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AHL Norfolk Admirals

Norfolk Admirals Weekly

December 23, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Norfolk Admirals News Release


NORFOLK, Va. - After splitting their weekend series with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the Norfolk Admirals have now won three of their past five games as the team continues to get back to full strength.

Friday night saw the return of goalie Jason LaBarbera, who had been reassigned by the Anaheim Ducks earlier in the week. The veteran stopped 29 of 34 Bridgeport shots as the Sound Tigers peppered him throughout the evening. Despite only three shots throughout the entire first period, Norfolk was able to claim a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes of play. Louis Leblanc scored his team leading ninth goal of the season and Antoine Laganiere found the back of the net as well. Bridgeport stormed back late in the game to win the contest by a final score of 5-2. Former Admiral, Cory Conacher, who won a Calder Cup with the team in 2012, finished the night with a goal and an assist for Bridgeport.

John Gibson would get the start between the pipes for Norfolk on Saturday night and he proved to be the difference maker in a 2-1 Admirals win. Laganiere opened the scoring with a first period goal. It was his seventh point in his past seven games. Ryan Pulock tied the game for Bridgeport with less than 30 seconds remaining in the first frame. Max Friberg put the Admirals ahead for good with his third period power-play marker. However, with less than 10 minutes to play, Gibson left the game. LaBarbera stood tall in relief, stopping all 10 shots he faced en route to a 2-1 victory.

The Norfolk Admirals now sit only three points behind the Binghamton Senators in the East Division. Norfolk maintains a record of 12-17-0-0 for a total of 24 points and fifth place in the division. The Admirals travel to face the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on December 27 at 7:05 p.m. The Phantoms occupy the third seed in the East Division with a 13-10-4-1 record and 31 points. Norfolk continues the divisional road trip at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on December 28 before finishing the tour in Hershey on December 30.

ON THE RADIO/INTERNET

Due to the AHL's holiday break, there will be no "Admirals Hour" radio program this week.

STANDINGS UPDATE

At 12-17-0-0 (24 points), the Admirals are in 5th place in the East Division and are in 15th 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

Sat., Dec. 27 ... at Lehigh Valley Phantoms (Philadelphia Flyers) ... 7:05 p.m.

Sun., Dec. 28 ... at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (Pittsburgh Penguins) ... 4:05 p.m.

ADMIRALS SPOTLIGHT

- Rickard Rakell has maintained production since being recalled from Norfolk on December 6. He scored his first career NHL regular-season goal last night versus San Jose off an assist from another recent call-up, Emerson Etem. Rakell has a goal and four assists in eight games after helping Norfolk in two games with a goal and three assists.

- The aforementioned Emerson Etem generated a two-game assist streak he currently rides following his call-up to Anaheim on December 17. Etem spent nearly a month with the Admirals and that time seems to have made a difference. The Long Beach, California native scored two goals and helped on four more for the Ducks thus far in 2014-15.

ADMIRALS' LOG

Forward Antoine Laganiere has caught fire over the past two weeks, posting five points in the last three games and seven in the last seven contests. Laganiere recorded just three points in 19 games before December and now has 10 points this season. Though Bridgeport snapped Max Friberg's four-game point streak, the Swede jabbed home the game-winner Saturday night with less than nine minutes to play. Friberg's fifth goal of the season split the series with the Sound Tigers raised his total to 10 points in 12 games since his return from an upper-body injury suffered in the very first shift of the season.

NORFOLK LEADERS

Goals: Louis Leblanc (9)

Assists: Brendan Bell (13)

Points: Nic Kerdiles (17)

Games: Brendan Bell, Nic Kerdiles, Dave Steckel (27)

PP Goals: Louis Leblanc (5)

SH Goals: Chris Wagner (2)

+/- Rating: Jared Nightingale (0)

PIM: John Kurtz (78)

GAA: John Gibson (2.48)

Spct: John Gibson (.924)

Wins: Jason LaBarbera (3)

Losses: Jason LaBarbera (3)

GPl: Jason LaBarbera (7)

Minutes: Jason LaBarbera (367:49)

ABOUT THIS WEEKEND ' S MATCHUPS

Norfolk sets out on a three-game road trip to divisional foes Lehigh Valley, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Hershey. The Admirals took on the Phantoms a month ago when they fell by a 4-3 score in Allentown, primarily due to the Phantoms ' barrage of three goals in three minutes during the second period. Norfolk had better luck against the Penguins, when they swept their series earlier this year. The Admirals and Bears have not faced off since opening weekend, a series that the two teams split.

After trading wins and losses over the last six games, Norfolk will look for some consistency. Nic Kerdiles continues to be a sniper for the Admirals with 17 points, including seven in December and two multi-point outings, and is 12th in rookie scoring. Antoine Laganiere has heated up, scoring six points in his last six games and five in his last three, two of which came on the power play on Friday. Max Friberg has not slowed down, boasting six points in his last six contests, and snapped in the game-winner on Saturday. With an assist last weekend, Dave Steckel recorded his 150th AHL point and has three in his last five games. Holding a lead will be key for the Admirals, who are an impressive 11-2 when tied or leading after two periods. Although Norfolk excels on special teams at home, they will need to improve on the road, as they sit 24th in the AHL on the power play (12.5%) and 18th on the penalty kill (83.3%).

Lehigh Valley will no doubt present a tough opponent, since they are currently on a five-game point streak, which includes their ninth overtime contest of the season. Jason Akeson was the hero on Friday, scoring both Phantoms goals; he has found twine five times in 10 games since being reassigned from the Flyers. Goaltender Anthony Stolarz is a wall in net, recently recording a 32-save shutout over Hershey on Friday night and logging a 44-save effort last Saturday. Andrew Gordon has enjoyed a stellar month with six points, including a three-point game, while defenseman Brandon Manning leads the team with 20 points. Perhaps most impressive for Lehigh Valley was last Wednesday when they set an AHL record dumping three goals in a span of just 21 seconds which began 15 seconds into the contest.

LEHIGH VALLEY LEADERS

Goals: Andrew Gordan, Taylor Leier (8)

Assists: Brandon Manning (14)

Points: Brandon Manning (20)

Games: Six players tied (28)

PP Goals: Nick Cousins, Taylor Leier (4)

SH Goals: Jason Akeson, Robert Hagg, Scott Laughton (1)

+/- Rating: Blair Jones (7)

PIM: Jay Rosehill (84)

GAA: Anthony Stolarz (2.29)

Spct: Anthony Stolarz (.933)

Wins: Rob Zepp (8)

Losses: Rob Zepp (9; 4 in OT)

GPl: Rob Zepp (17)

Minutes: Rob Zepp (1021:53)

The trip won ' t get easier from there, as Norfolk must face division leader Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The Penguins are coming off a win of their own, when goaltender Jeff Zatkoff pitched a 35-save shutout to give his team a five-point lead over second-place Hershey. Clusters of goals have come for the Penguins as well, as they scored a trio of markers in 5:08 on Saturday. Zatkoff has been a force between the pipes, owning a 6-0-1 record in his last seven starts, including four victories in a row, but has been recalled by Pittsburgh so may not play against the Admirals. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has two rookies in the top nine of the AHL in Derrick Pouliot and Jean-Sebastien Dea, who has 18 points on the year. Brian Dumoulin has been on the right side of the ice for much of the year, as his plus-minus rating of +16 has him fourth in the league. The Admirals may be in luck, however, as six of the top 11 Penguins scorers are in Pittsburgh.

WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON LEADERS

Goals: Bryan Rust (10)

Assists: Derrick Pouliot (13)

Points: Derrick Pouliot (20)

Games: Reid McNeill (30)

PP Goals: Jean-Sebastien Dea (5)

SH Goals: None

+/- Rating: Brian Dumoulin (16)

PIM: Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond (104)

GAA: Jeff Zatkoff (1.77)

Spct: Jeff Zatkoff (.926)

Wins: Jeff Zatkoff (10)

Losses: Matt Murray (7; 2 in OT)

GPl: Jeff Zatkoff (16)

Minutes: Jeff Zatkoff (948:18)

**UPCOMING EVENTS AND PROMOTIONS**

Friday, January 2 vs. Lehigh Valley Phantoms

- Trading Card Set Giveaway #1 presented by John's Tax Service

Saturday, January 3 vs. Lehigh Valley Phantoms

- Country Night

The second "Country Night" of the season hits Scope and it is another opportunity for you to show off those cowboy hats, boots and more for a chance to win prizes!

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.

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