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AHL Norfolk Admirals

Norfolk Admirals Weekly

March 26, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Norfolk Admirals News Release


NORFOLK, Va. - The Admirals finish up a five-game homestand this weekend with Wilkes-Barre Scranton after losing two of three at home last week. Norfolk started with a victory that ended the eight-game season series with the Charlotte Checkers that was the GEICO Challenge Cup. The win pulled the Admirals into a 3-3-1-1 record against Charlotte on the season, scraping together eight points from the series. Wednesday night's matchup with the Checkers saw the Admirals fall behind 1-0 after the first period before putting three goals away in the second and two more in the last two minutes of the game to earn the 5-3 victory. Devante Smith-Pelly was responsible for the game-winner at 18:02 of the third and an empty-net goal with five seconds left to seal the win. Dave Steckel added a goal and an assist and Max Friberg notched a goal as well.

Friday night Norfolk began a two-game series with East-Division leader, Binghamton. Chris Wagner got the Admirals off on the right foot with a strike at 7:02 of the first but the Senators answered with a Mark Borowiecki marker to tie it heading into the first intermission. The second period followed suit with Norfolk taking their second lead of the game on Smith-Pelly's team-best 25th goal of the season at 11:40 in the period. Binghamton returned the favor scoring with 52 seconds left in the period to tie it again before the second intermission. In the third, the Senators slipped away from the Admirals with a goal almost three minutes into the period and another with under five to play. An empty-net goal buried Norfolk as Binghamton took the first game of the weekend, 5-2.

Fireworks started early Saturday night with two fights in the first seven minutes due to friction that carried over from a scuffle which broke out as Friday night's game ended. After the dust settled, Chris Wagner kicked off the most memorable game of his young career with a wrister at 10:07 of the first and another goal just 26 seconds later. Binghamton cut the lead in half with a minute and 54 seconds remaining in the first to enter the locker room down 2-1 at the first break. The Admirals and Senators traded a goal a piece early on in the second and Norfolk kept a one-goal advantage going to the second intermission. Binghamton finally caught up when Stephane Da Costa tied the game at three at 4:39 of the third. Da Costa stayed involved and gave the Senators their first lead at 9:57 of the third and Binghamton went up 4-3. Less than a minute later, the back-and-forth continued thanks to Devante Smith-Pelly who brought the Admirals back even with his 26th of the season at 10:32. Saturday night's scoring trend persisted as Corey Cowick regained the lead for the Senators plugging a shot into the top right corner to make it 5-4 with just over five minutes to play in regulation. As the clock approached the four-minute mark, Wagner capitalized one last time to complete the first hat trick of his two-year professional career, tying the game at five with 4:05 to go. Surprisingly, neither side could find the winner in regulation, forcing overtime. A minute and 34 seconds into the extra session, Jean-Gabriel Pageau stepped past Admirals' defenseman Jesse Blacker on the breakaway and lifted the game-winner over the outstretched leg of Norfolk goaltender Brad Thiessen. The Senators escaped with the 6-5 overtime win and four points on the weekend while the Admirals garnered a point.

Despite winning one of three games last week, Norfolk was able to pick up a spot in the Eastern Conference standings. They are seventh with 77 points and 11 games still to play before the end of the regular season. The Admirals did stay consistent while a man down, however, killing seven of eight penalties against them last week to stay atop the entire league in penalty killing efficiency (86.9%). They are 3-3-1-0 at home this month and 18-11-1-4 overall inside Scope this season. The Admirals host Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this weekend in a huge divisional series on Friday and Saturday nights. Norfolk is three points behind the Penguins and can overtake them with a sweep this weekend.

THE ADMIRALS' WEEK AHEAD

Fri., Mar. 28 ... vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 7:30 p.m.

Sat., Mar. 29 ... vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 7:15 p.m.

ADMIRALS' LOG

- Chris Wagner recorded his first career hat trick on Saturday versus Binghamton. It was also his first career two-goal game. He has 14 this season and is tied for third on the team in goals scored.

- Devante Smith-Pelly has four goals in the first three games of this current five-game homestand. He has 26 on the season and is tied for eighth in the league in goals scored. Andre Petersson continues to be effective with six points (3g, 3a) in seven games as an Admiral. Petersson had a goal and an assist in two games this past weekend against his former team, the Binghamton Senators.

NORFOLK LEADERS

Goals : Devante Smith-Pelly (26)

Assists : Emerson Etem (26)

Points : Andre Petersson (46)

Games : Chris Wagner (65)

PP goals : Devante Smith-Pelly (9)

SH goals : Max Friberg, Devante Smith-Pelly (3)

+/- Rating : Emerson Etem, Garnet Exelby, Nolan Yonkman (+10)

PIM : Zack Stortini (259)

GAA : John Gibson (2.40)

Spct : John Gibson (.918)

Wins : John Gibson (20)

Losses : John Gibson (19; four in shootout)

GPI : John Gibson (42)

Minutes : John Gibson (2404:06)

ABOUT THIS WEEK'S MATCHUPS

A vital four points are on the line this weekend when Wilkes-Barre/Scranton comes to the Scope on Friday and Saturday night. As the Eastern Conference standings indicate, the Penguins are three points ahead of the Admirals with 80 total points and are alone in fifth. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is second in the East Division while Norfolk is third with another opportunity to improve both their divisional and conference playoff positioning. A weekend sweep of the Penguins would push the Admirals in front of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton into second in the division and could possibly land Norfolk in the top five of the Eastern Conference. However, the losing end of a two-game sweep would most likely have the Admirals clinging to the eighth and final playoff spot in the conference standings. Norfolk has taken most of the points from the Penguins in the season series and own a 4-1-0-1 record versus Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2013-14. The last meeting between the two sides was dominated by the Pens in a 4-0 rout of the Admirals on March 15 in Pennsylvania. One in which Norfolk counted just 12 shots on net and tied the franchise low. Norfolk and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton square off inside the Norfolk Scope Arena for the first time since late January and the last time this season.

WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON LEADERS

Goals: Tom Kostopoulos (21)

Assists: Brendan Mikkelson (27)

Points: Tom Kostopoulos (44)

Games: Scott Harrington (65)

PP goals: Tom Kostopoulos (13)

SH goals: Brian Gibbons (3)

+/- Rating: Philip Samuelsson (+17)

PIM: Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond (211)

GAA: Eric Hartzell (2.30)

Spct: Eric Hartzell (.908)

Wins: Jeff Deslauriers (20)

Losses: Jeff Deslauriers (18; 3 in shootout)

GPI: Jeff Deslauriers (40)

Minutes: Jeff Deslauriers (2139:58)

**Upcoming Home Games, Events, & Promotions**

Friday, March 28 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 7:30 p.m.

- Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society Night

- BB&T Hat Giveaway

Saturday, March 29 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 7:15 p.m.

- Post Game Skate with The Admirals

- Operation Smile Night

- Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Night

GAME TICKETS

Individual tickets are on sale now at the Scope Box Office, all Ticketmaster Outlets, charge-by-phone at 1-800-745-3000 and online at www.ticketmaster.com

For 10-packs, or discounted group 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.

ON THE RADIO / INTERNET

The "Admirals Hour" radio show airs every Tuesday from 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. on 1490 AM The Game. Tune-in for an inside look into Admirals hockey featuring Admirals players, coaches, and staff.

All regular season games air live on 1490-AM The Game and on 1650 AM. Listen online at http://1490amthegame.com/home/listen-live/

Fans can watch the games online at AHL Live on a pay-per-view, or season pass basis at http://ahl.neulion.com/ahl/

Check out the Norfolk Admirals Statistics

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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.

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