Norfolk Admirals Weekly
October 16, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Norfolk Admirals News Release
NORFOLK, Va. - The Admirals dropped the puck on the 2014-15 regular season last Saturday night at home inside Scope versus East Division opponent Hershey. The seesaw affair included four ties and five lead changes, but eventually Norfolk outlasted the Bears in front of 6,229 on opening night.
Chris Wagner owned the limelight and deservingly so with two shorthanded goals in the first period and the game-winner in the third for his second career hat trick. His first goal went unassisted as the center dug the puck out from between the boards and two Hershey attackers in his own zone. Wagner dashed into daylight down the right wing for a two-on-one chance with Brad Winchester at his side. Wagner hesitated and held the puck before snapping a shot into the top right corner past the Bears' goaltender Philipp Grubauer at 4:30 of the first.
His second marker was the product of a great effort by Winchester to shovel the puck just past the outstretched stick of a scrambling Bear to spring a breakaway. Wagner faked right before cutting left and lifting a shot over Grubauer's pad, knotting the game for a second time. Five of the nine goals scored that evening were recorded on special teams. Norfolk took its first lead early in the second and allowed a fourth to Hershey later in the period to set up a decisive final frame.
Wagner reappeared in clutch time with the score tied at four. A loose puck bounced off two players jostling for position to an open Wagner between the circles who fired a quick one-timer along the deck through Grubauer's legs. The Scope erupted and hats fell onto the ice as the third-year Admiral completed his hat trick with a game-winner at 10:39 of the third period. Norfolk hung on for a 5-to-4 victory.
Two nights later, the Bears jumped on Norfolk much like they did in the first game. This time, there would be no response from the home side and Hershey put away the first three goals of the contest. The Admirals scored twice but Hershey retained a two-goal cushion on its way to a 5-to-2 win Monday night.
The Admirals play the Manchester Monarchs this weekend on Friday and Saturday nights at Scope. Friday night is Military Appreciation Night, presented by USAA. The Admirals will travel to Providence, Springfield and Hartford next weekend for their first road test and "three-in-three" of the season.
STANDINGS UPDATE
At 1-1-0-0 (2 points), the Admirals are in tied for 2nd place in the East Division and are tied for 2nd place in the Eastern Conference.
Eight teams in each conference shall qualify for the 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs. Following the conclusion of each team's 76-game regular season, the three division winners in each conference will be seeded 1-3 (in order of regular-season points) and the next five best teams (in order of regular-season points) will be seeded 4-8.
THE ADMIRALS' WEEK AHEAD
Fri., Oct. 17 ... vs. Manchester Monarchs (Los Angeles Kings) ... 7:30 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 18 ... vs. Manchester Monarchs (Los Angeles Kings) ... 7:15 p.m.
ADMIRALS SPOTLIGHT
- Former Admiral William Karlsson scored twice in his NHL debut on October 13 with Anaheim. Karlsson's markers were a part of a 5-to-1 onslaught of Buffalo.
- Norfolk 's Chris Wagner received the first call up to the NHL in his professional career on Wednesday. Wagner and veteran goaltender Jason LaBarbera received assignments in Anaheim while John Gibson was assigned to Norfolk for the weekend. Wagner caught the Ducks' attention with a hat trick in the season opener followed by another goal last Monday in Norfolk's second game of the season. He is tied for the AHL lead with four goals.
- Gibson spent almost all of last season with the Admirals and returns to Hampton Roads to play these two games this weekend versus Manchester. He struggled in the Ducks' 2014-15 season opener versus Pittsburgh and will get ice time in Norfolk to stay fresh for his reassignment to Anaheim to back up former Admiral Frederik Andersen. Gibson went 21-17-4 with Norfolk last season with a 2.34 goals-against average and .919 save percentage in the regular season.
ADMIRALS' LOG
Chris Wagner became the second Admiral in AHL Admirals' history to pot two shorthanded goals in one game last Saturday in a 5-to-4 defeat of Hershey. It was the second straight home opener for Norfolk in which an Admiral skater notched a hat trick. Defenseman Alex Grant (now with Binghamton) scored three of five Norfolk goals last year against his current team. Seven players made their Norfolk Admirals debut last weekend. Brendan Bell, Jason LaBarbera, Louis Leblanc, Steve MacIntyre, Nathan McIver, Brad Winchester, and Brandon Yip all donned Admirals uniforms for the first time in Saturday's win over Hershey.
NORFOLK LEADERS
Goals :
Chris Wagner (4)
Assists :
Brad Winchester (3)
Points :
Chris Wagner (4)
Games :
16 players tied (2)
PP goals :
Louis Leblanc (1)
SH goals :
Chris Wagner (2)
+/- Rating :
Bell, Wagner, Winchester (3)
PIM :
Winchester (21)
GAA :
Jason LaBarbera (4.06)
Spct :
Jason LaBarbera (.892)
Wins :
Jason LaBarbera (1)
Losses :
Igor Bobkov (1)
GPI :
Bobkov, LaBarbera (1)
Minutes :
Igor Bobkov (60)
MANCHESTER LEADERS
Goals :
Four players tied (1)
Assists :
Jordan Weal (2)
Points :
O'Neill, Raine, Weal (2)
Games :
19 players tied (1)
PP goals :
None
SH goals :
None
+/- Rating :
Vincent LoVerde (3)
PIM :
Kevin Raine (12)
GAA :
Jean-Francois Berube (2.00)
Spct :
Jean-Francois Berube (.918)
Wins :
Jean-Francois Berube (1)
Losses :
Jean-Francois Berube (0)
GPI :
Jean-Francois Berube (1)
Minutes :
Jean-Francois Berube (59:48)
ABOUT THIS WEEKEND'S MATCHUP
Manchester pulls into the Norfolk Scope Arena with its first two points of the season in hand. Four different players scored for the Monarchs in a smooth victory over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Center Jordan Weal dished out two assists while blue-liner Kevin Raine and winger Brian O'Neill added a goal and an assist each. A total of nine Monarchs broke onto the scoresheet in front of Jean-Francois Berube who turned aside 22 shots of the 23 he faced. It was certainly a positive outing for 2013-14's hottest team as 11 players currently lie above zero in the plus-minus department.
Norfolk 's test this weekend as it was last Monday night against Hershey is to close the gaps in their own territory and defend a net fronted by John Gibson. Anaheim reassigned Gibson for ice time Wednesday and the 21-year-old Pittsburgh native will play both games this weekend. Ironically, Gibson was one of the main reasons behind the eighth-seeded Admirals' upset of top-ranked Manchester in the first round of the 2014 Calder Cup Playoffs. Both clubs return a bulk of their rosters from last season, so it will be interesting to see if any distaste remains from the spring.
**UPCOMING EVENTS AND PROMOTIONS**
Friday, October 17 vs. Manchester Monarchs
- Military Appreciation Night, Presented by USAA
Saturday, October 18 vs. Manchester Monarchs
- Social Media Night
Social media has taken the worldwide web by storm and just about anyone or anything can be found on Facebook, Twitter or the variety of other outlets. Stay tuned to the Admirals' team Facebook and Twitter accounts for a special announcement leading up to the first of two Social Media Nights this season
- ODU hockey vs. Northern Virginia CC at 2 p.m. (Doors open at 1 p.m.)
Purchasing an Admirals game ticket for October 18 grants you admission to the ODU game and Admirals vs. Monarchs at 7:15 p.m.
- Post-game Skate with the Admirals, presented by Dave and Buster's
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 ticketmaster.com. Don't miss a minute of Admirals action by purchasing your 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.
ON THE RADIO/INTERNET
All regular season games will air live on 1650 AM WHKT "The Answer" and online at 1650theanswer.com. AHL Live will also carry online video of every Admirals game on a pay-per-view or season pass basis. Fans can log in to watch, listen or get more information about AHL Live's online audio and video features at ahllive.com.
American Hockey League Stories from October 16, 2014
- Hogs Open Road Trip with First Win - Rockford IceHogs
- Norfolk Admirals Weekly - Norfolk Admirals
- Amerks to Host Seventh Annual "Sweets in the Suites" - Rochester Americans
- Andrew Johnston Reassigned to Phantoms - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Springfield Falcons Sign Forward Andrew Cherniwchan to PTO - Springfield Falcons
- Toronto Marlies Weekly - Toronto Marlies
- Islanders Loan Reinhart to Sound Tigers - Bridgeport Islanders
- Wings Assign Miele to Griffins - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Tickets Still Available for IceCaps' Opening Weekend - St. John's IceCaps
- B-Sens Go PINK in Support of Breast Cancer - Binghamton Senators
- Wolves Eager to Stick It to Breast Cancer - Chicago Wolves
- IceCaps Re-Assign Jussi Olkinuora to Ontario Reign - St. John's IceCaps
- Lightning Assign Jonathan Drouin to Syracuse - Syracuse Crunch
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.
