AHL Norfolk Admirals

Norfolk Holds off Late Comback Bid by Chicago

Published on February 3, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Norfolk Admirals News Release


VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The Admirals saw the Wolves score three times in the final period, but prevented Chicago from tying the game as they won 5-4 in their only contest of last week. Casey Hankinson led Norfolk with three points (2+1), while Marty Wilford (1+1), Matt Henderson (1+1), Burke Henry (1+1) and Brett McLean (0+2) chipped in two points each as the Admirals built a 5-1 lead. Simon Gamache posted 2+1=3 points to help Chicago close the gap to one goal.

The San Antonio Rampage (Florida Panthers) make their first visit to Scope on Wednesday, February 5 at 7:15 p.m. The Admirals then travel to the Midwest for a three-game road tilt February 7-9. The trek begins in Grand Rapids on Friday, with a 7:30 p.m. match up against the Griffins (Detroit Red Wings), followed by an 8:12 p.m. meeting the next night against the Milwaukee Admirals (Nashville Predators), and concludes in Chicago on Sunday with a 4:00 p.m. match versus the Wolves (Atlanta Thrashers), wrapping up Norfolk's season series' against all three teams.

Norfolk remains in first place in the South Division with 63 points (28-14-4-3), seven points ahead of Hershey (22-17-11-1, 53 points). Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is third (22-22-3-3, 50 points) and Philadelphia sits in fourth place (20-22-2-3, 45 points).

THE WEEK AHEAD

Wednesday, February 5...Norfolk vs. San Antonio Rampage...7:15 p.m.

The Admirals and Rampage split their first two meetings in San Antonio on December 15 and 18 with each team winning by a 5-1 count. San Antonio's 14 road losses are second only to Cleveland (18) in the Western Conference. The Rampage rank 22nd on the power play (14.00) and sixth in penalty killing (86.44). Former Admiral Jim Campbell tops the club in assists (28) and points (37, nine goals). Mike Green's 15 lamplighters are most on the squad, and he is second in helpers (20) and points (35). Jeff Toms is first in power play tallies (seven), second in goals (14) and has the lowest rating on the team at minus-12. Eric Beaudoin's plus-8 is the highest rating. Rocky Thompson leads the Rampage with 171 PIM, and is third among AHL defensemen in PIM. Splitting time in net are Wade Flaherty (24 GPI, 8-11-4, 2.87 GAA, .913 spct.) and Chris Mason (28 GPI, 14-9-4, 2.16 GAA, .928 spct.). Mason is fourth in the AHL in GAA and third in save percentage.

Friday, February 7...Norfolk @ Grand Rapids Griffins...7:30 p.m.

The two clubs tied 3-3 in their previous meeting at Scope on January 22. The Griffins' special teams are 21st with the power play (14.28) and 15th on the penalty kill (84.58). They are the least-penalized team in the Western Conference (16.4 per game) and only Lowell (15.8) and Hamilton (15.9) average fewer PIM per game in the AHL. The Griffins are led by Michel Picard (20+33=53 points), Mark Mowers (22+28=50 points) and Stacy Roest (16+30=46 points). They are fifth, tied for sixth and tied for 11th on the League scoring list, respectively. David Van Drunen (plus-24) and Travis Richards (plus-21) are among the AHL leaders in plus/minus rating. Nathan Robinson and Nick Greenough are the only current Griffins with negative ratings at minus-2 each. Between the pipes are Marc Lamothe (36 GPI, 18-10-7, 2.15 GAA, .922 spct.) and Joey MacDonald (16 GPI, 9-4-0, 2.21 GAA, .918 spct.). Lamothe is third in the AHL in GAA and second in wins.

Saturday, February 8...Norfolk @ Milwaukee Admirals...8:12 p.m.

Norfolk defeated Milwaukee 4-3 in overtime in their lone meeting at Scope on December 4. With a 10-4-4-2 home record, Milwaukee has the fewest home losses in the Conference. The Milwaukee Admirals are ranked 17th with the man-advantage (15.16) and 19th when shorthanded (82.37). Darren Haydar leads the club as well as all AHL rookies with 20 goals (tied with Providence's Martin Samuelsson for rookie lead), 29 assists and 49 points.

He is also among the League leaders in points and plus/minus rating (plus-24). Cameron Mann and Greg Classen are next on Milwaukee's scoring list with 14+17=31 points each. Tomas Kloucek has the most PIM on the Milwaukee's roster with 130 PIM. Former Norfolk Admiral Vern Fiddler has 17 points (7+10) in 22 games. The netminding duties are shared by Jan Lasak (23 GPI, 10-6-6, 3.02 GAA, .896 spct.), Brian Finley (14 GPI, 6-8-0, 2.43 GAA, .915 spct.) and Chris Madden (10 GPI, 4-4-1, 3.04 GAA, .891 spct.).

Sunday, February 9...Norfolk @ Chicago Wolves...4:00 p.m.

The Admirals outlasted Chicago 5-4 on January 31 in Norfolk. The Wolves are fifth in the AHL in goals per game (3.39), and their 166 goals are second most in the Conference (Houston - 175). They lead the League in power play goals (65) and shorthanded goals (16). Steve Maltais is atop Chicago in assists (34) and points (54, 20 goals) and sits fourth in scoring among all AHL. Kurtis Foster (8+19=27 points) has the most points of any defenseman on the club, and he is among the League's top-scoring blueliners. Mark Hartigan is third on Chicago with 9+23=32 points, and cracks the top 13 on the AHL rookie scorers list. Ryan Tobler's 134 PIM are most on the Wolves.

Norm Maracle has spent the most time in net, posting an 11-14-3 record, 2.77 goals against average and .910 save percentage in 30 games. Frederic Cassivi has seen action in 14 games, registering a 5-6-1 record, 3.22 GAA and .888 spct., while Milan Hnilicka has been in 10 games with a 7-2-0 record, 2.60 GAA and .916 spct.

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS

Wednesday, February 5 (San Antonio Rampage)

* Ladies Night - Ladies can purchase tickets in the Blue or White levels as buy one, get one free at Scope's Box Office. The Admirals will also be handing out a special edition poster featuring five Admirals players to the first 2,500 ladies that evening.

Wednesday, February 12 (San Antonio Rampage)

* Player portrait giveaway featuring Mikhail Yakubov to the first 3,000 fans, courtesy of the Tobacco Use Control Project (TUCP) (Player portrait #5 of eight).

Friday, February 14 (Portland Pirates)

* Couples Night - One lucky couple will win a night's stay at the Ramada Plaza Hotel plus dinner at Gus' Mariner Restaurant in Virginia Beach from the Admirals.

Saturday, February 15 (Portland Pirates)

* Trading Card Giveaway - The first 2,500 fans will receive a 2002-2003 set of Admirals trading cards, courtesy of the Tobacco Use Control Project (TUCP).

TEAM NOTEBOOK

* Norfolk's five-goal output (5-4 win) against Chicago on January 31 marked the first time since a 6-3 decision at Syracuse on December 31 that the team scored more than three goals in a contest (12 games).

* The Blue and Gold are 3-0 against last year's Calder Cup teams in 2002-2003 (2-0 vs. Bridgeport, 1-0 vs. Chicago).

* Norfolk has allowed the third fewest goals per game (2.39) and shots per game (27.49) in the League.

* RW Mike Peluso scored on all three of his shots in the Franklin Pass and Score event to help lead PlanetUSA to a 6-1 win in that event during the AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Sunday, February 2.

* D Marty Wilford has six points (3+3) over his last six games. With 10+20=30 points overall, he is eighth among all League defensemen in scoring, and is tied with Portland's Chris Hajt for fourth in goals.

* LW Matt Henderson has posted 3+2=5 points over his last five games.

* C Brett McLean has tallied eight points (two goals, six assists) over the last eight games.

* D Kent Huskins (1+2=3 points) and F Casey Hankinson (2+3=5 points) are both riding three-game points streaks.

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.

The Admirals Radio Show will air Thursday, February 6, when Pete Pochkowski, who is filling in for Pete Michaud while the team is on the road, welcomes a special guest in the studio as he broadcasts live from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets for all remaining 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. Family Four Packs and AJ Gator's pre-game party packages are available at Scope's Box Office and all TicketMaster outlets. Flex Vouchers and Group Tickets are available through the Admirals' office. For more information, contact the Admirals at (757) 363-1900 or visit the team's website at www.norfolkadmirals.com.

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American Hockey League Stories from February 3, 2003


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