AHL Norfolk Admirals

Pat Dunn Resigns as Admirals Vice President

Published on November 1, 2006 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Norfolk Admirals News Release


NORFOLK, VA - The Norfolk Admirals today announced that Vice President Pat Dunn has resigned his position within the organization for family reasons. Former Hampton Roads Admirals goaltender and current Norfolk Admirals Assistant General Manager Mark Bernard has been named Vice President.

"We are privileged to have someone of Mark's caliber take over the Admirals' day-to-day operations," said Admirals President and Managing General Partner Ken Young. "He has excellent experience and knows both the game and the area very well."

Bernard was brought on board in early June as Assistant General Manager and has been working in both the hockey operations and administrative ends of the Admirals organization. He had been interim Vice President since Dunn took a leave of absence in early October.

Bernard spent the past two seasons in the United Kingdom as head coach and general manager of the Basingstoke Bison of the Elite Ice Hockey League. Last season, he also played 32 games for the Bison as a goaltender. In addition to his coaching and playing duties, Bernard ran Basingstoke's front office and was interim general manager of the Bison's arena. During his tenure with the team, Basingstoke doubled their season ticket base and saw a 60% increase in sponsorships.

The Hamilton, Ontario native began his coaching career with two seasons as an ECHL Assistant Coach, first with the Roanoke Express in 2001-2002 and then with Toledo Storm in 2002-2003. His first head coaching position was with the UHL Rockford IceHogs in 2003-2004.

Prior to starting his coaching career, Bernard played parts of 13 professional seasons as a netminder. He compiled a 214-189-38 record in 453 games with a .882 save percentage and 4.17 goals against average. He was his team's MVP five times, including those honors for the Hampton Roads Admirals in 1991-1992. Bernard also appeared in three AHL contests, one with the Rochester Americans in 1992-1993 and two with the Baltimore Skipjacks in 1993-1994.

Bernard called Norfolk home for four seasons with the ECHL Admirals, accumulating a 62-38-12 record with a 3.69 goals against average and a .882 save percentage in the early to mid 1990s. He was a member of the back-to-back Riley Cup-winning teams of 1991 and 1992. In 1992, Bernard appeared in all 14 post-season games, winning all but two games en route to the ECHL Playoffs MVP Award.

Admirals General Manager Al MacIsaac has been a teammate and coach of Bernard. "The Admirals made a great hire when they brought on Mark Bernard," MacIsaac said. "He's going to make it the soul purpose of each and every day to return this franchise to what it was and what it can ultimately be."

"This is a position that I'm very proud to take over, especially being a former player here for so long," said Bernard. "I know how loved hockey is in this area. We have a great staff and a great product on the ice. There's nothing but upside to this club, and I'm very fortunate to be in a position to try to help return it to its former glory."

Norfolk faces their East Division rivals the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL Affiliate of the New York Islanders) at Scope tonight at 7:15 p.m. before embarking on a six-game, two-week road trip through the Northeast.

Individual game tickets for all Admirals regular season games range from $11-$16 and are on sale at all TicketMaster outlets, charge-by-phone at (757) 671-8100 or at ticketmaster.com. Season tickets, 20-game plans, ten-packs and group tickets remain on sale through the Admirals' office and through the Admirals' website. For more information, contact the Admirals at (757) 640-1212 or visit them online at norfolkadmirals.com.

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