Sens vs. Admirals 3/27/2005 Articles: Admirals gain revenge with OT victory over Binghamton
March 28, 2005

Posted by: Bob Howard
Credit: Robin Brinkley of The Virginian Pilot

Admirals gain revenge with OT victory over Binghamton

By ROBIN BRINKLEY, The Virginian-Pilot © March 28, 2005

NORFOLK — The Admirals’ Matt Ellison considers himself a clutch performer, but just as importantly so does Norfolk coach Trent Yawney.

Yawney picked Ellison to shoot fifth in Sunday’s overtime shootout against Binghamton and his goal gave the Admirals’ a much-needed 3-2 victory over the Senators at Scope.

“I like being the guy with the game on the line,” said Ellison, who also scored the Admirals’ first goal in regulation. “But I’ve never shot fifth before. I was pretty excited.”

Ellison carried down the puck down the left wing, waiting for goalie Ray Emery to commit.

When Emery held his ground, Ellison aimed between his legs and the shot just squirted through, touching off a joyous celebration on the ice.

The Admirals trailed 1-0 after two periods and were 20 minutes from being swept twice at home in less than 24 hours by the team immediately ahead of them in the standings. Binghamton routed Norfolk goalie Adam Munro in a 6-2 thrashing Saturday, and came in as the hottest team in the league with only one loss in regulation in its past 10 games.

“They are a great team, and this is a big two points for us,” Yawney said.

Yawney pulled Munro after he gave up four first-period goals Saturday, but with Michael Leighton unavailable Munro found himself back in the net Sunday.

“Saturday was tough, but it was good that I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it,” Munro said. “This was a little payback.”

Norfolk outscored Bingham ton 3-2 in the shootout. Munro made two saves, and got a break when AHL scoring leader Jason Spezza blasted his attempt high and wide.

The Admirals rallied from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to force overtime.

Bingham ton’s first goal was set up when Munro’s stick was slashed as he tried to clear the puck. The puck bounced off two defensemen’s pads, Munro said, before landing on Pat Kavanaugh’s stick. His wide open shot from the slot made it 1-0 at 16:04.

The Admirals came out storming in the third period, and Ellison tied it by taking a pass from Matt Keith and popping it over Emery’s glove at 1:52.

Binghamton scored a shorthanded goal to go back on top 2-1 at 6:46. Defenseman Jan Platil’s slap shot from the left point appeared to fool Munro. It was Platil’s first goal of the season in 62 games.

Marty Wilford tied it again for Norfolk with just over 10 minutes remaining.

Both teams had chances to win in the five-minute overtime. Bourque and Ellison missed wide, and Emery made a sprawling glove on a bullet from the left circle by Ajay Baines with 33 seconds left.

Norfolk pulled back to within two points of Binghamton for second place in the East.

“To be down twice and come back and win, this was huge,” Ellison said.

Notes: The Admirals recalled defenseman Vladimir Gusev and goaltender Mike Brodeur from Greenville of the ECHL before the game. Brodeur replaced Leighton on the roster. Leighton is nursing a sore groin, but relieved Munro on Saturday night. “He needs to rest. He can’t play through it,” Yawney said. … Bourque, Ellison and Keith extended their scoring streaks to five game. … Norfolk won the season series against Bingham ton 5-3.