Sens vs. Admirals 2/27/04 Articles: For one night, everything goes according to the Admirals’ plan (Friday)
February 29, 2004

Posted by: Bob Howard
Credit: The Virginian-Pilot

For one night, everything goes according to the Admirals’ plan

By TRIS WYKES, The Virginian-Pilot

February 28, 2004

NORFOLK — The Norfolk Admirals’ homestretch began on a high note Friday with a 6-1 defeat of their East Division rivals, the Binghamton Senators.

The Admirals had the game won halfway through the contest, and with tempers flaring on both sides, tonight’s rematch promises to be intense.

“They’ve lost a few in a row and we know what that feels like,’’ said Norfolk’s Quintin Laing, who had two goals and an assist. “They’re going to come in here going hard, and we have to expect them to bring a lot of emotion.’’

A Scope crowd announced at 3,614 enjoyed this one from the start. Norfolk took 28 of the first 32 shots and finished with a 42-13 advantage. Duncan Keith, Jason Morgan, Carsen Germyn and Ajay Baines each had two points.

“The pucks went in for us tonight and I didn’t see anything different from what we’ve been doing of late,’’ said Norfolk coach Trent Yawney, whose team has won 10 of its last 12 games. “We worked hard for our chances and we converted them. There have been a lot of times this season when we get shots from the outside. Tonight, most of our chances came within a 10-foot radius of the net.’’

Norfolk, fourth in the division, leads fifth-place Binghamton, now in a tie with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, by three points. Norfolk, which has 18 regular-season games remaining, trails third-place Hershey by a point in a race in which the division’s top five teams make the playoffs. Bridgeport and Philadelphia are tied atop the division with 73 points.

“Every game now, we come in feeling it’s a playoff atmosphere and we can’t give away two points,’’ said Laing, whose team began the season with just 10 victories in its first 35 games. “We put ourselves in this position, but now we’re on a roll and hopefully we can keep riding it.’’

Norfolk held a 12-2 shot advantage in the first period and scored the stanza’s only goal in the 10th minute. Morgan, making his Admirals debut after being acquired from Calgary by the parent Chicago Blackhawks, pulled up on the right side and passed to Germyn in the left circle.

Germyn’s slap shot caromed off defender Andy Hedlund and past the glove of goaltender Ray Emery for a power-play goal.

The Admirals went up 2-0 nine minutes into the second period when Blake Bellefeuille won a draw back to Kukkonen, who uncorked a low slap shot from the right point. Laing redirected the puck past Emery while standing in the low slot.

Morgan pushed his team’s lead to 3-0 with another power-play tally less than two minutes later. Marty Wilford passed the puck from the left point into the low slot, and Baines redirected it to Morgan at the right post for an easy tap-in.

Binghamton showed brief signs of life with a goal by Arpad Mihaly five minutes into the final stanza. But Norfolk answered 58 seconds later when Baines pushed a draw forward from the left circle directly onto the stick of backup goaltender Billy Thompson. The netminder bobbled the rubber, and a charging Laing flipped it past him for a 4-1 lead.

Norfolk tacked on two more goals to thoroughly embarrass Binghamton. Kukkonen blew a slap shot past Thompson from high in the right circle, and Germyn knocked in a shot off a goalmouth scramble at the left post.

The stereo was cranked in the Admirals’ locker room minutes later. But Yawney said his club isn’t necessarily assuming it’ll have the same sort of celebration tonight.

“We’ve always had close games with them before, so we’ve got a lot of respect for them,’’ the coach said. “Things went our way tonight, but tomorrow’s going to be a tough match-up.’’

Notes: The Virginian-Pilot’s three stars: Norfolk’s Laing (1), Kukkonen (2) and Morgan (3). ... Ryan Gaucher and Shawn Thornton were both scratched with minor groin injuries. Brandin Cote, normally a center, played wing in Thornton’s absence. ... Promoted Admirals skating with the parent Chicago Blackhawks have graced the recent pages of ESPN The Magazine (Thornton) and Sports Illustrated (Travis Moen). Thornton is shown pummeling Edmonton Oilers enforcer Georges Laraque, and Moen is pictured sitting on the Blackhawks’ bench.

Reach Tris Wykes at 446-2367 or tris.wykes@pilotonline.com