Sports stats



AHL Norfolk Admirals

Norfolk Begins Season in First Place

October 14, 2002 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Norfolk Admirals News Release


VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The Admirals began their new season where they ended the 2001-02 regular season, in first place in the South Division. Traveling to Portland on October 11, the Blue and Gold defeated the Pirates by a 4-2 tally. The following night, Norfolk faced off against the defending Eastern Conference champion Sound Tigers in Bridgeport, CT. For the second straight night the Admirals came out on top 4-2 to give them sole possession of first place.

The Blue and Gold face off against the Albany River Rats (New Jersey Devils) today at 4:00 p.m. at Pepsi Arena in Albany. The Hershey Bears (Colorado Avalanche) return to Scope for the Admirals' home opener on Friday, October 18 at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, October 19, the River Rats make their lone appearance in Norfolk for a 7:30 p.m. match up.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Monday, October 14...Norfolk @ Albany River Rats...4:00 p.m.

Saturday, October 19...Norfolk vs. Albany River Rats ...7:30 p.m.

The Admirals take a 4-1-1-0 all-time record against the River Rats into Albany this afternoon for their one meeting at Pepsi Arena this season. Norfolk swept both contests against Albany last year, winning 3-0 on the road on October 17 and 4-1 at Scope on December 14. Michael Leighton recorded his first professional shutout against the River Rats, and earned the victory in both games between the clubs last season. Casey Hankinson has the most points of any Admiral versus Albany, tallying three goals and four helpers (seven points) in five contests. The River Rats are winless in their first two contests after tying Rochester 2-2 last Friday and losing to St. John's 7-3 on Saturday. Albany's power play unit is ranked 19th (11.11) while its penalty killers are ranked 12th (84.21). Craig Darby leads the squad in assists (three) and points (four, one goal). Joe Hulbig has two tallies to top the club in goals. Scott Clemmensen is 0-0-1 in two appearances and has a 2.00 goals against average and .930 save percentage while Ari Ahonen is 0-1-0 with s 10.32 GAA and .667 GAA. Friday, October 18...Norfolk vs. Hershey Bears ...7:30 p.m.

The Blue and Gold have an all-time regular season record of 11-4-1-2 against the Bears, including a 7-1-0-1 mark on home ice. The Admirals finished the 2001-02 campaign with a 6-2-1-1 record when the clubs matched up, and were 4-0-0-1 at Scope. In regular season play against Hershey, Matt Henderson has posted 16 points (4+12) in 17 games; Casey Hankinson has tallied 2+6=8 points in 16 games; Steve McCarthy has two goals and five assists (seven points) in 11 contests; Michael Leighton has a mark of 5-0-1 in six matches. The Bears won their season-opener 6-3 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on the 12th. They currently lead all AHL teams in power play percentage (50.00, one-for-two) and are tied for the League lead in penalty killing (100.00, six-for-six). Mark Freer leads the squad with 2+1=3 points, while Charlie Stephens (1+1), Eric Bertrand (1+1) and Brian Willsie (0+2) have two points apiece. Phil Sauve picked up the win in net with a 3.00 GAA and .885 spct.

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS

Friday, October 18 (Hershey Bears)

* Pre-Game Tailgate party on Scope's Plaza

* 2002-03 Magnetic Schedule giveaway to the first 5,000 fans, courtesy of Applebee's

* Raising of the 2001-02 South Division Champions banner Saturday, October 19 (Albany River Rats)

* 2001-02 South Division Champions puck exit giveaway, courtesy of ACS Wednesday, October 30 (Cleveland Barons)

* Newport News Shipbuilding Night - show a NNS ID at Scope's Box Office or any TicketMaster outlet to receive $2.00 off all seats

Saturday, November 2 (Cleveland Barons) *Thunderstick giveaway to the first 5,000 fans, courtesy of Coca-Cola

*AJ Gator's pre-game party at the Granby Street location in downtown Norfolk

TEAM NOTEBOOK

* Norfolk rookies Igor Radulov and Mikhail Yakubov both picked up points in each of their first two AHL contests (which were their first pro games as well). Radulov recorded a goal in each game and Yakubov registered an assist in each.

* Though no strangers to the AHL, new Admirals Burke Henry and Brett McLean have already picked up their first points as members of the Norfolk squad. Henry picked up a pair of assists on the 11th against Portland and added a goal the next night versus Bridgeport. McLean tallied a goal and a helper against the Sound Tigers.

* Goaltender Michael Leighton has a four-game regular season road winning streak that carries over from 2001-02 (since 3/16/02 at Cleveland). Leighton was idle on October 11 when Norfolk opened the 2002-03 season in Portland, but defeated the Bridgeport Sound Tigers the following evening. This four-game regular season streak is the longest by an Admirals' netminder in franchise history.

* This is the first time in the Admirals' brief AHL history that the club has opened on the road. Norfolk visited Portland on October 11 (4-2 victory), Bridgeport on October 12 (4-2 victory) and will not return to Hampton Roads for its home opener until the 18th (vs. HER). Currently 2-0, The Blue and Gold have never posted a 3-0 road record to begin a season, much less a 3-0 mark to begin any campaign. In 2000-01, the Admirals dropped their first game before winning their next three. Last year, Norfolk posted a 2-0-1-0 mark in its first three contests.

* Of the nine contests Norfolk is slated to play in October, only three are on home ice. Of their first 15 games in 2002-03, only five will be home matches for the Blue and Gold.

ON THE RADIO

All games are broadcast on the Admirals' Flagship Station, WBVA 1450-AM "The Buzz". The games are also cybercast on the World Wide Web at SportsJuice.com. Go to www.SportsJuice.com, or click on the link at www.norfolkadmirals.com. Pre-game broadcasts begin 20 minutes prior to game starting time.

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets for all 40 contests on the Admirals' home schedule are available at the Scope Box Office, all TicketMaster outlets, charge-by-phone at (757) 671-8100 and online at www.ticketmaster.com. Season tickets as well as 10- and 20-Game Plans and Flex Vouchers are available through the Admirals' office. For more information, contact the Admirals at (757) 363-1900 or visit the club's website at www.norfolkadmirals.com.

Check out the Norfolk Admirals Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from October 14, 2002


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.

OurSports Central