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AHL Norfolk Admirals

Norfolk's Lead in South Division Down to One Point

March 3, 2003 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Norfolk Admirals News Release


VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Despite a win and a tie against Manchester last week, the Admirals saw their South Division lead slip to one point over the Hershey Bears. A goal by Mike Peluso late in the third period gave the Blue and Gold a 3-3 tie versus Manchester on February 26. Two nights later, Brett McLean had three points to lead the Admirals to a 4-1 victory over the Monarchs. In Hershey on March 1, a pair of third stanza power play tallies gave the Bears a 2-1 win over Norfolk, bringing them to within one point of first place.

The Admirals begin a four-game homestand with a match against the Lowell Lock Monsters (Carolina Hurricanes) on Friday, March 7 at 7:30 p.m. The Worcester IceCats (St. Louis Blues) make their first-ever appearance at Scope on Saturday, March 8 at 7:30 p.m. On Sunday, March 9, the Philadelphia Phantoms (Philadelphia Flyers) come to town for a 4:00 p.m. face off.

Norfolk remains in first place in the South Division with 74 points (31-18-8-4). Hershey is second (30-20-11-2, 73 points), Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is in third (28-26-5-5, 66 points) and Philadelphia sits fourth (25-27-5-4, 59 points).

THE WEEK AHEAD Friday, March 7...Norfolk vs. Lowell Lock Monsters...7:30 p.m.

The teams are 2-2-2-0 all-time against each other, with each club posting a 1-1-1-0 record on home ice. The Lock Monsters have the fewest wins (15) and points (38), and have suffered the most losses (41) of any AHL team. Lowell is last in goals per game (2.20, 141 scored) and 27th in goals allowed per game (3.66, 222 allowed). The club is the second-least penalized team in the League, averaging 16.1 PIM per game, and no Lock Monster has received a game misconduct penalty thus far. Lowell ranks 22nd on the power play (14.78) and 28th in penalty killing (77.63). The Lock Monsters are currently led in scoring by Jeff Daw's 14+15=29 points, followed by Brad DeFauw (10+12=22 points) and Steve Halko (4+18=22 points). DeFauw's minus-30 rating is the lowest among all current AHL skaters. Nikos Tselios' s 63 PIM are most on the squad. Between the pipes, Patrick DesRochers is 3-12-1 with a 2.86 GAA and .910 spct. in 16 games for Lowell (24 GPI, 5-16-2, 2.79 GAA, .912 spct. overall). Rob Zepp has one start, posting an 0-0-1 record, a 4.62 GAA and a .868 spct.

Saturday, March 8...Norfolk vs. Worcester IceCats...7:30 p.m.

Worcester currently sits fourth in the North Division with a .500 record (24-24-12-3, 63 points). Along with Milwaukee, the IceCats have the second-most ties in the League (Rochester, 13). Worcester's special teams are eighth with the man-advantage (17.89) and 18th when shorthanded (82.05).

The club ranks fourth in shots per game (33.14) and sixth in shots allowed per game (28.57). Sergei Varlamov tops his squad in goals (21), assists (32), points (53) and power play tallies (nine). His plus-12 rating is second among current IceCats only to Aris Brimanis (plus-13). John Pohl is second in the team in scoring, with 16+27=43 points in 47 games. He is also among the top eight AHL rookie scorers. Terry Virtue and Igor Valeev have seen the most time in the ‘sin bin' with 132 PIM and 126 PIM, respectively.

The netminding tandem is comprised of Phil Osaer (23 GPI, 8-9-3, 2.98 GAA, .885 spct.) and Cody Rudkowsky (9 GPI, 1-4-3, 3.02 GAA, .894 spct.).

Sunday, March 9...Norfolk vs. Philadelphia Phantoms...4:00 p.m.

The Admirals are 5-2-0-0 versus the Phantoms thus far, including a 2-1-0-0 mark at Scope. Mike Peluso has 3+6=9 points and Casey Hankinson has 3+3=6 points in the seven contests against Philadelphia this year. Only Lowell (141) and Syracuse (145) have scored fewer goals than the Phantoms' 148. The Flyers' farm team is third in penalties per game in the AHL (26.3). They rank 25th on the power play (14.20) and 16th on the penalty kill (83.25). Peter White has 56 points (22+34) this season, and is second in the League with 14 power play goals. Mark Greig has posted 24+30=54 points.

John Slaney is the top-scoring defenseman on the team with 7+30=37 points.

Peter Vandermeer's 237 PIM are most on the Phantoms and place him fourth in the AHL in PIM. Mike Siklenka has 154 PIM, the second-most among rookie skaters. In net for Philadelphia are Antero Niittymaki (33 GPI, 13-16-2, 2.59 GAA, .904 spct.) and Neil Little (29 GPI, 11-14-3, 2.54 GAA, .907 spct.). They are both among the top 20 League netminders in goals against average.

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS

Friday, March 7 (Lowell Lock Monsters)

* Admirals Autograph Book Giveaway to the first 5,000 fans, courtesy of the American Diabetes Association.

* Military Appreciation Night - Fans who show a military ID at Scope's Box Office or any TicketMaster outlet receive $3.00 any ticket purchased.

Saturday, March 8 (Worcester IceCats)

* 2002-2003 Team Poster Giveaway to the first 5,000 fans, courtesy of Coca-Cola.

* Guns ‘N Hoses Night - All law enforcement and firefighter personnel receive $2.00 off any ticket purchased in the Blue or White Levels with proper ID at Scope's Box Office or any TicketMaster outlet.

Sunday, March 9 (Philadelphia Phantoms)

* Player Portrait Giveaway (#7 of 8) of Steve McCarthy to the first 3,000 fans, courtesy of TUCP.

* Post-Game Skate. Fans can bring their skates, or a limited number of rentals will be available.

* SPCA Night - The Norfolk SCPA will display some dogs in need of homes and have an information table set up.

* Mascot Mania - A parade of Hampton Roads businesses' and organizations' mascots will be at Scope.

TEAM NOTEBOOK

* In 24 contests since January 1, the Admirals have scored one goal 10 times and three goals nine times. During that span, when they have scored once, they are 3-6-1-0; when they have scored thrice, their record is 4-2-4-1. In Norfolk's other five games since January 1, the team is 4-0-1-0.

* With a win and a tie versus Manchester last week, Norfolk improved to 3-0-2-0 against the North Division.

* The Admirals set an AHL franchise mark in attendance with an audience of 7,056 against Manchester on February 28.

* C Brett McLean's five points (3+2) last week, gave him 48 points (17+31) on the season, moving him into a tie for first on the team with RW Mike Peluso (20+28=48 points).

* G Craig Andersson currently leads all AHL goaltenders with a 1.84 goals against average.

* On February 26, RW Igor Korolev scored the Admirals' first home goal on a penalty shot against Manchester's Travis Scott. Tyler Arnason recorded the team's first AHL goal on a penalty shot last season December 21, 2001 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

* D Ryan Gaucher was signed to an AHL Standard Player's Contract on Saturday, March 1.

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, March 6 from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m., when Pete Michaud welcomes a special guest when he broadcasts live from the Azalea Inn/Time Out Sports Bar & Grill, 2344 E. Little Creek Road in Norfolk.

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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