Admirals Rally to Beat Hartford in Overtime
November 4, 2006 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Norfolk Admirals News Release
HARTFORD, Connecticut - Brandon Bochenski scored the game-winner 1:41 into overtime for his fourth point on the night, as the Admirals defeated the Wolf Pack 4-3 in Hartford Saturday night.
The Wolf Pack took the early lead just 3:43 into the first period as Dwight Helminen deflected a Bryce Lampman shot for a power play goal. Lauri Korpikoski made it a two-goal lead for Hartford when he scored at 11:23. Norfolk netminder Mike Ayers, making his Admirals' debut, was lifted in favor of Corey Crawford after the Korpikoski goal. Norfolk trailed 2-0 after one period.
The Admirals used two second period goals and thirteen saves from Crawford to tie the game at 2-2. While Norfolk was on the power play midway through the period, Craig MacDonald attempted a cross-ice pass from the corner to the right of Hartford goaltender Steve Valiquette. The pass deflected off a Hartford defender in the slot to Troy Brouwer at the bottom of the left circle. Brouwer fired the puck past an unsuspecting Valiquette at 8:49. Brouwer then set up the game-tying goal just over eight minutes later, as he sent a pass from the left circle to a pinching Dustin Byfuglien in the low slot. Byfuglien's initial shot was kicked away by Valiquette. However, Byfuglien picked up the rebound and buried it glove side at 16:51. The teams headed into the third period tied at 2-2.
Bochenski put the Admirals ahead briefly 1:13 into the third period, as he got past long-time NHL defenseman Darius Kasparaitis to break in on Valiquette. After being denied on his first shot, Bochenski stuffed home the rebound glove side to give Norfolk a 3-2 lead. The lead was short-lived, as Ryan Callahan scored his own rebound goal just 44 seconds later at 1:57. After sixty minutes of hockey, the score was tied 3-3.
In overtime, Martin St. Pierre first made a strong defensive play to break up a Hartford two-on-one break before sending the puck up ice to Byfuglien. Byfuglien found Bochenski speeding through center ice toward the slot. Bochenski broke in on Valiquette and beat the goaltender with a snap shot glove-side 1:14 into overtime to give the Admirals a 4-3 victory.
Mike Ayers made five saves on seven shots in his Admirals debut and did not factor in the decision. Corey Crawford stopped 22 of 23 shots and earned the win. Steve Valiquette made 26 saves on 30 shots for Hartford and was saddled with the loss.
The Admirals were 1-6 on the power play. Hartford was 1-5.
Norfolk's win tonight coupled with a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton loss in Philadelphia puts the Admirals (8-0-1-1, 18 points) atop the East Division standings for the first time since March 2, 2005.
The Admirals defend their first place standing against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton tomorrow evening in Pennsylvania. The puck drops at 5:00, and the game can be heard on the radio at 1010-AM WRJR, 1270-AM WTJZ and 1450-AM WBVA. Fans may listen live online on sportsjuice.com. Additionally, fans may watch the game online on a pay-per-view basis through the B2 Networks. Go to norfolkadmirals.com and click the B2 link on the right side of the page for more details.
With the win, the Admirals have picked up points in all ten games played so far. The Norfolk record for most consecutive games with a point is 12, set in the first 12 games of the 2002-03 season (Oct. 11 @ Portland - Nov. 7 versus Philadelphia).
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