Whitney-Pelech connection powers Admirals to 6-1 win over Manchester
Correspondent |
In an arena in which most of the 3,753 customers in Scope's seats were yelling, the Admirals' Mike Pelech somehow picked out Steve Whitney's voice from across the ice.
Pelech muscled the puck from behind the Manchester net, whirled and sent a pass in Whitney's direction . Whitney then popped a shot over Monarchs goalie Doug Carr for one of his three goals in the second period that broke open the game in Norfolk's 6-1 win Friday night.
Pelech assisted on all of Whitney's goals.
"I think he saw me before he even got the puck and knew I was in the area," said Whitney, who has nine goals and 10 assists over his last 13 games to take the team lead in both categories.
"I was yelling for it, and he made a nice pass through somebody's triangle (two legs and a hockey stick). It was across the zone, which was impressive. It was a great pass, and I had all the time in the world to shoot."
Said Pelech: "I just put it in the direction where I heard him. … He was yelling pretty loud for it, and that made it easier."
Whitney had scored earlier when Pelech's pass was deflected by Scott Allen onto Whitney's stick, just to the right of the Monarchs' goal.
His third goal came when Pelech threaded a pass across the crease, behind defenseman Yann Sauve and in front of Carr. Whitney pushed the puck into the goal, inviting a shower of hats on Scope ice.
"All I had to do was redirect it in," said Whitney, whose last hat trick was as a senior at Boston College.
The Pelech-Whitney package added to a first-period goal Ben Betker, who scored by following his own rejected shot.
Greg Chase fit the puck into a 4-inch hole over Carr's shoulder, and Braden Christoffer scored on a rebound of his own shot to round out the Admirals' scoring.
Goalie Nick Riopel's shutout was spoiled when Chase's careless backhanded pass turned into Ryan Patsch's shorthanded goal in the third period.
Riopel has given up only six goals in his last four games.
The win gave the Admirals a 3-1 record in their season-long seven-game home stand. It continues tonight in a rematch with Manchester. Norfolk is 13-7-1 since Jan. 2 in a desperation run to try to make the playoffs.
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The Monarchs have no such problem. The Eastern Conference leaders came into Friday's game 5-1 in their last six.
The Norfolk surge is, in large part, due to its defense.
"We have one style of play," coach Eric Veilleux said. "When we play that way, we don't give them much."
Whitney's surge stems from a meeting with Veilleux when the winger was struggling.
"He wanted to know what he could do better," the coach said. "I sat down with him and told him 'as long as you're getting scoring chances and working hard, that's all you can ask for from yourself. As a coach, that's all I'm asking for.' Sooner or later, things will get better and you will have the production you are looking for. And once he started, he's never stopped."
Scope Arena
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