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AHL Norfolk Admirals

Admirals\' Skid Hits Five Games

November 3, 2003 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Norfolk Admirals News Release


VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Norfolk's jaunt into New England proved fruitless last week as the team was shut out in three of four contests. On October 29, the Admirals lost a 1-0 heartbreaker in overtime to Springfield. Portland swept a pair from Norfolk, 2-1 on October 30 and 3-0 on November 1. The week ended with a 5-0 defeat to Manchester on November 2.

Norfolk's franchise-record 10-game road excursion continues in four different cities this week. The Admirals face the Binghamton Senators (Ottawa) on Wednesday, November 5 at 7:05 p.m. Following that game, the Blue and Gold play three matches in three days against the Springfield Falcons (Phoenix) on November 7 at 7:35 p.m., the Worcester IceCats (St. Louis) on November 8 at 7:05 p.m. and the Hershey Bears (Colorado/Tampa Bay) on November 9 at 5:00 p.m.

The Admirals are currently fifth in the East Division with 10 points (4-7-1-1). They trail Binghamton (6-2-1-2, 15 points), Hershey (6-2-1-1, 14 points), Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (6-3-1-0, 13 points) and Bridgeport (4-3-2-1, 11 points), and are followed by Philadelphia (3-5-1-1, eight points) and Albany (2-4-2-1, seven points).

THE WEEK AHEAD

Wednesday, November 5...Norfolk @ Binghamton Senators...7:05 p.m.

Last season, Norfolk won three of the four meetings between the clubs, including both match ups in the Empire State. The Senators currently sit atop the East Division and have outscored the opposition 32-23. They are third in the League on the power play (23.40) and 11th on the penalty kill (85.81). They are with Grand Rapids as the two least-penalized teams in the AHL, averaging just 15.1 PIM per game. Josh Langfeld leads the B-Sens in assists (seven), points (12, five goals) and plus/minus rating (plus-8). He is tied with several others for fourth on the League scoring list. Denis Hamel's seven lamplighters are most on the squad. Brooks Laich is tied with Norfolk's Matt Keith and Rochester's Derek Roy for most goals by a rookie (four), and he is among the top freshman scorers with seven points (three assists). His minus-3 rating is lowest on Binghamton. Dennis Bonvie has spent 27 minutes in the ‘sin bin' to lead the team in PIM. Ray Emery has seen the most time in net, posting a 5-3-1 record, 1.85 GAA and .936 spct. in nine appearances. He is on the leader board in GAA (12th), wins (tied with several for second), spct. (tied with Wade Dubielewicz, BRI, for 10th) and minutes (552, second; first - Jason LaBarbera, HFD, 558). Billy Thompson has appeared in two games, posting a 1-1-0 record, 3.04 GAA and .903 spct.

Friday, November 7...Norfolk @ Springfield Falcons...7:35 p.m.

The Falcons defeated the Admirals 1-0 in overtime on October 29 to take a 3-2-0-0 edge in the all-time series between the teams, including victories in all three match ups in Springfield. The Falcons are second in the Atlantic Division with 11 points (5-3-1-0) and have a 4-1-0-0 record at home. Springfield ranks 10th in the AHL with the man-advantage (17.85) and 22nd when shorthanded (80.00). The Falcons are outscoring their foes 10-5 in the third period this year. Jeff Taffe has the most points on the squad (7+6=13 points) and is tied with Wilkes-Barre's Tom Kostopoulos and Syracuse 's Brad Moran for the AHL scoring lead. He and Peter Ferraro have seven goals to tie them with several others for the League lead. Mike Wilson's plus-3 rating is tops on the club. Chris Ferraro has the lowest rating at minus-7 and the most PIM with 31. In net are David LeNeveu (4 GPI, 2-1-1, 2.70 GAA, .892 spct.) and Jean-Marc Pelletier (5 GPI, 3-2-0, 2.77 GAA, .910 spct.).

Saturday, November 8...Norfolk @ Worcester IceCats...7:05 p.m.

The Blue and Gold and the IceCats matched up twice last season, with Worcester coming away the winner both times. St. Louis' farm team currently sits last in the Atlantic with eight points (3-5-2-0). They are second in the AHL on the power play (23.63) and 25th in penalty killing (79.16). Marc Brown and Jeff Panzer share the team lead with 4+5=9 points each. Jame Pollock's six helpers are most on the IceCats. Aaron MacKenzie has the best rating at plus-2 while several players have a minus-4 rating. Steve McLaren leads his club and the entire League with 73 PIM. Greg Black is second on Worcester and among rookie skaters with 35 PIM. Between the pipes, Reinhard Divis is 2-5-2 with a 2.64 GAA and a .892 spct. in nine appearances, while Curtis Sanford is 1-0-0 with a 3.96 GAA and a .833 spct. in two games. Divis' five losses place him in a tie with Manitoba's Alex Auld and Albany's Scott Clemmensen for most losses in the AHL.

Sunday, November 9...Norfolk @ Hershey Bears...5:00 p.m.

Hershey won the only previous meeting between the teams this year, 2-0 on October 26. All of the Bear's three losses have come at the Giant Center this season. Hershey's power play unit is fourth in the AHL (20.93) while its penalty killers rank 27th (75.60). The Bears have been outshot 352-295 thus far. Several players share the team scoring-lead with eight points. Shane Willis and Gavin Moran have four goals each to lead the Bears, while Pascal Trepanier's seven assists are most on Hershey. Trepanier (1+7=8 points) and Brett Clarke (2+6=8 points) are tied with several others for third among the top-scoring defensemen in the League and are among the top five in helpers by AHL blueliners. Marc Busenburg's plus-3 rating is currently best on the club while the lowest rating is shared by Willis and Ryan Craig at minus-4 each. Morgan's 29 PIM are most on the Bears. Between the pipes, Tom Lawson is 2-0-0 with a 1.40 GAA and a .964 spct. in three outings, and Peter Budaj is 4-3-1 with a 2.99 GAA and a .911 spct. in eight games. Lawson is among the top five in the AHL in GAA and spct.

UPCOMING GAMES/PROMOTIONS

Thursday, November 13 (Hershey Bears)

* Norfolk's arch-nemeses visit Scope for the first time this season for a special Thursday night contest at 7:15 p.m.

Saturday, November 15 (Hershey Bears)

* 2002-03 South Division Champions puck giveaway. The first 2,000 fans will receive a voucher for a souvenir puck exit giveaway, courtesy of ACS Systems and Engineering.

TEAM NOTEBOOK * Though they have outshot their opponents 404-340, the Blue and Gold have been outscored 37-22.

* Norfolk's 37 goals allowed tie them with St. John's for most goals against this season.

* The Admirals are currently on a five-game road losing streak, tying a franchise record.

* Norfolk has been blanked five times in 13 games this year. The most times the team has been shut out in a season is six (2002-03).

* Although he leads the club with 35 shots, RW Bobby Russell is scoreless in 13 games this season.

* C Mikhail Yakubov leads Norfolk with an even plus/minus rating. All other skaters are on the minus side, with three players registering the lowest ratings at minus-7 (Ty Jones, Bobby Russell, Marty Wilford).

* G Steve Passmore owns a five-game winless streak (0-4-1) dating back to a 2-0 loss at Philadelphia on October 12.

* G Michael Leighton picked up his first win of the season as the Blackhawks defeated Anaheim 3-1 on November 2.

ON THE RADIO

All games are broadcast on the Admirals' Flagship Station, AM-1230 WJOI. The games are also cybercast on the World Wide Web at SportsJuice.com. Go to www.SportsJuice.com, or click on the link at www.norfolkadmirals.com. Pre-game broadcasts begin 15 minutes prior to game starting time.

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets for all remaining contests on the Admirals' home schedule are available at the Scope Box Office, all TicketMaster outlets, charge-by-phone at (757) 671-8100 and online at www.ticketmaster.com. Season tickets as well as 10- and 20-Game Plans and group tickets are available through the Admirals' office. For more information, visit the club's website at www.norfolkadmirals.com or call the Admirals at (757) 363-1900.

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