Admirals First Team to Clinch Playoff Spot
March 19, 2007 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Norfolk Admirals News Release
NORFOLK, VA - The Admirals became the first team to clinch a spot in the 2007 Calder Cup Playoffs on Sunday night after splitting a pair of games against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Friday and Saturday at Scope. Despite a pair of goals by Jordan Hendry, the Admirals fell to the Sound Tigers 5-3 on Friday night at Scope. David Bolland scored twice as the Admirals established a new franchise record for points in a season by defeating Bridgeport 6-3 on Saturday night at Scope. Bridgeport's 7-4 loss to Philadelphia on Sunday evening guaranteed that Norfolk would finish no worse than fourth in the East Division, locking them into the 2007 Calder Cup Playoffs.
The Admirals will travel to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Friday and Binghamton on Saturday.
EAST DIVISION STANDINGS
RK TEAM GP W L OTL SOL PTS
1 NORFOLK ADMIRALS 69 45 18 5 1 96
2 Hershey Bears 67 41 14 6 6 94
3 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 66 42 18 2 4 90
4 Albany River Rats 66 32 29 3 2 69
5 Bridgeport Sound Tigers 66 31 29 1 5 68
6 Philadelphia Phantoms 67 27 32 2 6 62
7 Binghamton Senators 67 19 40 3 5 46
THE ADMIRALS' WEEK AHEAD
Fri., Mar. 23 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (Pittsburgh/Edmonton)...7:05 p.m.
Sat., Mar. 24 at Binghamton Senators (Ottawa)...7:05 p.m.
TEAM NOTEBOOK
- The Admirals became the first team to clinch a playoff spot on Sunday night.
- The Admirals now have a 45-18-5-1 record for 96 points, besting the previous franchise record of 94 points from the 2005-06 season (43-29-4-4).
- Norfolk has extended their franchise record for wins in a season to 45 victories and their franchise record for home victories to 31 W's - just two home wins shy of the American Hockey League record. The Admirals' 2006-07 campaign still has 11 regular season games remaining - including three at Norfolk Scope.
- Troy Brouwer set two franchise records on Saturday night. With a goal in his sixth straight game, Brouwer established a new record for most consecutive games with a goal scored, besting Casey Hankinson's five-game streak from the 2000-01 season. He also picked up three points on Saturday to push his season total to 74 points, passing Martin St. Pierre's single-season rookie record of 73 points set last season. Two weeks ago, Brouwer also set the new Norfolk franchise record for goals in a single season, passing the former mark of 33 goals by Rene Bourque (2004-05) and Brandon Bochenski (2006-07) on . He has since extended his franchise-record goal total to 37.
- On Saturday, Corey Crawford picked up his AHL-leading 34th victory and tied a franchise record by appearing in his 52nd game of the season. Michael Leighton, also had 52 appearances in 2001-02. Crawford (3005 minutes) now trails Leighton (3114 minutes, 2001-02) for the single-season lead in goaltender minutes.
- After having a total of just five first-period goals in its prior 16 games, the Admirals scored three first-period markers on Saturday against Bridgeport. They also fired 26 shots on net in the period to establish a new franchise record for shots in a single period. Their 3-0 lead after one period marked just the second time in the past 18 games that the Admirals held the lead after 20 minutes. They are 9-8-1-0 in that time.
- Troy Brouwer (10 games, 11g, 6a), Kris Versteeg (8 games, 1g, 8a) and Pierre Parenteau (7 games, 4g, 8a) are all on extended scoring streaks.
- The Admirals now have three players with plus/minus ratings in the top 20 of the AHL: Jordan Hendry (+19, T-10th), Pierre Parenteau (+18, T-12th) and Martin St. Pierre (+17, T-17th)
- After Saturday's win against Bridgeport, Norfolk is now 3-1-0-0-0 all time on St. Patrick's Day.
TRANSACTIONS OF THE PAST WEEK
None
BURGER KING® HAVE IT YOUR WAY® ADMIRALS HOUR
The BURGER KING® HAVE IT YOUR WAY® Admirals Hour radio show will air today, Tuesday, March 20, at 6:00 p.m. on 670-AM WPMH, 1010-AM WRJR, 1270-AM WTJZ, 1450-AM and 1310-AM ESPN Radio. "The Voice of the Admirals" Pete Michaud will be joined by #15 Colin Fraser in the studio taking fans calls.
NORFOLK LEADERS
Goals: Troy Brouwer (37) Assists: Martin St. Pierre (63)
Points: Martin St. Pierre (85) Games Played: Jordan Hendry (69)
PP goals: Troy Brouwer (17) SH goals: Carl Corazzini, Craig MacDonald (3)
+/- Rating: Jordan Hendry (+19) PIM: David Koci (212)
GAA: Corey Crawford (2.80) Spct: Corey Crawford (.910)
Wins: Corey Crawford (34) Losses: Corey Crawford (17)
GPI: Corey Crawford (52) Minutes: Corey Crawford (3005)
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON LEADERS
Goals: Jonathan Filewich (25) Assists: Rob Schremp (29)
Points: Jonathan Filewich (49) Games Played: Stephen Dixon, Jonathan Filewich (66)
PP goals: Jonathan Filewich (11) SH goals: Stephen Dixon, Jonathan Filewich (2)
+/- Rating: Tyler Kennedy (+15) PIM: Wade Skolney (195)
GAA: Jeff Deslauriers (2.60) Spct: Jeff Deslauriers (.905)
Wins: Jeff Deslauriers (17) Losses: Nolan Schaefer (12)
GPI: Jeff Deslauriers (32) Minutes: Jeff Deslauriers (1823)
BINGHAMTON LEADERS
Goals: Jeff Heerema (29) Assists: Andrew Ebbett (29)
Points: Jeff Heerema (54) Games Played: Ryan Vesce, Bobby Robins (67)
PP goals: Jeff Heerema, Ryan Vesce (8) SH goals: Josh Hennessy, Andrew Ebbett (4)
+/- Rating: Andrew Ebbett (+4) PIM: Danny Bois (130)
GAA: Kelly Guard (3.37) Spct: Kelly Guard (.896)
Wins: Kelly Guard (10) Losses: Jeff Glass (22)
GPI: Jeff Glass (39) Minutes: Kelly Guard (2030)
ON THE RADIO/INTERNET
All games are broadcast on 670-AM WPMH, 1010-AM WRJR, 1270-AM WTJZ and 1450-AM WBVA. The games are also cybercast at SportsJuice.com. Go to SportsJuice.com, or click on the link at norfolkadmirals.com. Pre-game broadcasts begin 15 minutes prior to game starting 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.
TICKET INFORMATION
Individual tickets for all Admirals' home games are available at the Scope Box Office, all TicketMaster outlets, charge-by-phone at (757) 671-8100 and online at www.ticketmaster.com. Ten-Packs and group tickets are available through the Admirals' office. For more information, visit the club's website at norfolkadmirals.com or call the Admirals at (757) 640-1212.
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