Killorn, Alexander

Norfolk withstands Connecticut's best shot.

NOR-4
CT-3

Norfolk Leads the Series 2-1

Dustin Tokarski allowed 3 goals on 30 shots for the victory. The stat line is ho hum, but he gave the Admirals exactly what they needed. Under siege for much of the first half of the Second Period, Tokarski kept the game close and allowed the Admirals to get their legs underneath them and get a critical victory.

First Period
CT Wellman, (2) , 5:20 (PP)
NOR Palat, (2) , 8:01 (SH)
CT Deveaux, (2) (Hrivik, Newbury), 17:12

Second Period
NOR Killorn, (3) (Kostka, Picard), 11:31 (PP)
NOR Smith, (3) (Barberio, Conacher), 12:16
NOR Angelidis, (1) (Ouellet, Gudas), 17:40

Third Period
CT Wellman, (3) (Newbury, Erixon), 1:06 (PP)

Ondrej Palat and Tokarski were the game's first and third stars. Color me pleasantly surprised with Palat overall this season. He's better along the wall and defensively than advertised. Heck, he even kills penalties. Between Palat and fellow Eastern European Richard Panik, it's really no contest which of the two has played better so far in the playoffs.

Speaking of those from the Czech-or-Slovakia region, Radko Gudas played a ton in the final frame protecting the one goal lead, and played really well.

Alex Killorn is the truth.

Cory Conacher is... touched? Is that the diplomatic way to put it? Heavyweight Andre Deveaux decided to rough up Conacher after the whistle on a play in the Second Period, and Conacher actually chased after him like he wanted to fight him. Cory, brother, you're strong pound-for-pound, but Deveaux eats meals that weigh more than you do. Stick to whipping his behind on the scoreboard, where it really hurts.

Norfolk won tonight despite being outshot for the first time in these playoffs. They'll move on to Game Four tomorrow night with the chance to really put Connecticut behind the eight ball. Yes, they got "home ice" back tonight, but bear in mind Game Five is really a neutral site game in Bridgeport due to a scheduling conflict. The Whale can't afford to lose Game Four. Sweep the leg, Admirals. Sweep the leg.

In the other Eastern Conference Semifinal, St. John's swept the weekend and now hold a 3-1 series lead over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Another reason for Norfolk to get on the gas tomorrow is that they don't want the IceCaps to have a rest advantage heading into any potential Eastern Conference Finals series.

Box score from TheAHL.com.

This season Bolt Prospects introduced our Prospect of the Week award, an honor (virtually) given to one Tampa Bay Lightning prospect for their on-ice contributions.

We wanted to highlight prospects throughout the year to help fans get better acquainted with the next round of Lightning stars while recognizing the prospect’s achievement on the ice.

This week’s BP Prospect of the Week award goes to … Alex Killorn, Norfolk Admirals (AHL).

Norfolk fans were thanking the heavens for Alex Killorn last week as the pre-rookie pro (he’s on a tryout contract after finishing at Harvard) scored the overtime winner for the Admirals to clinch their first round Calder Cup series against Manchester.

And the legend of Alex Killorn is born...

NOR-4
MCH-3 (OT)

Norfolk Wins the Series 3-1

Dustin Tokarski allowed 3 goals on 25 shots for the victory. He wasn't as on it tonight as he was in Game Three, but he was able to stay sharp enough in a game where he didn't see a ton of shots.

First Period
MCH Azevedo, (1) , 0:38

Second Period
NOR Oberg, (1) (Killorn, Picard), 7:18
MCH Mullen, (1) (Kozun, O'Neill), 11:18
MCH Andreoff, (2) (Hickey, Vey), 15:37 (PP)
NOR Barberio, (2) (Conacher, Ouellet), 16:58 (PP)
NOR Smith, (2) (Gudas), 17:14

Third Period
NO SCORING

Overtime
NOR Killorn, (1) (Picard), 13:27

Killorn and Trevor Smith were the game's first and third stars. Killorn just looks like an NHLer. He plays a good north-south game. Skates well. Wins battles. Goes to the high-traffic areas. Backchecks hard. He's as honest a player as he is talented, and he just had a great first playoff round in his professional career. He had 2 goals and 6 points in his first 10 professional regular season games, and he just matched that point total with 1 goal and 6 points in his first 4 professional playoff games.

Norfolk has 3 days to rest and, we hope, get healthy, before they move into the next round against the 6th seed, the Connecticut Whale, on Wednesday. Connecticut swept Bridgeport in the opening round and will be coming to Norfolk for Game One and Game Two in a 2-3-2 playoff format. However, of interest, Game Five (if necessary) will be played in Bridgeport and not Hartford. How interesting that a scheduling conflict works in Norfolk's favor in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Admirals swept the Whale during the regular season 4-0, with 3 regulation victories and 1 shootout win.

Box score from TheAHL.com.

Admirals win the battle. War of attrition continues.

NOR-5
MAN-2

Norfolk Leads the Series 2-1

Dustin Tokarski stopped 25 of 27 shots for the victory, including turning away 4 shorthanded breakaways. He was a difference maker tonight.

First Period
NOR Segal, (1) (Oberg, Killorn), 0:35
NOR Labrie, (1) (Smith, Conacher), 7:40
MCH Czarnik, (2) (Vey, Mullen), 11:06

Second Period
NOR Devos, (1) (Kostka, Smith), 4:31
MCH Legein, (2) (Vey, Kolomatis), 12:51

Third Period
NOR Picard, (4) (Conacher, Smith), 14:45 (PP)
NOR Segal, (2) (Killorn, Picard), 18:32 (EN)

Phillip-Michael Devos and Trevor Smith were the game's first and second stars.

Brandon Segal scored the game's opening goal, and then an empty netter to ensure that for Manchester the game was Out of Reach. His linemate, Alex Killorn has 4 points in his first 3 AHL playoff games.

Alexandre Picard, who only had 6 goals the entire regular season, has 4 goals in the first 3 games of the playoffs. Make it so, Number Nine.

Kidding aside, Mark Barberio had to leave the game in the Third Period after a Stefan Legein boarding major. Possible concussion. Norfolk can't afford to let Manchester stick around in this series, because Manchester's managed to injure 2 of Norfolk's best players in the first 3 games of this series. Tyler Johnson went out with the old upper-body injury in Game One. The playoffs are a war of attrition, and staying healthy is perhaps the biggest key to success for Norfolk. They need to put Manchester away in Game Four on Friday.

Box score from TheAHL.com.

It took a bit longer than usual, but it's David Shaw in overtime! #27!

NOR-3
BNG-2 (OT)

Dustin Tokarski allowed 2 goals on 24 shots including a ten bell save in overtime to get his 13th straight victory. He now is unlikely to best his .915 (currently .913) rookie save percentage, but he's improved his career marks in every other major statistical category this year, and his 32 wins are a lock now to be the best in the AHL.

First Period
NOR Conacher, (36) (Killorn), 19:24

Second Period
BNG Hoffman, (21) (Gryba, Dziurzynski), 15:17 (PP)
BNG Puempel, (1) (Conboy), 17:13

Third Period
NOR Killorn, (2) (Oberg, Kostka), 13:21 (PP)

Overtime
NOR Barberio, (14) (Kostka), 2:04 (PP)

Alex Killorn and Mark Barberio were the game's second and third stars. Former Admiral Mike McKenna was the first star in defeat, standing on his head while stopping 46 Norfolk shots.

It's been interesting with all the hardware being thrown in Norfolk's direction to players like Cory Conacher and Mark Barberio how there's been a little unstated internal pressure here at Bolt Prospects to reassess the situation at the top of our prospect rankings. Now, there's no doubt that Conacher and Barberio are fantastic players, but a night like tonight shows what Alex Killorn brings to the table. As expected, he's getting more comfortable with his teammates, and he was the best Admiral on the ice tonight. He made a great play to set up Conacher on the Admirals' first goal (no-look, behind-the-back, Harlem Globetrotters type stuff), and with Conacher sitting for what appeared to be disciplinary reasons from late in the second period on, Killorn played a ton during Norfolk's successful comeback bid. His power play goal was another Killorn classic, where he used his speed down the wing to blaze around the corner and then deked to his backhand to finally penetrate the forcefield that McKenna seemed to have up behind him. Point being, Killorn belongs in the same sentence with those players. When you consider this is just his 9th pro game, the fact he can already dominate a night like this is impressive. With the playoffs yet to go, look for him to put up a strong defense of his spot on the rankings. I'm really looking forward to it.

Should we be concerned it took the Admirals putting forth this much effort to put away the league's worst team, Bingo? No. This was the Senators' last game of the season, and they had nothing else to play for. This was Game Seven of the Stanley Cup and the Super Bowl all wrapped into one for them, and the Ads still outshot them 49-24. Only McKenna's brilliance kept this from being a slaughter.

Norfolk finishes their regular season tomorrow night against Adirondack, which was eliminated from playoff contention earlier today. That leaves 3 teams vying for the final two spots in the Eastern Conference: Portland, Syracuse, and Manchester. The plot thickens for all three teams after today's results. Manchester beat the paste out of Hershey 5-1, moving them into a tie with idle Portland at 81 points. Syracuse was embroiled in a struggle with Connecticut, but they managed to sneak by in the shootout. So here's the state of play heading into tomorrow's deciding games. Syracuse holds 7th at 82 points. They control their destiny. Manchester holds 8th because while both Manchester and Portland have 81 points, Manchester leads in ROW by 2 over both Syracuse and Portland. That means the Monarchs win any tiebreaker against both teams. Portland sits in 9th. Manchester draws the toughest opponent tomorrow in 2nd place St. John's. Portland gets 12th place Providence. Syracuse gets 14th place Albany. Throw the records out in a situation like this though. Norfolk draws the 8th seed when the dust settles tomorrow.

Box score from TheAHL.com.