Game Day: Admirals Look to Commandeer Fifth Place with Victory

Game #52

Admirals (19-25-5-1) vs. Swamp Rabbits (20-27-3-1)

Scope Arena

7:00 pm

Last Time Out:

The Admirals sandwiched a pair of goals around a Swamp Rabbits tally in the first period as they topped Greenville 3-1 on Friday night. Jamie Murray, recording his first regulation win of the season, stopped 32 of 33 shots in the victory.

Brodie Dupont opened the scoring by tipping a Jordan Abt shot past Greg Dodds just under five minutes into the first. After Greenville tied the game it took the Admirals only 0:11 to retake the lead. Thomas Frazee won the center ice draw back to Jordan Abt, who moved the puck up to Patrick D’Amico. The forward, D’Amico, entering the offensive zone on the right wing, wristed a shot low to the blocker side that beat Dodds, giving Norfolk the lead once more.

Murray shut the door the rest of the way stopping 25 shots over the final two periods. In the final period the Admirals tacked on an insurance goal from Brodie Dupont with just over five minutes left in regulation. At the final horn the Admirals skated away with a 3-1 victory, and moved into a tie for fifth place in the South Division.

Head-to-Head:

Norfolk has won each of the first three match-ups this season outscoring the Swamp Rabbits 16-4. Brodie Dupont (4g, 3a) and Patrick D’Amico (3g, 4a), who each scored in Friday’s victory, lead the season series with seven points. Defenseman TJ Melancon is tied with Dupont for the most goals in the series with four.

Greenville’s Jack Nevins, who missed Friday’s game with an injury, is the only Swamp Rabbit who has scored more than once against the Admirals this season.  Joe Basaraba (2a) is the only other skater with more than one point in the series.

Scouting the Swamp Rabbits:

Greenville was without their top two scorers on Friday night with Caleb Herbert recalled to Hartford and Branden Troock out with an injury. Rookie Evan Jasper currently ranks third on the team with 36 points including a team high eight assists on the power play.

Greg Dodds, who started on Friday night, has appeared in seven ECHL games this season. The netminder played five games with the Indy Fuel before joining the Swamp Rabbits. He has posted a record of 1-2-0-0 with a goals against average of 3.38 and a save percentage of 0.925. Ty Rimmer, who has faced the Admirals twice, has appeared in 31 games for the Swamp Rabbits going 12-15-0-1.

We’ve Got A Close One:

Friday’s victory put the Admirals into a tie with the Swamp Rabbits for fifth place in the South Division, and moved Norfolk only six points back from the Orlando Solar Bears for the fourth and final playoff spot. The winner of Saturday’s game will take sole possession of fifth place. If Worcester tops Orlando on Saturday night the winning team will also move within four points of the final playoff spot. Both the Admirals and Swamp Rabbits also sit 11 points back from the Atlanta Gladiators (55 points) who hold the third spot in the South.

Racking Up the Points:

A pair of goals on Friday night gave Admirals captain Brodie Dupont his fourth multi-goal game of the season, and seventh multi-point game. Dupont leads the Admirals in points and is tied with Grant Besse for the most multi-goal games this season. The captain has averaged over a point per game since joining Norfolk last season, netting 94 points (35g, 59a) in 94 games.