By TRIS WYKES
The Virginian-Pilot
The Norfolk Admirals had hoped to sell out Friday’s game with Bridgeport at Scope, an evening the team is designating as “Pack the House Night.”
But Admirals vice president Pat Dunn said Tuesday that it doesn’t appear as if the 8,555 seats available for hockey will be filled, despite a determined effort by the team’s front-office staff.
“Sales started strong but have been quiet in the last week,’’ Dunn wrote in an e-mail. “Eight thousand would have been nice, but we will take 7,000, and we’re excited about the game.’’
Dunn said about 4,500 tickets have been sold , and he hopes to boost that to 5,000 by 5 p.m. Friday. He’s optimistic that ticket sales from that time forward, known as “walk-ups,’’ could add another 2,000 fans.
Tickets for Friday’s game are available at a discounted rate of $10 by calling the Admirals’ offices at 640-1212 by noon Friday.
The team is contributing $2 from each discounted ticket sold to Special Olympics Virginia. Tickets purchased through the Scope box office or Ticketmaster are available at the usual range of $11-$16.
Because of waiver limit, Cullen to stay in Norfolk
Norfolk center Mark Cullen may be one of the AHL’s best players , but his chances of another promotion to the parent Chicago Blackhawks are apparently negligible.
The Blackhawks kept Cullen, who’s tied with Binghamton’s Denis Hamel for ninth in the AHL with 67 points, on their roster for nine games this season. If he plays a 10th game with them this winter, he would have to clear NHL waivers to return to Norfolk.
So Cullen has been told he’s in the minors to stay this winter, because the Blackhawks don’t want to risk losing him.
“He was disappointed and it was a difficult decision,’’ Chicago coach Trent Yawney told reporters recently. “But we have to envision the big picture. We know he can play at this level and to eliminate him from our farm team would leave a big hole. To bring him back now wouldn’t accomplish anything.”
Laing’s injury may not be as bad as first thought
The severity of the facial injury suffered by Admirals wing Quintin Laing remained uncertain Tuesday.
Coach Mike Haviland originally said it was feared that Laing had broken a bone beneath his eye during a game Saturday in Lowell, Mass., and would be out at least four weeks.
However, Norfolk general manager Al MacIsaac said in a Tuesday e-mail that “Laing’s injury appears to be less severe than previously indicated by the Lowell doctors.’’
MacIsaac added that he expected Laing to undergo surgery this week and that a more accurate prognosis would come after the procedure.
Hamilton’s trip hits snag as bus hits team’s plane
The Admirals play the final contest in an 11-game, 19-day road trip tonight, but at least they haven’t suffered the recent fate of the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs.
Hamilton’s charter flight to Cleveland last week to play the Barons ended when the bus dispatched to pick them up on the Cleveland airport tarmac hit the plane while the Bulldogs were still aboard.
“Everybody was up putting on their jackets and getting ready to get off the plane and all of a sudden the plane got jarred,’’ Hamilton radio announcer Derek Willis told the Hamilton Observer. “Some of the guys at the back of the plane came up ad told us we’d been hit by a bus.’’
The end of one of the plane’s wings punched through the bus’ windshield, but the driver was unhurt. The players milled about on the tarmac taking pictures while they waited for another bus.
A spokesperson for the charter company estimated the damage at “a couple hundred thousand dollars.’’
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