Admirals Shoot Down Wings on the Road
March 11, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Norfolk Admirals News Release
Kalamazoo, MI - The Norfolk Admirals faced the Wings in Kalamazoo, Friday night, to kick off a four-game road swing. Norfolk's three goals in the first nine minutes of regulation set the pace for the game and secured the 5-2 victory against Kalamazoo at Wings Event Center.
The Admirals quickly silenced the Wings as they dominated the opening frame in goals and shots. Devin Mantha notched his fifth goal of the season to give the Admirals momentum that carried through out the game. New Norfolk defensemen Sam Windle fired the puck to Mantha, whose wrister from the center of the Wings zone hit the back of Kalamazoo's net, top-shelf, 5:27 into the first.
Just 51 seconds later, center Alexis Loiseau redirected the puck from a laser by Wes Cunningham putting the Admirals up, 2-0, at 6:18. Not to be outdone, Norfolk scoring leader, Steven Whitney, wanted to share in the glory when he rebounded Loiseau's shot and grabbed his 18th goal of the season, continuing to widen their lead to 3-0 by 8:32 of the first period.
With plenty of time left in the game, the 3-0 lead remained until early into the final frame. Defensemen Allen Phillips' slap shot finally put the Wings on the board at 2:22. The Admirals didn't let that faze them as they answered 3:06 later. Forward Danick Gauthier made his Admiral debut tonight and gave his new-found team a three-goal lead in the third period, helping Whitney tally his third point of the game (1g, 2a) at 5:28.
Kalamazoo fought hard in the final two frames, limiting Norfolk to just two shots in the second period, and they were not done scoring, either. With 11:35 left in regulation, forward Curtis Valk hard slapper from the slot cut Norfolk's lead in half, 4-2.
As the Wings were looking for a comeback, the Admirals regained their three-goal advantage for the third time Friday night. Braden Christoffer registered his seventh goal in just 11 games played for Norfolk when he stuffed the puck into the net at 13:09. It would appear that Martin made a sprawling save but Christoffer pushed the puck past the goal line, securing a 5-2 victory for the Admirals on the road.
Norfolk and Kalamazoo would go 0-for-1 on the man advantage, and Nic Riopel held strong between the pipes for Norfolk throughout the game. He blocked 25 out of 27 Kalamazoo shots.
The Admirals travel to Toledo with 54 points to battle the Walleye Saturday night, March 12, at 7:15 p.m. at Huntington Center.
Three Stars:
1. NOR - #21 Steven Whitney
2. NOR - #25 Danick Gauthier
3. KAL - #18 Curtis Valk
• Discuss this story on the ECHL message board...
ECHL Stories from March 11, 2016
- Steelheads Batted by Rush - Idaho Steelheads
- Grizzlies Fall to Colorado in Return Home - Utah Grizzlies
- Monarchs Set to Host Max's Superhero Birthday Party - Manchester Monarchs
- Bowman Registers Four-Point Night In 6-2 Win Over Utah - Colorado Eagles
- Sparks Lifts Rush over Idaho - Rapid City Rush
- Solar Bears Tame Beast in 6-3 Win - Orlando Solar Bears
- Solar Bears Score Three in the Third to Pull Away from Beast 6-3 - Brampton Beast
- Nailers Get One Point against Conference Leading Toledo - Wheeling Nailers
- Monarchs Downed by Royals, 5-1 - Manchester Monarchs
- Stingrays Move into First Place in South Division with 4-1 Win over Atlanta - South Carolina Stingrays
- Swamp Rabbits "Stick It" to Everblades in 3-1 Win - Greenville Swamp Rabbits
- Admirals Shoot Down Wings on the Road - Norfolk Admirals
- K-Wings Slowed Down by Quick-Strike Admirals - Kalamazoo Wings
- Fuel Get Key Point in OT against IceMen - Indy Fuel
- Walleye Roar Back for Shootout Win 2-1 - Toledo Walleye
- Cyclones Continue to Roll, Take Weekend Opener with Mallards - Cincinnati Cyclones
- Full Moon over Indy in Overtime - Evansville IceMen
- Jackals Sweep Home-And-Home against Adirondack for Sixth Straight Victory - Elmira Jackals
- Royals Pull Away for Win in Manchester, 5-1 - Reading Royals
- Mallards Fall to Cyclones 3-1 - Quad City Mallards
- Stingrays Hand Atlanta 4-1 Defeat - Atlanta Gladiators
- Swamp Rabbits Bounce Past Everblades 3-1 - Florida Everblades
- Eagles Bolster Offense with Addition of Fiddler - Colorado Eagles
- ECHL Transactions - March 11 - ECHL
- Duck Dynasty Event Postponed Due to Louisiana Flooding - Wheeling Nailers
- Josh Brown Recalled by Portland, Monarchs Ink Two Former UNH Wildcats - Manchester Monarchs
- Admirals Add Chris Williams to Roster - Norfolk Admirals
- Moose Re-Assign Walker to Oilers - Tulsa Oilers
- Baker Signs P.T.O. with Manitoba - Quad City Mallards
- Game Notes: vs, Quad City - Cincinnati Cyclones
- Gameday: Adirondack at Elmira - Adirondack Thunder
- Nailers vs. Walleye Game Day Snap Shot - Wheeling Nailers
- Jackals and Thunder Faceoff at First Arena for Final Meeting in Elmira - Elmira Jackals
- Monarchs Game Day Capsule - Manchester Monarchs
- Oilers at Mavericks Tonight: Game Preview - Tulsa Oilers
- Game Preview: Atlanta at South Carolina, 7:05 p.m. - South Carolina Stingrays
- Royals Sign Defenseman Rich Botting to ATO - Reading Royals
- Mallards Game Day - Quad City Mallards
- Weekend Preview: IceMen Finish Week with 3 Games against Midwest - Evansville IceMen
- ECHL Today - March 11 - ECHL
- Owen, Jackals Silence Thunder, 2-0 - Elmira Jackals
- Solar Bears Cage Beast with 3-2 Win in First Meeting - Orlando Solar Bears
- Wild Second Period Leads Solar Bears over Beast - Brampton Beast
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
