Admirals Stat-urday: Climbing Up, One Team At A Time

1 John Gibson got his first shut-out of the season last night against the Worcester Sharks (San Jose Sharks), turning aside all 36 shots he faced.  Gibson has seen action in 11 games with a 6-3-1-1 record, allowing 23 goals on 356 shots, good for a 2.07 GAA and a .935 SP

2 Defenseman Mark Fistric got his second helper of the season last Saturday against the Binghamton Senators (Ottawa Senators), helping to put away the Sens in overtime.  Fistric has two points in six games since being assigned on 1/23.

3 Center Charlie Sarault scored his third goal of the season last night against the Sens and first since Jan 6. Sarault now has eight points (3G, 5A) on the season in 31 games.

4 William Karlsson saw his three game (1/24-1/31) points streak end last Sunday against the Hershey Bears (Washington Capitals).  Through those three games, Karlsson chipped in four assists, bringing his season totals to four goals and 9 assists in 29 games.

5 Dany Heatley saw his eight game point-less streak come to an end Friday night with two assists.  Since being assigned at the beginning of January, Healtley has five points (2G,3A) in 17 games [Ed. Note: Woof! -EE].

6 Max Friberg finished out January with six points (2G, 4A) and is currently sixth on the team in points with 17 (7G, 10A) through 29 games.

7 Nic Kerdiles saw his impressive five game (1/21-1/31) points streak end in a shut out loss last Sunday against the Bears.  In that span Kerdiles had five points (2G, 3A) and finished the month of January with seven points (2G, 5A).  He leads the team in points with 25 (8G, 17A).

8 Andrew O'Brien scored his first game winner and second of the season last Sat vs Bing and added his third last night against the Sharks.  O'Brien has eight points (3G, 5A) in 42 games.

9 The Admirals have been very successful holding on for a win with a lead going in to intermission, and continued that trend last night with a 3-0 victory over the Worcester Sharks.  Norfolk is 9-3-1-0 when leading after one period, and 9-1-1-0 when leading after two.

10 Emerson Etem had a STRONG showing in January. His second period game-tying goal last Saturday was his tenth for the month and brought his impressive points total to 16 (10G, 6A) in 12 games.  Etem is tied with Chris Wagner for the team lead in goals with 13 and is fifth on the team in points with 19.  What's impressive is that he's done it in half the games (just 20) that the four players ahead of him have played.

--The Admirals did well on their recent road trip, winning two of three games against the Senators, an East Division rival.  The wins allowed Norfolk to climb out of last place in the Eastern Conference, and combined with last night's win over the seventh place Worcester Sharks pulled the Admirals to within ten points of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Conference.  The attitude and message is the same from the players and coaches--the playoffs are the goal, and they need points first, but more importantly need the wins.  Points in four out of the past five games 3-1-1 is a good start...

--Emerson Etem.  16 points in 12 games.  I hope he gets a shot somewhere, be it with Anaheim or somewhere else.  He deserves better than the AHL, just needs a GM to give him a chance and the right players around him.

--I keep reading about how the Ducks will be looking for a defenseman around the trade deadline, then I look at the Admirals' roster.  HEY!  BOB MURRAY!  Have you looked east-bound recently?  I mean, I know you turned up your nose at the city of Norfolk and its fans when announcing the move, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't look to within the organization for players.  The Admirals' blue line is starting to look like a collection of many NHL teams' 3-6 defensemen.  You gushed over  Josh Manson, signed Fistric to a contract with money, have held on to Mat Clark for awhile.  There's got to be someone here you can do something with.

--And finally, I'll leave you with a bit of humor.  Here's a moment after last night's shut-out win with John Gibson, king of  post-game interviews:

Me: "Are you feeling better about your game, of late?"

John (with a smirk):  "I never felt bad about my game."

Yep, felt like a rookie on that one.

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