Author: Daniel Lavender

Game Recaps December 29, 2015December 30, 2015

Maz-terpiece; Admirals Shutout Griffins 3-0

The Milwaukee Admirals pitched a 3-0 shutout over the Grand Rapids Griffins Tuesday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

A pair of power-play goals in the second period gave the Admirals some nice breathing space but the real story came between the pipes. Marek Mazanec stopped all thirty shots the Griffins labeled on target and earned his first shutout of the season and fifth of his AHL career with the Milwaukee Admirals. He was crucial in the Admirals penalty killing tonight as the Ads denied all four power-plays for the Griffins.

“Our penalty kill was the difference,” said Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. “Our penalty kill, clearly, the best penalty killer is your goaltender. Which it was last night with [Juuse Saros] and then again tonight with [Marek Mazanec]. But the blocked shots – the commitment – especially that last one where we were hemmed in our zone the entire two minutes – all four guys were out there for the entire two minutes. Sticks were great. Their compete level was great. Their commitment was awesome. That was the difference in the game. No question.”

After a dump and chase stylized first period the game received its first goal in the second period. Xavier Ouellet was beaten on a foot race down the left wing by Pontus Åberg, went for the football tackle, and was called for a holding minor. This set the table for more power-play theatrics from a group that scored twice the night prior. Kevin Fiala was stationed low in the right wing, skated in towards goal, unleashed a hard pass between the legs of defenseman Nathan Paetsch, and hit Max Görtz on top of the left wing faceoff circle. The Swede’s quick wrister beat Jared Coreau high blocker side for his seventh goal of the season. Görtz now has a six-game point streak.

“[Max Görtz] is great,” smiled Evason. “He just goes about his business. He’s played on arguably the fourth line, he’s played on the first line, when [Colton Sissons] came back he got bumped to maybe the third line – it doesn’t matter. That’s what our group is all about.”

Then, late in the second period during the midst of a scrambly shift that saw a puck kicking around the Griffins attacking zone, Åberg drew another penalty after taking an Anthony Mantha stick to the chops. If the play leading up to the penalty can be considered scrambly than what unfolded in front of Coreau in net could probably be labeled pinball-esque. The puck was skipping loose, taking shot attempts, getting blocked down, and finally fell back in the right wing faceoff circle for Fiala who unloaded an absolute howitzer of a slap shot that soared into the net for his sixth goal of the season. If Fiala hit that shot any harder he might have gone in the net with the puck. It was a spectacular effort from the nineteen year old.

The Griffins, trailing by two goals, went empty net and extra attacker with 2:30 remaining in regulation. Not too long after that the Admirals buried an empty netter after a Görtz saucer pass picked out Matt White on the left wing in neutral ice. White won the zone to avoid icing, fired, and scored his third goal of the season to cap off the Admirals 3-0 win over the Griffins.

Marek Mazanec was nothing short of brilliant in net. He stopped all thirty shots he faced to record his first shutout of this season and the fifth of his AHL career with the Admirals. He came up huge time and time again in what might be his best performance in net since making his North American pro debut back in the 2013-14 season.

“It kind of doesn’t matter who is in the lineup,” commented Marek Mazanec on the recent run of form for the Admirals. “As long as we stick to the system, and do the right things, we can win every game.”

Ramblings: There were no roster moves made within the organization since last night’s game. On top of that, there wasn’t even a need for the Milwaukee Admirals to alter last night’s roster setup. Tonight’s line combinations: Fiala-Sissons-Gaudreau, Åberg -Reinhart-Payerl, White-Girard-Görtz, Devane-Pendenza-Larraza, Allen-Oligny, Näkyvä-Alm, Noonan-Bartley. Tonight’s scratches were: Trevor Murphy (upper-body), Taylor Aronson (lower-body), Vinny Saponari (healthy), and Cody Bass (upper-body). In 2016 IIHF World Juniors news, Vladislav Kamenev scored a goal and an assist in today’s 4-1 win for Russia over Belarus. Captain Kamenev has 3 points (2 goals, 1 assist) in Russia’s last two games and Russia has been perfect through its opening three-games of the group stage.

Thoughts on tonight’s game? How great was Marek Mazanec in net? Did the Admirals out Griffins the Griffins tonight?

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Scouting December 29, 2015

Griffins: Scouting the Enemy

The last time the Grand Rapids Griffins played in Milwaukee the Admirals were stormtroopers that couldn’t shoot on target and Frédérick Gaudreau could fly. (Photo Credit: Stephanie Moebius)

In Chatterbox, I made mention of ignoring the silly delay that pushed yesterday’s start-time all the way back to 7:35 PM. Let’s not ignore that for a moment and have a little bit of fun at the Chicago Wolves expense.

The Wolves, knowing the Winter Storm was in play for all of yesterday, opted to leave a full thirty-minutes early from Chicago. They arrived in Milwaukee well past 6 PM and the delays were then taken into account. Pre-Game Skate: half hour delay. Opening Puck Drop: thirty-five minute delay.

Now, here is the funny part. The entire time the Wolves were slowly creeping down I-94 in the snow storm the Grand Rapids Griffins were already here in Milwaukee. Today’s opponent was here on time for last night’s game before yesterday’s opponent was. Perhaps it’s that sort of forward thinking and game-planning that is why the Griffins went on a franchise record fifteen game winning streak.

~The Surging Rapids, The Grand Griffins~

The Admirals and Griffins are about to clash twice in a three-day span. Tonight in Milwaukee. Thursday night in Grand Rapids. The Griffins will enter with a record of 17-9-0-1 (35 points). Their 0.648 points percentage has them in third place of the Central Division and fourth place in the Western Conference standings.

Going back into the Griffins fifteen-game winning streak. It was a franchise record for the Griffins. Not only that but it was the third longest winning streak in the AHL since 1992: 2011-12, Norfolk Admirals (28 games)… 2004-05, Philadelphia Phantoms (17 games)… 2015-16, Grand Rapids Griffins (15 games)… 2007-08, Syracuse Crunch (15 games)… 1995-96, Albany River Rats (15 games).

It’s amazing to see how the Griffins record looks at the moment. Because, before that winning streak of their’s started, they were 2-8-0-1 on the season with a 0.136 points percentage. Now, sixteen games later, they’ve upped their points percentage by 0.512. In short, they more than righted their ship after a rough start.

I pose the following question to you that Dave Boehler threw out to Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason last night:

Would you have preferred to play the Grand Rapids Griffins on a sixteen-game winning streak or coming off of a loss as the Admirals are about to?

It’s an interesting question because, with the Griffins finally losing, you wonder how that next game goes after such a long run gets stopped. Will the Griffins rebound right back or is that loss the start of a trend back down to the level of play they started their season off with? Good or bad news for us all. The Admirals are the AHL’s guinea pig tonight and Thursday to find that answer out. Aren’t we lucky? …no? …yeah, I hear you.

~Recapping~

Despite how often the Admirals have seen divisional foes such as Rockford, Chicago, or even Manitoba this season Grand Rapids is a different story. These upcoming games will be the third and fourth tilts of the season between the Admirals and Griffins. So far, it has been all Griffins by a clear margin.

Game 1. Remember when the Admirals had a franchise record winning streak of ten-games? That was awesome! Then some Griffins team showed up in Milwaukee for the first meeting between the two sides this season and clobbered the Admirals 6-0. … It was bad.

Game 2. This was also another game in which the Admirals legitimately could do nothing offensively. If not for an out of body experience for Jared Coreau, thinking he was a defenseman who was going to play a puck away from Félix Girard while his Griffins teammates were on the power-play, it would have been yet another shutout. Instead, the Griffins took claim to a 4-1 win on their home ice. … Again, no bueno mi amigos.

~Who What Now?~

The Griffins leading scorer is Andy Miele who has scored 24 points (6 goals, 18 assists) in 27 games. Against the Admirals this season, Miele is the leading point getter with 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) in 2 games.

It’s perhaps the smallest of silver linings that the Griffins will be without their top goal scorer Eric Tangradi who was recalled by the Detroit Red Wings yesterday. He had produced 22 points (13 goals, 9 assists) in 24 games for the Griffins prior to being called up.

I say that is a small silver lining because it isn’t as if the Griffins are short for scorers. Their team boasts ten other players outside of Tangradi with double-digit points of offense this season. Taking injuries into account, the Admirals counter that by only having seven players with double-digit points entering these games against the Griffins. Grand Rapids has outscored opponents 87-68 on the season.

In net it is probably a safe bet that Mr. “Out Of Body Experience” himself, Coreau, will get the start. As mentioned, he really should have picked up two shutouts from two games against the Admirals. If you take away his blunder that allowed for Girard’s shorthanded goal Coreau has stopped 45/45 shots against the Admirals this season. That’s not too shabby. Coreau’s overall record in net this season is 13-3-1-1 with a 2.30 goals against average and 0.928 save percentage.

Should the Griffins feel the need to throw a curveball at the Admirals they could play Tom McCollum in net. His numbers aren’t exactly bad, 2.53 goals against average and 0.924 save percentage from 10 games, but his record of 4-6-0-0 is eyebrow raising. Perhaps it is just one of those cases of a team playing more confidently in front of one goalie and not the other.

Expectations for tonight’s game? Can the Admirals finally get through the Griffins? What will be the key for the Admirals tonight to keep their own winning streak going?

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Chatterbox December 29, 2015December 29, 2015

Chatterbox, Vol. 102

The Milwaukee Admirals 4-1 win over the Chicago Wolves was another good step forward. It’s a four game winning streak for the Admirals now. They’ve won four-straight out of five games this season in the Amtrak Rivalry. And the Admirals have won eight from their last eleven games. Through that span I don’t think there was a better wire-to-wire performance from them than last night.

Ignore that silly delay from the Wolves and simply acknowledge the game itself for a moment. The Admirals hopped out of the gate, scored an early goal, allowed a goal seven-minutes later, and answered right back with a goal of their own fifty-four seconds later. The Admirals would never allow another goal. They continued to play a physical game that appeared to get under the skin of the Wolves and, dare I say it, would Wolves the Wolves.

With the game being as physical and chippy as it was there were some unnecessary penalties taken from both sides but look at the results. The Admirals went 2/5 on the power-play. The Wolves went 0/5 on the power-play. Not only was that Admirals penalty kill perfect on the night they barely allowed shots on goal – much less quality shots. If a lengthy bus ride from Chicago to Milwaukee that delays a hockey game isn’t enough of a mental pulverizer I have to imagine seeing chance after chance on the man-advantage, coming and going without a clear chance to score, is.

I spoke plenty late Sunday night on the Admirals turnaround from a season ago when it comes to how impressive the season-to-season difference has been for this team adapting to roster changes stretching the team to the limit. But what happens when this Admirals team, which was already on a solid run, starts getting bigger pieces back? We all got a nice look at just that when team captain Colton Sissons returned to the lineup last night. He didn’t miss a beat. The team’s leading scorer and top line center in Sissons absence, Frédérick Gaudreau, moved back out on the wing to accompany Sissons and the surging Kevin Fiala. That line combination was fantastic and also stuck together on the power-play to deliver the Admirals two power-play goals.

If the Sissons factor wasn’t enough purely on that front than I turn your head to how fun it was watching the Admirals penalty kill purely from the forward roles. Sissons and Gaudreau were paired up. Félix Girard and Joe Pendenza were paired up. And Max Reinhart and Adam Payerl were paired up. That is a lot of trust in the forwards to play responsibly on defense and also cheat, as the Admirals and their AHL best 8 shorthanded goals would suggest, to attack offensively on the penalty kill. Sissons is a great faceoff worker. Girard has been loading up on defensive zone faceoffs in the absence of Cody Bass. The depth of this team and quality of this team down the middle was given a massive boost in all aspects of the game by seeing the captain return. And the scoreline kind of sums that up a lot more concisely than I care to attempt.

Last season the early Swedish sensation appeared to be Pontus Åberg when he scored 5 goals through the month of December. There were some pretty flashy ones yet his game sort of stumbled and it’s taken him until his sophomore season right now to really elevate his game above and beyond that mark. So what of this season’s Swedish freshman, Max Görtz? If you aren’t keeping better tabs on him he has been phenomenal. He currently has a five-game point streak in which he has scored 9 points (3 goals, 6 assists). His month of December has seen him produce 12 points in 11 games. His October and November were a little on the slow side but it appears he, like Fiala, is really picking slack up as the Admirals roster has thinned out. So, basically, just what the doctor ordered.

Another individual who I feel is worthy of a ‘shout out’ is Jimmy Oligny. He was everywhere last night. It seemed as if anytime there was a scrum that needed to be dealt with or a hard-nosed defensive play to disrupt the Wolves the number #47 and a Nordic beard straight out of Skyrim was involved. Oligny’s work rate is yet another small example of the current state of the Admirals. Everyone is stepping up and playing stellar hockey. Even the guys who may have been overlooked last season are shining.

It wouldn’t be fair to hop into the post-game audio yet without tipping a cap to Admirals goaltending once again, either. In his last twelve starts Juuse Saros has earned eleven wins. He has thirteen wins and three losses this season with a 2.41 goals against average, 0.919 save percentage, and shutout. The next closest rookie netminder to Saros in AHL wins this season is Tristan Jarry of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins with eight wins. Saros only trails league leaders Peter Budaj (Ontario Reign) and Michael Leighton (Rockford IceHogs) by two wins to take a share of the league lead with fifteen wins. Saros is 13 years younger than Budaj and 14 years younger than Leighton.

After the game I joined Dave Boehler and Mario Tirabassi to speak with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. I then chatted with Sissons, Görtz, and Gaudreau. Here is what they had to say after the game.

Comments on the comments? Do you notice any stylistic changes to the Milwaukee Admirals approach to games this season as opposed to last season that has allowed for better success?

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Game Recaps December 28, 2015December 28, 2015

Well Worth The Wait; Ads Win 4-1

The Milwaukee Admirals won 4-1 against the Chicago Wolves Monday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

This game started more than thirty-minutes late due to the weather impeding the Chicago Wolves travel. Once things finally got started the Admirals took the lead fast and really controlled the action from start to finish to claim their fourth-straight win.

“It doesn’t matter of it’s a 10:30 (AM) game, it doesn’t matter if it’s a night game, or afternoon game. When the puck is dropped our group has been ready to play,” commented Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason after the game. “It’s a credit to the group – the leadership within the room. [The delay] had no effect.”

This game wouldn’t officially start until after 7:35 PM due to a travel delay that impeded the Chicago Wolves from arriving to the building on schedule. Thankfully, the Wolves’ minds might have still been on the bus because just past two-minutes into this game the Admirals were on the board. An Admirals keep in along the blue line was forced up towards Max Görtz in the high slot and the Swede smacked a backhander through net front traffic and on towards Jordan Binnington. The puck hit off Matt White’s stick and dropped down in front of Félix Girard who was able to get the puck past Binnington after collecting his own rebound to score his fourth goal of the season.

It looked to be a really short fight but it wasn’t penalized that way. Jamie Devane and Cody Beach got into it after a big hit by Beach in front of the Admirals bench. Devane landed a solid shot that appeared to hurt Beach bad enough to put him on his wallet. Devane was given a double minor for roughing while Beach went down towards the Wolves locker room tunnel with a single rough minor. The Admirals penalty kill off of this incident didn’t allow a shot on goal.

Sadly, as great as the Admirals penalty kill was, the Wolves scored moments after their power-play expired to level the game at 1-1. Evan Trupp undressed Kristian Näkyvä out of his skates with a great deke out of the left wing pocket. After getting past Näkyvä – Trupp was able to lay off a pass for Yannick Veilleux who scored on a backhander over the glove of Juuse Saros for his seventh goal of the season.

Less than a minute later the Admirals were back out in front with a first period lead. Conor Allen jumped up into the attack from the blueline, carried the puck deep around Binnington’s net, and froze four Wolves players in the process. All the burgundy sweaters sat back and watched as Allen’s pass before going behind the cage went square to Görtz as he was all alone between the faceoff circles. His forehander beat Binnington on the glove side for the Swede’s sixth goal of the season.

The second period finally saw the Admirals get a power-play opportunity. Not only that, but it saw their captain mark his return to Milwaukee with a goal. A fantastic tic-tac-toe passing play went Frédérick Gaudreau in the low right wing, to Kevin Fiala in the trapezoid, to Colton Sissons low right wing faceoff circle with a one-time blast past Binnington to score his fourth goal of the season. It was Sissons first game back with the Admirals since 11/24/15 when he scored a goal on home ice against the San Antonio Rampage.

“It’s just business as usual,” said Admirals team captain Colton Sissons of his return to the AHL. “It’s just hockey. No matter if I’m up in Nashville in the NHL or down here. I don’t try to change anything about my game I just kind of do my thing. It usually works out if I don’t get too worked up no matter what situation I’m in.”

During the third period, Jacob Doty was whistled down for a holding minor when Joe Pendenza raced past him on offensive zone entry down the right wing. This gave the Admirals yet another power-play chance and another which they’d cash in from. Fiala stickhandled off the right wing wall and into the faceoff circle. Chris Butler was stuck in place. Binnington was caught being mesmerized. And Fiala snapped a shot high glove for his fifth goal of the season.

With all said and done the young Finnish goaltender collected yet another win to his name this season. Saros has won eleven of his last twelve starts and has thirteen wins on the season. He stopped 35/36 tonight in net for the Admirals to help secure the 4-1 win.

Ramblings: Prior to tonight’s game the Nashville Predators activated Mike Fisher from injured reserve and reassigned Colton Sissons to the Milwaukee Admirals. Vladislav Kamenev scored a goal in Russia’s 6-4 win over the host country Finland today in the second game of the group stage in the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship. Tonight’s game was delayed thirty-five minutes due to a travel delay for the Chicago Wolves. Tonight’s line combinations were: Fiala-Sissons-Gaudreau, Åberg -Reinhart-Payerl, White-Girard-Görtz, Devane-Pendenza-Larraza, Allen-Oligny, Näkyvä-Alm, Noonan-Bartley. Tonight’s scratches were: Trevor Murphy (upper-body), Taylor Aronson (lower-body), Vinny Saponari (healthy), and Cody Bass (upper-body). Tonight’s attendance, despite the awful weather, was a rowdy 4,443 – who were all rewarded with special vouchers to attend an Admirals game for free later this season as a ‘Thank You’ for putting up with the weather and start time delay.

Thoughts on tonight’s game? Were you able to attend this game? How great did Colton Sissons look in his first game back with the Admirals?

Be sure to follow Admirals Roundtable on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and see our photos on Instagram.

News December 28, 2015

Colton Sissons Reassigned to Milwaukee

The Nashville Predators have activated Mike Fisher from injured reserve and reassigned Colton Sissons to the Milwaukee Admirals. Now all that will remain to be seen is whether or not the weather will impede Sissons ability to join the Admirals for tonight’s home game against the Chicago Wolves. It would be the first time since 11/24/15 that the Admirals had their team captain back on the ice.

Press Release via Nashville Predators:

Nashville, Tenn. (December 28, 2015) – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced Monday that the club has reassigned forward Colton Sissons to Milwaukee (AHL) and activated forward Mike Fisher from Injured Reserve.

Fisher, 35 (6/5/80), has missed the past 11 games after sustaining a lower-body injury on Dec. 1 versus Arizona. The 6-1, 216-pound center has seven points (5g-2a) in 24 games in 2015-16, and was riding a three-game goal streak prior to his injury.

Sissons has played more games with the Predators this season than he has the Admirals. In 19 NHL games he has produced 2 points (1 goal, 1 assist) with a plus/minus rating of +7 and 5 penalty minutes. With the Admirals this season he has played 12 games, scored 8 points (3 goals, 5 assists), has an even plus/minus rating, and 16 penalty minutes.

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Scouting December 28, 2015

Wolves: Scouting the Enemy

The Milwaukee Admirals were stationary yesterday. With points percentage being what dictates things in the AHL these days they have the Iowa Wild to thank for pushing them into first place of the Central Division and second place of the Western Conference standings. The Wild took down the Rockford IceHogs 3-1 yesterday evening. To boot, the Wild also shot down a certain Chicago Wolves team 2-1 the day prior. It feels as if it’s darn near the first back-to-back wins for Iowa since they were named the Chops. Kidding aside, cheers for all that you do down there Iowa.

~The Streak Is Over~

Before plunging into tonight’s game there is another bit of news worth touching on from yesterday. The Grand Rapids Griffins’ fifteen game winning streak is officially over. The Griffins lost 3-2 on the road to the Lake Erie Monsters to finally see their franchise record winning streak snapped. When their winning streak began the Griffins were 2-8-0-1 on the season with a 0.136 points percentage. Now, sixteen games later, they are up to a 0.648 points percentage.

The Griffins run is officially tied for the third longest winning streak in the AHL since 1992: 2011-12, Norfolk Admirals (28 games)… 2004-05, Philadelphia Phantoms (17 games)… 2015-16, Grand Rapids Griffins (15 games)… 2007-08, Syracuse Crunch (15 games)… 1995-96, Albany River Rats (15 games).

~Amtrak Rivals~

As I spoke about briefly when we last faced the Wolves – things just haven’t been going that well for them and it’s all happening with core players of the team in camp. They enter tonight’s game with a record of 14-11-1-2 (31 points). Their 0.554 points percentage has them in sixth place of the Central Division and eighth in the Western Conference standings.

The Wolves month of December to this point has been a mixed bag: 4-5-0-1 record. Before dropping their last game to the woeful/surging Wild the Amtrak Rivals, like the Admirals at the moment, were on a three-game winning streak of their own. They beat the Texas Stars 4-3 in a shootout, the IceHogs 4-3 in overtime, and then the Manitoba Moose 4-1. All those games were at home and it wasn’t until that Iowa game where the homestand came to a crashing end.

The same ol’ three musketeers are leading the Wolves in scoring as has been the case most of this season: André Benoît, 23 points (3 goals, 20 assists)… Ty Rattie, 21 points (9 goals, 12 assists)… and Pat Cannone, 20 points (8 goals, 12 assists).

On the roster move front, the St. Louis Blues flipped defenseman Petteri Lindbohm down to the Wolves while recalling defenseman Joel Edmundson and forward Jordan Caron back on 12/20/15. Caron had scored a pair of goals in three-games against the Admirals this season.

In net, things are a little rocky for last season’s standout Jordan Binnington. This season he has a 6-4-2-2 record, 2.64 goals against average, and a 0.904 save percentage. He has lost the last two-games he’s started against the Admirals after winning eight consecutive games in the Amtrak Rivalry.

Expectations for tonight’s game? Would you prefer to see Marek Mazanec carry over his performance from Saturday’s game into tonight or should the Admirals put Juuse Saros in net and decide after the game how they want to work tomorrow’s tilt with the Griffins? How concerned are you with the Admirals defense so banged up at the moment?

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Feature, News December 27, 2015December 27, 2015

The Turnaround

The Milwaukee Admirals, for all the injuries and roster moves that have stretched the team thin, are currently on a three-game winning streak with seven wins from a ten-game span. Their record at the moment is 20-9-1-0 (41 points) with a 0.683 points percentage through 30 games played. Last season, with the same amount of games, the Admirals record was 15-11-1-3 (34 points) for a 0.567 points percentage.

To see this year’s Admirals team not being flustered very much by all that’s happened so far is simply impressive. Per Elite Prospects, the Admirals were the second youngest team in the AHL to start this season trailing only the St. John’s IceCaps. The youth hasn’t felt like inexperience. A solid chunk of this team experienced the pains of what last season brought and so many of those first-year players are excelling this season.

Frédérick Gaudreau has been nothing short of incredible for the Admirals and the exclamation point comes when looking at the year-to-year difference he’s shown. Last season, as an undrafted free agent signing by the Admirals, he split time between the AHL and ECHL and produced a combined 18 points (9 goals, 9 assists) in 57 games for the Admirals and Cyclones. This season he has stayed up at the AHL level all season long, started on the wing before getting lined up at center, and leads the Admirals in scoring: 21 points (9 goals, 12 assists) in 29 games. He has already matched last season’s overall goal total and has more power-play goals for the Admirals this season than he did overall in Milwaukee all-last season.

Then there is possibly the forgotten Swede in the pipeline by the name of Pontus Åberg. Yes, Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson are great Swedish wingers in the organization but Åberg is playing the best hockey of his pro career this season and he’s plenty of the reason why the Admirals have stayed afloat during this roster squeeze: 11 points (8 goals, 3 assists) in 29 games. Half of his goals have been game-winning goals. Three of his goals were first-goals. He’s been both an igniter and a finisher this season.

This all is said without simply tipping the cap to the overall depth that has shined, as well. Félix Girard has been a workhorse all season long and has had no problem playing alongside the Manchester Monarchs PTO contractees Matt White and Zac Larraza. Max Reinhart has provided a veteran-like touch for the team down the middle while Colton Sissons is up with Nashville and Cody Bass is out with injury. Adam Payerl went from pre-season camp invitee on loan from Cincinnati, to earning standard AHL contract with the Admirals, and has picked up 17 points (5 goals, 12 assists) in 28 games.

Oh yeah. There’s that Kevin Fiala kid. He’s starting to finally look relaxed after a rough start to this season. While he was held scoreless these last two-games in Rockford his month of December has impressed: 8 points (3 goals, 5 assists) in 11 games. More than anything else he appears to have his explosiveness back. He’s beating defenders with skill and pace. And adds a much needed threat for the Admirals as so many of those sorts of players were all called up to Nashville.

Defensively things have also been different from one season to the next. Well, when I say defensively I kind of mean offensive productivity from the defense. In 2014-15 the Admirals defense produced 127 points (16 goals, 111 assists) among eleven different players. This season Admirals defensemen have already amassed 53 points (13 goals, 40 assists) in 30 games among the exact same amount of defensemen as last season. In better perspective, the Admirals are up to 1.76 points per game from defensemen this season as opposed to 1.67 last season. They’re only 3 goals from matching last season’s total.

Entering this season it was going to be a fascinating storyline to watch play-out as Marek Mazanec faced in-house competition in the form of Juuse Saros. The hype of Saros making the North American leap this season was huge. The 20-year old Finn has met it well. And, by the same trade, Mazanec has been far improved this season while competing for time in net. Last season the Czech had a 2.76 goals against average (GAA), 0.900 save percentage (SV%), and a rough 0.565 shootout percentage (SO%) while losing nine of twelve games that went to overtime (including losing four of four games in the shootout). This season Mazanec has a 2.68 GAA, 0.910 SV%, and an 0.875 SO% while winning four of five overtime games (including winning all three shootout games he has played).

It feels like ages since the Admirals had core players on the ice. Their team captain, Sissons, has played more games in the NHL (19) than AHL (12). Arvidsson, last season’s leading scorer and quickly found himself leading in that department when he returned to Milwaukee, has also now played more games in the NHL (17) than AHL (14). Not to mention, Miikka Salomäki started the season with the Admirals only to play 4 games and never come back from Nashville.

This season really has been a time when the coaching staff of Dean Evason, Stan Drulia, and Scott Ford have all really earned a pat on the back as well as a respective tip of the cap to so many contributors that have stepped above and beyond expectations so far to yield team results. The details are much more crisp than last season. Rarely it seems the Admirals are their own worst enemy costing themselves games. Momentum shifts don’t overwhelm the Admirals anymore it feels as if they ride the wave and adapt to how a game is being played seamlessly. That’s a true sign of a team. And, right now, it’s being performed with bits a pieces moving in and out of the lineup on recall or professional try-out basis.

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Game Recaps December 26, 2015December 27, 2015

Admirals Shootout Magic Keeps Delivering; win 2-1 in Rockford

(Photo Credit: Rockford IceHogs // Flickr)

The Milwaukee Admirals won 2-1 in a shootout on the road against the Rockford IceHogs Saturday night at the BMO Harris Bank Center.

This wasn’t the run and gun style of hockey the Admirals have been caught up in as of late. Instead it was a defensive duel with both Marek Mazanec and Michael Leighton coming up big in net for their respective teams. This game would push all the way to a shootout where the Admirals would claim their fifth shootout victory from five attempts this season and third shootout win this month. No team in the AHL has more shootout wins than the Admirals.

It wasn’t quite the first period you might have been expecting for the IceHogs. Having lost on home ice to the Admirals 6-2 prior to the Christmas break you’d have thought a fired up IceHogs team would be looking to storm out of the blocks early and set the tempo. That didn’t happen at all and it took 11:40 of ice time before the hosts even registered a shot on goal.

As the first period was ending, Vinny Hinostroza was tagged with a double-minor for roughing after trying to get after Conor Allen only to have Joe Pendenza answer the bell. No punches were exchanged but it meant the Admirals would have an abbreviated power-play that overlapped into the second period with Kristian Näkyvä set to exit the box five-seconds into the sandwich stanza.

Within the first minute of the second period the Admirals would cash in from Hinostroza’s outburst with yet another power-play goal for Frédérick Gaudreau. As a puck battle ensued in the left wing pocket – Vinny Saponari was able to push free over to Gaudreau who was all alone in the high slot. His wrister was snapped on net faster than Michael Leighton appeared to know how to deal with it as the veteran goaltender stayed standing up as the puck flew past him. Gaudreau now has nine goals this season and has scored six of them from the power-play.

The IceHogs started to dictate the pace from that point forward in the second period. After winning an in-zone faceoff they would level the game up at 1-1. The Admirals were left puck watching when Marko Dano glided along the right wing. As Dano was puck carrying Chris DeSousa skated backwards from traffic and to the back post of Marek Mazanec. No one picked him up. Dano’s pass went clean to him. And DeSousa had his third goal of the season.

A late power-play from a Max Reinhart crosschecking minor gave the IceHogs a chance to steal the win with 2:04 remaining in regulation. Mazanec would come up huge during the Admirals penalty kill and the game went into overtime. Similarly, the Admirals would get a power-play chance of their own during the three-on-three overtime frame and would also see a chance to end the game go for naught. A shootout was required.

Kevin Fiala was the first man up for the shootout and his now trademark move of swinging out from the right wing, stickhanding the goaltender to sleep while skating in towards the slot, and snapping a forehand shot worked once more. Garret Ross followed up for the IceHogs by missing the net entirely on a wild backhander attempt. Gaudreau was next up and he took a straight forward approach, skating straight down the middle and firing, to score past Leighton and give the Admirals match point in the shootout. Up stepped Hinostroza who skated very wide to the right wing, slowed down, and attempted to check back with a shot low to the blocker side of Mazanec but the Czech netminder made the save with his left toe to provide the Admirals with their third straight win.

This season the Admirals have been dazzling when it comes to competing in the shootout. They’re a perfect five for five in the shootout this season and, in this current month of December, they have won more shootout games than all of last season with three wins. The Admirals went two wins from nine shootouts last season.

Another area of the shotout which has been remarkable has been the goaltending. Between Mazanec and Juuse Saros the Admirals goaltending duo have a 0.938 save percentage in the shootout. There has only been one shootout goal allowed by the Admirals from sixteen total attempts while its own shooters are coming in at a 0.500 clip scoring eight out of sixteen attempts: Fiala and Gaudreau are a combined 7/10 from shootout attempts this season.

Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals last played on Monday there were a pair of roster moves made. Petter Granberg’s two week (fourteen consecutive days) conditioning assignment was completed on Tuesday and he was returned to the Nashville Predators. Early this morning the Admirals recalled defenseman Garrett Noonan from the Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL). Tonight’s line combinations were: Fiala-Gaudreau-Görtz, Åberg-Reinhart-Payerl, Larraza-Girard-White, Devane-Pendenza-Saponari, Allen-Oligny, Näkyvä-Alm, Noonan-Bartley. Tonight’s scratches were: Cody Bass (upper-body), Trevor Murphy (upper-body), and Taylor Aronson (lower-body injury). Tonight marked the return of both Conor Allen and Johan Alm. Allen had missed the previous seven straight games due to an upper-body injury while Alm, who was out for eight straight games due to a lower-body injury, missed the last five-games as a healthy scratch. Aronson was injured late in Monday’s game and, according to Aaron Sims, will be out three-to-five weeks with a lower-body injury. Earlier today the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championships kicked off in Finland. Vladislav Kamenev, team captain of Russia, earned a 2-1 shootout win of his own over the Czech Republic. The Grand Rapids Griffins won 7-3 tonight on the road against the Lake Erie Monsters to push their winning streak to fifteen-games.

Thoughts on tonight’s game? Once again, this depleted Admirals squad showed that it can not only play a different style of hockey but match up against one of the better teams in the AHL. Impressed by all that’s going on right now? Mazanec’s shootout numbers in the past have been rough. Is he starting to turn a corner for the better this season?

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News December 26, 2015

Admirals Recall Garrett Noonan

Ahead of tonight’s game in Rockford the Milwaukee Admirals have recalled defenseman Garrett Noonan from the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL.

This move doesn’t necessarily come off as much of a surprise. The Admirals defense right now is rather banged up and the numbers aren’t quite there as a result. Conor Allen has missed the last seven-games due to an upper-body injury. Trevor Murphy was clocked with an illegal check to the head by Ryan Hartman four-minutes into the Admirals’ last game and did not return to the ice. Johan Alm missed eight-games straight due to a lower-body injury, returned to game action for a pair of games, but has since been scratched from the last five straight games. It might be that Alm was scratched as Petter Granberg played out his conditioning assignment from the Nashville Predators or it could be, with Granberg returning to Nashville and Noonan now with the Admirals, that Alm’s lower-body injury is still lingering on.

Noonan has been enjoying a strong season at the ECHL level in Cincinnati. He has produced 12 points (3 goals, 9 assists) in 20 games with a plus/minus rating of +6 and 19 penalty minutes. He has played in a total of five-games with the Admirals so far this season, has yet to produce a point of offense, and is a +2 player.

For a bit of fun, considering he was a recent guest on their show, I suggest listening to Noonan chat with our friends over on Penalty Box Radio right here to hear about his time in the ECHL this season.

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Scouting December 26, 2015

IceHogs: Scouting the Enemy

This is Marek Mazanec. Marek Mazanec made this save. Marek Mazanec can do anything. (Photo Credit: Greg Hamil)

First and foremost, I hope you all had a lovely Christmas yesterday with plenty of Milwaukee Admirals themed presents being handed out left and right. Today is Boxing Day and what better way to celebrate than with a hockey game that might well feature such an activity?

When we last left off the Admirals beat down the Rockford IceHogs on the road 6-2. That came on the heels of the Admirals losing by that same margin in Milwaukee to the IceHogs just over a week ago. Sandwiched between those games was the 7-5 roller coaster win by the Admirals over the Manitoba Moose.

If we go back to the previous meeting between the Admirals and IceHogs in Milwaukee I was left with the simple recapping of the following:

I was almost not even going to tap back into last night’s game. Why? Because I feel as if the scoreline says enough. It was bad. It was very much the not good. And more bad things that I could write about.

The positive to last night’s game comes in the form of today. There is a game today and a mission to be had. The Manitoba Moose have seemingly had the Admirals number this season and especially in Milwaukee. If the Admirals lose badly last night and win today? Whatever. It’s the ups and downs of a hockey season. The Admirals can shoot for payback Monday night in Rockford. If the Admirals lose again today? That’s when the real concerns start to creep in. That’s when the ugly head of doubt shows up and reminds the Admirals that they could be in-store for two-more hefty defeats at the hands of the IceHogs in the next two-games to go on a four-game skid. They can’t afford to do that. Not one bit.

So don’t stay stuck in the mud where last night’s game fell to pieces. Focus on what is directly in front of you. The Admirals need a bounce back performance. History has shown that this season, in games where they lost while allowing six or more goals, that they can and have come back strong: two wins from two opportunities. Today is chance number three to bounce back after allowing six or more goals in a losing effort. Time to bounce back.

While it wasn’t necessarily the cleanest bounce back? The Admirals stuck together as a group and won a track meet against the Moose. Losing to them yet again on home ice would have been a tougher pill to swallow than the previous loss to the IceHogs. Plus, it would have setup back-to-back defeats with two road games in Rockford. The Admirals took care of the Moose at home, tightened their game up much better, and then handed the IceHogs a 6-2 whooping on home ice of their own.

I’m sure the IceHogs mentality could be similar to that of the Admirals when they were rocked as they were. After all, I feel the last game could pretty much be summed up in one-play. The IceHogs are trailing 3-0 late in the second period, they catch a great break down the right wing with Daniel Paille whistling a shot past Marek Mazanec and off the crossbar, the puck ricocheted ahead to push the Admirals forward, and then Taylor Aronson scored a slap shot from the right point on the ensuing counter attack. That’s a nasty bit of bad luck and, for all the pressure the IceHogs poured on in the third period, the game was pushed way out of reach already. Their objective, even if they sat and stewed over it during the Christmas break, is to forget Monday’s game and get back to the same style of hockey that had the Admirals sputtering in place previously.

This objective for the IceHogs of course comes with news that players will be unavailable. The aforementioned Paille was loaned to Team Canada for use in the 2015 Spengler Cup. They will also be without Ryan Hartman after the league deemed fit to suspend him for three-games for his illegal check to the head of Trevor Murphy. You can watch the incident here. After the game, Hartman had the following to say of the hit:

“It’s tough putting your team down five-minutes to start the game. It’s not how you want to start the game. That’s my fault and I’ve got to take responsibility for that.” ~Ryan Hartman

My breakdown of the Hartman-Murphy incident is pretty short and sweet. Murphy had his back turned as he played a puck up the boards. Hartman saw him the entire way in with Murphy’s #8 visible plain a day. Hartman aimed his hit high. He finished his check to the head. And well, congratulations Hartman, you earned the game misconduct and three-game suspension you were apparently looking for.

Knowing that the AHL served justice on the matter makes me feel like that incident should be in the back mirror for tonight. If Hartman were in the lineup it might be a different story. Perhaps that game on January 3rd in Rockford will see raised aggression levels taken towards Hartman but I also wouldn’t be surprised if the Admirals simply stuck to their game and looked for the win instead of an eye for an eye. Tonight? The Admirals want to push for a three-game winning streak. The IceHogs want to rebound.

~Bits and Bobs~

The IceHogs enter tonight’s game with a record of 18-7-2-2 (40 points). Their 0.690 points percentage currently sees them on top of the Central Division. An Admirals win in regulation would change the divisional standing tonight. The IceHogs have dropped their last two-games (0-1-1-0) while the Admirals have won two-straight games in regulation while outscoring their opponent 13-7.

A key player to watch out for in tonight’s game will be IceHogs forward Jeremy Morin. Not only is Morin leading the team in scoring, 20 points (9 goals, 11 assists), but he has scored a goal in four consecutive games. That means he has lit up the Admirals twice after starting the season series out by not recording a point of offense in three straight games.

While goaltending these last two games has been a mixed bag it’s worth looking at the IceHogs’ workhorse in net, Michael Leighton, and his numbers in December. He has made six starts and one relief appearance while recording a solid 0.914 save percentage yet a not so solid 3.22 goals against average. What that means is that this man has been facing a ton of shots on goal and the IceHogs defense isn’t doing enough to take the heat off of him. For comparison’s sake, Mazanec has made one less start in December but has faced a whopping 100 shots on goal less than Leighton. Even if Mazanec made two starts to compensate the difference you’d be hard pressed to see the Admirals allow that gap in two-games.

Expectations for tonight’s game? Would it be in the Admirals best interest to play really defensive knowing the IceHogs should be coming out of the blocks hard tonight?

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