AHL Norfolk Admirals

Blue and Gold Travel to Syracuse and Cleveland to Begin 2003

December 30, 2002 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Norfolk Admirals News Release


VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Norfolk hosted the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for a pair of matches this past weekend, dropping both contests. The Pens scored with less than four seconds remaining in regulation to win 1-0 on December 27, and tallied four unanswered goals to down the Admirals 4-1 on December 28. Norfolk snapped its three-game losing streak by lighting the lamp four times in the opening period en route to a 4-1 victory over the Bears at Hershey on December 29.

The Admirals play their last contest of 2002 on Tuesday, December 31 at the Syracuse Crunch (Columbus Blue Jackets) at 7:00 p.m. The squad rings in the New Year with a 7:00 p.m. face off on Thursday, January 2 in Cleveland against the Barons (San Jose Sharks). On Friday, January 3, the Blue and Gold return to Syracuse for a 7:30 p.m. match up with the Crunch.

Norfolk remains atop the South Division with 43 points (19-12-2-3). Hershey is second (16-10-6-1, 39 points) followed by Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (15-14-2-3, 35 points) and Philadelphia (13-15-1-2, 29 points).

THE WEEK AHEAD

Tuesday, December 30...Norfolk @ Syracuse Crunch...7:00 p.m.

Friday, January 3...Norfolk @ Syracuse Crunch...7:30 p.m.

The Crunch currently sit last in the Central Division and the Western Conference (11-18-2-1, 25 points). They have taken the fewest shots of any AHL club (919), and, along with Philadelphia, they have scored the fewest goals in the League (77). Syracuse is ranked 26th with the man-advantage (12.70) and ninth in shorthanded situations (85.71). David Ling is the team 's scoring leader with 5+25=30 points. His 25 helpers tie him for fourth in the AHL with Providence's Rich Brennan. Ling also tops the Crunch with 103 penalty minutes. Mathieu Darche has 14 lamplighters to lead the squad. Radim Bicanek's 13 points (3+10) are the most of any Crunch defenseman. Mike Pandolfo is the only current Syracuse skater with a positive rating at plus-1, while Trent Cull owns the lowest rating on the team at minus-14. Between the pipes are Pascal Leclaire, with a 4-10-1 record, 3.95 goals against average and .883 save percentage, and Karl Goehring, with a 6-7-0 record, 2.36 GAA and .917 spct. Goehring ranks 11th in the AHL in GAA.

Thursday, January 2...Norfolk @ Cleveland Barons...7:00 p.m.

The Barons hold a 2-1-0 edge in the season series between the teams, and won their previous match up in Cleveland, 6-3 on November 25. The Sharks' farm club has the most losses in the Western Conference (20). Only Lowell has a higher differential in goals allowed to goals scored in the League (Cleveland, minus-38: 90 scored, 128 allowed; Lowell, minus-45: 85 scored, 130 allowed). Cleveland is seventh in the AHL on the power play (17.91), but just 27th in penalty killing (79.04). Niko Dimitrakos is atop the club' s scoring list with 10+23=33 points. He is currently third among AHL rookies in points and tied with Worcester's John Pohl for second in assists. Dimitrakos ranks among all League's top scorers as well. Miroslav Zalesak has the most goals on the Barons with 15. John Jakopin has the only positive rating on the team at plus-1, and David Cloutier and Chad Wiseman have the lowest ratings at minus-15 each. Eric LaPlante has accumulated 119 penalty minutes to lead the team in PIM. Vesa Toskala has seen the most time in net for Cleveland, posting a 7-15-1 record, 3.44 GAA and .898 spct. in 24 appearances. His 15 losses are most among League netminders, and he is second in the AHL with 690 saves (Rochester's Ryan Miller, 727). Seamus Kotyk completes the goaltending tandem with a 4-6-0 record, 3.75 goals against average and .884 save percentage.

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS

Friday, January 10 (Bridgeport Sound Tigers)

*20/20 Night - to mark the Admirals 20th home game of the season, 20 prizes will be awarded to lucky ticket holders throughout the game.

* Family Four Pack Night - fans can receive four Blue Level tickets, four hot dogs and four soft drinks for $44.00. Available through the Scope Box Office and all TicketMaster outlets. (Not available for purchase day of the game.)

Wednesday, January 15 (Syracuse Crunch)

* Player portrait giveaway featuring D Marty Wilford to the first 3,000 fans, courtesy of the Tobacco Use Control Project (TUCP) (Player portrait #4 of eight).

* Northrop Grumman Newport News Shipbuilding Night - employees of NNS who show proper ID at the Scope Box Office or any TicketMaster outlet receive $2.00 off any ticket purchased.

Friday, January 17 (Syracuse Crunch)

* Rally Towel giveaway to the first 2,000 fans, courtesy of ACS Systems and Engineering.

Friday, January 24 (Philadelphia Phantoms)

* AJ Gator's pre-game party at the 244 Granby Street location in downtown Norfolk. Tickets are available through the Scope Box Office and all TicketMaster outlets.

TEAM NOTEBOOK

* Norfolk upped its road record to 11-5-1-1 with a 4-1 victory at Hershey on December 29. Conversely, the team is just 8-7-1-2 at Scope, and has dropped its last three home contests (since December 13 vs. Hershey).

* The Admirals have outscored their opponents 57-50 when skating on foreign ponds, while they have been outscored by a 47-43 count in their own barn.

* D Dmitri Tolkunov scored his first goal of the season and added a pair of assists against Hershey on December 29. Tolkunov skated in just his third game of 2002-03, as he missed 33 games due to injury.

* G Michael Leighton picked up the win (his 13th) versus Hershey yesterday to remain tied for the League lead in victories with several other goalies.

* Norfolk's scoring leader RW Mike Peluso registered an assist against the Bears on Sunday, his first point in six games played since December 7th. He sat out three contests due to injury from December 18th through the 21st.

* Former Admiral, and last year's AHL Rookie of the Year, Tyler Arnason, tallied a hat trick, netting all three of Chicago's goals, as the Blackhawks tied the San Jose Sharks 3-3 on December 28. Arnason currently leads all NHL rookie scorers with 11+11=22 points.

ON THE RADIO

All games are broadcast on the Admirals' Flagship Station, WBVA 1450-AM "The Buzz". 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 20 minutes prior to game starting time.

The Admirals Radio Show is on hiatus this week due to a game at Cleveland on January 2. It will next air Thursday, January 9 from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. when Pete Michaud welcomes special guests as he broadcasts live from the Azalea Inn/Time Out Sports Bar & Grill, 2344 E. Little Creek Road in Norfolk.

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. Family Four Packs and AJ Gator's pre-game party packages are available at Scope's Box Office and all TicketMaster outlets. Flex Vouchers and Group Tickets are available through the Admirals' office. For more information, contact the Admirals at (757) 363-1900 or visit the team's website at www.norfolkadmirals.com.

Check out the Norfolk Admirals Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from December 30, 2002


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