Author: Daniel Lavender

News December 17, 2015

Q&A with Jeremy Gover

This is Viktor Arvidsson wearing a Milwaukee Admirals uniform. This might not happen again for a long time if he continues performing so well with the Nashville Predators. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)

The Milwaukee Admirals faced the Chicago Wolves on Tuesday night. Later tonight it’ll be time for the parent clubs to duke it out. The Nashville Predators are playing on the road against the St. Louis Blues. To get some insight on how things have been lately for the Predators I reached out to the great Jeremy Gover of 102.5 The Game (ESPN Nashville).

~Govertime~

Admirals Roundtable: The Nashville Predators 2015-16 campaign hasn’t quite lived up to all that happened last season. What do you see that is different or causing some of these struggles this season?

Jeremy Gover: The struggles of this 2015-16 team are not due to lack of effort or lack of talent. Do they need a true number one center in order to compete for the Cup? Absolutely. But the current struggles that has them 4-7-3 in their last 14 and without back-to-back wins since November 17 has to do with one thing: bad bounces. Rinne has played well, they have outshot their opponent in nearly every one of those 13 games and some teams they’ve just thoroughly outplayed but didn’t get the win. The bottom line is there are ebb’s and flow’s during each NHL season. Heck, it’s 82 games long for crying out loud. Last year, they went on a tear in the first 60 games never having lost back-to-back games in regulation. Then, in March and April, they struggled. This season, it appears as if they’re going through that slump in November and December. And, if you’re a Preds fan, you’d much rather struggle now as opposed to down the stretch.

AR: It was a lot of fun not only seeing Austin Watson get his contract in the off-season but earning an NHL spot with the Predators on what is the two-way portion of his two-year contract. What have you made of Watson’s performances at the NHL level this season?

JG: He has proven that he belongs. Probably not as a first or second line center as they thought he might turn out to be when they drafted him in the first round of the 2010 draft but certainly as a third or fourth line player, absolutely. He’s aggressive on the puck, He shows enough offensive flare to give the coaching staff confidence that he can chip in when given the chance and he’s been key on the penalty kill as both Paul Gaustad, Eric Nystrom, and Gabriel Bourque have all missed time.

AR: Additionally, several players associated with the Milwaukee Admirals have seen NHL time this season: Anthony Bitetto, Viktor Arvidsson, Miikka Salomäki, Colton Sissons, Marek Mazanec, Cody Bass, and Juuse Saros. Many of those names are still with the Predators and are performing well enough to make a claim to stay. Who has impressed you the most out of the recalled Admirals?

JG: Sissons made an impression right off the bat and has been a solid bottom six center since and Saros made the most of his opportunity despite the loss in his NHL debut but Arvidsson has been the biggest surprise to me. I knew he could play and I know the Preds scouts love them some Swedes (and have an excellent track record drafting them) but he looks like he belongs. He rarely has a shift — let alone a game — where I think “he looks out of place.” His speed and work ethic are excellent and he could become a key cog to the second or third line over time. Great to see, especially for a player who was passed over in two NHL Drafts before Nashville took him in the fourth round of 2014.

AR: Speaking of Saros, he’s one of a few bigger name talents playing in Milwaukee this season. Where do you see his career path going with the likes of Pekka Rinne still being such a workhorse for the Predators?

JG: This is a tough one for the Preds organization. Certainly, Rinne is the goaltender until he retires. That may not be for another six, seven or perhaps even eight years. If that’s the case, Nashville can’t hold onto Saros until then. So they either need to plan for him to be the back-up to Rinne by 2016-17 or trade him. Carter Hutton‘s contract expires this coming summer so, in a perfect world, Marek Mazanec is promoted to Rinne’s back-up next season and serves in that role for two full years before Saros steps in. He’ll then get a full season or two as an NHL back-up, getting regular work with the big club and then, when Rinne moves on, Saros takes his rightful place as the future of the Nashville crease. But, then again, this isn’t a perfect world.

AR: There’s all kinds of buzz already on the trade front when it comes to the likes of a Matt Duchene or Steven Stamkos. You wrote a fantastic article on the difficulties the Predators face in making high-end moves such as those not too long ago. Where do you sit on the Predators possibly adding a top center and is the potential risk worth the potential reward?

JG: I think they will add a top line player to the roster but I think it’ll be closer to the deadline. There are two problems with that, however. First, if they wait too long — and keep losing — they’ll be out of the playoff race in an ultra-competitive Central Division and Western Conference. Secondly, Nashville hasn’t had the best track record with deadline deals. In 2012, they went out and acquired Hal Gill because they needed size on the backend, they acquired Paul Gaustad because they needed a reliable faceoff man and penalty killer and, if that wasn’t enough, they traded for Andrei Kostitsyn because they needed help at forward. They fell short of their goal by losing to the Phoenix Coyotes in Western Conference Semifinal scoring just nine goals in five games. As recently as last season, they acquired Cody Franson and Mike Santorelli around the deadline. Franson played so poorly he was benched on more than one occasion and Santorelli scored just a single goal in 22 games. The addition of those two players didn’t help Nashville’s fortunes as, once again, they were bounced in the first round, arguably in a series they outplayed their opponent in all but two or three periods but lost nevertheless. If Poile makes a deal close to the deadline, is history going to repeat yet again? An argument could be made that they should make a deal sooner rather than later, giving the team a chance to gel at a time of the year where they can develop some chemistry.

AR: Who is the better defenseman right now: Shea Weber or Roman Josi? (Sidenote. Is there another defensive pairing remotely as good as that in hockey today?)

JG: Shea Weber and Roman Josi are two completely different types of players. It would be like asking “Who was better? Wayne Gretzky or Peter Forsberg?” Gretzky certainly had the numbers but he would shy away from contact almost as if he were allergic to it. Forsberg put up the numbers and didn’t shy away from anyone. Ever. Weber is the best all-around defenseman but Josi is the most offensively talented and has one of the best first passes in the League. In other words, when you enter the zone on a rush, Weber will crush you while Josi will put the puck through your legs and then start a rush the other way.

AR: We’re nearing Christmas. The Predators are in the middle of the pack as far as that tough Central Division goes. How do you see this season unfolding?

JG: Once they start being rewarded for their hard work, they’ll be fine. The question becomes, how much longer will they continue to be stifled? Because of that Central series of games on the horizon, it better be soon.

~Le Fin~

Thank you very much Mr. Gover for taking the time to chat with the Roundtable. For those that don’t already you should follow him on Twitter, check out his work with 102.5 The Game (ESPN Nashville), and he also happens to be a guest of Milwaukee Admirals Center Ice every now and then so keep an eye out for Aaron Sims‘ Twitter feed on Monday’s to see if he’ll be on the show.

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

Chatterbox December 16, 2015

Chatterbox, Vol. 99

It hasn’t been pretty. It hasn’t been flashy. It honestly hasn’t been all that entertaining to watch unfold in-game. But, fact remains, the Milwaukee Admirals keep finding ways to get the job done.

The 2-1 win against the Chicago Wolves was yet another example of an Admirals group being able to adapt with momentum shifts and style changes in-game and do it all without shooting themselves in the foot.

The defensive effort in particular last night was the key to success. While the Wolves haven’t been at their best, make no mistake about it, the team defense of the Admirals made the Wolves look slow and dysfunctional. The style of games where the Grand Rapids Griffins were out battling the Admirals this season? Last night was the Admirals version of that script.

The offense has averaged exactly two goals per game in the last week over the course of four games. The Admirals lost the first two games of that spell but have clawed out victories from their last two games. To be producing so little but still find results as things aren’t at their best is a sign to me of the quality this group has. I still look back to the difficulties last year’s squad had when the roster really thinned out and players were having trouble getting into a groove. It’s early. It’s happening pretty darn good right now as far as a roster stretching goes. And the results and performances have still been solid.

I would like to highlight a specific moment in last night’s game that stood out to me more and more as time was expiring in regulation. Remember when the Admirals made a massive mistake on zone entry during a power-play? Jordan Caron had a shorthanded breakaway from the Admirals attacking blueline but Juuse Saros stopped him cold. Remember that?

At the time, the Admirals were leading 1-0. The Wolves -despite missing this opportunity- would go on to score a wacky power-play goal but think about their scoring opportunities away from that power-play goal. This was as good as it could possibly get and everything past it was tough sledding. Saros came up huge right at the midway point of the game to get his team off the hook for a poor mistake and the Wolves weren’t handed a gift of an opportunity like that ever again.

~Here Comes The Kid~

Speaking of solid performances, I feel as if the last few weeks has provided everyone here in Milwaukee with the Kevin Fiala we were expecting when the season started. Last night in particular was one of the first times this season when I viewed Fiala as an explosive presence on the ice. It’s the style he was playing last season when it appeared he hit the ground running after his move from HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) to North America. It appears as if his motor and wheels are fully synced again.

The amount of points he has right now offensively might not entirely be reflecting how good he’s been but in his last three games he has fired a team-leading 13 shots on goal for the Admirals. The next closest to him during the last three-games are Pontus Åberg (12 shots on goal) and Max Reinhart (11 shots on goal). If you’re going to get the offensive game going all it takes sometimes is to put that puck on net. Fiala has been battling himself between the ears I feel for the start of this season but his play is starting to really shine. It’s very encouraging to see.

~There Goes That Other Kid~

During last night’s post-game press conference with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason I was planning on asking about the upcoming 2016 IIHF World Juniors and what might happen with the likes of a Fiala or a Vladislav Kamenev. As it turns out, Kamenev is officially en route to join Team Russia in the host country of Finland today while Team Switzerland will be without the services of Fiala who’ll remain here with the Admirals.

For those in the dark about the World Junior Championships, they’ll be starting up on Boxing Day (December 26th) with the Group Stage completing New Year’s Eve (December 31st), the Playoff Rounds beginning January 2nd, and the Tournament ending with the World Junior Championship Final on January 5th.

Kamenev joins a Team Russia squad that is slotted into Group B which is comprised of: Belarus, Czech Republic, the host nation Finland, and Slovakia. It will be the second consecutive year in which Kamenev has represented his country in World Juniors. He recorded 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists) in 7 games in the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championships while claiming the silver medal as Russia fell 5-4 to Canada in the Final.

Russia’s schedule to keep an eye on will unfold as follows for the Group Stage: 12/26/15, vs. Czech Republic… 12/28/15, vs. Finland… 12/29/15, vs. Belarus… 12/31/15, vs. Slovakia.

So, why is Fiala not joining Kamenev in all the World Junior Championship fun you ask? Truthfully, I do not have the answer to that one. According to what I assume to be a projected roster for Switzerland on the official website for World Juniors – Fiala wasn’t included at all on the December 7th version of the listed roster. It’s curious why he isn’t going to take part and as to how that decision came to being. Was Fiala not up to par with the competition at forward? Was Nashville protective of him staying here in the States to keep developing with the Admirals? Not sure, really.

~Chatterbox~

After last night’s game I chatted with Evason, Åberg, Fiala, and Saros. I also spoke with Adam Payerl to get a better sense of what he’s seeing from the Admirals offense lately, Fiala’s game, and what it’ll be like seeing his linemate Kamenev heading up to the World Juniors. Here’s what they all had to say following last night’s Amtrak Rivalry win.

In the media scrum last night: Dave Boehler (JSOnline) and Mario Tirabassi (Along The Boards).

Comments on the comments? What’s your take on why Kevin Fiala wasn’t included in Team Switzerland at the World Juniors? Also, FYI, the Admirals have swapped out Zach for Zac in the wee hours of the night in a move that I’m sure will make sense at some point in time.

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

News December 16, 2015

Zach Budish Out, Zac Larraza In

(Photo Credit: Ryan McKee/Rich Clarkson and Associates, LLC)

It appears that the Milwaukee Admirals are branching out once again when it pertains to their current roster situation. Following the completion of last night’s game it was evident that not only was Vladislav Kamenev prepared to join Team Russia for the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championships but that Zach Budish had his bags packed to return to the Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL).

Stepping in for the likes of Budish, at the very least, will be Zac Larraza of the Manchester Monarchs (ECHL). Larraza will be the following in the footsteps of Matt White on the PTO contract front from Manchester to Milwaukee.

Larraza was part of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program when he was selected in the seventh round (196th overall) by the Arizona Coyotes. He wound up never playing within their organization and instead went to play hockey collegiately for the University of Denver. During his four-year NCAA career he played 134 games and scored 66 points (35 goals, 31 assists). He would join the Monarchs of the ECHL after finishing up college and did have a brief AHL spell with the Portland Pirates on a PTO basis where he recorded an assist in a two-game spell before being sent packing back to the ECHL.

It is of course noting the obvious connection between the two Monarchs teammates now rejoined here with the Admirals, White and Larraza. Despite being away from the Monarchs for awhile now White remains the team’s second highest scorer with 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) and has found success here in Milwaukee during his first ever stint in the AHL: 3 points (2 goals, 1 assists). Larraza is third in scoring for the Monarchs this season, right behind White on the team scoring list, with 18 points (11 goals, 7 assists).

This hasn’t been the greatest of times for the 2014-15 Milwaukee Admirals Man of the Year, Budish. Finding work in the off-season was a test. He attended pre-season camp with the Iowa Wild but was dropped before returning to a place of comfort in the Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL) where he has almost been a point per game player this season. In four-games back with the Admirals he produced a pair of assists while trucking along on the fourth line. He had since been healthy scratched in two of the Admirals last three games.

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

Game Recaps December 15, 2015December 16, 2015

Admirals Edge Wolves in a Grinder; win 2-1

The Milwaukee Admirals won 2-1 against the Chicago Wolves Tuesday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

It’s now three wins from the last three games for the Admirals in the Amtrak Rivalry with the Wolves. This contest was a scrappy and defensive affair with limited opportunities and solid goaltending from both Juuse Saros and Pheonix Copley. In the end, a third period marker for Pontus Åberg would be enough for the Admirals to hold on for victory.

“We liked our start,” said Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason of the team’s performance tonight. “And then about the ten-minute mark it looked like we got real complacent. It looked like we had a ton of skill, a ton of legs, and then we tried to do too much. It just started to get too cute. We challenged the group after the second period to simplify and then use that skill to score once we get through the neutral zone and out of our zone. We were trying to do too much. Credit to the group. They really did a good job in the third period.”

Kevin Fiala started tonight’s scoring with a power-play goal in the first period. Spencer Asuchak was given the stink eye after some rough stuff sent him to the box and the penalty was nearing an end. Trevor Murphy entered the attacking zone down the right wing wall and hit Fiala in stride as he broke in with plenty of space skating down the left wing. Fiala stickhandled as Yannick Veilleux and Jordan Schmaltz were closing in but rifled a shot bar down over the blocker side of Pheonix Copley to score his third goal of the season.

In the second period the Wolves would answer back with a power-play goal of their own. Fiala was called for a light slash behind the play as a puck cleared from an Admirals attack. On the ensuing power-play, a left point shot by André Benoît spanked wide off the end-boards but bounced out on the opposite wing to Jordan Caron. The following was simply awful luck. Caron was attempting to pass from his near post position to the slot for Pat Cannone but the puck ricocheted off of Petter Granberg’s stick blade and then skate before alluding Juuse Saros.

It only took one minute of the third period for the Admirals to break the 1-1 deadlock. After a puck jarred loose behind the Wolves net, Vladislav Kamenev hit Pontus Åberg with a picture perfect feed that resulted in a shot taken so quickly Copley never even knew the puck was freed loose behind his cage. The goal for Åberg tied him with Viktor Arvidsson, Frédérick Gaudreau, and Max Reinhart for the team lead in goal scoring with seven this season

“It’s a perfect goal to reinforce for the group,” explained Evason. “We get up the ice properly, we win the battle down there, and then [Pontus Åberg, Vladislav Kamenev, and Adam Payerl] used their skill underneath the tops of the circles to score a goal. They didn’t try to use their skill to go through people in our zone or through the neutral zone.”

The bout between Jamie Devane and Jacob Doty looked to be a sure bet from some of their early shifts within the first period. In the third period they finally dropped the mitts and threw down. Both landed heavy right-handed shots. Devane with his better work on body shots and Doty landing more of the clean overhand rights to the face. My fight card gives the slight edge to Doty, 10-9 round.

With 1:25 remaining, Copley made his way to the Wolves bench to bring on the extra attacker as the offensive cycle was rolling for them. They would never end up finding a breakthrough throughout the time spent a man-up and the Admirals would claim their third-straight win over the Amtrak Rivals from four games this season.

“We like that we seem to be able to play a few different ways,” said Evason. “Which is exciting to us as a staff. We don’t want to continually try to push buttons to get us to play the right way on that given night we’d like our group to play consistently. But sometimes games dictate how you play. Tonight had a bit of both, skill and grinding, and we were able to get the job done.”

Ramblings: Ahead of this game the Chicago Wolves brought in Zach Pochiro from the Quad City Mallards of the ECHL. Tonight’s Line Combinations: Fiala-Gaudreau-Görtz, Åberg-Kamenev-Payerl, White-Reinhart-Saponari, Devane-Girard-Pendenza, Murphy-Oligny, Näkyvä-Aronson, Bartley-Granberg. Tonight’s Scratches: Zach Budish (healthy), Cody Bass (upper-body), Johan Alm (healthy), and Conor Allen (upper-body). After the game, it was announced that Vladislav Kamenev will be joining Team Russia in the IIHF World Juniors. It was also announced that Kevin Fiala would not be representing Team Switzerland. Zach Budish was released from his PTO contract and is heading back to the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL.

Thoughts on tonight’s game? In the last three-games what have you made of this current Milwaukee Admirals team playing tight and defensively approached hockey? Is Kevin Fiala starting to turn a corner for the better?

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Scouting December 15, 2015

Wolves: Scouting the Enemy

Two of the Milwaukee Admirals stiffest opponents this season have been the Grand Rapids Griffins and the Manitoba Moose. The Admirals caught the Griffins on two sides of their current eleven-game winning streak so I think it’s safe to give credit to a hot team. The Moose haven’t been a hot team against really anyone other than the Admirals this season but that mystery was finally solved on Sunday. That sets a bit of a stage for tonight’s game with the Chicago Wolves because, like the Admirals, it’s been a topsy-turvy time for both Amtrak Rivals.

~The Woeful Wolves~

The Wolves enter tonight’s game with a record of 11-9-1-2 (25 points). Their 0.543 points percentage sees them sitting in fifth place in the Central Division and eighth in the Western Conference.

If you feel that the roster turn-over has impacted the Admirals performances badly I encourage you to view the following. During the Wolves last thirteen-games they have gone 3-8-1-1 (8 points). In that span the only significant roster changes that took place was a one-week cup of coffee for Jeremy Welsh with the St. Louis Blues and a defensive swap that saw Petteri Lindbohm go up and Joel Edmundson go down. That’s it. This recent struggle is occurring completely with the full-squad in camp for the Chicago Wolves.

~Goaltending Tandem~

The ups and downs are of course going to be reflected in net for the Wolves. Their pairing of Jordan Binnington and Pheonix Copley has been grinding along with the presumed top dog Binnington not shining as of late.

Binnington’s numbers since November: 8 starts, 3-4-0-1 record, 2.79 goals against average, 0.904 save percentage, and 1 shutout.

Copley’s numbers since November: 9 starts, 4-4-1-0 record, 2.38 goals against average, 0.918 save percentage, and 1 shutout.

In particular I find Binnington’s stretch the most interesting purely based on how dominant he was against the Admirals last season: 7 starts, 7-0-0-0 record, 1.94 goals against average, and a 0.930 save percentage. That trickled into his first start against the Admirals this season but he has since taken two straight defeats (one in regulation and one in a shootout). Now that some hard pressure is being put down on him, with the competition of Copley nudging him out of the net for more playing time, it seems he’s wilting somewhat. I would expect his track record against the Admirals puts him in the net tonight. If not? That’s a bigger sign by the Wolves that their confidence level right now is shaken and they’re looking for the more stable option in Copley at this moment in time.

~The Question Mark Offense~

What’s funny about these last thirteen-games for the Wolves is that there offense isn’t necessarily bad but they either score in bunches or hardly at all. In that span the Wolves have averaged 2.4 goals per game. In the Admirals last thirteen games they’ve averaged 2.7 goals per game (eliminate that extra marker for wins from the shootout, folks). So, they’re close but games when the Wolves win 8-2 are balanced out with efforts like they’re last game when they lose 2-1. Again, the word for the Wolves really seems to be inconsistency.

The Wolves have ten players with double digit points of offense on their active roster heading into tonight’s game. They’re currently led in that department by defenseman André Benoît who has 20 points (3 goals, 17 assists) in 23 games this season. As far as goal scoring goes, both Ty Rattie and Danny Kristo have tallied a team best 8 goals playing out on the wing for the Wolves.

Expectations for tonight? Does the last game between these two, where the Admirals stretched roster still got the shootout victory, have you feeling confident in tonight’s result?

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Game Recaps December 13, 2015December 13, 2015

Manitoba Mystery Solved; Ads win 4-3 in shootout

The Milwaukee Admirals won 4-3 (Video Highlights) in a shootout on the road against the Manitoba Moose Sunday afternoon at the MTS Centre.

It’s the Admirals first win from four attempts against the scrappy Moose who once again pushed back hard while scoring three-goals with their lowest scoring offense in the league. This thrill ride finally ended in sudden death shootout fashion with Vinny Saponari getting the game-winning shootout goal and Juuse Saros denying all five attempts he faced to earn his tenth win in net for the Admirals this season.

It wouldn’t be too long into this game before a scrap broke out. Adam Payerl buddied up with Patrice Cormier and the two grappled for a brief time before the Moose’s alternate captain lost his balance and was tackled down to the ice. If you feel the need to score this one in your fight cards you can give Payerl the takedown win. I’d be willing to simply call it a no contest.

After a pair of successful penalty kills for the Admirals their special teams brought home the opening goal from a five-on-three power-play opportunity. Jay Harrison was off for crosschecking. Moments later, during the initial penalty kill, Julian Melchiori tripped up Vladislav Kamenev in neutral ice. The Admirals had 1:17 of two-man advantage and would cap it off with a one-time bomb from Pontus Åberg on the left wing circle to pick up his team-leading eighth goal of the season.

A slick piece of puck control by John Albert along the right wing wall on zone entry set up an Admirals’ defensive breakdown. Albert had Taylor Aronson between himself and defenseman Josh Morrissey who jumped up on the play past Kristian Näkyvä to allow for the two-on-one chance. Albert’s pass across to Morrissey was perfect and he would beat Juuse Saros to score his first career AHL goal.

In the second period the Moose took their first lead of the game courtesy of an outstanding piece of vision and passing by Austen Brassard. The puck battle down in the right wing pocket eventually fell to the stick blade of Brassard who was able to hit Ryan Olsen between the Admirals net-front traffic of Félix Girard and Petter Granberg in the slot for a quick shot that beat Saros. The goal for Olsen was his second of the season.

Brassard would go from brilliant to bitter within the second period. His slashing call with just over two-minutes remaining in the second period gave the Admirals momentum to score a goal with 10.5 seconds remaining in the frame to knot things up at 2-2. A firm wrist shot by Vinny Saponari knuckled off of Jay Harrison’s stick as he was defending the shot. The puck kicked up off of Eric Comrie’s pads and right in-line with Frédérick Gaudreau who put away the rebound for his seventh goal of the season.

During the Admirals sixth penalty kill of the game they managed to score a shorthanded goal to take a 3-2 third period lead. Victor Bartley made a great read and skated up ice on an odd-man rush down the left wing. He measured his pass the entire way into the attacking zone, sauced over to Payerl, and the Admirals took the lead on Payerl’s fifth goal of the season.

If the third goal scored by the Moose in last night’s game was wacky then today’s was downright ludicrous. Harrison was making a desperate attempt to keep a puck in the Manitoba attacking zone as a puck was trickling away from the left point blueline. He viciously threw a puck without much aim, skated away as if he was going to make a line change, and was dumbstruck to find he actually scored over the shoulder of Saros to tie the game with 2:26 left in regulation. The goal for Harrison was his third scored of the season and I doubt he gets a more flukey one than that.

The game would dive through three-on-three overtime and even past the standard shootout. It was sudden death shootout hockey that finally decided the game with no shooters scoring until the fifth round when the legend of Toe Drag City Vinny Saponari pulled back from the forehand and calmly deposited a backhander along the ice to give the Admirals their first win over the Moose this season.

Both goaltenders today were terrific to watch and deserve a mention. Comrie for the Moose made thirty-four saves and was the tough luck loser in the game. Saros made twenty-five saves for the Admirals, and all five shootout attempts, to earn his tenth win in the AHL this season.

Ramblings: Today’s line combinations for the Admirals were: Fiala-Gaudreau-Görtz, Åberg-Kamenev-Payerl, Pendenza-Reinhart-Saponari, Devane-Girard-Budish, Näkyvä-Granberg, Bartley-Aronson, Murphy-Oligny. Today’s scratches were: Matt White (healthy), Cody Bass (upper-body), Johan Alm (healthy) and Conor Allen (undisclosed injury). The Admirals penalty kill went a solid six-for-six this afternoon while scoring a shorthanded goal.

Reaction to today’s game? Who is impressing you the most on the Milwaukee Admirals during this spell where players are having to step up due to a stretched out roster?

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Game Recaps December 12, 2015December 13, 2015

The Manitoba Mystery Continues; Ads lose 3-2

(Photo Credit: Manitoba Moose // flickr)

The Milwaukee Admirals lost 3-2 (Video Highlights) on the road against the Manitoba Moose Saturday night at the MTS Centre.

It is the same old story so far this season as it’s the third successive defeat for the Admirals against the Moose ending in a 3-2 scoreline. The Admirals picked up the opening goal but the Moose scored three unanswered and left Milwaukee clawing for a dramatic last second miracle that wouldn’t come off.

After missing out from the game’s opening power-play the Admirals would take a first period lead off of Joe Pendenza’s second goal of the season. Pendenza was flying in off the left wing, rotated ever so slightly to get a shooting angle on Eric Comrie in net, and sniped his forehand shot into the top shelf.

With time expiring in the first period the Moose leveled things up at 1-1. In the middle of a defensive line change, a puck fell back towards the blueline where Julian Melchiori was fresh off the bench and hammered a slap shot towards the net. The puck would deflect off the net front traffic where Joel Armia and Petter Granberg were jockeying for position. Melchiori would be credited for getting the puck past Marek Mazanec to earn his first goal of the season. It was a teddy bear toss goal as well and the Moose set a franchise record with 2,330 plush toys being thrown over the glass.

Despite a strong opening ten minutes in the second period for the Admirals it would be the Moose coming away celebrating a goal midway through the contest. After an attacking zone faceoff win Peter Stoykewych quickly threw a puck low to the pads of Mazanec. Matt Fraser was first man on the spot to jar the puck free and put it away into a gaping net to collect his first goal of the season.

Mazanec’s hard times in the second period wouldn’t stop there, either. When Chase De Leo was skating away from goal, with Taylor Aronson in tow, he pulled a turnaround forehand shot aimed low towards Mazanec in net. It looked harmless enough yet the puck flicked up off Mazanec’s right pad, up into the air, and had Mazanec swatted his blocker in desperation to make a save. The puck would fall flat into the back of the net for De Leo’s fourth goal of the season. For the Moose, and their league worst offense, it was a third three-goal game against the Admirals in three meetings.

The Admirals would pull Mazanec with 2:23 remaining in regulation to bring on an extra attacker. With 11.9 seconds remaining the Admirals would get one-goal back. A heavy shot by Aronson from the left point missed the net wide left but ricocheted out in the low right wing where Max Reinhart put away an easy tap in to record his seventh goal of the season.

The game would effectively end there and, once again, the Moose claim a 3-2 victory over the Admirals. Three games and three 3-2 defeats for the Admirals against the second worst team based on points percentage in the AHL. Credit where credit is due, Comrie was great in net for the Moose late and he gets credit for stopping 30/32 on the night to take home first star honors.

Ramblings: In a lovely occurrence, there were no official roster moves made since the Milwaukee Admirals last played on Wednesday night in Grand Rapids. This game did mark the first appearance of Petter Granberg in an Admirals sweater. The Swedish defenseman was assigned to the Admirals on a two-week (fourteen consecutive days) conditioning assignment by the Nashville Predators on 12/9/15 and didn’t join the AHL affiliate until the road trip in Manitoba. Granberg has missed the start of the 2015-16 season due to injury up to this point. Tonight’s line combinations saw the first time this season in which the Admirals dropped a forward and added an extra defenseman: Fiala-Gaudreau-Payerl, Åberg-Kamenev-Görtz, Devane-Reinhart-White, Pendenza-Girard, Näkyvä-Aronson, Bartley-Oligny, Alm-Granberg, Murphy. Tonight’s scratches were: Cody Bass (upper-body), Vinny Saponari (healthy), Zach Budish (healthy), and Conor Allen (undisclosed injury).

Thoughts on this game? What is it about the Milwaukee Admirals being unable to close out lower tier opposition these last few seasons? How important is it for the Admirals to win tomorrow afternoon’s game just to put a stamp down on the head-to-head with the Moose?

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Scouting December 12, 2015December 12, 2015

Moose: Scouting the Enemy

Vladislav Kamenev left Wednesday’s night game early due to a misconduct penalty during a frustrating night for the Milwaukee Admirals offense in Grand Rapids. Can things improve this weekend in Manitoba? (Photo Credit: Jeff Hanisch)

Call it unlucky. Call it making your own luck. Either way, the Manitoba Moose and their awful record seem to get the better of the Milwaukee Admirals. The Moose have a 5-14-1-1 (12 points) record this season. Of those wins, they’ve gone two for two against the Admirals in Milwaukee this season.

10/29/15
Moose 3 – Admirals 2
Recap – Video Highlights

12/2/15
Moose 3 – Admirals 2
Recap – Video Highlights

It’s bizarre to think that once again the Admirals are struggling against a lower level opponent. Last season’s thorn in the side was the Iowa Wild with their league worst record of 23-49-2-2 (50 points) but 5-3-0-0 record against the Admirals. It already feels like this year’s version of the Wild are the Moose. So, who is playing up to the competition level: the Admirals or the Moose?

To get an understanding of how well the Moose have played against the Admirals this season I broke down their Shooting Percentage (Goals Forced / Shots on Goals) team-by-team. This is how the Moose have performed against all their opponents this season:

Charlotte: 12.8% (5 goals, 39 shots on goal, 2 games)
Milwaukee: 10.7% (6 goals, 56 shots on goal, 2 games)
Bakersfield: 6.6% (4 goals, 61 shots on goal, 2 games)
Toronto: 6.1% (6 goals, 98 shots on goal, 2 games)
Chicago: 6.1% (9 goals, 148 shots on goal, 5 games)
Lake Erie: 4.1% (4 goals, 97 shots on goal, 4 games)
Ontario: 2.7% (1 goal, 37 shots on goal, 2 games)

The Moose still have the lowest scoring offense in the AHL. The next closest to their 35 goals forced as a team this season are the Wild with 49 goals forced. For as cold as they’ve been their finishing rate against the Admirals has been lethal. As you can see, only their two-in-two weekend series against the Charlotte Checkers yielded better results than the two games in Milwaukee did.

In a nutshell, the Admirals defense needs to be so much better in front of their goaltending duo of Juuse Saros and Marek Mazanec. To be allowing a higher clip of a goal from every ten shots on target against a team so frozen in the goal scoring department is unacceptable. The Admirals need to tighten up on defense, avoid blunders in the neutral zone, keep turnovers to a minimum, and not force their goaltenders to bail them out of odd-man rushes caused by mistakes in transition.

As you might suspect out of all that lack of offense talk for the Manitoba Moose – there obviously isn’t too much going on in the individual scoring department. The Admirals have seven players on their roster with double digit points of offense so far this season: Viktor Arvidsson, Frédérick Gaudreau, Vladislav Kamenev, Max Reinhart, Taylor Aronson, Trevor Murphy, and Adam Payerl. The Moose only have three players with double digit points of offense: J.C. Lipon, 13 points (6 goals, 7 assists)… Brenden Kichton, 11 points (3 goals, 8 assists)… and first-year pro Chase De Leo, 11 points (3 goals, 8 assists).

It’s worth noting that former member of the Admirals Matt Halischuk has been pesky in this head-to-head match up so far this season. It’s only been a pair of games but Halischuk’s only goals scored this season have come against the Admirals. On both occasions he scored the opening goal of the game from a first period tally. From his opening period goals the Moose have held a 2-0 first period lead in both games against the Admirals. Perhaps clamping down on the one-time Predators prospect would help the Admirals out this weekend.

The Moose are still without Connor Hellebuyck who is currently stationed up in the NHL. He started in net for the Winnipeg Jets last night in their 2-0 shutout defeat to the Chicago Blackhawks. That probably leaves Eric Comrie as the man the Moose will turn to this weekend. He has played all but one of the Moose’s last nine-games played since Hellebuyck’s call up and played against the Admirals in previous meeting between the two teams. He stopped 30/32 shots on goal against the Admirals in that game. He followed that up with a stinker where he allowed 8 goals to the Chicago Wolves. He has since made a rebound start where he stopped 33/35 shots in a losing effort to the Toronto Marlies.

Expectations for this weekend? How do you feel Petter Granberg will perform in his first taste of game-action this season? Will the Admirals offense rebound after a rough outing in Grand Rapids?

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Ramblings December 10, 2015

Taking Things In Stride

We know that feel, Vlad. (Photo Credit: Mark Newman)

While there is no Chatterbox, being a road game and all, I do feel some recapping of last night’s game is in order. The Milwaukee Admirals once again were stifled by the Grand Rapids Griffins. They lost 4-1 and the lone goal that the Admirals scored came from a goaltending blunder from Jared Coreau. Without that gaffe Coreau has a very easy pair of shutouts in back-to-back games against the Admirals.

It’s tough looking at a game last night without getting frustrated but the truth is that there was really only one clean goal scored last night and it came with less than two minutes remaining in regulation. When Andreas Athanasiou delivered a beautiful blind spinning backhanded pass to setup Eric Tangradi the game finally had a clean goal. When Mitch Callahan scored it came off a bad bounce that fell on a plate for him. When Félix Girard scored it was because Coreau was having an out of body experience away from the net. When Martin Frk scored it was because of a loose puck scramble that lead to a botched clearance that gave Frk a chance not unlike Callahan’s. Tangradi’s goal was decisive and without any sort of unfortunate mishaps unfolding around it. From there the Griffins added an empty netter. In a game that felt like a 2-0 contest to me the right team won.

I think it is clear that the Admirals did learn from the first game against the Griffins. The scoreline is the obvious first example of that. What’s disappointing is that for all the defensive improvements the Admirals displayed theur offensive inability to solve the Griffins defense remained. The Admirals went from 22 shots on goal to 24 shots on goal. If you discount the blunder Coreau made that allowed for the shorthanded goal by Girard I can’t even think of one chance out of those 45 other shots on goal that were threatening.

That’s all the bad news. The good news? That same issue didn’t creep into the Admirals in the following games when they played the Chicago Wolves and Texas Stars. Perhaps it isn’t the worst thing in the world to tip your cap to the Griffins during this hot-streak of their’s, learn the lessons that the two games with them have provided, improve, and move on. The Admirals didn’t even drop in the divisional or conference rankings by losing last night. The Admirals have won thirteen of their last sixteen-games. For all the insanity of roster movement, recalling or signing players from the ECHL level, and players getting injured in-house the team has continually performed very strong.

The good news can continue as well. Johan Alm and Jamie Devane both returned to the Admirals lineup last night after missing game-time. As disappointing as it is that Conor Allen is apparently not going to be joining the Admirals for this road trip due to injury the Nashville Predators will be sending Petter Granberg on conditioning assignment so yet another fresh body is coming into the team. Max Görtz missed last night’s game but is with the Admirals on the road. It’s only a matter of time before players start healing up and this team gets even stronger for battling through passages of a season such as this one.

Some last little tid-bits worth throwing out there. The Admirals penalty kill, for as rough as it was to start the season, has gone 85.7% (60/70) in the last sixteen-games. Vladislav Kamenev was slapped with a misconduct in the final twenty-seconds of last night’s game. He joins Colton Sissons and Kevin Fiala as Admirals who have given themselves an early exit by way of a misconduct penalty in the final twenty-seconds of a game this season.

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Game Recaps December 9, 2015December 9, 2015

Admirals Bested by Griffins Again; lose 4-1

The Milwaukee Admirals lost 4-1 on the road against the Grand Rapids Griffins Wednesday night at the Van Andel Arena. It was an all-around sloppy game for both teams but the Griffins defensive game left the Admirals with little to no quality scoring chances on the night. The Griffins are now on a nine-game winning streak.

Andy Miele has been a thorn in the Admirals side since becoming a member of the Griffins. While he didn’t score the opening goal in the first period he did contribute heavily to the Griffins claiming an early 1-0 lead. Miele was able to slip past Kristian Näkyvä and square up on Taylor Aronson. The puck trickled off his stick, skipped back, and Miele continued driving through to the net against Aronson. Mitch Callahan followed through, beat Vladislav Kamenev to the loose puck, and snapped a shot blocker side of Juuse Saros to score his seventh goal of the season.

The Admirals will be hard pressed to score a more bizarre goal this season than the one Félix Girard picked up to equalize the game in the first period while shorthanded. Frédérick Gaudreau pushed a puck up ice and Girard was in a footrace with two separate Griffins players at the Grand Rapids defensive blueline. It was at this point when goaltender Jared Coreau took matters into his own hands, left his goal crease, attempted to bat the puck away from the oncoming Girard, fail miserably at doing such, and left a wide open net for Girard to score into. The goal goes down as Girard’s second of the season. For the Admirals, it was the fourth shorthanded goal of the season and they are one shy of tying last season’s total.

It wouldn’t be until the third period before another goal was scored. In similar fashion to their first tally the Griffins would score after a loose puck fell perfectly in place for a quick shot. Similar to Miele’s initial effort, Andreas Athanasiou flew in on goal but lost the puck off his stick blade as he moved in on Saros from the right wing. Victor Bartley, looking North, and Kamenev, heading South, both tried to clear the puck but canceled eachother out. The puck sat in the right wing circle for Martin Frk who fired a wrister through traffic to score over Saros’ shoulder for his fourth goal of the season.

Athansiou would keep his jets going after that play, as well. The speedy forward drew Aronson with him towards the left wing on a rush to the net and whirled a spinning backhanded pass for the trailing Eric Tangradi who would deposit a shot underneath Saros for his eleventh goal of the season.

The game would be polished off by a Louis-Marc Aubry empty net tally with thirty-four seconds remaining in regulation. The win for the Griffins extends their winning streak to nine-games. The loss for Saros in net snaps his personal winning-streak with the Admirals at eight-games.

Ramblings: Prior to tonight’s game the Nashville Predators activated defenseman Petter Granberg from injured reserve and sent him to the Milwaukee Admirals on conditioning assignment. Tonight’s line combinations were: Fiala-Gaudreau-Payerl, Åberg-Kamenev-Saponari, White-Reinhard-Pendenza, Devane-Girard-Budish, Näkyvä-Aronson, Bartley-Murphy, Alm-Oligny. Tonight’s scratches were: Cody Bass, Max Görtz, Conor Allen, and Petter Granberg. Admirals broadcaster Aaron Sims said during his pre-game show that Allen is not with the Admirals on this road trip. Granberg has yet to join the Admirals but is expected to meet up with the team in Manitoba for this weekend’s games. Alm made his return to the lineup for the first time since 11/18/15. He had missed the previous eight-games due to a lower-body injury. Jamie Devane made his return to the lineup after missing the previous two-games due to an upper-body injury. Devane was an alternate captain for the Admirals tonight with the other captains (Sissons, Bass, Allen) all out of the lineup.

What were the Admirals unable to do tonight that they accomplished this past weekend? Can the Admirals offense get back and going this weekend in Manitoba?

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