Norfolk's d-corps continues to surpass all expectations.
NOR-5
ALB-4
Dustin Tokarski [8] allowed 4 goals on 28 shots for the win. He moved to 17-9-0 on the season for the win.
First Period
ALB Veilleux, (6) (Urbom, Berube), 5:49
NOR Fornataro, (6) (Conacher, Barberio), 14:16 (PP)
ALB Veilleux, (7) (Sestito, Whitney), 16:13
ALB Veilleux, (8) (Whitney), 18:28
Second Period
NOR Oberg, (2) (Palat, Devos), 5:21
NOR Barberio, (5) (Johnson, Gudas), 6:09
ALB Wiseman, (3) (Palmieri, Zharkov), 13:28
NOR Ouellet, (9) (Kostka, Cote), 16:12
NOR Angelidis, (8) (Kostka, Cote), 16:38
Third Period
NO SCORING
Mark Barberio [9] and Mike Kostka [10] were the game's second and third stars. Barberio now holds a 5 point edge in the race to be the AHL's top scoring defenseman. He has 5 goals and 37 points in 38 games. With his multi-point game tonight, Kostka has moved into the top-20 among AHL defensemen in scoring with 6 goals and 20 points in 35 games. The bulk of that scoring has come since he joined Norfolk in the James Wright [11] trade. He had just 2 goals and 6 points with San Antonio prior to the deal, but he's had 4 goals and 14 points since coming to Norfolk. Bear in mind Kostka had 16 goals and 54 points in 80 games with Rochester a year ago, which was tied for third in the league. So, the Admirals legitimately boast two of the absolute best offensive d-men in the league, which is part of the reason they're one of the most deadly offensive powers in the AHL this side of the Hershey Bears.
Tonight's victory was a bit of sweet revenge for a Norfolk team that had a temporary slump started by a third period collapse at home against the Devils just a few weeks ago. For the Admirals to overcome a 3-1 first period deficit that featured a Stephane Veilleux [12] hat trick represented a nice bit of payback for the team.
Norfolk moves within 4 points of the Bears in the East Division standings with the victory. They continue their road trip in Syracuse on Friday.
Box score [13] from TheAHL.com.