Admirals Open Season With A 4-2 Victory Over The Worcester Sharks

The 2012 Season opens with a Victory…. The Norfolk Admirals 29^th consecutive, but who’s counting at this point?

The Admirals began the 2012 campaign with a 4-2 victory over the Worcester Sharks.  It was a solid effort by both teams and at points had its spirited moments which included some great defensive plays by both teams, fisticuffs and even a delay for broken glass!

Norfolk began the night with a very brief pre-game ceremony in which fans witnessed the unveiling of the 2012 Calder Cup Champions Banner as the Calder Cup stood at center-ice.  The players remained in the locker room for the ceremony which was a good call by management considering there is not a single player on the opening night roster from the championship team thanks to the affiliation swap.

On with the game…

The new-look Admirals wasted little time in bringing the crowd of 5,004 to their feet.  It was at the 2:07 mark that Devante Smith-Pelley and John Mitchell exchanged passes through the neutral zone.  Smith-Pelley skated into the Ducks zone sending a quick feed to Mitchell who wristed a shot that found the back of the twine via the five-hole of Sharks netminder Alex Stalock giving the Admirals a quick 1-0 lead.

Norfolk controlled the flow end-to-end for the opening twenty minutes of the first period. Their hard work paid off at 12:47 when Peter Holland intercepted a pass in the neutral zone and quickly skated alone across the blue line and from the left side Holland snapped a wrist shot into the net blocker side past Stalock for a two goal advantage.   The teams would close out the first period with the Admirals holding the lead 2-0 and outshooting the visiting Sharks 10-5.

The Sharks quickly rebounded in the second period as they out skated the Admirals for much of the period and forced the Admirals into a few turnovers throughout the frame. Despite being outplayed 6'4" Norfolk goaltender Frederik Andersen kept Worcester off the scoreboard until the 15:41 mark of the middle frame. While on the power-play Matt Irwin controlled the puck at the left point and took a slap shot that forward Travis Oleksuk deflected behind Andersen giving the Sharks their first goal of the season.

The Sharks continued to dictate the pace and it was just a few minutes later when Stalberg sent a wrister from just inside the right point that found the back of the net behind Anderson. The shot appeared to be harmless and it’s likely that Anderson was screened on the play, nevertheless, the goal tied the score at 2-2 to close out the second period.

The Admirals came out with some fire in the final twenty minutes.  During what appeared be a dangerous boarding play by Worcester defenseman Matt Pelech on the young Admirals forward Chirs Wagner and it was Troy Bodie standing up for his teammate and dropping the gloves against Pelech.  The fight seemed to be a draw as both players got some decent punches against one-another.  Both skaters received the traditional five-for-fighting with Pelech getting the extra 2:00 for boarding.  Brodie spent the next five minutes in the box but he made the most of his rest in the sin bin. During his first shift following the fighting major Brodie re-directed a Jay Rosehill slapshot into the Sharks goal giving the Admirals a 3-2 lead with 9:59 remaining in the contest.  The Sharks kept pressing but the Norfolk defense and Andersen were equal to the task.  Palmieri added an empty-net tally as the Admirals finished off the Sharks 4-2.

The rematch is scheduled for tomorrow night at 7:15pm, with plenty of great seats still available.  After the game join the team on the ice for a post game skate.

Click here to purchase your tickets.  

Click here for a look at the official score sheet.

3 Stars:

1. Troy Bodie – NOR

2. Peter Holland – NOR

3. Sebastian Stalberg – WOR

-Written By Brad Johnson

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**The Rant Norfolk Admirals is in no way affiliated with the AHL or the Norfolk Admirals organization.  The views and opinions in this blog do not reflect the views and opinions of the AHL or the Norfolk Admirals organization.  For the fans by the fans.