Norfolk Admirals Weekly Release #14

NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk Admirals finished out their four-game road trip with a win in Elmira Thursday night and a weekend sweep in Manchester.

The Jackals hosted the Admirals for the second stop of the road trip this week, where Norfolk posted a 4-1 victory at First Arena. Elmira made their mark first when Nathan Oystrick sent the puck up over Norfolk netminder Ty Rimmer's shoulder less than three minutes into the opening frame. The Admirals tied things up, 1-1, after Steven Whitney sauced a pass out in front to Greg Chase, who scored at 1:33 of the second period. The Admirals pushed ahead 2-1 at 4:57 in the middle frame when Scott Allenwent five-hole on Jackals' goalie C.J. Motte. At 8:12 of the final period, Chase struck again with a redirection from the hash marks after receiving a feed from Charles-Olivier Roussel, giving the Admirals a two-goal lead. Whitney tacked on Norfolk's fourth and final goal of the night late in the third after collecting Chase's deflected attempt and stuffing it between Motte's legs at 16:27, resting the final score 4-1 and sealing the win over the Jackals.

Norfolk traveled to Manchester to face the Monarchs at Verizon Wireless Arena Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. The first of the two matchups between the division rivals ended in a 3-2 overtime win for the Admirals. Dean Ouellet put the Admirals on the board first after cleaning up Captain Jordan Hill's failed attempt at 13:33 in the opening period. Norfolk stretched its lead to 2-0 with just 1:16 remaining in the first after Devin Mantha tipped in Scott Allen's laser from the left point. Norfolk's two-goal lead remained unanswered until the Monarchs finally tallied a goal with just 2:52 left to play. Joe Diamond sent in Matt MacKenzie's denied attempt to make it 2-1. The board evened with only 26.3 seconds left in regulation after Michael Boivin hit top shelf from the point, forcing the teams into overtime. Alexis Loiseau planted a backhander in the Monarchs' net with 2:28 left in overtime after Gabriel Verpaelst sliced through Manchester's zone and fed Loiseau, securing the 3-2 victory over the Monarchs.

The Monarchs hosted the Admirals again Sunday, when they would fall once more to Norfolk, this time by way of shootout. The Admirals were first to light the lamp after Devin Mantha received Chase’s pass after it hit off of Whitney’s stick and found his in the slot. Mantha’s attempt was deflected in by Manchester’s netiminder Doug Carr at 6:15 in the opening frame, putting the Admirals up 1-0. Danick Paquette scored for Manchester at 7:33 to tie game. The Monarchs scored again at 1:25 in the middle frame, and moved ahead 3-1 less than five minutes later. But Whitney and Loiseau led the charge by each converting on a power play to deadlock it at 3-3 in the latter half of the second period. With 41 seconds left, Boivin picked up his sixth of the year, and the home side entered the third with a 4-3 advantage.

As time began to run thin on the Admirals, Hill retaliated with the equalizer at 16:41 to force overtime. A scoreless extra session led to a shootout. Both the Monarchs and the Admirals missed during the first round, and David Kolomatis missed the second Manchester chance. Allen lifted one top shelf into Machester's net on Norfolk's second attempt, and Ty Rimmer denied his third of the shootout to earn the sweep for Norfolk, 5-4.

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 17-23-1-1 (36 points), the Admirals are 5th in the East Division and are 11th 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 AHEADFri., Jan. 22 ... vs. Elmira Jackals (Buffalo Sabres) ... 7:30 p.m.Sat., Jan. 23 ... vs. Elmira Jackals (Buffalo Sabres) ... 7:15 p.m.

ADMIRALS SPOTLIGHT• This week's Spotlight shines on the entire Admirals team who have won seven of the last nine games and are undoubtedly playing their best hockey of the season with a four-game homestand approaching. Norfolk swept East Division-leading Manchester this past weekend after topping Elmira 4-1 in New York, vaulting the Admirals from last place in the Eastern Conference to 11th place just six points outside of playoff contention. Elmira currently sits in the eighth and final position, setting up a big weekend at Scope with four points on the line between division foes.

ADMIRALS’ LOG• Forward Steven Whitney posted six points in the last three games, two of which were goals and four of them coming against the Monarchs. He's scored two points in each of the last three games, and leads the Admirals in points with 30 in 42 games. Whitney also boasts the best plus/minus rating on the team with a plus-6.• Greg Chase made an immediate impact upon he reassignment to Norfolk last week. In his first game back with the Admirals last Thursday, the Sherwood Park, Alberta product scored twice and assisted once. He went scoreless on Saturday, then assisted on Sunday. Chase has 2-2=4 points in the last three games.

NORFOLK LEADERSGoals: Alexandre Ranger (11)Assists: Steven Whitney (20)Points: Steven Whitney (30)Games: Four players tied (42)PP Goals: Scott Allen (5)SH Goals: Alexis Loiseau, Michael Pelech, Alexandre Ranger (1)+/- Rating: Steven Whitney (6)PIM: Samuel Noreau (115)GAA: Nic Riopel (2.46)Spct: Nic Riopel (.918)Wins: Ty Rimmer (11)Losses: Ty Rimmer (11)GPl: Ty Rimmer (24)Minutes: Ty Rimmer (1285)

ABOUT THIS WEEKEND’S MATCHUPSThis will be the sixth meeting between the Admirals (17-23-1-1) and the Elmira Jackals (21-18-0-0) this season, a series including two division foes that Elmira leads 3-2-0-0. The Jackals, who are eighth in the Eastern Conference, fell to Norfolk on Thursday at First Arena and have lost six of their last seven. In that span, opponents outscored Elmira a ghastly 24-5, holding the Jackals scoreless in back-to-back games. Goaltender C.J. Motte lost four in a row before earning a shootout victory on Monday. He's allowed three or more goals in four of his last five outings, and gave up four to the Admirals last week. Norfolk is certainly trending upward, and can make it a season-long, four-game win streak by taking advantage of an Elmira club on special teams, which ranks 25th in the league on the power play and 26th on the penalty kill. More importantly, the Jackals are six points ahead of the Admirals in the conference standings. Norfolk can make up significant ground on Elmira with two wins in regulation this weekend.

ELMIRA LEADERSGoals: Mike Seidel (12)Assists: Chris Langkow (16)Points: Cason Hohmann, Mike Seidel (25)Games: Jacob MacDonald, Zach Tolkinen (39)PP Goals: Justin Bernhardt, Mike Seidel (3)SH Goals: Jacob MacDonald (3)+/- Rating: Tyler Currier (6)PIM: Colin Jacobs (114)GAA: C.J. Motte (2.85)Spct: Niklas Lundstrom (.929)Wins: C.J. Motte (10)Losses: C.J. Motte (13)GPl: C.J. Motte (26)Minutes: C.J. Motte (1369)

**UPCOMING EVENTS AND PROMOTIONS**

January 22 - Faith and Family NightCatch the pregame party in the Exhibition Hall with live Christian music and finish your night by meeting Admirals players! Players will give testimonials on the role faith has in their lives and how they use it today. Discounts are available to all church groups interested in attending. Contact Sami Hamad at 757-640-1212 ext. 24 for more information.

January 23 - Pink in the RinkAnother fan favorite, the pink ice returns to Scope for Pink in the Rink to benefit the Susan G. Komen Tidewater Chapter and raise awareness for the fight against breast cancer. Be sure to secure your tickets well in advance as tickets to this event are among the most popular of the home schedule.

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.