There’s no hotter team in the ECHL than the Norfolk Admirals: The club has won five consecutive games in its best season in years, attendance is up and a season-high crowd punctuated a successful homestand last weekend.
Norfolk has won nine of its past 10 games heading into Wednesday’s game at Reading. The Admirals (32-19-3-1, 68 points) trail only Adirondack (34-13-4-3, 75 points) in the North Division. Newfoundland (25-23-7-2, 59 points) is in third place.
Norfolk dominated Maine on Saturday, winning 7-3 in the Admirals’ fifth straight victory. The game was played before 6,694 — just 270 fans fewer than last season’s biggest crowd.
But otherwise, the Admirals are surpassing last season’s numbers:
- Norfolk already has surpassed last season’s win total by 11 victories.
- Attendance at Scope this season already has surpassed the entire total for 2022-23.
Before this season, Norfolk had finished last or second-to-last overall in the league since rejoining the ECHL for the 2015-16 season. During that stretch, the Admirals had failed to win more than 30 games in any season.
This season, Norfolk is on track to make its first playoff appearance since rejoining the ECHL. The Admirals’ last league championship was an American Hockey League crown in 2012.
A look at the attendance numbers from the past two seasons:
Admirals by the numbers
This season
Largest home attendance: 6,694 (March 2 vs. Maine Mariners)
Average home attendance: 3,934
Total home attendance: 118,029
Last season
Largest home attendance: 6,964 (April 1, 2023, vs Newfoundland Growlers)
Average home attendance: 3,268
Total home attendance: 117,640
