AHL Norfolk Admirals

Lightning Recall Ramo and Heward from Admirals

November 23, 2008 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Norfolk Admirals News Release


TAMPA BAY, FL - The Tampa Bay Lightning, NHL parent club of the Norfolk Admirals, have recalled goaltender Karri Ramo and defenseman Jamie Heward from the Admirals, Lightning Executive Vice President and General Manager Brian Lawton announced today.

Ramo, a 6-foot-2, 207-pound goaltender in his third professional season, has appeared in 15 games for the Admirals this season posting a 4-8-3 record with a 3.48 goals-against average and a .889 save percentage. He ranks among the top five goaltenders in the American Hockey League in games played, minutes and shots faced.

The 22-year-old netminder appeared in six games with the Admirals last season, going 2-4-0 with a 3.33 goals-against average and .898 save percentage. In 66 career AHL games between Norfolk and the Springfield Falcons, he has posted a 21-36-14 record with a 3.24 goals-against average and a .890 save percentage. He represented the organization at the 2006-07 AHL All-Star Game and was named the top goaltender in the skills competition.

The native of Asikkala, Finland played in a career-high 22 games with the Lightning last season, posting a 7-11-3 record and a 3.03 goals-against average. He also set career-bests for wins, shots faced (632), saves (568), save percentage (.899), goals-against average and minutes played (1,268).

Ramo has played in 24 career NHL games, posting a 7-11-3 record with a .896 save percentage and a 3.05 goals-against average. He was selected by the Lightning in the sixth round, 191st overall, in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

Heward, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound defenseman, has skated in 12 contests for the Admirals, scoring five goals and seven assists with 16 penalty minutes. Four of his goals and six of his assists have come on the power play. Heward ranks in the top ten of AHL scoring by defensemen and registered a goal and two assists on Friday in Springfield to run his point streak to an Admirals season-high seven games (4G, 6A).

The 37-year-old from Regina, Saskatchewan, played in three games with the Lightning this season, including two during the Bridgestone NHL Premiere in Prague in October. He tied his career high for assists in a game with two on October 11 against Carolina. He recorded two shots on goal and four penalty minutes along with the two assists this season.

The 2008-09 season marks the eighteenth season of professional hockey for Heward. He has appeared in 928 pro games between the NHL, AHL, IHL, and European pro leagues, scoring 134 goals and 320 assists with 827 penalty minutes.

Heward is a veteran of 384 NHL games over nine seasons between Tampa Bay, Los Angeles, Washington, Columbus, New York Islanders, Nashville and Toronto. He has recorded 38 career goals, 124 points, 22 power play goals and six game-winning goals. He played in 53 games with SKA St. Petersburg in Russia last season, registering two goals and 17 points.

Heward has skated in 198 career American Hockey League games between Norfolk, St. John's, Philadelphia and Syracuse, netting 55 goals and 118 assists with 135 penalty minutes. In 1997-98 with the Phantoms, Heward captured the Eddie Shore Award as the AHL's most outstanding defenseman as Philadelphia captured the 1998 Calder Cup.

The Admirals will return to Scope with three games next week centered around Thanksgiving: Wednesday versus the Springfield Falcons, and Friday and Saturday versus the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. There are several exciting promotions planned for the week, beginning with Family Fun Pack Night, Student Rush Night, USA Hockey Night and a Domino's Pizza Oven-Baked Sandwich giveaway on Wednesday. Please visit norfolkadmirals.com for more details.

To purchase tickets to any Admirals game, you may visit the Scope Box Office weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., visit any Ticketmaster outlet, call Ticketmaster at (757) 671-8100 or visit Ticketmaster online at www.ticketmaster.com. Don't miss a minute of the action by purchasing your 2008-09 season tickets today. Stop by the Admirals' Administrative Offices at Scope, call (757) 640-1212 weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or visit norfolkadmirals.com anytime!

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