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AHL Norfolk Admirals

Norfolk Admirals Weekly

January 27, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Norfolk Admirals News Release


NORFOLK, Va. - The Norfolk Admirals scraped three out of six possible points in the last three home contests. The past week they had an overtime win versus Charlotte, and a regulation loss as well as an overtime loss to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Last Wednesday against the Charlotte Checkers, Trevor Carrick opened the scoring for Charlotte with a one-timer past Admirals netminder John Gibson. The Checkers held the 1-0 lead for the remainder of the period. Just about halfway through the second frame Kyle Hagel gave the Checkers a two-goal lead with a deflection off of a Jared Staal shot. The Admirals cut the lead in half with about five minutes left in the second when Josh Manson ripped one from the blue line beating Charlotte goaltender Drew MacIntyre. Late in the third period, Norfolk struck at 16:35 to tie the game, 2-2. Wagner stuffed in a rebound after another Manson shot from the top of the zone settled onto his stick from MacIntyre's chest. The contest needed every bit of overtime to find a winner. Manson again smacked one from the blue line, and Nic Kerdiles redirected the blast to top the Checkers, 3-2, with less than a second remaining.

Norfolk wouldn't take away any points from their first of back-to-back games against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins this past weekend. Just less than five minutes into the first period, Conor Sheary flipped a backhand past Gibson for the first lead of the night. At 2:38 of the second period, Wagner crossed a puck into the slot that bounced off a Penguin's stick and into the back of the net for an unassisted 12th goal of the season. Norfolk moved in front thanks to a power play with two minutes left in the middle frame. Andrew O'Brien's rebound putback gave the Admirals their first advantage of the evening, but the lead didn't last long. Andrew Ebbett ended an odd-man rush by lighting the lamp on his sixth goal of the year and knotting it back up at 2-2 as 38 seconds remained until the intermission. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton secured the 4-2 decision with two more goals in the third period coming from Scott Wilson and an empty-netter credited to Andrew Ebbett.

Saturday's game also needed more than 60 minutes to name a winner. Norfolk drew first blood 6:45 into the first period. William Karlsson dished a passed to Emerson Etem for an easy backhand goal at the net. It took less than three minutes for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to retaliate and at 9:35 Jayson Megna scooped a rebound over a sprawled Jason LaBarbera. The two teams were locked at one apiece until the middle of the final period. Wilson recorded his second of the weekend to hand the Penguins a 2-1 lead. The Admirals responded late again, and again it was Kerdiles in front to get his stick to a Brendan Bell shot during a power play at 14:47. The deadlock lasted through the last five minutes of regulation but a mere three minutes deep in the sudden-death skate. LaBarbera halted Nick Drazenovic's attempt from the left circle, however, Tom Kostopoulos poked the rebound through LaBarbera's pads on the second effort. The Pens escaped Scope with two more points in a 3-2 overtime victory.

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.

Tune in live to 1650 AM "The Answer" every Tuesday from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. for the "Admirals Hour" with the "Voice of the Admirals" Pete Michaud and the "Original Admiral" Dennis McEwen. Michaud and McEwen discuss the latest in Norfolk Admirals hockey, speak with guests, update you on the Anaheim Ducks, as well as answer any calls during the show. Ask Pete and Dennis your questions by calling in to the studio at 757-454-1650.

STANDINGS UPDATE

At 16-22-3-2 (37 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

Fri., Jan. 30 ... at Binghamton Senators (Ottawa Senators) ... 7:05 p.m.

Sat., Jan. 31 ... at Binghamton Senators (Ottawa Senators) ... 7:05 p.m.

Sun., Feb. 1 ... at Hershey Bears (Washington Capitals) ... 2 p.m.

ADMIRALS SPOTLIGHT

- Five former Admirals earned bids to the 2015 NHL All-Star Game this past weekend in Columbus, Ohio. Duncan Keith, Corey Crawford, Brent Seabrook, Tyler Johnson and Dustin Byfuglien made the NHL All-Star Rosters though Tyler Johnson did not participate in the game itself due to a lingering injury.

ADMIRALS LOG

Norfolk 's All-Star selection Chris Wagner tied a game-high four points last night in the 2015 AHL All-Star Game, his first career All-Star Game. Wagner scored a penalty-shot goal and assisted on three more Eastern Conference goals at The Auditorium in Utica, New York. The AHL's Western Conference held on to win 14-12 over the East. The night before, Wagner participated in two events at the All-Star Skills Challenge: Rapid Fire and the Breakaway Relay. Wagner and partner, Manchester's Jordan Weal, faced Oklahoma City's Richard Bachman in Heat #5 of Rapid Fire. Wagner managed to get two pucks by Bachman in the event the West ultimately won. Milwaukee's Magnus Hellberg turned aside Wagner's attempt in the first round of the Breakaway Relay. The Eastern Conference did, however, pull out a 15-11 Skills Competition victory.

NORFOLK LEADERS

Goals: Chris Wagner (12)

Assists: Brendan Bell (21)

Points: Nic Kerdiles (23)

Games: Brendan Bell, Nic Kerdiles, Dave Steckel (43)

PP Goals: Emerson Etem, Louis Leblanc (5)

SH Goals: Chris Wagner (2)

+/- Rating: Brad Winchester (-1)

PIM: Nathan McIver (111)

GAA: John Gibson (2.36)

Spct: John Gibson (.929)

Wins: Jason LaBarbera (5)

Losses: Jason LaBarbera (9; 3 in OT)

GPl: Jason LaBarbera (15)

Minutes: Jason LaBarbera (856:49)

ABOUT THIS WEEK ' S MATCHUPS

Norfolk heads out on a three-in-three divisional road trip this weekend when they travel to Binghamton and Hershey. The Admirals and Senators have faced each other just twice this year, a back-to-back split in Norfolk, but they will meet six more times over the remainder of the season. Hershey has been a more familiar adversary, as the Admirals and Bears have fought three times in the last month.

Luck has not been on the Admirals ' side recently. Three of the team ' s last five games have gone to overtime, and Norfolk earned a victory just once. Emerson Etem continues along his torrid pace and has accumulated 12 points in six outings this month, including five multi-point games, three power-play goals, one shorthanded tally and zero penalty minutes. Chris Wagner, fresh off a four-point effort in this year ' s All-Star Game, has two points in his last three games and regained the team lead in goals (12). Brendan Bell and Nic Kerdiles continue to trade the points lead, combining for seven in their last six contests. Following just three points in 31 matchups, Kevin Gagne has two points in his last four games. Fellow defenseman Josh Manson has also graced the scoresheet of late, registering a three-point night last Wednesday that was a part of his first career Gordie Howe hat trick. Increased scoring and point production from all over the roster would go a long way for the Admirals, as their 94 goals rank last in the Eastern Conference.

A high-scoring affair may be in the cards against Binghamton: only two of the Senators ' last 11 games have been decided by fewer than three goals. The Sens have struggled lately, and enter this week on a two-game slide while also dropping eight of their last 10. After enduring a 10-game scoring drought, winger Buddy Robinson has rebounded, notching four points over his last five games and a plus-minus rating of plus-4. Don ' t be surprised if goals come from the B-Sens ' defense - three of their top seven scorers man the blue line. Binghamton possesses a strong goaltending duo in Scott Greenham and Andrew Hammond, in addition to the newcomer Peter Mannino who has gone 1-2-2 in his five games since being traded from Portland. Norfolk ' s own goaltending corps will need to be on its game, as the Senators rank third in the East in goals scored. Although Binghamton excels on the power play at home, drawing second place in the AHL (25.8%), their penalty kill comes in at a meager 21st (80.4%).

BINGHAMTON LEADERS

Goals: Shane Prince (14)

Assists: Chris Wideman (21)

Points: Chris Wideman (34)

Games: Five players tied (41)

PP Goals: Chris Wideman (7)

SH Goals: Max McCormick, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Buddy Robinson (1)

+/- Rating: Buddy Robinson (7)

PIM: Darren Kramer (161)

GAA: Scott Greenham (2.38)

Spct: Scott Greenham (.926)

Wins: Scott Greenham, Andrew Hammond (7)

Losses: Andrew Hammond (15; 2 in OT)

GPl: Andrew Hammond (25)

Minutes: Andrew Hammond (1368:43)

Division-leader Hershey, on the other hand, boasts a four-game win streak and has claimed seven of its last eight games; the Bears ' only loss in that span came against the Admirals. Stanislav Galiev is one to watch out for. The right winger commandeered Hershey ' s goal-scoring lead (14) as well as a tie for AHL ' s lead in power-play goals (10). As usual, Tim Kennedy presents a big threat on the ice: his 35 points are good for 13th in the league, and he needs only a trio of assists to own sole possession of the lead in that category. The league attendance-leading Giant Center has been immensely favorable to Hershey, granting them the most home-ice wins in the AHL (16). Expect the Bears to be especially hungry for goals, since the club is just three shy of 20,000 in the franchise ' s 77-year history. Norfolk will have a tough time cracking 2015 AHL All-Star Philipp Grubauer if he starts: the netminder has won three straight games, improving to 14-9-4 on the year. Hershey ' s defense is even stingier, only allowing a league-best 91 goals-against so far this season.

HERSHEY LEADERS

Goals: Stanislav Galiev (14)

Assists: Tim Kennedy (31)

Points: Tim Kennedy (35)

Games: Tim Kennedy, Casey Wellman (41)

PP Goals: Stanislav Galiev (10)

SH Goals: Jim O'Brien, Chandler Stephenson (1)

+/- Rating: John Landry (16)

PIM: Steve Oleksy (98)

GAA: Pheonix Copley (2.00)

Spct: Pheonix Copley (.922)

Wins: Philipp Grubauer (14)

Losses: Philipp Grubauer (13; 4 in OT)

GPl: Philipp Grubauer (27)

Minutes: Philipp Grubauer (1622:08)

**UPCOMING EVENTS AND PROMOTIONS**

Friday, February 6 vs. Worcester Sharks

- Operation Smile Night

A portion of ticket sales will be donated to Operation Smile, so come watch Admirals hockey while giving to a great cause!

Saturday, February 7 vs. Worcester Sharks

- Boy Scout Night, Colonial Council

The second Boy Scout Night of the 2014-15 season benefits Colonial Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Purchase specially discounted tickets through the Colonial Boy Scout Council Service Center

in Newport News and a portion of the proceeds go to the Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters!

-ODU Hockey vs. VMI at 2 p.m. (Doors open at 1 p.m.)

Purchasing an Admirals game ticket grants you admission to the ODU men's club ice hockey game as well as the Admirals' game at 7:15 p.m. against the Sharks.

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.

Check out the Norfolk Admirals Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from January 27, 2015


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