Admirals Open Conference Finals With 6-1 Victory Over IceCaps

NORFOLK, Va. – Mike Kostka scored twice as 13 of 18 Norfolk skaters registered points in a 6-1 throttling of St. John’s in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Thursday night at Norfolk Scope Arena. The same two teams square off Saturday night at Scope for Game 2 at 8:00 p.m.

Photo: Ross Taylor – The Virginian Pilot

Kostka scored two of four goals by Admirals defensemen in the victory, joining single tallies from Jean-Philippe Cote and Keith Aulie. Michel Ouellet and Ondrej Palat also scored for Norfolk, while Dustin Tokarski (5-2) stopped 29 of 30 shots for the win.

The first goal of the game did not come until 18:55 of the opening period when Kostka fired a power play slapshot past St. John’s goaltender Eddie Pasquale. Evan Oberg passed to Kostka at the top of the Norfolk offensive zone to start the play. Kostka wound up and fired a slapshot through traffic, beating Pasquale between his left leg and glove.

Norfolk added to their lead with another power play goal early in the second period. Tyler Johnson had the puck at the top of the left circle and passed it to Ouellet, who took the pass at the bottom of the circle. Ouellet skated towards net, sending a shot that bounced off Pasquale. Ouellet backhanded the rebound between Pasquale’s right leg and the post at 3:08 to make it a 2-0 Norfolk advantage.

Eight minutes later, Kostka extended the Norfolk lead with a goal very similar to his first. The play started with a Philip-Michael Devos feed along the wall from behind the St. John’s net. The puck found its way around the boards to a waiting Kostka. From the top of the right circle, Kostka fired another slapshot through traffic into the back of the net, making it 3-0 Norfolk at 11:04.

Continuing with the theme of successful slapshots by defensemen, Cote added Norfolk’s fourth goal at 13:42 of the second period. Trevor Smith had the puck in the middle of the left circle when he spotted Cote alone in the high slot. With no defenders around him, Cote wound up and fired a shot that grazed the shoulder of Pasquale before going into the net and making it 4-0 Norfolk. The IceCaps would bring in David Aebischer to relieve Pasquale at this point.

The Norfolk surge continued into the third period with a Palat goal at 1:28. Cory Conacher began the play after he poked the puck loose from a St. John’s player in the Norfolk zone. Johnson then began a two-on-one break. Johnson skated until the middle of the right circle where he passed across to Palat on the edge of the left circle. Palat beat Aebischer with a snap shot, blocker side, for a 5-0 lead.

Photo: Ross Taylor – The Virginian Pilot

St. John’s responded with a power play goal by Zach Redmond at the 2:11 mark. Brock Trotter skated the puck down to the middle of the right circle before throwing the puck behind the Norfolk net. As the puck emerged from behind the net near the left circle, Redmond reached for it, gathered it and banked a shot off Tokarski and into the net to make it 5-1 Norfolk.

Five minutes later in the third, Norfolk struck again, this time during four-on-four play. Palat skated down the right side of the ice after a pass from Conacher. When he reached the bottom of the right circle, Palat passed across the slot to Keith Aulie, who one-timed it past Aebischer to make it 6-1 Norfolk.

Eddie Pasquale (7-5) stopped 17 of 21 shots for the loss in the first 33:42 of the game. Aebischer (0-0) saw his first 26:18 of action in the 2012 Calder Cup Playoffs, making 10 saves on 12 shots.

Norfolk was 2-for-5 on the power play. St. John’s was 1-for-7 with the man advantage.

St. John’s IceCaps 1 at Norfolk Admirals 6 – Status: Final

Thursday, May 17, 2012 – Norfolk Scope

St. John’s 0 0 1 – 1
Norfolk      1 3 2 – 6

1st Period-1, Norfolk, Kostka 2 (Oberg, Smith), 18:55 (PP). Penalties-Gudas Nor (elbowing), 5:08; Aulie Nor (double minor – high-sticking), 13:22; Sawada Stj (high-sticking), 15:05; Barberio Nor (delay of game), 15:32; Cormier Stj (goaltender interference), 17:02.

2nd Period-2, Norfolk, Ouellet 1 (Johnson, Barberio), 3:08 (PP). 3, Norfolk, Kostka 3 (Devos, Angelidis), 11:04. 4, Norfolk, Cote 1 (Smith, Labrie), 13:42. Penalties-Clark Stj (high-sticking), 1:24; Cote Nor (hooking), 16:24.

3rd Period-5, Norfolk, Palat 4 (Johnson, Conacher), 1:28. 6, St. John’s, Redmond 1 (Trotter, Postma), 2:11 (PP). 7, Norfolk, Aulie 1 (Palat, Conacher), 7:21. Penalties-Devos Nor (unsportsmanlike conduct), 1:35; Murray Stj (roughing, fighting), 3:01; Angelidis Nor (fighting), 3:01; Johnson Nor (slashing), 5:25; Trotter Stj (high-sticking), 5:40; Picard Nor (slashing), 15:16; Albert Stj (elbowing), 18:03; Clark Stj (roughing), 18:03; Murray Stj (misconduct – unsportsmanlike conduct), 18:03; Picard Nor (roughing, misconduct – unsportsmanlike conduct), 18:03.

Shots on Goal-St. John’s 14-9-7-30. Norfolk 11-13-9-33.
Power Play Opportunities-St. John’s 1 / 7; Norfolk 2 / 5.
Goalies-St. John’s, Pasquale 7-5-0 (21 shots-17 saves); Aebischer 0-0-0 (12 shots-10 saves). Norfolk, Tokarski 5-2-0 (30 shots-29 saves).

A-3,541
Referees-Francis Charron (46), Terry Koharski (10).
Linesmen-Mathieu Chenier (71), Tom George (61).

Who Is The Biggest Mama’s Boy

Admirals Fall In OT, Drop The First Game Of The Series 3-2

NORFOLK, Va. – Andreas Thuresson scored 2:53 into overtime as the Connecticut Whale defeated the Norfolk Admirals, 3-2, in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Semifinals series on Wednesday night at Norfolk Scope Arena. The Admirals trail the Whale, one game to none, in the best-of-seven series. Game 2 is set for Friday night at Scope at 7:30 p.m.

Ondrej Palat scored his first professional playoff goal and Pierre-Cedric Labrie tied the game at 2-2 late in the first period. Dustin Tokarski (2-1) stopped 26 of 29 shots in the setback. All the scoring in the game came in the first period until Thuresson’s game-winner.

Norfolk took an early lead with the Palat goal at 5:43 of the first period. After Trevor Smith took a pass from Jean-Philippe Cote in the right corner, he centered to Brandon Segal in the mid-slot. Segal sent a shot that Whale goaltender Cameron Talbot kicked out into the left circle. Without breaking stride towards the goal, Palat fired the puck over Talbot’s glove to put Norfolk up 1-0.

Connecticut responded with two quick goals less than three minutes later. The first came when Tim Erixon found Jonathan Audy-Marchessault outside the crease. Audy-Marchessault beat Tokarski on his second shot over the netminder’s left leg for the tying goal at 8:18.

The second goal for Connecticut came just 12 seconds later and was the result of three quick passes. J.T. Miller passed the puck from the right corner to Casey Wellman at the right half wall. Wellman threw the puck in front of the crease, where Marek Hrivik redirected it through Tokarski’s legs at 8:30.

Labrie tied the game at 2-2 late in the first period. Mark Barberio pinched in from the right point to beat a Connecticut defender to the loose puck in the right corner. He then threw the puck towards the crease, where Labrie sent a shot wide. Killorn angled his right skate on top of the goalmouth to corral the puck and send it back to Labrie at the right edge of the slot. Labrie then sent a shot through traffic and over Talbot’s glove at 16:56 for his second goal of the post-season.

The goal fest would come to a halt in the second period when the teams combined for 21 shots, but no red lights. Midway through the period, Norfolk killed a two-man disadvantage with two of their best penalty killers, Evan Oberg and Cote, in the penalty box. The Norfolk penalty kill stood strong, killing four Connecticut power plays in the second stanza alone.

The stalemate carried over into the third period when Tokarski stopped 12 shots and Talbot denied nine. The game would require overtime.

Just 2:53 into the extra frame, Thuresson sent a slapshot from the upper-left circle. The puck hit Tokarski and deflected up and over his head. With the Norfolk netminder trying to find the rebound, the puck came down behind him and rolled into the goal for the game-winner.

Talbot (4-0) stopped 31 of 33 shots for the win.

Norfolk was 0-for-6 on the power play. Connecticut was 0-for-5 with the man advantage.

 

Connecticut Whale 3 (OT) at Norfolk Admirals 2 – Status: Final OT
Wednesday, May 2, 2012 – Norfolk Scope

Connecticut 2 0 0 1 – 3
Norfolk         2 0 0 0 – 2

1st Period-1, Norfolk, Palat 1 (Segal, Smith), 5:43. 2, Connecticut, Audy-Marchessault 2 (Erixon), 8:18. 3, Connecticut, Hrivik 5 (Wellman, Miller), 8:30. 4, Norfolk, Labrie 2 (Barberio, Killorn), 16:56. Penalties-Nightingale Ct (boarding), 2:14; Smith Nor (tripping), 13:56; Deveaux Ct (roughing), 20:00; Nightingale Ct (roughing), 20:00; Angelidis Nor (unsportsmanlike conduct), 20:00.

2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-served by Picard Nor (bench minor – too many men), 2:45; Gudas Nor (interference), 5:21; Bell Ct (high-sticking), 5:47; Oberg Nor (hooking), 8:22; Cote Nor (tripping), 9:19; Redden Ct (interference), 11:43; Erixon Ct (holding), 19:00.

3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Owens Ct (hooking), 4:10.

OT Period-5, Connecticut, Thuresson 1 (Owens, Bell), 2:53. Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Connecticut 8-7-12-2-29. Norfolk 11-13-9-0-33.
Power Play Opportunities-Connecticut 0 / 5; Norfolk 0 / 6.
Goalies-Connecticut, Talbot 4-1-0 (33 shots-31 saves). Norfolk, Tokarski 3-1-0 (29 shots-26 saves).
A-3,223
Referees-Graham Skilliter (48), Jamie Koharski (84).
Linesmen-Matt MacPherson (83), Mark Hamlett (81).

Killorn’s OT Goal Lifts The Admirals To A 4-3 Victory And Clinches The Series.

MANCHESTER, N.H. – Alex Killorn scored on a rebound 13:27 into overtime as the Norfolk Admirals defeated the Manchester Monarchs, 4-3, on Friday night at the Verizon Wireless Arena. With the win, Norfolk won the best-of-five Eastern Conference Quarterfinals series against Manchester, three games to one, and advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Connecticut Whale beginning Wednesday night at Norfolk Scope Arena.

Photo: Bruce Taylor - Union Leader

Evan Oberg, Mark Barberio and Trevor Smith also scored for the Admirals, who erased 1-0 and 3-1 deficits for the win. Norfolk netminder Dustin Tokarski (2-0) stopped 22 of 25 shots for the win.

The Monarchs opened scoring just 38 seconds into the contest. A Manchester defenseman caused a turnover in the left corner of the Norfolk zone. Justin Azevedo found the puck in the high slot and sent a slap shot off the crossbar and into the net to give the home team a 1-0 lead.

Norfolk knotted the score at 1-1 midway through the second stanza. Oberg sent a shot from the left point through traffic that glanced off Zatkoff. While the goaltender slowed the puck, he did not stop it, as it trickled between his legs and into the net at 7:18.

However, the Monarchs restored their lead exactly four minutes later on a four-on-four play. Brandon Kozun and Patrick Mullen executed a crossover play at the Norfolk blue line, with Kozun dropping a pass to Mullen in the high slot. Mullen skated a few strides toward the net before sending a shot past Tokarski’s glove at 11:18 for a 2-1 Manchester lead.

The Monarchs doubled their lead just over four minutes later with their first power play goal of the series. Thomas Hickey sent a slap shot from the high slot. Andy Andreoff changed the path of the puck from high to low with a deflection from the center slot, and the shot eluded Tokarski at 15:37 for a 3-1 Manchester lead.

However, that lead evaporated less than two minutes later with a pair of Norfolk goals. Cory Conacher set up the visitors’ second goal when he spotted Barberio in the left circle. The AHL’s Outstanding Defenseman waited for a Manchester defender to commit to a block before shuffling to his left in the faceoff circle and sending a wrist shot top-shelf at 16:58.

The Admirals tied the game at 3-3 just 16 seconds later. Smith entered the attacking zone along the right wing with speed. He sent a shot from the right circle that Zatkoff blocked. However, Smith found his own rebound and backhanded a shot past Zatkoff’s left leg at 17:14 for his second goal of the post-season.

The Admirals out-shot the Monarchs, 10-3, in the third period but could not solve Zatkoff as the game required overtime.

Photo: Bruce Taylor - Union Leader

Norfolk sustained the pressure in the overtime session, out-shooting Manchester, 9-2, before finding the back of the net with their tenth shot of the extra session. Alexandre Picard sent a shot that Zatkoff stopped. However, Killorn found the rebound in the right circle as traffic was encroaching on Zatkoff. He fired a shot over a prone Zatkoff for his first professional playoff goal and the series-clincher at 17:14.

Jeff Zatkoff (1-1) stopped 35 of 39 shots for the loss.

Both teams were 1-for-5 on the power play.

Norfolk Admirals 4 (OT) at Manchester Monarchs 3 – Status: Final OT
Friday, April 27, 2012 – Verizon Wireless Arena

Norfolk         0 3 0 1 – 4
Manchester 1 2 0 0 – 3

1st Period-1, Manchester, Azevedo 1   0:38. Penalties-Ouellet Nor (tripping), 7:49; Angelidis Nor (fighting), 10:42; Clune Mch (fighting), 10:42; Cliche Mch (hooking), 15:55; Conacher Nor (slashing), 17:51.

2nd Period-2, Norfolk, Oberg 1 (Killorn, Picard), 7:18. 3, Manchester, Mullen 1 (Kozun, O’Neill), 11:18. 4, Manchester, Andreoff 2 (Hickey, Vey), 15:37 (PP). 5, Norfolk, Barberio 2 (Conacher, Ouellet), 16:58 (PP). 6, Norfolk, Smith 2 (Gudas), 17:14. Penalties-Azevedo Mch (interference), 2:21; served by Czarnik Mch (bench minor – too many men), 9:27; Smith Nor (interference), 11:03; Picard Nor (hooking), 15:07; Labrie Nor (roughing), 15:55; Cliche Mch (roughing, roughing), 15:55; Palat Nor (interference), 17:37.

3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Cote Nor (fighting), 1:49; Deslauriers Mch (fighting), 1:49; Kolomatis Mch (slashing), 9:37.

OT Period-7, Norfolk, Killorn 1 (Picard, Barberio), 13:27. Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Norfolk 8-11-10-10-39. Manchester 10-10-3-2-25.
Power Play Opportunities-Norfolk 1 / 5; Manchester 1 / 5.
Goalies-Norfolk, Tokarski 2-0-0 (25 shots-22 saves). Manchester, Zatkoff 0-2-0 (39 shots-35 saves).
A-6,102
Referees-Francis Charron (46), Jean Hebert (43).
Linesmen-Joe Andrews (32), Landon Bathe (80).

Admirals Over Monarchs 3-2, Lead Series 1-0

NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk Admirals (1-0) used two power play goals and a perfect penalty kill to hold on to a 3-2 victory over the Manchester Monarchs (0-1) in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals on Friday night at Norfolk Scope Arena. The Admirals lead the best-of-five series, one game to none, with Game 2 set for tomorrow night at Scope at 7:15 p.m.

Norfolk killed all seven Manchester power play opportunities – including two in the game’s final five minutes. Alexandre Picard and Trevor Smith scored power play goals for Norfolk while Mark Barberio scored at even strength. Jaroslav Janus (1-0) stopped 27 of 29 shots for his first career victory in the Calder Cup Playoffs. A crowd of 5,720 saw the contest at Scope, easily surpassing the previous AHL Admirals playoff record crowd of 4,324 from April 27, 2007.

Norfolk jumped out to an early lead with a goal from Barberio at 6:39 of the first period. Picard won a faceoff at the left circle directly back to Barberio at the left point. Already in a shooting stance, Barberio launched a slap shot past Manchester goalie Jeff Zatkoff’s glove to make the score 1-0.

The second period would see two quick power play strikes from the Admirals. Picard made the score 2-0 after a series of passes between he, Smith and Cory Conacher. The AHL’s MVP started the passes from the right faceoff circle when he sent the puck to Smith in the right corner. Smith then passed to a streaking Picard in the slot, who one-timed the puck past Zatkoff at 1:42.

Within two minutes of the Picard goal, Smith beat Zatkoff to give Norfolk a 3-0 lead. The power play score began with a pass at the right point from Mike Kostka to Evan Oberg. Oberg took the puck at the left point and skated with it through the left circle. He threw the puck in front of the crease and the puck deflected off of Smith’s right skate into the net at 3:39.

This prompted a change in Manchester net with Martin Jones relieving Zatkoff. Jones would not allow another goal.

The Monarchs mounted a comeback attempt midway through the third period with a shorthanded goal. After forcing a turnover in the Manchester zone, Stefan Legein sent a shot from the right half wall past Jaroslav Janus into the bottom right corner of the net to cut Norfolk’s lead to 3-1.

Manchester’s third period surge continued with a goal by Marc-Andre Cliche at 13:57. Thomas Hickey fired a shot from the blue line into traffic. The shot deflected off Cliche and past Janus to bring the Monarchs within one goal.

With one minute remaining in regulation, Manchester pulled Jones from net to bring an extra skater on the ice. After a near empty netter by Norfolk, time expired and Manchester could not send the game into overtime.

Jaroslav Janus (1-0) turned aside 27 of 29 shots for his first AHL playoff victory. Jeff Zatkoff (0-1) stopped 10 of 13 shots for the loss through 23:24 of play. He was pulled after the third goal in favor of Martin Jones, who stopped all 19 shots he faced through 35:06 of relief.

Norfolk was 2-for-6 on the power play. Manchester was 0-for-7 with the man advantage.

Manchester Monarchs 2 at Norfolk Admirals 3 – Status: Final
Friday, April 20, 2012 – Norfolk Scope

Manchester 0 0 2 – 2
Norfolk        1 2 0 – 3

1st Period-1, Norfolk, Barberio 1 (Picard), 6:39. Penalties-Panik Nor (tripping), 3:07; Conacher Nor (hooking), 11:35; O’Neill Mch (boarding), 16:03; Hickey Mch (slashing), 19:58.

2nd Period-2, Norfolk, Picard 1 (Smith, Conacher), 1:42 (PP). 3, Norfolk, Smith 1 (Oberg, Kostka), 3:39 (PP). Penalties-Mullen Mch (hooking), 3:02; Clune Mch (fighting), 3:40; Labrie Nor (fighting), 3:40; Picard Nor (roughing), 14:07; Segal Nor (roughing), 17:56.

3rd Period-4, Manchester, Legein 1 (Azevedo), 9:53 (SH). 5, Manchester, Cliche 1 (Hickey, Mullen), 13:57. Penalties-Mullen Mch (slashing, roughing), 3:41; Angelidis Nor (slashing, roughing), 3:41; Picard Nor (unsportsmanlike conduct), 3:41; Kozun Mch (interference), 6:15; Muzzin Mch (delay of game), 7:57; Deslauriers Mch (high-sticking), 15:05; Panik Nor (hooking), 15:58; Segal Nor (tripping), 17:57.

Shots on Goal-Manchester 11-8-10-29. Norfolk 9-11-12-32.
Power Play Opportunities-Manchester 0 / 7; Norfolk 2 / 6.
Goalies-Manchester, Zatkoff 0-1-0 (13 shots-10 saves); Jones 0-0-0 (19 shots-19 saves). Norfolk, Janus 1-0-0 (29 shots-27 saves).

A-5,720
Referees-Terry Koharski (10), Jason Rollins (37).
Linesmen-Mark Hamlett (81), Scott Pomento (25).

 

3-2 OT Victory Over The Senators Pushes The Streak To 27.

Photo: John Wright

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – Mark Barberio’s power play goal 2:04 into overtime completed a comeback from a one-goal, third period deficit as the Norfolk Admirals (54-18-1-2) defeated the Binghamton Senators (29-41-4-2), 3-2, on Saturday night at the Broome County Veteran’s Memorial Arena. The win extended Norfolk’s North American professional hockey record to 27 consecutive wins.

Photo: Casey Staff

The Admirals will conclude the 2011-12 regular season tomorrow in Glens Falls, New York, with a 5:00 p.m. matchup against the Adirondack Phantoms.

Alex Killorn tied the game at 2-2 midway through the third period and assisted on a Cory Conacher goal late in the first period. Dustin Tokarski (32-11-0) stopped 22 of 24 shots to run his personal winning streak to 13 games. The game was just the second non-regulation win of Norfolk’s 27-game winning streak.

The Admirals took a 1-0 lead late in the first period. Killorn sent a no-look, behind-the-back pass to Conacher in the right faceoff circle. Conacher sent a shot past the outstretched glove of Binghamton goaltender Mike McKenna for his 36th goal of the season at 19:24.

Binghamton took a 2-1 lead after two goals late in the second period. The Senators tied the game at 1-1 with a power play goal at 15:17. Eric Gryba sent a pass from the right point to Mark Hoffman at the left point. Hoffman then sent a slap shot through traffic and past Tokarski.

Binghamton went ahead, 2-1, less than two minutes later. After accepting a pass from Tim Conboy, Matt Puempel wound up for a slap shot from the top of the left circle that eluded Tokarski at 17:13. McKenna made 28 saves on 29 shots to hold Norfolk to just one goal through two periods.

Photo: Casey Staff

However, the Admirals tied the game at 2-2 on Killorn’s second professional goal. The rookie who recently joined Norfolk from Harvard University entered the attacking zone along the left wing and sped around a defenseman in the left circle. He then deked to his backhand as he cut across the top of the crease and slipped a shot around McKenna’s left leg at 13:21 for a power play goal.

Norfolk out-shot Binghamton, 19-3, in the third period, but Killorn’s shot was the only one to get past McKenna as the game required overtime.

Tim Conboy was whistled for hooking 1:27 into overtime to give the Admirals their fifth power play of the game. Just moments after Mike Kostka hit the post, he sent a pass to Barberio at the left point. Barberio’s shot through traffic found its mark for his 14th goal of the season and the 3-2 Norfolk win.

McKenna (14-22-1) stopped 46 of 49 shots in the defeat.

Norfolk was 2-for-5 on the power play. Binghamton was 1-for-3.

Norfolk Admirals 3 (OT) at Binghamton Senators 2 – Status: Final OT
Saturday, April 14, 2012 – Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena

Norfolk         1 0 1 1 – 3
Binghamton 0 2 0 0 – 2

1st Period-1, Norfolk, Conacher 36 (Killorn), 19:24. Penalties-Lessard Bng (hooking), 9:52; Oberg Nor (high-sticking), 15:32.

2nd Period-2, Binghamton, Hoffman 21 (Gryba, Dziurzynski), 15:17 (PP). 3, Binghamton, Puempel 1 (Conboy), 17:13. Penalties-Oberg Nor (interference), 4:06; Conacher Nor (roughing), 14:26; Borowiecki Bng (roughing), 18:50.

3rd Period-4, Norfolk, Killorn 2 (Oberg, Kostka), 13:21 (PP). Penalties-served by Puempel Bng (bench minor – too many men), 2:44; Dziurzynski Bng (goaltender interference), 11:56.

OT Period-5, Norfolk, Barberio 14 (Kostka), 2:04 (PP). Penalties-Conboy Bng (hooking, misconduct – abuse of officials), 1:27.

Shots on Goal-Norfolk 17-12-19-1-49. Binghamton 6-14-3-1-24.
Power Play Opportunities-Norfolk 2 / 5; Binghamton 1 / 3.
Goalies-Norfolk, Tokarski 32-11-0 (24 shots-22 saves). Binghamton, McKenna 14-22-1 (49 shots-46 saves).

A-4,511
Referees-Jeff Smith (49), T.J. Luxmore (47).
Linesmen-Andy Petrus (26), John Everett (82).