Sports stats



AHL Norfolk Admirals

Tokarski, Admirals Shut Down Crunch Again

February 12, 2011 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Norfolk Admirals News Release


NORFOLK, Va. - Dustin Tokarski stopped all 19 shots he faced as the Norfolk Admirals (27-15-8-3) shut out the Syracuse Crunch (18-28-2-4) for the second consecutive night, earning a 4-0 victory on Saturday night at Norfolk Scope Arena. Next up for the Admirals is the first home matchup of the season against the Hershey Bears on Tuesday at Scope at 7:15 p.m.

It marked the first time in nearly eight years the Admirals had shutouts in back-to-back games.

Blair Jones, Marc-Antoine Pouliot, Mark Barberio and Troy Milam scored for the Admirals while Mattias Ritola notched a pair of assists for the second straight game.

The Admirals opened scoring 14:30 into the first period on Jones' sixteenth goal of the season. Ritola intercepted the puck in the Norfolk zone and skated up the ice near the player benches. He crossed the Syracuse blue line near the left point and cut toward the slot before passing to Jones in the right circle. Jones sent a quick wrist shot over the left shoulder of Crunch goaltender Jean-Philippe Levasseur for a 1-0 Admirals lead.

Norfolk's lead doubled less than three minutes later on the power play with a quick passing play. Mike Vernace picked off the puck at the left point and fed Ritola at the top of the right circle. Ritola quickly moved the puck back to the top of the left circle, where Pouliot cradled it and took a step into the slot before sending a wrist shot past the right leg of Levasseur at 17:12 for his fifteenth goal of the season.

Barberio put the Admirals ahead 3-0 with just five seconds remaining in the first period. From the left circle, Paul Szczechura spotted Barberio in the high slot. The rookie defenseman one-timed the puck through traffic and past a screened Levasseur for his fifth goal of the season at 19:55.

Tokarski, who only had to make six saves between the first two periods, came up big in the final frame, stopping all 13 Syracuse shots in the third period.

Milam closed out scoring with 56 seconds remaining on the power play. He sent a slap shot from the left point through a screen and past Levasseur for his tenth goal of the season.

Dustin Tokarski (19 shots, 19 saves) earned the shutout victory. Jean-Philippe Levasseur (28 shots, 24 saves) took the loss.

Norfolk was 2-6 on the power play. Syracuse was 0-3.

The Admirals return to Scope on Tuesday to battle the Hershey Bears at 7:15 p.m. The game will feature Admirals Family Fun Packs and will also be a Student Rush Night.

Family Fun Packs, presented by SunTrust, 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.

Take advantage of great savings on Admirals tickets with our 10-Packs and group tickets. 10-Packs are available for as little as $110 and allow you to pick the games you want. Group tickets start at $10 for groups of 25 or more people. 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 for more details or to purchase your tickets!

Check out the Norfolk Admirals Statistics

• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...

American Hockey League Stories from February 12, 2011


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.

Other Recent Norfolk Admirals Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central