Game Day: Admirals Look to Keep Streak Alive in Charleston

Game #54

Admirals (21-26-5-1) vs. Stingrays (32-11-5-1)

North Charleston Coliseum

7:05 pm

Last Time Out:

Norfolk wrapped up a nine-game home stand on Monday afternoon as the Admirals came from behind on three separate occasions to top the Icemen in overtime 5-4. Norfolk trailed 1-0, 2-1, and 4-3 throughout the course of the game. Monday was the first time that the home team has come away victorious in the season series.

The teams combined for a total of five goals in the opening period as the Admirals got goals from Grant Besse, Alex Pompeo and TJ Melancon. Jacksonville scored the next two goals, taking a 4-3 lead with under 13 minutes to play in regulation. The lead would last for less than a minute however as Melancon scored his second of the night, knotting the game at 4-4. The deadlock lasted through the end of regulation, as the teams headed to overtime for the fifth time in six games.

A penalty as time expired in regulation to Jacksonville gave the Admirals the man-advantage for the first two minutes of the overtime period. It only took the Admirals 1:29 to score as Christian Horn netted his tenth goal of the season to give the Admirals their third straight victory.

Head-to-Head:

Tuesday night will be the eighth and final matchup of the season between the teams. Three of the first seven games have gone past regulation, with the Stingrays winning two of those three. Norfolk has garnered at least a point in four of the first seven games, but has only won once in regulation.

Grant Besse (3g, 7a) and Kelly Zajac (6g, 4a) are tied for the lead among all skaters in the series with ten points. Norfolk’s Thomas Frazee and South Carolina’s Marcus Perrier are the second leading goal scorers with four goals apiece. Both Stingray netminders, Parker Milner and Jeff Jakaitis, has appeared in two games against the Admirals this season winning both. Ty Reichenbach has played in five games for Norfolk putting up a save percentage of .899 and a goals against average of 3.81.

Scouting the Stingrays:

South Carolina, who has been impacted by a rash of call-ups lately, currently sits in second place in the South Division trailing Florida by five points. The Stingrays are paced by captain Joe Devin who leads the team in points (40) and assists (14). Former Admiral Steven Whitney is tied with Zajac for second place on the team with 35 points. Whitney leads the team in goals this season with 15.

Back-To-Back and Climbing the Ladder:

For the second straight game defenseman TJ Melancon netted a pair of goals to help push the Admirals to a victory. It was the third multi-goal game of the year for Melancon, all of which have come in the last month. The defenseman, who’s fourth on the team in points, is tied for the lead among all ECHL defensemen in goals (13), and is fourth in points, eight back from league leading David Makowski of Allen.

Three Points Back:

Admirals captain Brodie Dupont is currently three points back from Shawn Szydlowski for the ECHL scoring title. Dupont, who has 58 points (19g, 39a), is currently on a four-game point streak during which the captain has eight points (2g, 6a).

Power Play Strikes Back:

A power play tally from Melancon on Monday afternoon gave the Admirals extra-man markers in consecutive games for the first time since January 23 and 26. Since the 7-4 victory over Atlanta on January 26 the Admirals power play had been held scoreless in nine of the last ten games before Saturday’s game against Greenville. Monday was also the first time since January 26 that Norfolk had scored more than one power play goal in a single game.