AHL Norfolk Admirals

Admirals Enter All-Star Break With Four-Game Point Streak

Published on January 28, 2008 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Norfolk Admirals News Release


NORFOLK, VA - The Norfolk Admirals will come out of the All-Star Break riding a four-game point streak as they travel to Binghamton and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton late this week.

Last week, the Admirals went 1-0-1-1 in games against Hershey and Albany. Hours after being named to the AHL All-Star Classic, Justin Keller registered an assist and shootout conversion as the Admirals defeated Hershey 3-2 in a shootout on Wednesday night at Giant Center. On Friday night at Scope, Paul Szczechura's scoring touch continued with the game-tying goal in the final two minutes of regulation. However, the Admirals fell 3-2 in a shootout in a hard-fought battle with the Albany River Rats. On the Saturday rematch at Scope, goals with under thirty seconds left in regulation and in overtime gave Albany a 4-3 come-from-behind overtime victory over the Admirals.

The Admirals will next hit the ice on Friday and Saturday on the road. Norfolk will take on Denis Hamel and the Binghamton Senators on Friday night at the Broome County Veteran's Memorial Arena. On Saturday afternoon, the Admirals will face off against Dennis Bonvie and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at the Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza. Saturday afternoon's game will be a B2 Afternoon at Baxter's (see below for more details).

EAST DIVISION STANDINGS

At 13-27-2-4, the Admirals are seventh in the East Division with 32 points. The East is led by the Philadelphia Phantoms (29-15-1-2, 61 pts). The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (26-16-0-2), Hershey Bears (25-16-0-4) and Albany River Rats (26-20-0-2) are tied at 54 points for the third spot with the Binghamton Senators (22-17-4-3, 51 pts) in fifth and Bridgeport Sound Tigers (23-22-1-0, 47 pts) in sixth.

THE ADMIRALS' WEEK AHEAD

Fri., Feb. 1 ... at Binghamton Senators (Ottawa Senators) ... 7:05 p.m.

Sat., Feb. 2 ...at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (Pittsburgh Penguins) ... 3:05 p.m. B2 Afternoon at Baxter's

ADMIRALS' LOG

- Norfolk has points in four straight games (2-0-1-1), matching a season high. During the run, Junior Lessard (3-2-5), Paul Szczechura (3-2-5) and Radek Smolenak (1-4-5) have led the team in scoring while Smolenak's +6 rating has been the highest on the team.

- Despite tying a season high with eight shots on goal, Norm Milley's nine-game point streak (4-5-9) dating back to December 29 at Hershey ended on Saturday night against Albany.

- Radek Smolenak now has points in five straight games (2-4-6) dating back to January 18 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton - including his first two career AHL goals. He also has assists in four straight games dating back to January 19 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

- Norfolk's victory on Wednesday at Hershey was the team's first road win since December 7 at Philadelphia, snapping a season-worst six-game road losing streak. The victory was also the Admirals' first in Hershey since January 27, 2007.

- Albany goaltender Michael Leighton won both games against Norfolk last weekend. In the seven games he has played against his former team, six have gone to overtime (Leighton is 2-0-4) and four have been decided in a shootout (Leighton is 2-2).

ADMIRALS RBK/AHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINEE

Admirals Center Paul Szczechura now has points (4-3-7) in all six games since joining Norfolk in a January 15 trade from Iowa (AHL). Szczechura has already more than doubled his point total in six games with Norfolk than in 29 games with Iowa (2-3-5). On Wednesday night in Hershey, he netted his second goal as an Admiral in a 3-2 shootout victory. On Friday night vs. Albany, he assisted on Norfolk's first goal and scored the game-tying goal with under two minutes remaining in regulation in a 3-2 shootout setback at Scope. On Saturday night against Albany, he scored Norfolk's second goal in a 4-3 overtime loss to the River Rats.

NORFOLK LEADERS

Goals: Kyle Wanvig (13) Assists: Kyle Wanvig (23)

Points: Kyle Wanvig (36) Games: Karl Stewart (45)

PP goals: Justin Keller, Kyle Wanvig (7) SH goals: Several (1)

+/- Rating: Jay Leach (+6) PIM: Jay Rosehill (119)

GAA: Marc Denis (3.05) Spct: Jonathan Boutin (.901)

Wins: Jonathan Boutin (7) Losses: Jonathan Boutin (11)

GPI: Jonathan Boutin (24) Minutes: Jonathan Boutin (1305)

BINGHAMTON LEADERS

Goals: Denis Hamel (21) Assists: Alexander Nikulin, Lawrence Nycholat (24)

Points: Josh Hennessy, Lawrence Nycholat (34) Games: Several (46)

PP goals: Denis Hamel (8) SH goals: Justin Mapletoft (7)

+/- Rating: Bass, Hamel, Nycholat (+7) PIM: Matt Carkner (137)

GAA: Jeff Glass (2.49) Spct: Jeff Glass (.923)

Wins: Jeff Glass (13) Losses: Jeff Glass (11)

GPI: Jeff Glass (29) Minutes: Jeff Glass (1588)

WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON LEADERS

Goals: Chris Minard (18) Assists: Tim Brent (28)

Points: Tim Brent (35) Games: Ardelan, Engelland, Smith (45)

PP goals: Chris Minard (10) SH goals: Ryan Lannon (1)

+/- Rating: Ben Lovejoy (+11) PIM: Dennis Bonvie (122)

GAA: John Curry (1.95) Spct: David Brown (.919)

Wins: Ty Conklin (11) Losses: Ty Conklin (7)

GPI: Ty Conklin (18) Minutes: Ty Conklin (1058)

TRANSACTIONS

January 25, 2008 DELETE C Bracken Kearns - Released from PTO

ADD C Bracken Kearns - Signed to AHL Standard Player's Contract

NOTE: F Adam Henrich - Signed to new PTO

January 28, 2008 DELETE F Stanislav Lascek - Reassigned by Tampa Bay (NHL) to Mississippi (ECHL)

DELETE LW Marek Kvapil - Reassigned by Tampa Bay (NHL) to Mississippi (ECHL)

TICKETS ON SALE FOR ADMIRALS HALL OF FAME INDUCTION DINNER

Tickets are now on sale to the general public for the Admirals Hall of Fame Induction Dinner. The Hall of Fame Induction Dinner will take place on Thursday, February 7 at the HITS at the Ballpark restaurant at Harbor Park. The dinner will consist of a buffet including Roast Beef Auju, Chicken Cordon Blue and Grilled Salmon over Pesto Linguine. Tickets are $50.00 per seat. Limited seats are available, so reserve your seat as soon as possible. Please call the Norfolk Admirals Office at (757) 640-1212 to reserve your seat today.

UPCOMING EVENTS/PROMOTIONS

Saturday, February 2 (at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins)

- B2 Afternoon at Baxter's - Join your fellow Admirals fans at Baxter's Sports Lounge in Downtown Norfolk to watch the Admirals on the big screen. Please note the start time - the puck drops at 3:05 p.m. For more details, please visit norfolkadmirals.com.

THIS WEEK ON THE IN MOTION PHYSICAL THERAPY ADMIRALS HOUR

Tune in to the In Motion Physical Therapy Admirals Hour on Thursday evening at 6:00 p.m. on ESPN Radio 1310 WGH-AM. You may call in with questions and comments at 497-1310.

ADMIRALS MEDIA GUIDES AVAILABLE

The Admirals are pleased to announce that the first ever Norfolk Admirals Media Guide is now available for purchase. With detailed information on the history of the AHL Admirals, biographies of current players, coaching staff and management, as well as a look at Norfolk's history against its opponents, an Admirals media guide is an excellent companion for any diehard fan while watching or listening to games. Admirals Media Guides are available for $15 at the Admirals Center Ice Souvenir Stand during games or at the Admirals Online Merchandise store at norfolkadmirals.com.

TICKETS

To purchase tickets to any Admirals game, you may visit the Scope Box Office weekdays from 10:00 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.

Save money by purchasing Admirals season tickets, ten packs or group tickets! Stop by the Admirals' administrative offices at Scope or call (757) 640-1212 weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

ON THE RADIO/INTERNET

All games are broadcast on ESPN Radio 1310 WGH-AM. The games are also cybercast at SportsJuice.com. Go to SportsJuice.com, or click on the link at norfolkadmirals.com. Broadcasts begin 15 minutes prior to game time.

Games are also viewable through the Internet on a pay-per-view basis through B2 Networks for anyone with a high-speed cable modem, T1 or DSL broadband connection and Windows Media Player 9 or higher. Visit norfolkadmirals.com and click the B2 Networks banner to view all Admirals' home and away games.

Check out the Norfolk Admirals Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from January 28, 2008


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