Admirals Recall Guentzel from ECHL Fort Wayne; Three Others Head to Komets From Norfolk

From The Norfolk Admirals:

NORFOLK – The Norfolk Admirals have recalled defenseman Gabe Guentzel from their ECHL affiliate, the Fort Wayne Komets. In addition, the Admirals have loaned forwards Luca Caputi and Garrett Klotz to the Komets while the Anaheim Ducks, NHL parent club of the Admirals, have reassigned forward Ryan Lasch to the Komets from the Admirals. The announcements were made today by Admirals Assistant General Manager Bob Ferguson.

Guentzel, 6-foot-0, 185-pounds, has appeared in six games with the Admirals this season, recording one assist and six penalty minutes. Guentzel was loaned to Fort Wayne last Thursday and appeared in three games with the Komets, posting one goal and four points. Guentzel netted his first professional goal last Thursday in the Komets’ Thanksgiving Day victory over the Kalamazoo Wings.

Norfolk signed Guentzel to an AHL Standard Player’s Contract on September 21. Last season, the 24-year-old native of Woodbury, Minnesota, appeared in 12 regular season games with the Syracuse Crunch before recording an assist in four Calder Cup Playoff games with Syracuse. An undrafted defenseman, Guentzel joined the Crunch after completing his collegiate career at Colorado College, where he scored 16 goals and 94 points in 156 career games.

Caputi, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound left wing, has appeared in 10 games with the Admirals this season, netting one goal and six points. The 24-year-old native of Toronto, Ontario, split last season in the AHL between the Toronto Marlies and Syracuse Crunch, posting 12 goals and 25 points in 60 games. The fifth-year-pro has appeared in 203 career AHL games between the Admirals, Crunch, Marlies and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, posting 55 goals and 128 points. He has also played 35 career NHL games between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins, scoring three goals and nine points. Caputi signed an AHL Standard Player’s Contract with Norfolk on September 21. He was Pittsburgh’s fourth-round choice (111th overall) in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

Klotz, a 6-foot-6, 250-pound left wing, has appeared in two games with the Admirals this season, posting two penalty minutes. He made his Norfolk debut on November 12 at Albany. The 24-year-old native of Regina, Saskatchewan, played in 33 games with the Adirondack Phantoms last season, netting two goals and four points with 26 penalty minutes. The fifth-year pro has appeared in 157 career AHL games between Norfolk, Adirondack and Philadelphia, scoring four goals and 11 points with 191 penalty minutes. An undrafted forward, Klotz signed an AHL Standard Player’s Contract with the Admirals on September 26.

Lasch, a 5-foot-7, 170-pound center, has appeared in 11 games with the Admirals this season, scoring one goal and four points with four penalty minutes. The 25-year-old native of Lake Forest, California, made his North American professional debut with the Admirals following two seasons of professional hockey in Europe. Last season, Lasch won the Finnish Elite League (SM – Liiga) scoring title and led all league players in post-season scoring. In 59 games with Lahti in 2011-12, Lasch netted 24 goals and 62 points. Lasch signed a two-year contract with the Ducks on May 31, 2012. An undrafted forward, Lasch appeared in 161 career games with the St. Cloud State University Huskies from 2006-10.

The Admirals return to Scope on Wednesday in the first meeting of the season with the Hershey Bears. The puck drops at 7:15 p.m. in the second Admirals Value Night of the season, with Family Fun Packs and Student Rush Night tickets available.

Admirals Open Road Trip with Loss in Bridgeport

From the Norfolk Admirals:

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Goals by Kyle Palmieri and Emerson Etem weren’t enough as the Norfolk Admirals (6-3-0-0) opened a four-game road trip with a 4-2 loss to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (6-3-0-0) on Wednesday morning from Webster Bank Arena. The Admirals will continue the road trip on Saturday night against the Binghamton Senators.

Norfolk netminder Frederik Andersen (3-2-0) took the loss with 22 saves. The Admirals out-shot the Sound Tigers, 30-26.

Bridgeport opened scoring 3:40 into the contest. Colin McDonald sent a wrist shot from the right half-wall that eluded Andersen for a 1-0 Sound Tigers lead.

Photo: John Wright

The Admirals tied the game at 1-1 just 49 seconds into the second stanza on a power play. After Peter Holland won a faceoff in the right circle, Palmieri skated the puck from the high slot into the right circle. He maneuvered around a defender and sent a wrist shot past the blocker of Sound Tigers goaltender Kevin Poulin for his fourth goal of the season.

Bridgeport re-claimed the lead with a power play goal of its own just over four minutes later. Johan Sundstrom sent a one-timer from the left faceoff circle past Andersen at 4:58 to give the home team a 2-1 lead.

Photo: John Wright

Norfolk tied the game at 2-2 just over four minutes later. Ryan Lasch carried the puck around a defender in the right circle. Just as he crossed the goal line in the right corner, Lasch sent the puck towards the goalmouth where Etem redirected it past Poulin. Etem’s third goal of the season came at 9:12 of the second period.

The Sound Tigers went ahead for good late in the second period off a turnover. Jon Landry picked off an Admirals pass and tried a shot that was blocked. Brock Nelson found the loose puck and sent a wrist shot from the left hashmarks past Andersen at 19:19 for a 3-2 Bridgeport lead.

Sound Tigers forward Nino Niederreiter closed out scoring in the contest at 15:34 of the final frame, as Bridgeport won the contest, 4-2.

Poulin stopped 28 of 30 shots to earn the win.

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

The Admirals will continue a four-game road trip on Saturday night against the Binghamton Senators. The puck drops at 7:05 p.m. All games can be heard on 102.1-FM, 1490-AM or 1021TheGame.com. You may also watch on a pay-per-view or season pass basis at AHLLive.com.

 

Norfolk Admirals 2 at Bridgeport Sound Tigers 4 – Status: Final
Wednesday, November 7, 2012 – Webster Bank Arena

Norfolk       0 2 0 – 2
Bridgeport 1 2 1 – 4

1st Period-1, Bridgeport, McDonald 2 (Hill), 3:40. Penalties-Bodie Nor (fighting), 6:19; Gallant Bri (fighting), 6:19; Riley Bri (tripping), 6:19; Watkins Bri (slashing), 13:23; Parent Nor (holding), 17:26.

2nd Period-2, Norfolk, Palmieri 4 (Holland), 0:39 (PP). 3, Bridgeport, Sundstrom 2 (Nelson, Persson), 4:58 (PP). 4, Norfolk, Etem 3 (Lasch, Andersen), 9:12. 5, Bridgeport, Nelson 5 (Landry), 19:19. Penalties-Niederreiter Bri (interference), 0:33; Lasch Nor (goaltender interference), 3:05; Donovan Bri (tripping), 6:52; Rosehill Nor (fighting), 9:54; Gallant Bri (fighting), 9:54.

3rd Period-6, Bridgeport, Niederreiter 6 (Backman), 15:34. Penalties-Landry Bri (hooking), 5:45; Hendry Nor (holding the stick), 10:58; Hendry Nor (fighting), 13:15; McDonald Bri (fighting), 13:15; Kurtz Nor (fighting), 19:40; Riley Bri (fighting), 19:40; Bodie Nor (fighting), 20:00; Gallant Bri (double minor – spearing (attempt, fighting, game misconduct – third major), fighting, game misconduct – third major), 20:00.

Shots on Goal-Norfolk 13-8-9-30. Bridgeport 9-7-10-26.
Power Play Opportunities-Norfolk 1 / 5; Bridgeport 1 / 3.
Goalies-Norfolk, Andersen 3-2-0 (26 shots-22 saves). Bridgeport, Poulin 6-2-0 (30 shots-28 saves).

A-7,704
Referees-Terry Koharski (10).
Linesmen-Jim Briggs (83), Mike Baker (11).

Special Teams Shine In Admirals 6-3 Win Over The Whale.

The Norfolk Admirals (4-0-0-0) special teams shined tonight with a 6-3 win over the Connecticut Whale (0-3-1-0). The Admirals scored three power play goals and two shorthanded goals in the contest. The Admirals now hit the road starting off with a weekend series in St. John’s against the IceCaps next Saturday and Sunday.

The Admirals started things off early when Chris Wagner and Troy Bodie worked their offensive magic and put the Admirals on the board first. With the Admirals killing a penalty Wagner caused a turnover in the neutral zone. Troy Bodie took the puck and skated in shorthanded. Bodie skated past a Whale defender and cut in front of the crease and shot the puck past the glove hand of Whale goalie Scott Stajcer at 4:33 of the first period. Less than four minutes later Sami Vatanen took a pass from Peter Holland and sent a one-timer past Stajcer at 8:03 for an Admiral power play marker. This was Vatanen’s first professional goal. Connecticut got on the scoarboard eight minutes later on a Kyle Jean goal at the 16:00 minute mark cutting Norfolk’s lead to 2-1.

The Admirals opened up the second period with a power play. The hero of last nights game, Corey Elkins, sent a pass to Ryan Lasch in the right circle. Lasch would then shoot the puck over the shoulder of the Whale goalie for his first AHL goal and give Norfolk the 3-1 lead. Connecticut answered back five minutes later when Kris Newbury skated in and passed to Christian Thomas. Thomas would then shoot the puck past Admirals goalie Frederik Andersen at 5:31.Andersen on a two-on-one break. Kris Newbury fed Christian Thomas in the slot, and Thomas sent a shot past the blocker of Andersen at 5:31. Late into the second period the Admirals found themselves shorthanded. Troy Bodie won a faceoff in the Admirals zone. Bodie took the puck and batted it past a Whale defender. He recovered  the puck and skated into the Connecticut zone and passed to Chris Wagner. Wagner received the puck and skated in on Stajcer and backhanded it past the goalie at 18:08 for his first professional goal. Both teams headed into the locker room with a 4-2 Norfolk lead.

The third period started off in favor of the Whale. Connecticut would score at the 35 second mark on a Chad Kolarik goal from the right faceoff circle to make the score 4-3 Admirals. Next up were the Admirals when Patrick Maroon scored a power play goal on the rebound of a Sami Vatanen shot at 13:42. Kyle Palmieri closed out scoring with 45 seconds remaining with an even strenght goal to give the Admirals a 6-3 vistory.

The Admirals hit the road for the first time this season. They will visit the St. John’s IceCaps for a pair of games next weekend. Saturday’s game will start at 6:00 p.m. EDT and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. EDT. If you want to watch the game you can find it at AHLLive.com. The next home game will be November 2 and 3 against the Binghamton Senators.

Connecticut Whale 3 at Norfolk Admirals 6 – Status: Final
Saturday, October 20, 2012 – Norfolk Scope

Connecticut 1 1 1 – 3
Norfolk         2 2 2 – 6

1st Period-1, Norfolk, Bodie 2 (Wagner), 4:33 (SH). 2, Norfolk, Vatanen 1 (Holland, Palmieri), 8:03 (PP). 3, Connecticut, Jean 3 (Collins, Segal), 16:00. Penalties-Guentzel Nor (holding), 0:40; Hendry Nor (boarding), 2:44; Vernace Ct (interference), 6:11; Collins Ct (hooking), 6:58; McMillan Nor (slashing), 16:23; Newbury Ct (unsportsmanlike conduct), 17:20; Wagner Nor (unsportsmanlike conduct), 17:20; Miller Ct (cross-checking), 18:56.

2nd Period-4, Norfolk, Lasch 1 (Elkins, Lindholm), 0:29 (PP). 5, Connecticut, Thomas 1 (Newbury), 5:31. 6, Norfolk, Wagner 1 (Bodie, Guenin), 18:08 (SH). Penalties-Jean Ct (tripping), 1:24; Segal Ct (boarding), 5:57; Vernace Ct (fighting), 5:57; Bodie Nor (double minor – head-butting (attempt, fighting), fighting), 5:57; Newbury Ct (slashing), 7:01; Maroon Nor (cross-checking), 7:01; Yogan Ct (slashing), 9:36; Miller Ct (tripping), 15:35; Lindholm Nor (holding the stick), 16:40; Andersen Nor (interference), 19:53.

3rd Period-7, Connecticut, Kolarik 1 (Pyett, Newbury), 0:35 (PP). 8, Norfolk, Maroon 3 (Vatanen, Palmieri), 13:42 (PP). 9, Norfolk, Palmieri 2 (Holland, Guenin), 19:15. Penalties-Kreider Ct (high-sticking), 11:41; Gilroy Ct (slashing), 12:57; Bodie Nor (elbowing), 15:04.

Shots on Goal-Connecticut 14-16-5-35. Norfolk 10-12-9-31.
Power Play Opportunities-Connecticut 1 / 7; Norfolk 3 / 8.
Goalies-Connecticut, Stajcer 0-2-0 (31 shots-25 saves). Norfolk, Andersen 2-0-0 (35 shots-32 saves).

A-4,085
Referees-T.J. Luxmore (49).
Linesmen-Mark Hamlett (81), Luke Murray (92).

Admirals On Ice

By Ken Peacock

The new look Norfolk Admirals had another day on the ice over at Chilled Ponds. There were seven yesterday, but today we saw about 12 players total. We were able to identify some of the new faces as Emerson Etem, Kyle Palmieri, Ryan Lasch, Sami Vatanen, Mat Clark, Josh Brittain, Peter Holland, Igor Bobkov, and Matt Kennedy. There were still a few that we could not figure out. Once again this was a loosely organized workout for the guys to keep lose in preparation for camp on the 28th.  These on-ice sessions will continue tomorrow thru Thursday at Chilled Ponds from 10:00 am to 11:30am. Camp will open up at Scope on Friday the 28th.