Game Day Preview: Admirals and Grizzlies Clash for the First Time

Norfolk Admirals (1-1-0-0) at Utah Grizzlies (0-2-0-0)

Monday, October 16, 9:00 pm ET

Maverik Center, West Valley City, Utah

Last Time Out:

Rookie Ty Reichenbach made 40 saves in his ECHL debut and the Admirals got multi-point nights from four different skaters as Norfolk claimed their first victory of the season, 5-3, on Saturday night in Idaho.

Norfolk scored the first three goals of the night before Idaho managed to find the back of the net. Erik Bradford, Domenic Alberga, and Ben Murphy all netted their first tally of the season pushing Norfolk to a 3-0 lead by the end of the second period. Idaho would cut the lead to one goal late in the third period.

Forward Trevor Mingoia sealed the Admirals victory with a pair of empty net goals only 0:16 apart to give Norfolk the 5-3 victory.

First Timers:

Monday night’s contest will be the first time in franchise history that the Admirals and Grizzlies will meet at either the AHL or ECHL levels. The mid October meeting is the only matchup of the season between the teams.

On the Other Side

Norfolk forward Erik Bradford and defenseman Tim Daly will face off with their old team for the first time on Monday night. Both Bradford and Daly were acquired by the Admirals from Utah in the deal that sent Gabriel Verpaelst to the Grizzlies last spring.

Bradford (63pts) led the Grizzlies in scoring last season, averaging over a point per game. The forward has one goal in two games this season for the Admirals. Daly finished sixth on the team in scoring, leading all defensemen with 38 points. The defenseman also led all Grizzlies with a plus 24 rating.

Scouting the Grizzlies:

Forward Brad Navin and defenseman Taylor Richart lead the way for Utah through the first two games with one goal and one assist each.

Angus Redmond and Kevin Carr have each made a start in net for the Grizzlies. Carr got the start on opening night allowing three goals on 28 shots in a 3-2 loss to Colorado. Redmond saw action the following night giving up two goals on 27 shots in the Grizzlies home opener.

Trevor’s Tallies:

A pair of empty net goals on Saturday night gave forward Trevor Mingoia goals in each of his last five games dating back to last season. The forward has found the back of the net five times, including three in the first two games with the Admirals. The four-game streak is the longest streak of the Fairport, NY natives career.