Palat, Ondrej

Statement made.

NOR-4
WBS-0

Dustin Tokarski stopped all 24 shots he faced for the shutout win. He also stopped a Robert Bortuzzo penalty shot in the third period to keep the bagel on his plate.

Tokarski tied his professional high of 4 shutouts and raised his season save percentage to .906 with the effort. He's 4-1-0 so far this month with 2 shutouts, a 1.60 GAA, and a .938 save percentage. The young man's known for being clutch, and now that the stretch run is starting, it appears Tic Time is, too.

First Period
NO SCORING

Second Period
NOR Smith, (20) (Gudas), 0:59 (SH)
NOR Palat, (4) (Cote, Johnson), 17:51

Third Period
NOR Labrie, (11) (Panik, Palat), 12:57
NOR Johnson, (17) (Barberio, Kostka), 14:38 (PP)

Tokarski, Ondrej Palat, and Trevor Smith were the game's three stars.

Carter Ashton was stopped by Scott Munroe on a penalty shot of his own in the second period.

Pierre-Cedric Labrie extended his point streak to 6 games, with 4 goals and 7 points over that span. "Nacho" bested his pro career high of 26 points, set last season, with his 27th point on the goal.

With his 1 goal and 1 assist night, Tyler Johnson very quietly moved within 1 goal and 1 point of catching fellow rookie Ashton in those statistical categories. Perhaps Bolt Prospects co-founder Tim Bennett is right that TJ's being unfairly lost in the shuffle this season.

Panik attack, y'all.

Norfolk outshot Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 33-24 in the contest.

I want you all to take in the full scope of what the Admirals accomplished tonight. With a tie for first in the East Division on the line, they went into the Penguins' barn and didn't just beat them. No, they humiliated them. They beat them up (35 minutes in penalties for the Ads including 3 fighting majors and 6 roughing minors). They shut them down. They lit them up. There's no silver linings for the Penguins in this game, other than the fact that their 1 game in hand on Norfolk still allows them to be listed as the division leader in the standings.

Norfolk and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton are tied at 65 points atop the East Division, each 5 points back of conference leading St. John's. Hershey lurks just 1 point back of the Ads and Pens. Norfolk's 31 wins are third in the AHL behind only Oklahoma City and St. John's, which both have 32. Norfolk returns home on Friday to face Syracuse for a 2 game set. The Crunch are 2 games under .500 and a very distant 4th in the East Division standings.

Box score from TheAHL.com.

It's a Panik attack!

PRO-2
NOR-3

Dustin Tokarski allowed 2 goals on 28 shots for the win.

First Period
NO SCORING

Second Period
PRO Hennessy, (6) (Arniel, Bartkowski), 11:35
NOR Labrie, (5) (Gudas, Angelidis), 16:32

Third Period
NOR Panik, (3) (Wright, Palat), 9:59
NOR Wright, (1) (Panik, Palat), 12:40
PRO Cunningham, (2) (Bartkowski, Arniel), 19:46

Tokarski, Richard Panik (pictured), and James Wright were the game's three stars.

As I mentioned after last night's game, it's hard to beat a team on back-to-back nights when you really beat them badly on the first night. There's a tendency to come out complacent while they come out flying because they don't want to be embarrassed again. That happened tonight, to the tune of a 13-7 shot advantage for the Bruins that was much wider the first 10-15 minutes of play, but Tokarski held the game close and allowed the Admirals to gain their legs.

In the third period, the game was broken open by the line of Palat/Wright/Panik. It's hard to believe that was just Wright's first goal of the season, but perhaps now he has a stable line to run on. He'd be the "Oh Canada!" in the Czech-Oh-Slovakia line.

Norfolk is 2 points back of the Penguins in 2nd place in the East Division and 4th overall in the Eastern Conference. They draw the Pens in a key divisional showdown on Tuesday in Norfolk.

Box score from TheAHL.com.

A wise old hockey man once told me how incredibly hard it was to beat a team twice in two nights, no matter how convincing your win on the first night.

BNG-3
NOR-2 (SO)

Jaroslav Janus allowed 2 goals on 38 shots before allowing 1 of 3 shooters to convert for the shootout loss. You can't fault Janus when the goals he allows are breakaways.

First Period
BNG Parrish, (5) (Wiercioch, Lehner), 10:06 (PP)
BNG Petersson, (1) (Godfrey, Lehner), 15:14

Second Period
NOR Vernace, (1) (Picard, Smith), 17:21 (PP)
NOR Vernace, (2) (Labrie, Smith), 18:55

Third Period
NO SCORING

Overtime
NO SCORING

Shootout
BNG- Hoffman
NOR- NONE

Mike Vernace was the game's second star.

It was an interesting lineup and an interesting result for the Admirals. Cory Conacher was out and Ondrej Palat, who was stopped in his shootout attempt, was in. And, it was a fight marred game without the typical flow Norfolk has enjoyed offensively.

Shots ended up 39-39, which is strange after the shot board pasting Norfolk issued last night.

Norfolk travels to Charlotte for a late afternoon tilt tomorrow.

Box score from TheAHL.com.

The Tampa Bay Lightning signed left wing Ondrej Palat to a three-year, entry-level contract today, Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman announced.

Palat, 6-foot, 174-pounds, was drafted by the Lightning in the seventh round, 208th overall, of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. He is the first prospect from his Lightning draft class to sign a pro contract. He is also 20, which is 18 months-to-two-years older than the others in his class.

Ondrej Palat
Position: Left Wing
Shoots/Catches: Left
Height: 5.11
Weight: 174
Born: 03/28/1991
Age: 20
Hometown: Ostrava, CZE
Acquired: Selected by Tampa Bay Lightning in Round 7 (#208) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft
Last Team: Drummondville (QMJHL)
Projects As: Organizational Depth

Stats: Volts (QMJHL): 61 Games played, 39-57-96, 24 PIM