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AHL Norfolk Admirals

Admirals Enter Pivotal Week For Playoff Hopes

March 23, 2010 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Norfolk Admirals News Release


NORFOLK, Va. - After a weekend sweep at Scope to close out last week, the Admirals hope to duplicate their home success this week at Scope with three immensely important games for their playoff hopes.

The Admirals began last week with a 2-1 loss at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Wednesday night. The offense then exploded for an AHL Admirals record-tying eight goals in an 8-4 win over the Adirondack Phantoms at Scope on Friday night. On Saturday, Dustin Tokarski stopped 38 of 39 shots in a 3-1 win over the Phantoms at Scope.

The three games played at Scope this week will go a long way toward determining the Admirals' playoff fate. With only nine games remaining in the 2009-10 regular season schedule, the third-place Admirals are just one point ahead of the fourth-place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the East Division standings. Only the top three teams in the East Division are guaranteed a spot in the 2010 Calder Cup Playoffs.

The Admirals and Penguins will battle for that third spot on Wednesday and Friday at Scope. The Admirals will then conclude their five-game homestand with a tilt on Saturday against the Atlantic Division-leading Worcester Sharks. All three games begin at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday night is another Family Fun Pack and Student Rush Night at Scope. Friday is Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society Night and water bottle giveaway night courtesy of SUPERCUTS. Saturday is the annual MDA Jersey Auction presented by PAPCO. For complete details, please see below.

*EAST DIVISION STANDINGS*

At 36-29-3-3 (78 points in 71 games), the Admirals are in third place in the American Hockey League's East Division. Only three weeks remain in the American Hockey League's regular season and Norfolk has just nine games remaining on its schedule.

The Hershey Bears (53-14-0-3, 109 points in 70 games) have clinched the East Division title. The Albany River Rats (38-27-3-5, 84 points in 73 games) are six points ahead of the Admirals for second place, but the Admirals have two games in hand. The Admirals lead the fourth-place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (36-29-2-3, 77 points in 70 games) by one point, but the Penguins have one game in hand. The fifth-place Binghamton Senators (31-32-5-3, 70 points in 71 games) trail Norfolk by eight points. The sixth-place Adirondack Phantoms (31-34-3-3, 68 points in 71 games) trail the Admirals by ten points. The seventh-place Syracuse Crunch (30-34-3-3, 66 points in 70 games) trail Norfolk by 12 points with one game in hand.

Typically the top four teams from each division in the AHL advance to the Calder Cup Playoffs. The first round of the playoffs is the division semifinals, as the fourth-place team plays the first-place team while the second-place team plays the third-place team. There is one possible exception to the qualification rules in 2009-10: if the fifth-place team in the Atlantic Division finishes with more points than the fourth-place team in the East Division, it would cross over and compete in the East Division playoffs. Currently, that rule would come in to effect, as the Atlantic Division's fifth-place team, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (34-27-4-6, 78 points in 71 games), have one more point than the fourth-place Penguins.

*THE ADMIRALS' WEEK AHEAD*

*Wed., Mar. 24... vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (Pittsburgh Penguins)... 7:15 p.m.*

*Fri., Mar. 26... vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (Pittsburgh Penguins)... 7:15 p.m.*

*Sat., Mar. 27... vs. Worcester Sharks (San Jose Sharks)... 7:15 p.m.*

*ADMIRALS' LOG*

- The third-place Admirals are now six points back of the second-place Albany River Rats. However, Norfolk has two games in hand. The Admirals and River Rats meet once more this season on Friday, April 2 in New York.

- Fourth-place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is now just one point behind Norfolk with one game in hand. The Admirals visit Scope on Wednesday and Friday this week and return on April 7 to close out the regular season series.

- Norfolk is 19-6-1-3 since the All-Star Break

- Norfolk has points in ten of its last 11 home games (8-1-0-2). The Admirals play six of their final nine games at Norfolk Scope Arena.

- Norfolk's #1 forward line of Ryan Craig, Adam Hall and Dana Tyrell combined for fourteen points (7G, 7A) and a +17 rating in the two games against Adirondack this weekend.

- Dana Tyrell has points in 14 of his last 18 games (7G, 16A). He now is tied for 16th in rookie scoring in the American Hockey League with 34 points (9G, 25A). He also leads the Admirals in assists and plus/minus (+11).

- Ryan Craig now leads the Admirals in goals (22) and points (41), surpassing Brandon Bochenski in both categories.

- On Friday versus Adirondack, Norfolk scored eight goals in a game for the fifth time since joining the American Hockey League for the 2000-01 season. It was the first time since an 8-2 win on November 17, 2006 versus Binghamton.

- Tampa Bay Lightning top prospect forwards Carter Ashton and Richard Panik made their professional debuts with the Admirals on Wednesday in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. On Friday versus Adirondack, they each picked up their first professional points on the same play, as Panik assisted on Ashton's first pro goal.

*ADMIRALS PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINEE*

*Adam Hall: 3 GP, 2 G, 3 A, 5 PTS*

Veteran forward Adam Hall was part of a line that helped the Admirals earn two victories last week at Scope. After being held off the scoresheet on Wednesday in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Hall posted four points on a goal and three assists in an 8-4 victory over Adirondack on Friday at Scope. On Saturday, Hall's go-ahead goal late in the second period stood up as the game-winner in a 3-1 win over the Phantoms. For the week, Hall had two goals and three assists for five points and a +6 rating in three games.

Hall and linemates Ryan Craig and Dana Tyrell combined for 14 points on seven goals and seven assists with a +17 rating in the weekend victories over Adirondack. Hall has posted 15 goals and 22 assists with a +9 rating in 70 games with the Admirals this season. He ranks third in points, is tied for fourth in goals and is tied for second in assists and plus/minus on the club while being tied for the team lead in games played. He has points in six of his last eight games (5G, 5A) to go along with a +10 rating in that span.

*WEDNESDAY IS VALUE NIGHT AT SCOPE!*

Wednesday will be another Family Fun Pack Night and Student Rush Night. Family Fun Packs include four discounted Red Level Tickets for just $48 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, brought to you by Pit Bull Energy Drink and Baxter's Sports Lounge, provide $8 White Level Tickets (normally $12) 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. On top of that, you get discounted food at Baxter's Sports Lounge (located across the street from Scope) on the day of the game.

Admirals 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.

*FRIDAY IS NAVY-MARINE CORPS RELIEF SOCIETY NIGHT*

Friday is also Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society Night. Fans may purchase discounted fundraising tickets for the game on norfolkadmirals.com with a portion of the ticket cost going back to the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society.

*FRIDAY IS ADMIRALS WATER BOTTLE GIVEAWAY NIGHT COURTESY OF SUPERCUTS*

On Friday night, the first 3,500 fans through the gates will receive an Admirals water bottle courtesy of SUPERCUTS.

*SATURDAY IS MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION JERSEY AUCTION NIGHT PRESENTED BY PAPCO*

The Admirals and PAPCO will present the tenth annual MDA Jersey Auction to benefit the Hampton Roads Muscular Dystrophy Association this Saturday after the Admirals game against the Worcester Sharks. The Admirals will don one-of-a-kind jerseys for Saturday's game. Immediately following the game, a live auction will take place on the ice with the jerseys sold right off the players' backs. Fans may get a preview of the jerseys at norfolkadmirals.com. Over the past nine seasons, the Admirals have raised $240,960 for MDA through the annual jersey auction.

New this season, the Admirals are offering discounted fundraising tickets for the game. Tickets are just $10 with $2 of each ticket going back to the local MDA. Tickets are available online at norfolkadmirals.com.

*THIS WEEK ON THE ADMIRALS HOUR RADIO SHOW*

The *Admirals Hour* will air on ESPN Radio 94.1-FM on Thursday from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. The Voice of the Admirals Pete Michaud will be in the studio with a guest. Please stay tuned to Facebook.com/NorfolkAdmirals and Twitter.com/NorfolkAdmirals for more details.

*SCOUTING REPORT*

The Admirals will host the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Wednesday and Friday nights at Scope. The Admirals lead the fourth-place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (36-29-2-3, 77 points in 70 games) by one point, but the Penguins have one game in hand. Norfolk is 4-3-0-0 against the Baby Pens this season but lost the last matchup between the clubs last Wednesday in Wilkes-Barre. Dustin Jeffrey leads the Penguins in assists and points (21G, 45A, 66PTS). Former Admiral Wyatt Smith is third in assists and is fifth in points (12G, 30A, 42PTS) while former Admiral Wade Brookbank is the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton team leader with 144 penalty minutes. The Penguins have won three straight games and have points in seven straight games (5-0-1-1) including a 5-4 win versus Rochester on Saturday. They do not play again before visiting Norfolk on Wednesday and Friday.

On Saturday, the Admirals will host the Atlantic Division leading Worcester Sharks at Scope for the only time of the 2009-10 regular season. The Sharks (43-21-2-3, 91 points in 69 games) lead the Atlantic Division by three points over the Portland Pirates. Worcester won the only prior meeting with the Admirals on November 22 with a 3-2 decision at the DCU Center. The Sharks are led offensively by center Steven Zalewski (21G, 37A, 58PTS) and defenseman Danny Groulx (11G, 46A, 57PTS). Rookie Alex Stalock has had a solid rookie season between the pipes, posting a 35-15-2 record with a 2.62 goals-against average and.907 save percentage. Worcester has won seven of its last nine games (7-2-0-0) including a 6-5 shootout victory at Lowell on Saturday. They host Syracuse on Tuesday and visit Hershey on Friday before visiting Norfolk on Saturday.

*NORFOLK LEADERS*

*Goals*: Ryan Craig (22)

*Assists*: Dana Tyrell (25)

*Points*: Ryan Craig (41)

*Games*: Adam Hall, Juraj Simek, Ty Wishart (70)

*PP goals*: Brandon Bochenski, Juraj Simek (7)

*SH goals*: Several (1)

*+/- Rating*: Dana Tyrell (+11)

*PIM*: Mitch Fritz (128)

*GAA*: Jaroslav Janus (2.07)

*Spct*: Jaroslav Janus (.922)

*Wins*: Dustin Tokarski (24)

*Losses*: Dustin Tokarski (19)

*GPI*: Dustin Tokarski (46)

*Minutes*: Dustin Tokarski (2783)

*WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON LEADERS*

*Goals*: Luca Caputi (23)

*Assists*: Dustin Jeffrey (45)**

*Points*: Dustin Jeffrey (66)

*Games*: Chris Lee (69)

*PP goals*: Luca Caputi (11)

*SH goals*: Dustin Jeffrey, Tim Wallace (3)

*+/- Rating*: Mark Letestu (+20)

*PIM*: Wade Brookbank (144)

*GAA*: Brad Thiessen (2.71)

*Spct*: Brad Thiessen (.904)

*Wins*: John Curry (23)

*Losses*: John Curry (17)

*GPI*: John Curry (43)

*Minutes*: John Curry (2519)

*WORCESTER LEADERS*

*Goals*: T.J. Trevelyan (24)

*Assists*: Danny Groulx (46)**

*Points*: Steven Zalewski (58)

*Games*: Andrew Desjardins, Danny Groulx (69)

*PP goals*: Steven Zalewski (9)

*SH goals*: Benn Ferriero (3)

*+/- Rating*: John McCarthy (+30)

*PIM*: Frazer McLaren (114)

*GAA*: Alex Stalock (2.62)

*Spct*: Alex Stalock (.907)

*Wins*: Alex Stalock (35)

*Losses*: Alex Stalock (15)

*GPI*: Alex Stalock (53)

*Minutes*: Alex Stalock (3086)

*TRANSACTIONS OF THE PAST WEEK*

*March 21, 2010* DELETE F Kai Kantola - Released from Amateur Tryout Contract (ATO)

*March 22, 2010* ADD D Jeremy Dehner - Signed to Amateur Tryout Contract (ATO) * * *TICKETS*

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 1-800-745-3000 or visit Ticketmaster online at ticketmaster.com. Don't miss a minute of the action by purchasing your 2010-11 season tickets today. Affordable monthly payment plans are available for a limited time only! 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

*ON THE RADIO/INTERNET*

All eighty regular season games will air live on STAR 1310-AM and will stream online free of charge at star1310.com. AHL Live will carry online video of every Admirals game on a pay-per-view or season pass basis. Fans can log in to watch or get more information about AHL Live's online video features at ahllive.com.

Check out the Norfolk Admirals Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from March 23, 2010


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