ADMIRALS WIN 4-1, COMPLETE SWEEP IN NORFOLK

March 10, 2013

NORFOLK, Va. – Patrick Maroon scored two third-period goals to help the Norfolk Admirals pull away from the HERSHEY BEARS by a 4-1 final score on Saturday night at Norfolk Scope, and help sweep the weekend set between the division rivals.

Just nine seconds into the game, Jeff Taffe had an open lane on the right wing side against goaltender Frederik Andersen, but his shot on the breakaway missed wide to the right.  Shortly afterward defenseman Dmitry Orlov, playing in his first game since December 6, flipped a clearing bid out of play for a delay of game penalty.  Late on Norfolk’s first power play of the game, Dany Sabourin gloved down a shot from Nate Guenin but couldn’t clear it out of trouble.  Troy Bodie charged in and slipped the puck into the net at 2:25 before the BEARS defense could cover, giving Norfolk a 1-0 lead.

The BEARS then earned a power play when Josh Brittain was flagged for high-sticking at 5:45, but it would be the hosts who earned the best scoring chance when Chris Wagner had a shorthanded breakaway.  Casey Wellman applied a hook, giving Wagner a penalty shot.  Sabourin made a nice right pad save to keep the BEARS deficit at one at the 7:24 mark.

Norfolk eventually grabbed a 2-0 lead just 34 seconds into the second period, when Jordan Hendry’s shot from the left point was tipped through Sabourin’s pads by Brayden Irwin.

The BEARS solved Andersen at 7:43, when Jon DiSalvatore stuffed a pass from Garrett Stafford underneath Andersen for his 16th goal of the season.  The BEARS were denied a second goal in the period when video replay confirmed Matt Pope’s chance from in close was stopped on the goal line by Dan Sexton and Maroon.

Maroon would then make it a 3-1 game when his wraparound try snuck through Sabourin’s pads at 4:34 of the third period, while the teams were skating four-on-four.  His second of the period hit the empty net at 18:40 with Sabourin on the bench in favor of a sixth attacker.

Andersen improved to 15-11-1 with 23 saves in the win.  Sabourin fell to 8-10-3, stopping 15 of 19 shots.  The BEARS ended the night 0-for-6 on the power play and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill.

The HERSHEY BEARS return home tomorrow, March 10 for a 5:00 PM faceoff against the Binghamton Senators.  Individual tickets are available at the GIANT Center box office, by calling (717) 508-BEAR or online at TicketMaster.com.

Game Recap: http://theahl.com/stats/official-game-report.php?game_id=1010735