Admirals Weekly: What A Start (Oct. 31-Nov. 6)

NORFOLK, VA. — The Norfolk Admirals, proud ECHL affiliates of the Carolina Hurricanes, enter the calendar month of November sitting atop of the ECHL South Division and are currently tied for the second most points in the league (10).

The Admirals were coming off a trip to Southwest Florida where they ended up taking two of three from the Florida Everblades, a club they only defeated one time in 2019-20 (Feb. 22, 2020). Sitting in first place, the Admirals welcomed the Orlando Solar Bears to Norfolk Scope for the first time since January 2020. 

The Solar Bears came into the week significantly shorthanded, losing numerous players due to call-ups from the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda and Syracuse Crunch. They had signed goaltender Alex Debeau last Tuesday and called up three players from the SPHL to fill the voids. 

Looking to take advantage of the shorthanded Solar Bears squad, the Admirals pounced on them right away, taking Thursday’s matchup, 3-1. Admirals forward Chris Ordoobodi would score his first ECHL goal, get the primary assist on Daniel Brickley’s fourth goal of the season, and was named the game’s number one star. Beck Warm made 23 saves on 24 shots in his third win of the season.

On Friday night, the Admirals fell into a deep hole in the first period as Orlando scored four goals to carry a 4-1 lead into first intermission. Starting goaltender Dylan Wells would be replaced by Warm after allowing four goals on 12 shots. 

Alex Berardinelli and Anthony Gagnon would score two goals just nine seconds apart from each other to make it a one-goal deficit. After Ian Parker made it 5-3 Orlando, Noah Corson, who would finish the night with three points, put home his second of the game and the Admirals went into the second intermission down by one.

Carter Robertson would score his first ECHL goal at the 10:40 mark of the third period to tie it up at five.

For the third time in 2021-22, Norfolk would go to overtime and for the second time, they would be victorious. Darien Craighead sent home a monster of a slapshot over the shoulder of Debeau to make it four straight wins for the Admirals.

THIS WEEK

Wednesday, November 10 - @ Reading, PA

Admirals vs Royals - Santander Arena (7:00PM)

Friday, November 12 - @ Reading, PA

Admirals vs Royals - Santander Arena (7:00PM)

Saturday, November 13 - @ Reading, PA

Admirals vs Royals - Santander Arena (7:00PM)

WARM GETS THE CALLUP

The Chicago Wolves sent goaltender Beck Warm to the Admirals on October 19 and is currently under contract with the Carolina Hurricanes. On Sunday, the Wolves recalled Warm back to the AHL, which means the Admirals are now carrying two goaltenders in Wells and Jake Theut.

Warm was playing some of his best hockey of late, having won three straight games in goal, including coming into relief for Wells on Friday and making 17 saves on 18 shots in the win. 

QUICK HITS

-Eric Williams continues to be a wrecking ball on both sides of the puck. He has put up a point in every game that he’s played in this year, including the primary assist on the game-winning goal by Darien Craighead on Friday night. He is also closing in on 100 career ECHL games played, as Wednesday will be his 95th career game.

-Daniel Brickley has established himself as a force to be reckoned with at the ECHL level, as he continues to put up giant numbers for the Admirals. The former Los Angeles King is currently tied for fourth in the ECHL in points (9) and is second in the league amongst defensemen in points.

-The Admirals currently have a four-game winning streak going into the week. In the 2019-20 season, the longest winning streak they had was two.

STAT LEADERS

Points: Daniel Brickley (9)

Goals: Chase Lang (4)

Assists: Daniel Brickley, Eric Williams (6)

Plus/Minus: Kyle Rhodes (+3)

PIMS: Anthony Collins (20)

PP Goals: Daniel Brickley, Darien Craighead (2)

Shots: Chase Lang (28)

Wins: *Beck Warm (4)

G.AA: *Beck Warm (2.48)

Save %: *Beck Warm (0.921)

*Currently With Chicago (AHL)

SPECIAL TEAMS

Power Play

Last Week: 1/7 

This Season: 7/30 (23.3%) (5th In The ECHL)

Penalty Kill

Last Week: 5/7

This Season: 20/24 (83.3%) (10th In The ECHL)