Admirals Weekly: March 27, 2018

Last Week:

Wednesday, March 21 at Florida, L, 7-2

Friday, March 23 at Florida, L, 4-1

Saturday, March 24 at Florida, L, 5-1

This Week:

Friday, March 30 vs. Kalamazoo, 7:00 pm

Saturday, March 31 vs Kalamazoo, 7:00 pm

Week Ahead:

The Admirals welcome the Kalamazoo Wings to the Scope for only the third and fourth times ever this weekend. Norfolk and Kalamazoo have faced off five times previously with the Admirals holding a 3-2-0-0 advantage in the season series. At the Scope the Admirals are a perfect 2-0-0-0 against the Wings.

With only four games left in the regular season the Admirals will play three of the final four games at home, before concluding the season on April 7 in Reading.

Playoff Update:

A trio of losses to the Florida Everblades last week officially ended the Admirals hopes of qualifying for the 2018 Kelly Cup Playoffs. Norfolk now sits ten points back from fourth place Atlanta with four games remaining in the season, giving the Admirals a max of 65 points, if the team wins all of the remaining games.

Done With the South:

Saturday’s contest with the Everblades was the last game in the South Division that the Admirals will play this season. Norfolk finishes divisional play with a record of 19-17-4-1 in the South Division, taking points in 24 of 41 games. Norfolk rolled up at least a pair of victories against every team in the division except for Florida.

Moving Up:

After leading all ECHL rookies in points and goals, forward Grant Besse was called up to the Cleveland Monsters signing a PTO with the AHL affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Prior to joining the Monsters the Norfolk forward was averaging a point per game with 62 points (30g, 32a) in 62 games. In his first year out of the University of Wisconsin the rookie ranks second on the team in points, six points back from captain Brodie Dupont. This is Besse’s second stint in the AHL. The forward signed a PTO with the Tucson Roadrunners in December, but did not appear in a single game. Besse made his AHL debut on Sunday afternoon, recording two shots in a 2-1 loss.

Moore Points:

Forward TJ Moore scored the Admirals only goal on Friday night and added an assist on Saturday to give the forward three points (2g, 1a) in his first six games, and points in back-to-back games. Moore joined the Admirals after finishing his college career with Holy Cross. In his final season the forward ranked second on the team in points (30 pts, 8g, 22a).

Career Years:

With four games left in the regular season a handful of Admirals have already had career high seasons on the ice. Leading scorer Brodie Dupont has eclipsed the 20-goal mark for the first time in his professional career on his way to setting career highs in every offensive category. The captain has netted 68 points (21g, 47a) in 68 games so far this season, and ranks third in the ECHL. Domenic Alberga has set new career highs in goals (14), assists (21) and points (35). His previous career high came last season when he posted 29 points with the Admirals. Darik Angeli, who has 46 points this season, has well surpassed his previous high of 27 points from a year ago. The Lakewood, CO native’s 23 goals is second on the team only behind Grant Besse. Patrick D’Amico also joins the career-high crew with 34 points (12g, 22a) this season. A native of Winnipeg, MB, D’Amico has tallied 31 points (10g, 21a) in 51 games for the Admirals since being acquired from Atlanta.