Norfolk Admirals Weekly Release #8

Admirals turn north with momentum for four on the road

NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk Admirals found some momentum after putting up three goals at home against the Stingrays last Wednesday, followed by ending a six-game road skid with three more goals in a shutout win at Greenville on Saturday.

The Admirals faced South Carolina Wednesday, when they scored three in the first 3:20 of the final period. Gabriel Verpaelst one-timed a pass from Jordan Hill for the Admirals’ first goal of the evening. Only 1:45 later, Nick MacNeil knocked in a loose puck off a rebound from a shot fired by Scott Allen. Radoslav Illo converted on yet another redirection, extending the Norfolk lead to 3-1. The home victory ended a nine-game slump for Norfolk, entering a weekend road matchup against Greenville.

Ty Rimmer posted a shutout in Saturday’s win at North Charleston Coliseum, blocking all 30 of Greenville’s shots on net. The shutout was his first of the year, and earned him the first star of the evening. The Admirals jumped ahead 2-0 in the first frame, tallying twice on the man advantage. Tommy Mele went five-hole after receiving the feed from Verpaelst for the first Norfolk goal. Nick Pageau shoved another between the pipes on the heels of a face-off at 13:30 of the opening period. Allen scored the last goal only 24 seconds into the final frame, and the Admirals cruised to a 3-0 shutout victory.

Charles-Olivier Roussel leads the team in points and assists with 16 and 14, respectively. Mele and Alexandre Ranger both lead the Admirals in goals, having scored six each. Norfolk is third in the entire ECHL in penalty minutes with 435. Staying out of the penalty box is key moving forward, and will only help Norfolk generate more offense. Allen has performed well in his five appearances with the team, posting six points by way of two markers and four helpers. In addition, he leads the club in the plus/minus category with a plus-3.

The Admirals currently ride back-to-back wins as they prepare for four straight away contests. They will face the Elmira Jackals, the Adirondack Thunder, and close out at the Brampton Beast Sunday afternoon.

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 7-14-0-1 (15 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., Dec. 9 … at Elmira Jackals (Buffalo Sabres) … 7:05 p.m.Fri., Dec. 11 ... at Adirondack Thunder (Calgary Flames) ... 7 p.m.Sat., Dec. 12 ... at Elmira Jackals (Buffalo Sabres) ... 7:05 p.m.Sun., Dec. 13 ... at Brampton Beast (Montreal Canadiens) ... 2 p.m.

ADMIRALS SPOTLIGHT• Josh Currie had a big weekend for the Bakersfield Condors, recording back-to-back two-point nights for his first points in the AHL. Friday night Currie scored a goal and an assist in addition to a fight for a Gordie Howe hat trick against San Diego. The next night, he dumped two in the San Jose Barracuda net for his first two-goal game in the AHL. Currie began his tenure in Bakersfield with six scoreless games, but has four points in his previous two appearances.• Greg Chase enjoyed similar success over the weekend. In the Condors' 6-4 win over San Diego, Chase lit the lamp once and helped a teammate onto the scoresheet. It was his first goal and multipoint night in the AHL.

ADMIRALS’ LOG• Norfolk's Charles-Olivier Roussel has sustained his point streak which now rests at four games. The defenseman from St. Eustache, QC assisted on a goal in the 3-0 win over Greenville Saturday, and now has seven helpers in the last four games. He also remains in the team lead for points and assists, and is fifth among ECHL defensemen with 16 points.• Scott Allen has figured into this Admirals offense rather seamlessly. The rookie has two goals and four assists in five games since joining Norfolk from Missouri. His four-game point streak contains all points he has registered in an Admirals jersey. The previous two contests were both two-point outings for the University of Alaska-Anchorage product. Allen is producing at a point-per-game clip with 10 points in 10 games this season.

NORFOLK LEADERSGoals: Tommy Mele, Alexandre Ranger (6)Assists: Charles-Olivier Roussel (14)Points: Charles-Olivier Roussel (16)Games: Five players tied (22)PP Goals: Nick MacNeil, Alexandre Ranger, Steven Whitney (2)SH Goals: Michael Pelech, Alexandre Ranger (1)+/- Rating: Scott Allen (3)PIM: Samuel Noreau (65)GAA: Nic Riopel (2.94)Spct: Ty Rimmer (.916)Wins: Ty Rimmer (6)Losses: Ty Rimmer (10)GPl: Ty Rimmer (18)Minutes: Ty Rimmer (981)

ABOUT THIS WEEKEND’S MATCHUPSNorfolk will play its ninth road game of the last 13 overall when it squares off with Elmira on Wednesday in New York. The Jackals haven't protected home ice particularly well this season and have an even .500 record. They are minus-6 in goal differential and have allowed 39 goals at First Arena, tied for second-worst in the Eastern Conference. The Admirals do bring some road momentum into this matchup, so the opportunity is there for them to dent a dismal 2-10-0-0 away record. As mentioned, playing penalty-free hockey will only work in Norfolk's favor against a club with a 20th-ranked penalty kill. To that point, the Admirals have scored twice on the power play in three straight games and look to build on a streak of four games in which they have tallied at least one power-play goal. Philippe Cadorette will tend the Admirals net, so expect special teams to play a large part in deciding Wednesday night's winner. The loser will have a chance at revenge three days later when Norfolk returns to Elmira for the second part of a three-in-three.

ELMIRA LEADERSGoals: Cason Hohmann (10)Assists: Spiro Goulakos, Cason Hohmann, Colin Jacobs (11)Points: Cason Hohmann (21)Games: Four players tied (22)PP Goals: Justin Bernhardt, Spiro Goulakos, Mike Seidel (3)SH Goals: Jacob MacDonald (3)+/- Rating: Tyler Currier (8)PIM: Marcus Perrier (52)GAA: Niklas Lundstrom (2.71)Spct: Niklas Lundstrom (.930)Wins: C.J. Motte (6)Losses: C.J. Motte (7)GPl: C.J. Motte (13)Minutes: C.J. Motte (752)

The Adirondack Thunder awaits Norfolk on Friday and will put a six-game unbeaten streak on the line when they host the Admirals. The Thunder have only played 17 games thus far (fewest in the league), yet are alone in second in the Eastern Conference with 29 points. Out of those 17 games, Adirondack has come out on the losing end just three times and failed to garner at least a point from only two contests. Veteran and ECHL Player of the Month for October Rob Bordson returned to the lineup on Friday after a 10-game stint with AHL Providence. Bordson opened the 2015-16 season with three goals and five assists in a mere three games, and finished with 6-5=11 points in six October tilts. Upon his reappearance in Adirondack, Bordson potted two goals and three assists in a pair of games last week. His point total doubles his games played, easily leading the ECHL in points per game. If the Admirals can take away Bordson and the early goals the Thunder hurt them with in the last meeting, Norfolk should have a good chance at pulling the upset.

ADIRONDACK LEADERSGoals: Rob Bordson (9)Assists: Ryan Constant (12)Points: Rob Bordson (18)Games: Mike Bergin, Ryan Constant, Michael Kirkpatrick (17)PP Goals: Rob Bordson (5)SH Goals: Ryan Lomberg (1)+/- Rating: David Shields (13)PIM: Mitchell Heard (69)GAA: Ken Appleby (1.83)Spct: Ken Appleby (.937)Wins: Ken Appleby (10)Losses: Ken Appleby (2)GPI: Ken Appleby (13)Minutes: Ken Appleby (785)

Sunday afternoon will be the only time the Brampton Beast and Norfolk Admirals meet all season. Brandon Marino leads the way for the Beast with 18 assists and 24 points, second and fifth in the ECHL, respectively. Marino comes off a very productive November that saw him score four goals and 16 points in only 11 games. He scores in bunches, as evidenced by three helpers in Brampton's game on Dec. 6, nine total multipoint games, and one six-game point streak (3-8=11). This meeting does make for an interesting matchup, as Brampton has the second fewest penalty minutes in the conference with 266 compared to Norfolk's 435.

BRAMPTON LEADERSGoals: Scott Howes (8)Assists: Brandon Marino (18)Points: Brandon Marino (24)Games: Jeremie Blain, Travis Brown, Brandon Marino (20)PP Goals: Chris Auger (5)SH Goals: Luke Pither (2)+/- Rating: Mike Vernace (7)PIM: Jeremie Blain (34)GAA: Trevor Cann (2.49)Spct: Trevor Cann (.907)Wins: Trevor Cann (5)Losses: Edward Pasquale (4)GPI: Trevor Cann (8)Minutes: Trevor Cann (457)

**UPCOMING EVENTS AND PROMOTIONS**

December 16 - Family Fun Pack, Student Rush NightFamily Fun Pack: four hot dogs, four sodas, four popcorns, and four tickets for just $54 to all midweek games this season.

Student Rush: With a college or high school student id you can purchase a white level ticket for just $10 on the day of games starting at 2:00. Plus you will receive a buy one get one ticket for a future student rush night. Head to Scope Box Office for this deal.

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.