IceCaps Hand Admirals First Setback of 2012-13

From The Norfolk Admirals:

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – The Norfolk Admirals (4-1-0-0) took their first loss of the 2012-13 season, as the St. John’s IceCaps (4-3-0-0) earned a 3-2 decision on Saturday night at MileOne Centre. The same teams will meet tomorrow afternoon in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

Devante Smith-Pelly had a goal and an assist in the contest, which was the first road game of the season for the Admirals. Sami Vatanen also scored for Norfolk, while goaltender Frederik Andersen stopped 40 of 43 shots. The IceCaps out-shot the Admirals, 43-30.

Norfolk lost its first regular season game since February 5, 2012, against the Springfield Falcons. The Admirals won their final 28 regular season games of the 2011-12 season and the first four games of the 2012-13 regular season before tonight’s setback.

Neither team scored in the first period, as Andersen made 16 saves and St. John’s goaltender Mark Dekanich made five saves.

The IceCaps took a 1-0 lead 11:33 into the second stanza. Jason Jaffray poked the puck off the stick of a Norfolk defenseman into the slot. Zach Redmond recovered the puck in the slot and sent a quick shot past the blocker of Andersen.

The deficit grew to two goals less than two minutes later while Norfolk was on the penalty kill. Jaffray took the puck from the right corner and attempted a shot that Andersen stopped. However, Jaffray found his own rebound in the low slot, spun around on his backhand and sent a shot from the edge of the left circle under the legs of Andersen at 13:14 for a 2-0 St. John’s lead.

Norfolk cuts its deficit to one goal with less than a minute remaining in the second period. Hampus Lindholm sent a shot from the left circle that Dekanich stopped. Patrick Maroon poked the puck loose in the crease, and Smith-Pelly swept the puck into the net at 19:24 for his first goal of the season. The Admirals trailed the IceCaps, 2-1, heading into the third period.

The IceCaps restored their two-goal lead midway through the final frame. Hunter Tremblay sent a shot from the right circle that made its way through the crease and was heading towards the left corner. Eric O’Dell, who had skated behind the net from the right circle, emerged near the left circle, found the loose puck, and shot it past Andersen’s right leg at 8:27 for a 3-1 St. John’s lead.

Norfolk used a quick power play goal late in the third period to once again draw within one goal of tying the game. Peter Holland won a faceoff to Smith-Pelly, who fed the puck to Vatanen at the right point. Vatanen sent a slap shot past a screened Dekanich at 15:10 for his second goal of the season.

Despite out-shooting St. John’s, 16-13, in the third period, the Admirals were unable to find the equalizer, as they fell, 3-2.

Both teams were 1-for-5 on the power play. Dekanich made 28 saves to earn the win.

The same teams meet tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 p.m.

Norfolk Admirals 2 at St. John’s IceCaps 3 – Status: Final
Saturday, October 27, 2012 – Mile One Centre

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

1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Etem Nor (hooking), 1:19; Burmistrov Stj (tripping), 2:20; Holland Nor (tripping), 3:53; Guenin Nor (delay of game), 5:51; Burmistrov Stj (high-sticking), 8:25.

2nd Period-1, St. John’s, Redmond 3 (Jaffray), 11:33. 2, St. John’s, Jaffray 1 (Burmistrov, Redmond), 13:14 (PP). 3, Norfolk, Smith-Pelly 1 (Lindholm, Maroon), 19:24. Penalties-Gregoire Stj (interference), 3:44; Maroon Nor (closing hand on puck), 7:17; Clark Nor (high-sticking), 11:40; Holland Nor (misconduct – abuse of officials), 14:04.

3rd Period-4, St. John’s, O’Dell 3 (Tremblay, Maxwell), 8:27. 5, Norfolk, Vatanen 2 (Smith-Pelly, Holland), 15:10 (PP). Penalties-Guentzel Nor (unsportsmanlike conduct), 10:27; Burmistrov Stj (hooking), 10:27; Maroon Nor (misconduct – unsportsmanlike conduct), 14:41; O’Dell Stj (misconduct – unsportsmanlike conduct), 14:41; Gagnon Stj (slashing), 15:05; Arsene Stj (delay of game), 17:12; Wagner Nor (roughing), 20:00; Jaffray Stj (roughing), 20:00.

Shots on Goal-Norfolk 5-9-16-30. St. John’s 16-14-13-43.
Power Play Opportunities-Norfolk 1 / 5; St. John’s 1 / 5.
Goalies-Norfolk, Andersen 2-1-0 (43 shots-40 saves). St. John’s, Dekanich 2-0-0 (30 shots-28 saves).

A-6,287
Referees-Trevor Hanson (47).
Linesmen-Todd Horwood (34), Sheldon Keough (63).

Admirals Win 4-0, Sweep The IceCaps 4 Games To 0

Congratulations to the Norfolk Admirals. The Admirals 4-0 win over the St. John’s IceCaps completes the sweep. The Admirals will now return to Norfolk and rest up for the Calder Cup Finals. Norfolk’s opponent has yet to be determined. The Toronto Marlies lead the Oklahoma City Barons 2-1 in their conference final series.

Alex Picard Leads Norfolk Over St. John’s 3-1

NORFOLK, Va. – Alexandre Picard scored twice to take over the scoring lead in the playoffs as the Norfolk Admirals defeated the St. John’s IceCaps, 3-1, in front of an AHL Admirals playoff record crowd of 6,249 at Norfolk Scope Arena. Norfolk takes a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference Finals into Monday’s Game 3 at Mile One Centre in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

Richard Panik also scored. Dustin Tokarski (6-2) stopped 30 of 31 shots and has now turned aside 59 of 61 St. John’s shots in the series. Norfolk’s penalty kill stopped all five IceCaps’ shots.

Like in Game 1, the Admirals struck first in Game 2 – this time just 51 seconds into the contest. Trevor Smith found Richard Panik in the high slot, and Panik sent a quick wrist shot past Pasquale’s blocker. The Admirals were on a three-on-two rush when Smith connected with Panik, putting Norfolk up 1-0.

The second period saw the IceCaps even the score at one goal apiece 1:41 into the period. Garth Murray won a faceoff, sending the puck back to Paul Postma at the left point. Postma sent a shot through traffic that hit Tokarski. John Albert found the rebound and backhanded it into and the net to get St. John’s on the board.

The alternating scoring continued later in the second period when Picard made the score 2-1 in favor of the home team. Brandon Segal started the play when he collected his own deflection in the right circle and passed the puck back to Mike Kostka. The puck came to Kostka at the right point where he would shoot it, sending it off the glove of Pasquale. The rebound went behind the net, ricocheted to Picard on the other side, and with Pasquale still on the other half of the crease, Picard sent it into the cage before Pasquale could dive back to stop it.

In an attempt to tie the game, St. John’s pulled Pasquale for an extra skater with time winding down in regulation. After Jean-Philippe Cote forced a turnover at center ice, Picard took the puck down the right wall and hit the empty net to cement the victory for Norfolk, 3-1. Picard now has an AHL-best eight goals and 14 points in the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Eddie Pasquale (7-6) stopped 35 of 37 shots for the loss.

Both teams were 0-for-5 on the power play.

Game 3 of the series takes place on Monday, May 21st, from Mile One Centre in St. John’s, Newfoundland. The puck drops at 6:00 p.m.

Big Woody’s Bar and Grill will show Game 3, Game 4 and (if needed) Game 5 of the series at their Chesapeake Square Mall location. The Chesapeake Square Mall location of Big Woody’s Bar and Grill is located at 4200 Portsmouth Boulevard in Chesapeake, Virginia.

In addition, A Step In Time Chimney Sweeps is having an Admirals Party for Game 3 only at the Virginia Beach Town Center location of Guadalajara on Monday night, May 21st. Watch the game live at 6:00 p.m. and cheer on your Admirals. In addition, there will be a free buffet, happy hour drink specials, and cornhole with prizes available. The Virginia Beach Town Center location of Guadalajara is located at 4611 Columbus Street in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Game 3 will also be shown on Monday, May 21st, at the Hits at the Park Restaurant during the Norfolk Tides game against the Pawtucket Red Sox. You must have a ticket to the Tides game to be admitted into the ballpark.

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.

Three Stars:
1. Alexandre Picard – NOR
2. Dustin Tokarski – NOR
3. Eddie Pasquale – STJ

St. John’s IceCaps 1 at Norfolk Admirals 3 – Status: Final
Saturday, May 19, 2012 – Norfolk Scope

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

1st Period-1, Norfolk, Panik 3 (Oberg, Smith), 0:51. Penalties-Kulda Stj (cross-checking), 6:40; O’Dell Stj (slashing), 11:12; Oberg Nor (hooking), 13:25; Smith Nor (interference), 18:02; Gagnon Stj (roughing), 19:07; Palat Nor (roughing), 19:07; Johnson Nor (tripping), 19:31.

2nd Period-2, St. John’s, Albert 3 (Postma, Murray), 1:51. 3, Norfolk, Picard 7 (Kostka, Angelidis), 15:38. Penalties-Kulda Stj (holding), 6:09.

3rd Period-4, Norfolk, Picard 8 (Cote), 19:07 (EN). Penalties-Sawada Stj (boarding), 0:52; Killorn Nor (holding), 6:55; Conacher Nor (holding), 10:16; Meech Stj (interference), 11:17.

Shots on Goal-St. John’s 13-11-7-31. Norfolk 14-17-7-38.
Power Play Opportunities-St. John’s 0 / 5; Norfolk 0 / 5.
Goalies-St. John’s, Pasquale 7-6-0 (37 shots-35 saves). Norfolk, Tokarski 6-2-0 (31 shots-30 saves).
A-6,249
Referees-Francis Charron (46), Terry Koharski (10).
Linesmen-Mathieu Chenier (71), Scott Pomento (25).

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).

The Streak Moves To 22 As The Norfolk Admirals Melt The IceCaps 2-1

NORFOLK, Va. – Goals by Ondrej Palat and Philip-Michael Devos helped to erase a one-goal deficit, as the Norfolk Admirals (49-18-1-2) defeated the St. John’s IceCaps (39-21-5-3), 2-1, on Friday night in front of 7,348 fans at Norfolk Scope Arena. The Admirals’ extended their winning streak to 22 games after completing the two-game sweep of St. John’s.

Norfolk’s longest homestand of the season continues on Tuesday night against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Jaroslav Janus (20-8-2) extended his Norfolk franchise record winning streak to 12 games by stopping 20 of 21 shots.

St. John’s opened the scoring just 2:11 into the game. The IceCaps took advantage of a four-on-three power play when Aaron Gagnon collected a rebound and snuck it past Janus to give the visitors the 1-0 lead.

Norfolk answered back to knot the game at 1-1 with less than five minutes to go in the second period. Moments after a Norfolk power play expired, Palat passed to Alex Killorn at the right half boards. Killorn’s pass deflected off the skate of Alexandre Picard, who then spun around drawing IceCaps goaltender David Aebischer to one side of his crease. Picard then passed to his right to Palat, who buried a shot into the open net for his ninth goal of the season at 15:42.

Photo: L. Todd Spencer / The Virginian-Pilot

The Admirals took the lead for good midway through the final frame. After Aebischer attempted to cover a loose puck, Pierre-Cedric Labrie was able to knock it loose in the right corner. Labrie then spotted Devos alone in the low slot, and Devos shot the puck past the diving Aebischer to make his sixth goal of the season the game-winner at 10:46.

Despite a St. John’s six-on-five attack for close to two minutes at the end the game, the Admirals held on for the 2-1 victory – their 22nd win in a row overall and their 16th consecutive win in regulation.

Aebischer (14-10-2) stopped 25 of 27 shots in the loss.

Norfolk was 0-for-6 on the power play while stopping two of three St. John’s power play opportunities.

Fight Of The Night: Jeff Dimmen Vs. Carl Klingberg

St. John’s IceCaps 1 at Norfolk Admirals 2 – Status: Final
Friday, March 30, 2012 – Norfolk Scope

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

1st Period-1, St. John’s, Gagnon 13 (Redmond, DeSantis), 2:11 (PP). Penalties-Negrin Stj (hooking), 0:55; Picard Nor (goaltender interference), 1:16; Barberio Nor (slashing), 1:55; Lunden Stj (fighting), 5:22; Neilson Nor (fighting), 5:22; Murray Stj (slashing), 8:13; O’Neill Stj (boarding), 17:00.

2nd Period-2, Norfolk, Palat 9 (Picard, Killorn), 15:42. Penalties-Klingberg Stj (fighting), 9:40; Dimmen Nor (fighting), 9:40; Panik Nor (roughing), 9:55; Gregoire Stj (interference), 13:33; DeSantis Stj (cross-checking, misconduct – abuse of officials), 16:27; Murray Stj (misconduct – abuse of officials), 20:00.

3rd Period-3, Norfolk, Devos 6 (Labrie, Conacher), 10:41. Penalties-Kulda Stj (holding), 2:33; Cormier Stj (fighting), 12:28; Gudas Nor (fighting), 12:28.

Shots on Goal-St. John’s 7-5-9-21. Norfolk 6-11-10-27.
Power Play Opportunities-St. John’s 1 / 3; Norfolk 0 / 6.
Goalies-St. John’s, Aebischer 14-10-2 (27 shots-25 saves). Norfolk, Janus 20-8-2 (21 shots-20 saves).
A-7,348
Referees-Terry Koharski (10).
Linesmen-Scott Pomento (25), Tom George (61).

Admirals to hold training camp and exhibition games in St. John’s.

Admirals to hold training camp and exhibition games in St. John’s.

The Admirals announced that they will hold training camp and play 3 exhibition games against the IceCaps in St. John’s. I honestly don’t know what to think about this. I was looking forward to training camp and seeing the players battle it out. On the other hand it might give the team a chance to get things together and start the season off with a bang. One way or another this is not a move that will make every one happy. It would be nice to have some exhibition games in our barn , something we rarely see.