, Va. - After winning their first round series over the Manchester Monarchs, the Norfolk Admirals will begin their Eastern Conference Semifinals series against the Connecticut Whale this week at Scope with games tonight and Friday night.
The Admirals capped off their Eastern Conference Quarterfinals series with a pair of games in Manchester last week. On Wednesday night, Brandon Segal netted a pair of goals and Dustin Tokarski turned aside 25 shots as the Admirals defeated the Monarchs, 5-2. Norfolk secured the series victory in Game Four on Friday night, as Alex Killorn's first career playoff goal at 13:27 of the overtime period gave the Admirals the 4-3 win in the game and a three-games-to-one series victory.
The Admirals and Whale begin their Eastern Conference Semifinals battle with games at Norfolk Scope Arena tonight and Friday night. The series will then shift to Connecticut for three games. Game 3 and Game 4 will take place at the XL Center Veterans Memorial Coliseum while Game 5 (if necessary) will take place at Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, CT. If necessary, the teams will return to Norfolk Scope Arena for Games 6 and 7 on May 11 and 13, respectively.
Please see below for information about watch parties for upcoming Admirals road games.
NORFOLK'S EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS SCHEDULE
Game 1 - Wed., May 2 ... vs. Connecticut Whale (New York Rangers) ... 7:15 p.m.
Game 2 - Fri., May 4 ... vs. Connecticut Whale (New York Rangers) ... 7:30 p.m.
Game 3 - Sun., May 6 ... at Connecticut Whale (New York Rangers) ... 7:00 p.m.
Game 4 - Mon., May 7 ... at Connecticut Whale (New York Rangers) ... 7:00 p.m.
*Game 5 - Wed., May 9 ... at Connecticut Whale** (New York Rangers) ... 7:00 p.m.
*Game 6 - Fri., May 11 ... vs. Connecticut Whale (New York Rangers) ... 7:30 p.m.
*Game 7 - Sun., May 13 ... vs. Connecticut Whale (New York Rangers) ... 5:00 p.m.
*If Necessary **Played at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, CT
ADMIRALS' LOG
- Alexandre Picard scored multiple points in all four games of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. the Manchester Monarchs. Picard leads the Admirals and is tied for second in the AHL with four goals so far this postseason.
- On Friday night, Alex Killorn became the second AHL Admiral to score an overtime series-clinching goal. The rookie joins Casey Hankinson, who scored the series-winner in Game 4 on April 15, 2001 vs. the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks - the first Calder Cup Playoff series in Admirals history.
- Killorn currently ranks fourth in the AHL with five assists and is seventh overall with six points (1G, 5A) in his first four professional playoff games. He is tied for the AHL rookie scoring lead in the playoffs.
- Brandon Segal netted a pair of goals in four games against his former team.
- With a pair of victories over the Monarchs, Dustin Tokarski went 2-0 against Manchester in the first round after leading AHL goalies with 32 regular-season wins. Tokarski has now won a combined 15 straight regular season and playoff games dating back to Feb. 10.
- After killing off 24 of 25 Manchester power play opportunities, Norfolk's penalty killing unit enters the second round ranked second in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
- After missing just one game during the regular season, Norfolk's second-leading regular season scorer Tyler Johnson missed the final three games vs. the Monarchs with an injury.
- Norfolk outscored the Monarchs, 8-3, in the second period but were outscored, 5-2, in the third period.
- Norfolk's overtime series-clincher was one of three such games last Friday night (joined by St. John's and San Antonio), marking the first time in AHL history that three series ended with overtime goals on the same night.
ADMIRALS VS. CONNECTICUT WHALE NOTES
- Norfolk was victorious in all four regular season meetings with the Whale in 2011-12.
- AHL MVP Cory Conacher led the Admirals with five points (2G, 3A) in four games vs. the Whale this season.
- Conacher (39G, 41A) and Tyler Johnson (31G, 37A) led all rookies in scoring while Connecticut's Jonathan Audy-Marchessault (24G, 40A) finished third. Audy-Marchessault finished tied for the team lead in points (64) with Kris Newbury.
- Dustin Tokarski and Jaroslav Janus each posted a pair of victories over the Whale this season.
- Norfolk finished the regular season with the top three and four of the top-five plus/minus players in the league. Trevor Smith (+34), Pierre-Cedric Labrie (+33) and Mark Barberio (+28) led the league in plus/minus, while Jean-Philippe Cote (+26) was tied for fourth.
- Connecticut advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals after sweeping the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in the Quarterfinals.
- Connecticut's netminder Cameron Talbot posted two shutouts, a 0.92 goals-against and a .977 save percentage in the Quarterfinals vs. Bridgeport.
- Whale forward Marek Hrivik posted four goals in his first three professional postseason games.
- Former Admiral Mike Vernace returns to Scope for the first time since early December. Vernace, along with James Wright, were traded on December 2 to San Antonio in exchange for defenseman Mike Kostka and Evan Oberg. After appearing in 22 games for the Rampage, Vernace, along with a draft pick, were acquired by the New York Rangers in exchange for Wojtek Wolski. Vernace posted one goal and two points in 21 games in a Whale uniform. He had two assists in three games for Connecticut vs. Bridgeport in the first round.
- The Whale had the AHL's 16th-ranked power play (57/327, 17.4%) and 5th-ranked penalty kill (285/338, 84.3%).
ADMIRALS ANNOUNCE WATCH PARTIES
The Norfolk Admirals today announced several watch parties for road games during the Admirals' Eastern Conference Semifinals series against the Connecticut Whale.
Big Woody's Bar and Grill will show Game 3, Game 4 and (if needed) Game 5 of the series at their Chesapeake Square Mall location. The Chesapeake Square Mall location of Big Woody's Bar and Grill is located at 4200 Portsmouth Boulevard in Chesapeake, Virginia.
In addition, A Step In Time Chimney Sweeps is having an Admirals Party for Game 4 only at the Virginia Beach Town Center location of Guadalajara on Monday night, May 7th. Watch the game live at 7:00 p.m. and cheer on your Admirals. In addition, there will be a free buffet, happy hour drink specials, and cornhole with prizes available. You can also come and meet Admirals mascot Salty. The Virginia Beach Town Center location of Guadalajara is located at 4611 Columbus Street in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
NORFOLK LEADERS
Goals : Alexandre Picard (4)
Assists : Alexandre Picard (4)
Points : Alexandre Picard (8)
Games : Several (4)
PP goals : Alexandre Picard (2)
SH goals : --
+/- Rating : Alexandre Picard (+5)
PIM : Mike Angelidis (14)
GAA : Dustin Tokarski (2.25)
Spct : Dustin Tokarski (.904)
Wins : Dustin Tokarski (2)
Losses : Jaroslav Janus (1)
GPI : Dustin Tokarski, Jaroslav Janus (2)
Minutes : Dustin Tokarski (134)
CONNECTICUT LEADERS
Goals: Marek Hrivik (4)
Assists: Casey Wellman (3)
Points: Marek Hrivik, Casey Wellman (4)
Games: Several (3)
PP goals: Marek Hrivik (2)
SH goals: --
+/- Rating : Jared Nightingale (+5)
PIM: Andre Deveaux (22)
GAA: Cameron Talbot (0.92)
Spct: Cameron Talbot (.977)
Wins: Cameron Talbot (3)
Losses: --
GPI: Cameron Talbot (3)
Minutes: Cameron Talbot (197)
AHL CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS SERIES
E1 Norfolk Admirals vs. E6 Connecticut Whale (series begins tonight)
E2 St. John's IceCaps vs. E4 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (St. John's leads, 1-0)
W1 Oklahoma City Barons vs. W6 San Antonio Rampage (series begins tomorrow)
W2 Toronto Marlies vs. W4 Abbotsford Heat (Abbotsford leads, 1-0)
FLORIDA EVERBLADES UPDATE
Despite outshooting the Kalamazoo Wings 38-19, the Florida Everblades, ECHL-affiliate of the Norfolk Admirals, dropped a 3-2 decision in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday night. Lightning-contracted goaltender Pat Nagle stopped 16 of 19 shots in defeat. Tied at one game apiece, the Everblades and Wings head to Florida for Games 3, 4 and 5. The puck drops on Game 3 at Germain Arena tonight at 7:30 p.m.
Lightning/Admirals-contracted players in the Kelly Cup Playoffs include Nagle (6GPI, 4-1, 1.42 GAA, .941 SV%, 2 SO, 1 assist, Lightning contract), defenseman Sebastien Piche (10GP, 1G, 6A, 7PTS, +6, Lightning contract), Kevin Quick (10GP, 1G, 2A, 3PTS, - 2, Admirals contract) and Charles Landry (5GP, 0G, 1A, 1PT, +3, Lightning contract).
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.
American Hockey League Stories from May 2, 2012
- Connecticut Takes Game 1 in Overtime - Norfolk Admirals
- Thuresson Shocks Norfolk in OT - Connecticut Whale
- IceCaps Pushed Back by Penguins - St. John's IceCaps
- Penguins Even Series with 3-1 Win over IceCaps - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Admirals Drop Puck on Round 2 Tonight at Scope - Norfolk Admirals
- Abbotsford Drops Toronto 3-1 In Opening Game Of Round Two - Toronto Marlies
- Game 2 Preview: IceCaps vs. Penguins - St. John's IceCaps
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