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[wranglersm]

With the losses last night to Binghamtom and tonight to the Hershey Bears, the Admirals still remain 2 points behind Bridgeport of the Atlantic Division and 2 points out of the playoffs. The Admirals must at least tie the Sound Tigers in points in order to continue playing past April 10. This isn't the first time a sports team has had to rely on other teams in the league to advance to the playoffs, but it hits home a little harder with the Admirals considering that about one month ago the Admirals were only 2 points behind Albany for second place in the division.

It might not seem like such a tall task of winning hockey games, especially when the post season is on the line, but the Admirals have to overcome several obstacles, the first of which is the schedule itself. Norfolk must face third place Wilkes-Barre Scranton on Wednesday and Hershey on Friday and Saturday.

As if that weren't enough, Norfolk has averaged only 1.5 goals a game since their 8-4 win over Adirondack on Mar 19, having been shut out twice and only registering 1 goal in 2 games, a stretch of 7 games with only 2 wins.

Bridgeport's remaining opponents are:

Lowell 37-30-4-6 84pts Last 10 3-5-0-2
Manchester 42-26-3-6 93pts Last 10 8-1-0-1
Hartford 33-32-6-5 77pts Last 10 6-4-0-0

If the Ads, led by recently restored head coach Jim Johnson can string together the wins in the final three games and get help from Lowell, Manchester, and Hartford, there may just be a post-season for the first time for a Tampa Bay AHL affiliate.