Norfolk Admirals

And now things get really tight in the playoff race.

NOR-1
WBS-2

Dustin Tokarski allowed just 2 goals on 25 shots, but his first period softie allowed to Jesse Boulerice ended up being the margin of defeat.

First Period
WBS Boulerice, (4) (Conner, Lee), 4:23
WBS Johnson, (13) (Haddad, Wagner), 13:19 (PP)

Second Period
NO SCORING

Third Period
NOR Fornataro, (9) (Wishart, Fadden), 15:22

It was a beautiful stickhandling play by Matt Fornataro that helped pull the Admirals to within one goal late in the game. Defenseman Ty Wishart got his 31st point of the season on the play, but he should be chastized along with Vladimir Mihalik for some very soft play along the wall in the defensive zone, especially in the first period. The soft goal, the soft play along the wall, and a disgustingly bad 0-for-8 power play doomed the Admirals in this one. That, and Mitch Fritz losing his mind at the end of the second period, including the ever-classy crotch chop to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton crowd, drawing a double minor and game misconduct that killed off about a quarter of the third period for a Pens team that only held on by one goal.

On the bright side, the two pro debuts went pretty well tonight. Carter Ashton almost had a beautiful goal chipping the puck between two defenders and showing surprising burst to split them and get himself a breakaway. He got in too tight on the backhand, though, and couldn't lift the puck to notch the goal. He had another chance a few minutes later when he spun out in front from behind the net on his backhand. Had he been a little more patient, he could've taken another half stride and maybe stuck it in far post. Richard Panik had one good chance from the slot, but the defining play for him was a downright nasty check he threw coming back into the Admirals zone. Downright nasty. In case you didn't know, he's strong as a bull.

Norfolk's lead over the Pens is down to 1 point with the Pens holding 1 game in hand. Uh oh. Norfolk has 11 games left to play in the season: 3 on the road and 8 at home. Norfolk draws Adirondack at Scope on Friday.

Box score from TheAHL.com.

(Norfolk Admirals release) NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk Admirals have added Tampa Bay Lightning prospect forwards Carter Ashton and Richard Panik to their roster. Ashton has been assigned to the Admirals by the Lightning from his junior team while Panik has been signed to an Amateur Tryout Contract (ATO).

Ashton, 18, a 6-foot-3, 207-pound right wing from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, split this season between the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League. In 28 games with Lethbridge, he posted 13 goals and 26 points. He was then traded to Regina, where he scored 11 goals and 25 points.

Panik (“PAN-ihk”), 19, a 6-foot-2, 203-pound right wing from Martin, Slovakia, split this season between the Windsor Spitfires and the Belleville Bulls of the Ontario Hockey League. In 33 games with Windsor, he posted nine goals and 18 points. After being acquired by Belleville, Panik notched 12 goals and 23 points in 27 games.

Norfolk goes 0-for-10 in the shootout this weekend.

BRI-3
NOR-2 (SO)

Dustin Tokarski allowed 2 goals on 25 shots and 1 of 5 shootout conversions for the shootout loss. I feel bad for Tic this weekend. He stopped 80% of the shootout attempts he faced. That's not shabby. But, if your team goes 0% on their attempts, you can't win.

First Period
BRI Haskins, (9) (Witt, Smith), 16:03

Second Period
NOR Simek, (19) (Marks, Wishart), 7:32

Third Period
NOR Fornataro, (8) (Tyrell, Wishart), 0:37
BRI Reich, (7) (Joensuu, Mauldin), 5:44

Overtime
NO SCORING

Shootout
BRI- Smith
NOR- NONE

Matt Fornataro and Kai Kantola were the game's second and third stars.

Congratulations to Ty Wishart for reaching the 30 point plateau for the season with a pair of assists tonight. With a dozen games to go, Bolt Prospects asks, why not 35, Ty?

Things are tightening up considerably in the playoff race for the Admirals. By virtue of Albany's win today and Norfolk's overtime loss, they've fallen 6 points out of 2nd place in the East Division. The point gained does allow Norfolk to stay 4 points ahead of 4th place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with the Pens having 2 games in hand. 5th place Syracuse lost to Rochester and now the Crunch are 10 points back of the Admirals with 2 games in hand. Despite wins tonight, 6th place Binghamton is 12 points back with 2 games in hand and last place Adirondack is 13 points back with 3 games in hand.

Norfolk's also facing some serious pressure in the crossover scenario with Bridgeport gaining two points on them this weekend in their shootout wins. They sit in 5th in the Atlantic and are on a serious hot streak. The Sound Tigers are now 1 point behind Norfolk and they're playing so well, they've almost chased down the 4th place team in the Atlantic, Lowell, which is 2 points ahead of the Admirals with a game in hand. Norfolk holds a 7 point edge on 6th place Hartford with the Pack having a game in hand and an 8 point edge on 7th place Providence with the Bruins holding 2 games in hand. Bear in mind, if the Admirals fall to 4th in their division, they must finish ahead of the 5th place team in the Atlantic to make the postseason.

Box score from TheAHL.com.

Norfolk gets shut out in the shootout.

BRI-3
NOR-2 (SO)

Dustin Tokarski allowed 2 goals on 26 shots and 1 of 4 shooters to convert in the shootout session for the shootout loss.

First Period
BRI Haskins, (7) (Flood, Smith), 7:41

Second Period
NOR Craig, (20) (Hall, Tyrell), 1:34

Third Period
NOR Hall, (13) (Tyrell, Jackson), 3:34
BRI Haskins, (8) (Bentivoglio), 12:32

Overtime
NO SCORING

Shotout
BRI- Figren
NOR- NONE

Dana Tyrell and Ryan Craig were the game's second and third stars. For Tyrell, it's his 6th multi-point game in his past 13 contests.

The luster is off the once perfect Juraj Simek in shootouts as he has been stopped in each of his last two attempts. The other Admirals who failed to convert were Justin Keller, Matt Fornataro, Blair Jones, and Mitch Fadden. Credit to Bridgeport goaltender Scott Monroe. Norfolk's shootout lineup is typically a murderer's row.

Box score from TheAHL.com.