Admirals Ready for Home Cooking After Two Weeks in the Wild West
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October 27, 2008
NORFOLK, VA – After concluding a five-game road swing through the Western Conference last week, the Norfolk Admirals are looking forward to beginning a five-game home stand with three games at Scope this week.
On Friday night in Rockford, Radek Smolenak recorded a Gordie Howe Hat Trick in his second straight game and Jamie Heward scored a goal in his Norfolk debut. However, the Admirals fell in a shootout to the IceHogs 5-4. On Saturday night, Rockford netminder Antti Niemi stopped all 26 Norfolk shots he saw as the Admirals were shut out by the IceHogs 4-0. On Sunday afternoon in Grand Rapids, Pete Zingoni and Juraj Simek netted their first goals of the season to help the Admirals erase a two-goal deficit. However, Justin Abdelkader netted a hat trick for the Griffins, who defeated Norfolk 6-3.
The Admirals will kick off their five-game home stand on Wednesday night against the Philadelphia Phantoms. They will then entertain the Portland Pirates on Friday and Saturday night at Scope. This week’s schedule is packed with special ticket offers, promotions and giveaways. Please see below for more information on Wednesday’s Family Fun Packs and Student Rush Night, Friday’s Halloween Trick-or-Treating and costume contests and Saturday’s pennant giveaway and post-game skate.
EAST DIVISION STANDINGS At 1-4-0-2, the Admirals are tied for fifth in the East Division with four points. The East is led by the Hershey Bears (7-1-0-0, 14 points). They are followed by the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (5-2-0-1, 11 points), Binghamton Senators (4-1-1-1, 10 points), Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (3-3-0-1, 7 points) and Philadelphia Phantoms (2-5-0-0, 4 points). The Albany River Rats (1-4-1-0, 3 points) round out the East.
THE ADMIRALS’ WEEK AHEAD Wed., Oct. 29 …vs. Philadelphia Phantoms (Philadelphia Flyers) … 7:15 p.m. | GET TICKETS Fri., Oct. 31 … vs. Portland Pirates (Buffalo Sabres) … 7:15 p.m. | GET TICKETS Sat., Nov. 1 … vs. Portland Pirates (Buffalo Sabres) … 7:15 p.m. | GET TICKETS
– Admirals Family Fun Packs include four Red Level tickets, four hot dogs, four popcorns and four sodas for only $48. That is a savings of $37! This great deal is offered for all Wednesday and Thursday night home games and can be purchased only at the Scope Box Office.
Student Rush Night - Student Rush Nights include all Wednesday and Thursday night home games. Students just show their current ID at the Scope Box Office after 2:00 p.m. on the day of the game and receive a White Level ticket for just $8. High School and College IDs are accepted.
- The Admirals will have tables set up throughout the Scope concourse where children may trick-or-treat. In addition, fans are encouraged to wear costumes to the game – especially if the costume goes with the Admirals versus Pirates nautical theme. There will be a costume contest held during intermissions with fan applause determining the contest winners from a group of finalists during the second intermission.
- The Admirals will hold their first post-game skate of the season where fans can skate at Scope with their favorite Admirals following the game. Skates will be available free of charge or fans may bring their own skates.ADMIRALS LOG
Brandon Segal’s five-game point streak to start the season (3G, 4A) and Radek Smolenak’s four-game goal scoring and point streak (4G, 2A) ended on Saturday in Rockford.
Segal ended the 2007-08 season with points in his final five games (3G, 3A). When added to his five-game point streak to begin the 2008-09 season, Segal had a ten-game point streak (6G, 7A) with the Admirals from 04/04 – 10/24/08.
First-round draft pick defenseman Ty Wishart notched his first professional point on Friday in Rockford with an assist.
Defenseman Jamie Heward notched a goal in his Norfolk debut on Friday in Rockford. It was the 917th professional game for Heward, who became the oldest player in Norfolk’s AHL history at 37 years, six months and 24 days old.
Pete Zingoni (Friday) and Brent Henley (Saturday) also made their Admirals debuts in Rockford last weekend.
Zingoni and Juraj Simek both notched their first Admirals goals on Sunday in Grand Rapids.
Goaltender Karri Ramo has made the most saves in the AHL this season (220). He is averaging nearly 37 saves per game.
ADMIRALS RBK/AHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINEE Winger Radek Smolenak continued to make contributions to the Admirals through both skill and grit last week. On Friday in Rockford, Smolenak scored Norfolk’s first goal of the game and assisted on the second goal as the Admirals erased a three-goal deficit to pick up a point against the IceHogs. The game also marked his fourth match in a row scoring a goal and his second straight contest with a Gordie Howe Hat Trick, as he fought the IceHogs’ Michael Blunden in the first period. On Saturday, the feistiness continued with another bout of fisticuffs in Rockford. On Sunday in Grand Rapids, Smolenak assisted on Brandon Segal’s game-tying goal in the second period as Norfolk briefly erased a two-goal deficit.
Smolenak leads Norfolk in penalty minutes with 44, is tied for the Norfolk lead in goals with four and is tied for second on the team in points with seven. He is averaging exactly one point per game and over six penalty minutes per game. He also holds the distinction of being the only player of the top 50 AHL scorers to also be in the top 40 of AHL penalty minutes. Smolenak is tied for 31st in AHL scoring and ranks sixth in AHL penalty minutes.
TRANSACTIONS OF THE PAST WEEK: October 22, 2008: DELETE LW Justin Keller – Reassigned by Tampa Bay (NHL) to Augusta (ECHL)
DELETE D Jeff May – Released from Amateur Tryout Contract (ATO)
October 21, 2008: DELETE RW Brady Leavold – Loaned to Victoria (ECHL)
THIS WEEK ON THE ADMIRALS HOUR Tune in to the Admirals Hour on Thursday evening at 6:00 p.m. on ESPN Radio 1310 WGH-AM. “The Voice of the Admirals” Pete Michaud will be joined in the studio by Admirals leading scorer Brandon Segal. If you have a question for Brandon or Pete, please call (757) 497-1310 during the show or email keith@norfolkadmirals.com prior to 2:00 on Thursday afternoon.
TICKETS To purchase tickets to any Admirals game, you may visit the Scope Box Office weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., visit any Ticketmaster outlet, call Ticketmaster at (757) 671-8100 or visit Ticketmaster online at www.ticketmaster.com. Don’t miss a minute of the action by purchasing your 2008-09 season tickets today. Stop by the Admirals’ Administrative Offices at Scope, call (757) 640-1212 weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or visit norfolkadmirals.com anytime!
ON THE RADIO/INTERNET All games are broadcast on ESPN Radio 1310 WGH-AM. The games are also cybercast at SportsJuice.com. Go to SportsJuice.com, or click on the link at norfolkadmirals.com. Broadcasts begin 15 minutes prior to game time.
Games are also viewable through the Internet on a pay-per-view basis through AHL Live. Visit norfolkadmirals.com and click the AHL Live banner on the left side of the site to view all Admirals’ home and away games.
