Admirals hold off Albany in shootout

By Jim Hodges, Correspondent

NORFOLK

It hardly seemed fair.

Admirals goalie Jaroslav Janus had spent the last

1:20 of overtime as a duck, downrange in a shooting gallery, and now he had to face whatever Albany could send at him one-on-one.

Jacob Micflikier tried in the shootout. Janus flicked his shot away with a glove. Drayson Bowman tried. Pad save by Janus.

Chris Terry and Jamie McBain found success, but Janus' teammates Justin Keller, Blair Jones, Matt Fornataro and Mitch Fadden had little trouble at the other end of the ice, scoring against Albany goalie Justin Pogge to earn a 4-2 shootout advantage and a 3-2 win Friday at Scope.

"I like shootouts, really," said Janus, who saved 26 of 28 Albany shots in regulation and overtime. "I wouldn't say I'd like one every game, but I prepare for them every day in practice."

He managed to get the Admirals into a shootout by thwarting seven Albany shots in overtime. The Admirals had but one.

It was a stark reversal of a second period in which the Admirals outshot Albany 19-3, 19-1 in the first 18 minutes. They got goals from Adam Hall and Keller in taking a 2-1 lead while playing shorthanded.

During the afternoon, Tampa Bay called up Paul Szczechura, leaving the Admirals 11 forwards to play against Albany.

Twelve is the usual number.

"It shows the character of this team, to be able to focus in adversity, losing (Mark) Parrish. (Brandon) Bochenski and Szczechura (in recent callups to the Lightning)," said Hall, who tied the game at 1-1 by taking a pass from Dana Tyrell that caromed into Hall's chest when the puck was deflected by Albany's Zack FitzGerald.

The puck dropped to the ice, and Hall swept it between Pogge's legs into the net.

Later in the period, Keller scored on a shot from the blue line that caromed off the shin pad of the beleaguered FitzGerald and past Pogge for a 2-1 lead.

Mitch Fritz, wearing an "A" as an alternate captain, also highlighted the period with a punch-out with Albany's Nicolas Blanchard, after Blanchard blasted the Admirals Scott Jackson into the boards behind his goal.

Fritz spent the rest of the second period and most of the third period in the penalty box. But he also played a subtle role on the ice.

"I spotted Mitch Fritz on three different lines in the second period, and every time he was on the ice he helped generate a scoring chance," said Admirals interim coach Leigh Mendelson, who is 4-2 in his new position.

"Everybody got excited about the fight, when he came to help a teammate, but he was a catalyst on the ice, too."

McBain tied things 2-2 26 seconds into the third period, firing a shot from long range that Janus acknowledged he should have handled.

"I got even at the end of the game, I think," he said.

That he did, helping the Admirals move to within a point of getting even with Albany for second place in the AHL East.

"This is a huge win, an important win," Hall said.