RECHLICZ STARTS THINGS OFF BUT NORFOLK FINISHES 6-3 WIN

December 18, 2011

HERSHEY, Pa. – The Norfolk Admirals scored five times in the third period to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 6-3 win over the HERSHEY BEARS on Sunday evening at GIANT Center.

The night appeared to be off to another great start for the hosts, as Joel Rechlicz headed to the net front, collected a centering feed from Julien Brouillette who was behind the net, and one-timed the puck upstairs past Jaroslav Janus at 2:47 for his first of the season to give the BEARS a 1-0 lead. On the ensuing faceoff, Rechlicz fought Norfolk’s Eric Neilson to ignite the GIANT Center crowd.

Jacob Micflikier made it 2-0 at 11:46, when his shot from the bottom of the left faceoff circle slid through the pads of Janus.

After Michel Ouellet’s one-timer from a Philip-Michael Devos pass eluded netminder Braden Holtby, Chris Bourque collected a diving poke-check pass from Boyd Kane, skated into the left circle, and blasted a slap shot past Janus after a fake with 3.6 seconds left in the first period to give the BEARS a 3-1 advantage at the first intermission. The score would also stand up after two periods with neither team able to add to their totals.

The Admirals began their comeback at 4:33 of the third when J.T. Wyman beat a BEARS defenseman with a left-wing drive and then snuck a shot short-side on Holtby. The visitors tied the score 3-3 at 6:43, as Devos made a backhand deke on Holtby and slid the puck into the net.

The go-ahead goal came on a power play, when Trevor Smith banked in a point shot from Mark Barberio at 13:59. Richard Panik added insurance when he converted a backhand shot off of a defensive-zone turnover, and Tyler Johnson rounded out the scoring with an empty-net tally at 18:52.

Holtby falls to 9-7-1 on the season with 25 saves on 30 shots. Janus improves to 7-4-1, making 22 saves.

The BEARS finished the night 0-for-2 on the power play and 4-for-5 on the penalty kill.

With the win, the Admirals force a three-way tie at the top of the East Division, with Norfolk, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and the BEARS (16-8-3-2) all holding 37 points.

The BEARS play their final game before the Christmas holiday break this Wednesday, December 21 at 7:00 PM against the Syracuse Crunch. It’a another Dietz and Watson Dollar Dog Night as fans can purchase hot dogs for $1 at select GIANT Center concession stands. Individual tickets for this and all regular-season home games are on sale now by calling (717) 508-BEAR, or by visiting ticketmaster.com.

HERSHEY BEARS season ticket plans are also on sale now by calling (717) 508-BEAR, with many different flexible plans still available. Season ticket plans start as low as $160.

Game Recap: http://theahl.com/stats/official-game-report.php?game_id=1009062

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