On Friday 1/11/2013 Norfolk will visit Syracuse for the second time with this being the fourth time over all this year. The first three times these teams met this year proved that Norfolk has a new rivalry that will trump all rivalries.
On 12/28/2012 Norfolk visited Syracuse for the first time since the affiliation swap. Syracuse took the game 4-2. Syracuse came out in this game to prove one thing. They showed the Norfolk players that barn was now theirs. They did this by cheap play in the back ice (every time the ref turned around it seem a Syracuse player would give an extra hit or every check resulted in a little more cross check then body check). This cheap shot play continued even after Syracuse won the game.
Game Sheet
The next two meetings, 1/4/2013 and 1/5/2013 took place in Norfolk. This time the tables needed to be turned and Norfolk needed to come out and play hard during these two games to prove to the Syracuse players the Norfolk barn was now theirs.
In the first game Norfolk played sloppy hockey and ended up losing 3-0. Norfolk was able to push Syracuse around a little in the physical department with several won fights and the epic rematch of the 2009 fight between Jay Rosehill and Eric Neilson. There were also a total of 128 penalty minutes in this first game.
Game Sheet
In the second of this two game series Norfolk look a lot better than I have seen them play in a while. It looked like they finally found out how to beat Syracuse. Slow the play down and any team will beat Syracuse. Unfortunately they didn't find this out until late in the game and ended up losing in overtime 4-3. Norfolk was able to beat Syracuse physically in this game. There were several more good fights that fueled the new rivalry. Not only did you see another Rosehill vs. Neilson fight but you also got to see the rematch of the 2010 John Kurtz and Jared Nightingale fight. You also got to see Cheap Shot Aulie give an illegal hit to the head. There is no room in hockey for this type of play.
Game Sheet
This fourth game will prove to be very interesting. Norfolk needs a win and based on the last three times these two teams met this could be the fourth game in what could be one of the best team rivalries in the history of both teams.
For a review of Saturdays game click on continue reading. If you came to this post directly just keep reading.
On Saturday Norfolk will travel from Syracuse to Binghamton to play the baby Senators. Binghamton currently holds the title as the second best team in the AHL. This will be the fifth time these two teams will meet. The series so far is split 2-2 over the last 4 games. All four games turned out to be great hockey games. Both Norfolk and Binghamton played solid hockey. I wouldn't look for to many fights or penalties in this game. I would expect great passing and solid defense from both teams. Goaltending will be the determining factor here. Binghamton has the edge there unless Norfolk plays that new goalie they picked up a few weeks ago.
Binghamton Score Re-cap
11/2/2012 - 4-3 Binghamton - Game Sheet
11/3/2012 - 4-2 Norfolk - Game Sheet
11/10/2012 - 4-2 Binghamton - Game Sheet
12/8/2012 - 3-1 Norfolk - Game Sheet
The schedule may be hard over the next couple of weeks. Norfolk may have to work harder for the rest of the season to get that playoff berth. But I think they can do it. They is still a lot of season left and with the lockout over in the NHL every team is going to lose players that would most likely not be with those clubs this year. That is good news for the Admirals. With them being tied for 3 worst team in the league there is a lot of work to do.
On another note make sure you check out this article on theahl.com.
With that said... Rabbi out!
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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.
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