NORFOLK, Va. – Despite a third-period power play goal by Richard Panik, the Norfolk Admirals (21-12-1-3) fell to the Albany Devils (16-13-5-2), 3-1, on Friday night at Norfolk Scope Arena. The Admirals return to action on Tuesday night as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins visit Scope.
Albany took a 1-0 lead with less than three minutes remaining in the first period. While falling down, Darcy Zajac tipped a pass to Eric Gelinas in the slot. Gelinas picked up the loose puck and sent it off the blocker of Admirals goaltender Jaroslav Janus at 17:05 of the opening period.
The Devils extended their lead to 2-0 with a goal by Stephane Veilleux. As the Devils skated with the power play, Veilleux sent a wrist shot from the edge of the left faceoff circle, over the left shoulder of Janus at 1:07 of the second stanza.
The visitor’s lead grew to 3-0 after J.S. Berube skated out from the right corner behind the Admirals goal line and slipped a shot over the right shoulder of Janus at 10:38 of the second period.
The Admirals controlled much of the play in the third period, out-shooting the Devils, 8-5, and getting one shot past Albany netminder Keith Kinkaid. While Norfolk skated with a five-on-four man advantage, Richard Panik deflected a Mark Barberio shot under Kinkaid for his sixth goal of the season at 7:43 of the third.
However, the Admirals could not get another shot past Kinkaid, who has stopped 86 of 88 shots in three Albany wins against Norfolk this season.
Jaroslav Janus (7-5-2) turned aside 19 of 22 shots in the defeat while Keith Kinkaid (9-10-0) stopped 28 of 29 shots for the victory.
Norfolk was 1-7 on the power play. Albany was 1-6.
Norfolk’s five-game homestand continues on Tuesday night as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins visit Scope in another Admirals Value Night including Family Fun Packs and Student Rush tickets.
Family Fun Packs include four discounted Red Level Tickets for just $48 plus four free hot dogs, four free popcorns, and four free sodas. Fans get all of that for just $48- that’s a savings of $37.
Student Rush Nights provide $8 White Level Tickets (normally $12) for students with a valid current high school or college ID. In addition, when you buy a Student Rush Night Ticket, you get a buy-one, get-one free offer for the next Student Rush Night.
Family Fun Packs are available at the Scope Box Office, all Ticketmaster Outlets, charge-by-phone at 1-800-745-3000 or online at Ticketmaster.com. Student Rust Night tickets are available ONLY at the Scope Box Office after 2:00 p.m. on the day of the game.
Individual tickets for all regular season games start at just $12. Tickets are available now at the Scope Box Office, all Ticketmaster Outlets, charge-by-phone at 1-800-745-3000 and online at ticketmaster.com.
Don’t miss a minute of the action by purchasing your 2011-12 season tickets today. Season tickets start at just $350 while 10-Packs are available for as little as $110. 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!
Three Stars:
1. Keith Kinkaid – ALB
2. Eric Gelinas – ALB
3. Darcy Zajac – ALB
NOTES … Norfolk's seven-game point streak (5-0-1-1) ended … With the goal tonight, Richard Panik now has points in four consecutive games (2G, 3A) … With an assist on Panik's goal, Trevor Smith is on a five-game point streak (1G, 6A) and has points in 11 of his last 12 games (6G, 14A) … In three games against the Admirals this season, Albany rookie goaltender Keith Kinkaid has a 3-0-0 record with a 0.67 goals-against average and .977 save percentage … Former Admirals forward Pierre-Cedric Labrie made his NHL debut tonight in the Tampa Bay Lightning's 3-1 loss at the Montréal Canadiens … Did not play: Richard Petiot, Kevin Quick, Jeff Dimmen, Alexandre Picard.
