Norfolk Admirals Weekly Release #6

Admirals home for the holidays to open four-game homestand

NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk Admirals ended a seven-game road trip with a loss in Adirondack and three consecutive losses to the Manchester Monarchs. The Admirals faced their other two Eastern Conference opponents after grabbing their first out-of-town win of the season in Elmira and dropping two in Reading.

The Admirals faced the Adirondack Thunder Wednesday morning, when they suffered a defeat at Glen Falls Civic Center. After Adirondack tallied two in the opening frame, Steven Whitney's deflected shot found the stick of Tommy Mele, who stuffed it in and cut the Thunder's lead in half. Jonathan Lessard leveled the board 2-2 in the second with help from Alexander Ranger's attempt. Adirondack answered with another goal only 10 seconds later to go up 3-2, a lead they defended through the final period.

Three straight matchups over the weekend against the Manchester Monarchs concluded the road haul. On Friday night, Norfolk suffered a close loss to the Monarchs after a scoreless first and second period. In the final frame, Manchester converted on two power-play opportunities. The Admirals managed to close the gap by one when Tommy Mele hit net, but never found the equalizer in a 2-1 loss.

The Monarchs capitalized on a pair of man advantages again to earn their second win in a row over the Admirals Saturday night. Norfolk failed to convert on five power plays of their own, and had only one goal by T. Mele to show for in a 5-1 setback to Manchester. Sunday afternoon marked the last of their three-game skate against their divisional foe, and the Admirals came up short, this time a 4-2 loss at Verizon Wireless Arena. The Monarchs went up 2-0 in the first 20 minutes, then rookie Quinn Smith scored his first professional goal, and Whitney added another early in the third period to tie it at 2-2. With less than nine minutes to go, Manchester's Zac Larraza lit the lamp with the go-ahead goal, and Maxim Kitsyn filled an empty Norfolk net late to send the Admirals back to Hampton Roads with their sixth road loss in a row.

ON THE RADIO/INTERNETAll regular-season games will air live on 1650 AM WHKT "The Answer" and online at 1650theanswer.com. ECHL.TV will also carry online video of every Admirals game on a pay-per-view or season pass basis. Fans can log in to watch, listen or get more information about ECHL.TV's online audio and video features at ECHL.TV. Also, Buffalo Wild Wings on Monticello Avenue in Norfolk and Laskin Road in Virginia Beach will show Norfolk Admirals away games during the 2015-16 season.

STANDINGS UPDATEAt 5-12-0-0 (10 points), the Admirals are 5th in the East Division and are in 14th place in the Eastern Conference. Below are the current ECHL Eastern Conference standings:

Click here for league standings

Eight teams in each conference shall qualify for the 2016 Kelly Cup Playoffs. Following the conclusion of each team's 72-game regular season, the three division winners in each conference will be seeded 1-3 (in order of regular-season points) and the next five best teams (in order of regular-season points) will be seeded 4-8.

THE ADMIRALS’ WEEK AHEADWed., Nov. 25 … vs. Greenville Swamp Rabbits (New York Rangers) … 7:15 p.m.Sat., Nov. 27 ... at Manchester Monarchs (Los Angeles Kings) ... 7 p.m.Sun., Nov. 28 ... at Manchester Monarchs (Los Angeles Kings) ... 7 p.m.

ADMIRALS SPOTLIGHT• Two former Admirals hit milestones last week with the Bakersfield Condors in the AHL. Marco Roy notched his first AHL goal last Wednesday in a 2-1 shootout win over San Jose. Roy's marker was the lone tally for Bakersfield. Josh Currie made his AHL debut in the 2-1 victory. Currie now has three games under his belt with the Condors, but has yet to find the scoresheet. Another former Admiral, Greg Chase, has played four games in Bakersfield, and like Currie, hasn't recorded a point.

ADMIRALS’ LOG• Norfolk has been busy on the waiver wire over the last week or so. Thomas Gobeil, Christophe Lalonde, Peter MacIntyre, Steve Mele and Quinn Smith were all signed by the Admirals during their trip through the New England region for contests against Adirondack and Manchester. Gobeil, Lalonde, MacIntyre and Smith all made professional debuts with Norfolk, and Smith registered his first professional goal and point on Sunday.

NORFOLK LEADERSGoals: Tommy Mele, Alexandre Ranger (5)Assists: Charles-Olivier Roussel (8)Points: Charles-Olivier Roussel (10)Games: Five players tied (17)PP Goals: Alexandre Ranger (2)SH Goals: Josh Currie, Michael Pelech, Alexandre Ranger (1)+/- Rating: Radoslav Illo, Peter MacIntyre (1)PIM: Samuel Noreau (49)GAA: Nic Riopel (2.94)Spct: Ty Rimmer (.918)Wins: Ty Rimmer (4)Losses: Ty Rimmer (9)GPl: Ty Rimmer (14)Minutes: Ty Rimmer (736)

ABOUT THIS WEEKEND’S MATCHUPSThe Admirals (5-12-0-0) will be back in Norfolk for three home matches, with the first of three against the Greenville Swamp Rabbits (6-9-0-0) of the South Division. Norfolk will look to repeat their previous encounter against Greenville, where they nabbed a 4-2 victory at home earlier in the month. Both teams are ranked fifth in their respective divisions. Though Norfolk is only 17th on the power play at home, the Swamp Rabbits are last in the league on the penalty kill on the road. The Admirals must take advantage of a lack-luster Swamp Rabbits PK unit, which would go a long way towards their first victory since Nov. 13. Like the Admirals, Greenville has struggled away from home and shoulder a 1-5-0-0 record coming into Wednesday's tilt. Both sides are in desperate need of a win. Norfolk is 2-8-0-0 in its last 10 while Greenville is 3-6-1-0.

GREENVILLE LEADERSGoals: Brian Hart (6)Assists: Darian Dziurzynski (7)Points: Bretton Cameron, Scott Fleming, Ryan Rashid (10)Games: Five players tied (16)PP Goals: Bretton Cameron (2)SH Goals: N/A+/- Rating: Darian Dziurzynski, Scott Fleming (2)PIM: Bretton Cameron (43)GAA: Jeff Malcolm (2.56)Spct: Jeff Malcolm (.920)Wins: Jeff Malcolm (3)Losses: Allen York (4)GPl: Jeff Malcolm (5)Minutes: Jeff Malcolm (282)

Friday and Saturday will mark the fourth and fifth time the Admirals will meet the Manchester Monarchs (9-6-0-0) this season, all in the span of nine days. During last weekend's three-in-three, the Monarchs, swept Norfolk, and converted on four of their 15 total man advantages, while the Admirals went just 1-for-14. The whistle blew for a total of 51 penalties--12 of which were fighting majors--serving up 154 minutes for the two teams combined. Expect the physicality and friction to continue this weekend, however the Admirals must avoid unnecessary penalties despite being the sixth-best penalty-killing team in the league. There is plenty of firepower on the Manchester roster, as five players have double-digit scoring totals on a team with four skaters ranked in the top five in the league in plus/minus. Defensive responsibility will be essential in securing four points this weekend.

MANCHESTER LEADERSGoals: Matt White (8)Assists: Matt Leitner (10)Points: Matt White (16)Games: Several players tied (15)PP Goals: David Kolomatis (2)SH Goals: Troy Power (1)+/- Rating: Maxim Kitsyn, Gasper Kopitar (11)PIM: Michael Boivin (33)GAA: Michael Houser (2.35)Spct: Michael Houser (.923)Wins: Michael Houser (7)Losses: Colin Stevens (3)GPI: Michael Houser (9)Minutes: Michael Houser (537)

**UPCOMING EVENTS AND PROMOTIONS**

Wednesday, November 25 vs. Greenville Swamp Rabbits - Family Fun Pack, Student Rush NightMidweek games mean savings for you! Bring the family or three friends and get four Red Level tickets, four sodas, four hot dogs, and four popcorns for just $54. Students can purchase a $10 White Level seat when they present a valid high school or college ID.

November 27 - Roll Back the Clock NightTired of turkey? Friday, November 27, is slated for the fan favorite Roll Back the Clock Night when hot dogs, soda and popcorn will all be available for an old-fashioned price of just 50 cents! Purchase these three specially discounted items in the Scope Exhibition Hall on this night and this night only. You don't want to miss this.

November 28 - Star Wars Night, JDRF NightCelebrate the release of the newest Star Wars flick by joining characters from the movies at Scope for a night of hockey as the Admirals duel with the Manchester Monarchs. Come take photos with them around the arena for an event to support Ronald McDonald House Charities of Norfolk.

It's also JDRF night! Show your support in the fight to cure Type 1 Diabetes by purchasing a specially discounted $13 Red Level ticket to the Admirals game at norfolkadmirals.com/groups. Proceeds benefit JDRF.

TICKETSIndividual tickets are on sale now at the Scope Box Office, all Ticketmaster Outlets, charge-by-phone at 1-800-745-3000, and online at ticketmaster.com. Don’t miss a minute of Admirals action by purchasing your season tickets today. 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.