Bear Hunting….Admirals Bag Some Bears, Win 4-1

Photo: John Wright

Norfolk, VA

The Admirals had a successful weekend against the Bears. Four out of a possible four points and the Bears left Norfolk with nothing. While gaining some ground on the Bears, there is still some work to be done if the Admirals want to squeak into the playoffs. With 18 games left in the season the Admirals find themselves sitting in twelfth place in the AHL’s Eastern Conference with 59 points. I don’t think that there is anyone out there that would think that this years Admirals can pull off a winning streak to finish off the season. It’s not going to happen. Norfolk has a chance, but they are going to have to fight for every point and get some help if they want to make the post season. They got 4 points this weekend, there are 36 more points out there. get into the playoffs and it’s back to 0 points for everyone. Let’s get them points and bring back hockey to the Norfolk Scope in May and June.

From the Norfolk Admirals:

NORFOLK – Patrick Maroon scored twice and Frederik Andersen made 23 saves as the Norfolk Admirals (27-26-4-1) defeated the Hershey Bears (28-23-3-5), 4-1, on Saturday night at Norfolk Scope Arena.

The Admirals, who were eight points out of a playoff spot entering the week, earned five of a possible six points in the standings over three games. Norfolk has now closed to within three points of the eighth and final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference with 18 games remaining in the regular season.

Troy Bodie and Brayden Irwin also scored for Norfolk, while Jordan Hendry notched two assists for the home team. Andersen (15-11-1) improved to 8-1-0 over his last nine games.

The Admirals now embark on a three-game road trip beginning on Wednesday night against the Charlotte Checkers. The return to Scope on March 19th and 20th to host the Adirondack Phantoms.

The Admirals opened scoring 2:25 into the contest on Bodie’s fourth goal of the season. Bears goaltender Dany Sabourin fumbled the puck as he attempted to clear it from the zone. Bodie corralled the puck and swept it into the cage for a 1-0 Norfolk lead.

The lead doubled just 34 seconds into the second stanza on Irwin’s first goal of the season. Josh Brittain worked the puck from the left corner to Jordan Hendry in the left circle. The veteran blueliner sent a low slap shot that Irwin deflected from the low slot. The puck changed directions, eluding Sabourin between the netminder’s legs for a 2-0 lead.

Hershey cut its deficit to one goal just over seven minutes later. Garrett Stafford carried the puck into the Norfolk zone along the right wing. Just before he circled behind the net, he centered the puck into the low slot, where Jon DiSalvatore one-timed the puck past Andersen. The goal at 7:43 of the second period cut the home team’s lead to 2-1.

Norfolk’s penalty kill came up large midway through the second period, killing off a Hershey five-on-three power play for 1:07 with several big saves by Andersen.

The lead increased to 3-1 early in the third period. Maroon carried the puck behind the net from the left wing, circled in front and sent a wraparound shot past Sabourin at 4:34 for his sixteenth goal of the season. Sami Vatanen earned an assist on the play to extend his point/assist streak to seven straight games (1g, 9a).

Maroon sealed the victory with an empty-net goal with 1:20 remaining in regulation.

Sabourin (8-10-3) stopped 15 of 18 shots in the setback.

Norfolk was 1-for-3 on the power play. Hershey was 0-for-6. The Admirals killed the final 17 straight Hershey power plays in the season series to finish 39/41 (95.1%) on the penalty kill against the Bears this season.

Norfolk’s three-game road trip begins Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. against the Charlotte Checkers. The Syracuse Crunch and Binghampton Senators will provide the opposition on March 15-16. The Admirals return to Scope on March 19-20 to face off against the Adirondack Phantoms.

Three Stars:

1. Frederik Andersen – NOR
2. Patrick Maroon – NOR
3. Jordan Hendry – NOR

Hershey Bears 1 at Norfolk Admirals 4 – Status: Final
Saturday, March 9, 2013 – Norfolk Scope

Hershey 0 1 0 – 1
Norfolk   1 1 2 – 4

1st Period-1, Norfolk, Bodie 4 (Guenin, Andersen), 2:25 (PP). Penalties-Orlov Her (delay of game), 0:31; Brittain Nor (high-sticking), 5:45; Pelley Nor (boarding), 12:29.

2nd Period-2, Norfolk, Irwin 1 (Hendry, Brittain), 0:34. 3, Hershey, DiSalvatore 16 (Stafford, Taffe), 7:43. Penalties-Irwin Nor (high-sticking), 8:02; Guenin Nor (cross-checking), 8:55.

3rd Period-4, Norfolk, Maroon 16 (Hendry, Vatanen), 4:34. 5, Norfolk, Maroon 17 (Wagner), 18:40 (EN). Penalties-Almeida Her (hooking), 0:28; Sexton Nor (interference), 1:17; Brittain Nor (interference), 3:54; DiSalvatore Her (tripping), 4:24.

Shots on Goal-Hershey 7-12-5-24. Norfolk 8-7-4-19.
Power Play Opportunities-Hershey 0 / 6; Norfolk 1 / 3.
Goalies-Hershey, Sabourin 8-10-3 (18 shots-15 saves). Norfolk, Andersen 15-11-1 (24 shots-23 saves).
A-7,316
Referees-Chris Cozzan (18), Jason Rollins (37).
Linesmen-Mark Hamlett (81), Scott Pomento (25).

Admirals Weekend Roundup – Providence Bruins

Photo: L. Todd Spencer | The Virginian-Pilot

This weekend the Admirals played host the the AHL’s Atlantic Division leading Providence Bruins.The Admirals had their defense bolstered by the return of Hampus Lindholm and Nate Guenin. While the defense was uh…”stronger”, the offense was still lacking. Peter Holland and Pat Maroon are still up with the Ducks.

Photo: John Wright

This was also the Hall of Fame weekend. ECHL Admiral Brian Martin and AHL Admiral Marty Wilford were inducted into the Admiral’s Hall of Fame. Normally you would find the Admirals try to make a nice presentation of the event, but this year it just seemed that nothing was really put into the presentation. The original Admiral, Dennis McEwan was the only member of the Admirals front office to be part of the ceremony.While he did a great job, it would have been nice to have the the Ken Young, the owner of the team,or even Joe Gregory on hand to make the presentation. This was really a lackluster event.

Back to the Hockey. Friday nights affair was all Bruins. There was more excitement in the stands than on the ice. The recently bolstered defense fell apart and made Bobkov look like an ECHL goalie. The Admirals offense was just as bad, unable to find the back of the net and fell 3-0. Saturday nights affair started off with a bang with 2 early fights to get things going. Troy Bodie returned to the lineup and got back into the thick of things with the second fight of the night. Norfolk was not going to let what happened Friday night happen again Saturday night. They made a fight of it, but the Bruins would not step aside. It took a shootout to get things done, but the Admirals squeeked out a 3-2 win.

From The Norfolk Admirals:

February 22, 2013

Providence Shuts Out Admirals

NORFOLK – Niklas Svedberg stopped 21 shots and Graham Mink scored twice as the Norfolk Admirals (22-25-3-1) were shut out by the Providence Bruins (31-17-0-3), 3-0, on Friday night at Norfolk Scope Arena. The same teams face off again tomorrow night at Scope at 7:15 p.m.

Norfolk was shut out for the fifth time this season. Admirals goaltender Igor Bobkov (10-15-0) stopped 16 of 19 shots and took the loss before being replaced by Frederik Andersen (10-10-1) 8:07 into the second period. Andersen stopped all 13 shots he faced in relief. All of Providence’s offense came on special teams, as the Bruins scored twice on the power play and once while shorthanded.

Providence took the lead 16:17 into the contest on Mink’s first goal of the contest. While on the power play, Matt Bartkowski sent a low wrist shot from the high slot that Mink deflected from the low slot. Mink sent the puck up and under the crossbar for a 1-0 Bruins lead.

The lead doubled for the visitors with another Mink power play goal just 46 seconds into the second period. Colby Cohen sent a shot from the left point that Bobkov stopped. However, Mink found the rebound in the goalmouth and scored to increase Providence’s lead to 2-0.

That lead grew to three goals just over seven minutes later as the Bruins scored shorthanded. Bartkowski picked off a Norfolk pass and sent the puck to former Admiral Trent Whitfield. The Providence captain sent a wrist shot from the left circle over Bobkov’s right shoulder at 8:07 for a 3-0 lead.

Providence goaltender Niklas Svedberg (25-6-2) earned his 25th win of the season – tops among AHL rookie netminders.

Norfolk was 0-for-3 on the power play. Providence was 2-for-5.

Three Stars:
1. Graham Mink – PRO
2. Niklas Svedberg – PRO
3. Matt Bartkowski – PRO

Providence Bruins 3 at Norfolk Admirals 0 – Status: Final
Friday, February 22, 2013 – Norfolk Scope

Providence 1 2 0 – 3
Norfolk        0 0 0 – 0

1st Period-1, Providence, Mink 4 (Bartkowski, Caron), 16:17 (PP). Penalties-Cohen Pro (hooking), 1:40; MacKinnon Pro (tripping), 5:43; Mitchell Nor (unsportsmanlike conduct), 14:40; Irwin Nor (delay of game), 19:58.

2nd Period-2, Providence, Mink 5 (Cohen, Bartkowski), 0:46 (PP). 3, Providence, Whitfield 4 (Bartkowski), 8:07 (SH). Penalties-Svedberg Pro (tripping), 7:23; Letourneau-Leblond Nor (high-sticking), 15:56.

3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Letourneau-Leblond Nor (major – charging, game misconduct – charging), 6:50; served by Mink Pro (bench minor – too many men), 8:02; MacKinnon Pro (roughing), 9:56; Vatanen Nor (roughing), 9:56; Hendry Nor (interference), 16:56.

Shots on Goal-Providence 12-10-10-32. Norfolk 5-9-7-21.
Power Play Opportunities-Providence 2 / 5; Norfolk 0 / 3.
Goalies-Providence, Svedberg 25-6-2 (21 shots-21 saves). Norfolk, Bobkov 10-15-0 (19 shots-16 saves); Andersen 11-10-1 (13 shots-13 saves).

A-5,602
Referees-T.J. Luxmore (49).
Linesmen-Mark Hamlett (81), Scott Pomento (25).

February 23, 2013

Hendry Proves It’s Better to Give Than Receive

NORFOLK – Frederik Andersen made 37 saves and Jordan Hendry gave the Admirals the win on his 29th birthday with the game-winning conversion in the sixth round of the shootout, as the Norfolk Admirals (23-25-3-1) defeated the Providence Bruins (31-17-0-4), 3-2, on Saturday night at Norfolk Scope Arena.

Hendry, who has played 239 career AHL games, scored on his first career AHL shootout attempt. He has two goals and seven points in 38 games with the Admirals this season. Brandon McMillan tied the contest at 2-2 with just 4:26 left in regulation, while Dan Sexton opened scoring in the game for the Admirals. Andersen (11-10-1) stopped 37 of 39 shots through regulation and overtime before denying five of six Providence shooters in the shootout. The Admirals have won eight of their last 13 games (8-4-1-0).

The Admirals will visit the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Wednesday night before returning to Scope to host the Charlotte Checkers next Friday night at Scope.

Norfolk went ahead, 1-0, on Sexton’s fourth goal of the season. Luca Caputi sent a pass across the crease to Sexton, who shot it past the right leg of Providence goaltender Michael Hutchinson at 6:49 for a five-on-three power play goal.

The Bruins tied the game early in the second period. Bobby Robins’ initial shot was blocked by Andersen, with the netminder reaching out with his glove in an attempt to cover the puck. However, it was knocked loose by Justin Florek to Christian Hanson, whose backhand shot hit the post. The puck then caromed off the post towards the crease, where it caromed again off a Norfolk defender and went into the net. Hanson’s goal at 4:11 tied the game at 1-1.

Providence took a 2-1 lead 9:24 into the final frame. Kevan Miller sent a shot from the right point that deflected off an Admirals defender and eluded Andersen.

The Admirals tied the game with 4:26 left in regulation. Emerson Etem attempted a wraparound shot from behind the net that wound up on the stick of Sexton. Hutchinson made a lunging save to deny Sexton’s shot. However, McMillan scored his fourth goal of the season on the rebound to tie the game at 2-2.

After a scoreless overtime, the teams exchanged goals in the fourth round of the shootout, with Caputi scoring for Norfolk and Graham Mink converting for Providence. In the top of the sixth round, Hendry rifled a shot off the crossbar and into the net, while Andersen stopped Nicolas Tremblay to seal the win.

Michael Hutchinson (6-11-2) stopped 31 of 33 shots through regulation and overtime before allowing two goals on six shots in the shootout.

Norfolk was 1-for-4 on the power play. Providence was 0-for-6.

Three Stars:
1. Frederik Andersen – NOR
2. Brandon McMillan – NOR
3. Dan Sexton – NOR

Providence Bruins 2 at Norfolk Admirals 3 (SO) – Status: Final SO
Saturday, February 23, 2013 – Norfolk Scope

Providence 0 1 1 0 – 2
Norfolk        1 0 1 0 – 3

1st Period-1, Norfolk, Sexton 4 (Caputi, Vatanen), 6:49 (PP). Penalties-Randell Pro (fighting), 0:07; Letourneau-Leblond Nor (fighting), 0:07; Robins Pro (fighting), 0:38; Bodie Nor (fighting), 0:38; Cunningham Pro (holding), 5:32; Whitfield Pro (tripping), 5:49; McMillan Nor (slashing), 7:40; Guenin Nor (slashing), 8:40; Florek Pro (hooking), 11:39; Irwin Nor (hooking), 14:27.

2nd Period-2, Providence, Hanson 7 (Florek, Robins), 4:11. Penalties-Vatanen Nor (delay of game), 12:32; Clark Nor (roughing), 17:01.

3rd Period-3, Providence, Miller 1 (Bartkowski, Spooner), 9:24. 4, Norfolk, McMillan 4 (Etem, Sexton), 15:34. Penalties-Miller Pro (roughing), 5:08; McMillan Nor (roughing), 5:08; Irwin Nor (hooking), 18:50.

OT Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Whitfield Pro (high-sticking), 4:47.

Shootout – Providence 1 (Spooner NG, Cunningham NG, Whitfield NG, Mink G, Krug NG, Tremblay NG), Norfolk 2 (Brittain NG, Mitchell NG, Etem NG, Caputi G, Vatanen NG, Hendry G).
Shots on Goal-Providence 10-18-11-0-0-39. Norfolk 10-9-11-3-1-34.
Power Play Opportunities-Providence 0 / 6; Norfolk 1 / 4.
Goalies-Providence, Hutchinson 6-11-2 (33 shots-31 saves). Norfolk, Andersen 11-10-1 (39 shots-37 saves).

A-6,919
Referees-T.J. Luxmore (49), Jason Rollins (37).
Linesmen-Mark Hamlett (81), Scott Pomento (25).

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 Victorious In Home Opener, Beat The Sharks 4-2.

By Ken Peacock

29′s A Fluke, 30′s A Streak. The “New Look” Norfolk Admirals started the new season the same way the old team ended last season. Norfolk opened up the new season with a 4-2 victory over the Worcester Sharks.

The Admirals took control early and took a 2-0 lead in the first period. John Mitchell converted a 2-on-1 with a nice feed from Devante Smith-Pelley to take the 1-0 lead at 2:07. The on-ice action took a 15 minute delay after a skate struck and broke the glass midway through the first period. When the teams returned to action Norfolk would take a 2-0 lead on a nice shot from the left circle by Peter Holland that beat Sharks goalie, Alex Stalock at 12:47. Norfolk out shot the Sharks 10-5 in the first period.

The second period was all Worcester.The Admirals lead was quickly eliminated by goals from Travis Oleksuk and Sebastian Stalberg. Oleksuk got the Sharks on the scoarboard at 15:41 of the second period.  Matt Irwin took a shot from the left point  and Oleksuk would deflect the puck past Admirals netminder Frederik Anderson. Stalberg would tie things up at 18:33 with assists going to James Sheppard and Alex Stalock. Worcester came out on top for shots for the period 11-6 over the Admirals.

The fans would see their first fight of the season at 2:36 of the third. Troy Bodie of the Admirals and Matt Pelech of the Sharks would drop the gloves and settle their differences. Bodie came out on top and both players were sent to the box to serve their majors. Bodie was not done for the night as he would deflect the game winner off of a Jay Rosehill shot at 10:41. Kyle Palmieri would seal the deal on the Admirals victory as he scored on the empty Shark net in the final seconds to give Norfolk the 4-2 victory.

Worcester Sharks 2 at Norfolk Admirals 4 – Status: Final
Friday, October 12, 2012 – Norfolk Scope

Worcester 0 2 0 – 2
Norfolk      2 0 2 – 4

1st Period-1, Norfolk, Mitchell 1 (Smith-Pelly), 2:07. 2, Norfolk, Holland 1   12:47. Penalties-Petrecki Wor (roughing), 8:09; McMillan Nor (roughing), 8:09; Irwin Wor (hooking), 8:22; Palmieri Nor (interference), 13:04; Palmieri Nor (high-sticking), 15:33; Kearns Wor (hooking), 18:33.

2nd Period-3, Worcester, Oleksuk 1 (Irwin, Sheppard), 15:41 (PP). 4, Worcester, Stalberg 1 (Sheppard, Stalock), 18:33. Penalties-Rosehill Nor (delay of game), 15:06; Doherty Wor (roughing), 19:28; Maroon Nor (roughing), 19:28.

3rd Period-5, Norfolk, Bodie 1 (Rosehill, Vatanen), 10:41. 6, Norfolk, Palmieri 1 (Clark), 19:56 (EN). Penalties-Pelech Wor (boarding, fighting), 2:36; Bodie Nor (fighting), 2:36.

Shots on Goal-Worcester 5-11-5-21. Norfolk 10-6-9-25.
Power Play Opportunities-Worcester 1 / 3; Norfolk 0 / 3.
Goalies-Worcester, Stalock 0-1-0 (24 shots-21 saves). Norfolk, Andersen 1-0-0 (21 shots-19 saves).

A-5,004
Referees-Geno Binda (22), Jason Rollins (37).
Linesmen-Tom George (61), Scott Pomento (25).