AHL Norfolk Admirals

Smith, Johnson Score Twice as Admirals Top IceCaps

Published on November 18, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Norfolk Admirals News Release


ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Trevor Smith and Tyler Johnson each scored twice as the Norfolk Admirals (10-6-0-1) topped the St. John's IceCaps (11-3-3-0), 6-2, on Friday night at Mile One Centre. The same two teams meet tomorrow night in St. John's at 6:00 p.m. EST before the Admirals return to Scope for a six-game homestand.

Carter Ashton and Mike Angelidis also scored for the Admirals while Cory Conacher had three assists in the contest. Norfolk goaltender Jaroslav Janus improved to 5-2-1 on the season with a 26-save victory.

The Admirals took a 1-0 lead just 5:27 into the game. Matt Fornataro started the play with a steal in his own zone and got the puck to Johnson, who sped through the neutral zone before dropping a pass back to Fornataro in the slot. Fornataro then dished the puck to Ashton in the left circle, and Ashton backhanded in his AHL-leading twelfth goal of the season.

St. John's knotted the game at 1-1 at 16:44 of the first period with a power play goal. Spencer Machacek dropped a pass from the right circle to Paul Postma, who sent a slap shot from the high slot through traffic and over the right shoulder of Janus.

Norfolk re-claimed the lead early in the second stanza. Pierre-Cedric Labrie stole the puck from a St. John's defender behind the IceCaps net. He quickly centered a pass into the low slot, where Smith one-timed a shot over the right shoulder of goaltender Edward Pasquale. Smith's seventh goal of the season gave the Admirals a 2-1 lead at 1:22.

Smith doubled the Admirals lead just over three minutes later. Charles Landry sent a shot from the right faceoff dot through traffic. Smith found the rebound in the goalmouth and scored his eighth goal of the season at 4:32 for a 3-1 Norfolk lead.

The visitors stretched their lead to 4-1 midway through the second period. J.T. Wyman found the loose puck in the right circle. He sent a behind-the-back, backhand pass across the slot towards the left circle. Angelidis one-timed the puck past the stick-side of Pasquale at 11:11 for his third goal of the season.

St. John's cut its deficit to two goals early in the third period with a shorthanded goal. After a neutral zone turnover, Carl Klingberg broke in alone on Janus through the slot. He deked to the backhand before returning to the forehand and slipping the puck into the net around Janus' left skate. The goal at 2:58 cut Norfolk's lead to 4-2.

However, the Admirals restored their three-goal lead just over five minutes later. Ashton intercepted a pass in the left corner and centered the puck into the low slot. Johnson chipped a shot over the left shoulder of Pasquale at 8:14 for his fifth goal of the season and a 5-2 Norfolk lead.

Johnson closed out scoring with 4:25 remaining with a power play goal. Mark Barberio sent a feed from the bottom of the left circle toward the goalmouth. Johnson redirected the puck past Pasquale for his sixth goal of the season and a 6-2 Admirals advantage.

Jaroslav Janus (5-2-1) turned aside 26 of 28 shots for the victory. Edward Pasquale (6-1-0) stopped 25 of 31 shots for his first loss of the 2011-12 season.

Norfolk was 1-3 on the power play. St. John's was 1-5.

The same two teams meet tomorrow night in St. John's at 6:00 p.m. EST before the Admirals return to Scope for a six-game homestand. All games can be heard at 102.1-FM, 1490-AM and 1021TheGame.com. You can also watch on a pay-per-view basis at AHLLive.com.

The Admirals return to Scope on Wednesday, November 23, to take on the Charlotte Checkers in the fourth game of the GEICO Challenge Cup. The puck drops at 7:15 p.m. in the second Admirals Value Night of the 2011-12 season.

Family Fun Packs include four discounted Red Level Tickets for just $48 plus four free hot dogs, four free popcorns and four free sodas. Fans get all of that for just $48 - that's a savings of $37!

Student Rush Nights provide $8 White Level Tickets (normally $12) for students with a valid current high school or college ID. In addition, when you buy a Student Rush Night Ticket, you get a buy-one, get-one free offer for the next Student Rush Night.

Family Fun Packs are available at the Scope Box Office, all Ticketmaster Outlets, charge-by-phone at 1-800-745-3000 or online at Ticketmaster.com. Student Rush Night Tickets are available ONLY at the Scope Box Office after 2:00 p.m. on the day of the game.

Individual tickets for all regular season games start at just $12. Tickets are available 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 the action by purchasing your 2011-12 season tickets today. Season tickets start at just $350 while 10-Packs are available for as little as $110. 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!

Three Stars:

1. Tyler Johnson - NOR

2. Carter Ashton - NOR

3. Carl Klingberg - STJ

NOTES ... The six-goal output moved Norfolk back past St. John's as the top offense in the AHL. The Admirals have scored 65 goals in 17 games while the IceCaps have scored 64 goals in 17 games ... Eleven different Admirals registered points in the game, led by three-point performances from Tyler Johnson (2g, 1a) and Cory Conacher (3a) ... Johnson recorded his first multiple-goal game as a professional ... Carter Ashton registered his sixth multiple-point performance of the 2011-12 season ... Ashton has points in 13 of 17 games and goals in 11 of 17 games this season ... Ashton also netted his sixth game-opening goal of the season - double the amount of the next-closest AHL player this season ... Fourteen of Norfolk's 18 skaters were plus-players, led by Matt Fornataro's plus-3 rating ... Did not play: Richard Petiot, Kevin Quick, Alexandre Picard, Ondrej Palat, Michel Ouellet.

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American Hockey League Stories from November 18, 2011


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