Admirals Sweep Weekend Series Against Sharks
By Ted Warren
The Norfolk Admirals defeated the Worcester Sharks in a shootout win Saturday night 4 to 3. Admirals’ goaltender Igor Bobkov put on a spectacular performance stopping 42 shots in route to the shootout victory. The Admirals took advantage of an early power play opportunity when St. Louis native Patrick Maroon redirected a Kyle Palmieri shot past screened Worcester netminder Harry Sateri.
The Sharks controlled the tempo for the remainder of the period outshooting Norfolk 15-7. Minutes after Maroon’s first goal of the season, Sharks forward Yanni Gourde put the puck past Bobkov to tie the game at 1-1. Worcester headed to the dressing room with the lead via a James Sheppard goal that was scored off a rebound from a Bobkov save.
Norfolk found its legs in the second period outplaying Worcester. Patrick Maroon recovered a Devante Smith-Pelly shot down low in the Worcester zone for his 2nd goal of the night. Chris Wagner tallied his 1st pro point with an assist on Maroon’s goal. Smith-Pelly showed off some of his NHL offensive talent by sailing a tape to tape pass to veteran forward John Mitchell who lit the lamp for his 2nd goal in two nights.
In the 3rd period, the Sharks out shot the Admirals 19-5. Pleasanton, California native defenseman Matt Tennyson teed off a slapshot past Bobkov that tied the game at 3. After a scoreless overtime, the game went into a shootout. Admirals’ right-wing Kyle Palmieri and Sharks’ center James Sheppard both scored in the 1st round of the shootout. After every one else came up dry, Peter Holland scored the final goal of the shootout to sweep the weekend set against Worcester. Norfolk was 1-5 with the power play while Worcester was 0-5 on the P.P.
Long Beach, California born Emerson Etem commented on the game stating, “ Great team win! It was up and down for us. We started off really strong and we struggled a little bit there in the 3rd, but we played a solid team game and stuck together all the way through the end. Guy’s stepped up in the shootout and Igor Bobkov was stopping the door. It was a huge win for the whole team.”
Anaheim Ducks 2012 first round draft pick, Hampus Lindholm, also gave his thoughts on the win saying, “I think we were struggling a little bit, but we had to keep playing our game… play simple. I think it was a good win for us too.”
Next up for the Admirals is another Friday and Saturday home stand against the Connecticut Whale. The puck drops 7:30 pm on Friday and 7:15 pm Saturday at Norfolk Scope.