The Admirals won 3-1 on the road against the Charlotte Checkers Saturday night to push their points streak up to seven-games and their winning streak up to six-games. In the midst of a challenging first period the Admirals skated off the ice with goals from Eric Robinson and Viktor Arvidsson. It would be all they needed on the night as Juuse Saros held the fort and was thirty-seconds away from getting a shutout to end the weekend.
It felt like the Checkers were in firm control of the action in the first period but, thankfully, that control didn’t impact the scoreboard. With 4:59 remaining in the first period Eric Robinson slipped through the Checkers defense, caught a pass from Jamie Devane, and scored up and over the shoulder of Rasmus Tirronen to tally his second AHL goal of the season. Robinson has scored a point in all three-games he’s played with the Admirals.
With a late power-play in the opening frame the Admirals gave themselves an early two-goal cushion. The Ads worked themselves into a quickfire Swedish two-on-one with Max Görtz sliding a pass to Viktor Arvidsson over on the left wing. Arvidsson whipped a wrist shot against the grain and beat Tirronen to the far post to score his fourth goal in the AHL this season and extend his AHL points streak to nine-games.
In the second period, following a big check along the boards, Conor Allen and last night’s two-goal scorer for the Checkers Mike Cornell dropped the gloves. There was some grappling between the two but some solid shots landed for Cornell who I’d give the edge in my fight card to. Score that one 10-9 for Cornell.
The second period also provided yet another Admirals goal. Directly off of a faceoff win for Vladislav Kamenev the puck fell back to Trevor Murphy who wristed it home from distance. The Admirals top scoring defenseman all of last season was Anthony Bitetto with four goals scored. Murphy has four goals, all scored one-by-one these last four games straight, and he has only played eight-games this season.
After a late icing call in the third period the Admirals and Juuse Saros lost the shutout bid with thirty-seconds remaining in regulation. The Checkers won the faceoff and a long shot by Drayson Bowman deflected off of Kamenev and past Saros for his first goal of the season. The Checkers took away the shutout but the Admirals took away all points available to gain in Charlotte this weekend.
Give a huge tip of the cap to Admirals netminder Saros. It’s funny to think with an ice surface bad enough to warrant a comparison to the grass surface of Solider Field that a shutout was even possible. Saros was only a half a minute away from the feat. The puck was skipping everywhere tonight but Saros was able to stop thirty of thirty-one shots on goal including some dandies that kept the Admirals afloat in the first period. He now has six-wins this season including wins in his last five consecutive starts.
Ramblings: The Admirals utilized the exact same personnel and lines from yesterday’s game against the Charlotte Checkers: Arvidsson-Gaudreau-Görtz, Åberg-Kamenev-Payerl, Devane-Girard-Robinson, Moses-Reinhart-Bass, Näkyvä-Aronson, Allen-Oligny, Alm-Murphy. This was game was also the last of Kevin Fiala’s two-game suspension by the AHL.
Reactions to tonight’s game? What have you noticed that is different between the Admirals right now and the team that started this season? How good has Juuse Saros been? Now that Fiala’s suspension is over what sort of direct response do you want to see out of him next game?
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The Milwaukee Admirals have extended their winning streak to five-games after a 4-3 roller coaster of a game on the road against the Charlotte Checkers Friday night. The Admirals and Checkers flipped between leading and a level scoreline twice from the second period to the final horn. Juuse Saros and the Admirals were just able to survive a final second flurry from the Checkers with the extra attack on to earn the victory and also extend a points streak up to six-games.
For only the second time during the Admirals four-game winning streak they allowed the game’s opening goal. Out of a ball of players stationed in the right wing pocket Derek Ryan was able to get the puck, turn, and pass back to the point. When Mike Cornell wound up to shoot Zach Boychuk glided in front of Juuse Saros in net to provide a perfect screen as the shot entered low and in for Cornell’s first goal in his first game of the 2015-16 AHL season.
With 4:22 remaining in the first period the Admirals were able to equalize through Jamie Devane’s second goal of the season. Félix Girard took a shot in neutral ice as he dished a pass up to Eric Robinson on the right wing. Robinson’s shot came in hot and must have surprised Drew MacIntyre in net as he tumbled backwards from a stand-up position. Devane arrived down the left wing side of the net to push across the loose puck to make it a 1-1 game.
The Admirals took their first lead of the game in the second period when Trevor Murphy polished off a rebound opportunity to tally his third goal of the season. Stevie Moses had the initial shot in the slot for the Admirals but MacIntyre was able to fend it off. Unfortunately for MacIntyre he placed the rebound into a charging Murphy who skated up from the blueline to bury the garbage. Murphy now has scored a goal in three consecutive games.
Checkers defenseman Cornell would repeat his first period feat in the sandwich stanza. Heavy net front traffic screened Saros who never saw Cornell’s wrist shot from the right point. The puck flew in clean past four bodies out in front, as well as Saros in net, to give Cornell a second goal in the contest.
The 2-2 second period scoreline would last less than two-minutes. The Admirals caught the Checkers in the middle of a line change and Murphy hit a home run pass to Viktor Arvidsson on the attacking blueline for a breakaway chance. Arvidsson’s initial shot hit MacIntyre flush but the rebound trickled in-line with Arvidsson’s run towards the right wing side of the cage. He had the net open to score off his own rebound. Arvidsson now has three goals in the AHL this season.
2:33 into the third period the Checkers would tie the game up at 3-3. David Wohlberg won an attacking zone faceoff and Justin Shugg hammered a shot directly from the draw. There might not have been the screen like the first two-goals scored but Saros probably never saw that shot coming. The goal for Shugg was his second scored this season.
As was the ebb and flow of this game the Admirals weren’t letting the game stay level for long. 2:22 after the Checkers equalized in the third period a Cody Bass dump in fell nicely back in-line with Max Reinhart for a slap shot. MacIntyre dropped low. Reinhart blasted his shot high and scored his fourth goal of the season to make it a 4-3 Admirals lead.
The Checkers finally got MacIntyre to the bench to bring on the extra attacker with forty-five seconds remaining in regulation. A late frenzy around Saros in net almost saw a last second equalizer as the puck was pinballing around the crease. Fortunately for the Admirals, the Checkers would airmail a pass up and out of their own zone while Girard was being tabbed with a delayed penalty for interference. The puck made it down to the opposite end of the rink as time expired to give the Admirals points in six-straight games and push the winning streak up to five-games.
Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals last played on Wednesday the team received the news that forward Kevin Fiala would be suspended for two-games in relation his game misconduct for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the Lake Erie Monsters. Admirals’ radio broadcaster Aaron Sims confirmed that Fiala did not join the team for this weekend’s trip to Charlotte. In his place, the team recalled forward Eric Robinson from the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL. Sims also finally provided confirmation of Robinson’s contract status: he signed an AHL deal with the Admirals this summer and is not with the team on a professional try-out basis but a full standard player contract. With those roster notes taken into account the Admirals line combinations were once again bare bones with no players available to scratch: Arvidsson-Gaudreau-Görtz, Åberg-Kamenev-Payerl, Devane-Girard-Robinson, Moses-Reinhart-Bass, Näkyvä-Aronson, Allen-Oligny, Alm-Murphy. The Admirals streak of scoring a power-play goal ended at nine-games. They went 0/3 on the power-play tonight.
Thoughts on the Admirals performance tonight in Charlotte? Was this the grittiest effort by the Admirals this season to keep being able to answer back after the Checkers tied the game up?
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Val-d’Or Foreurs Anthony Richard celebrates his game winning goal on Edmonton Oil Kings goalie Tristan Jarry during second overtime period Memorial Cup hockey action in London, Ont., Tuesday, May 20, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Dave Chidley
The Nashville Predators have announced the signing of forward Anthony Richard to a three-year entry level contract. This is the Predators second 2015 NHL Draft class to be signed to an entry level contract in two days. Yesterday the organization signed defenseman Alexandre Carrier. Both Carrier and Richard were selected in the fourth round of the draft by Nashville.
Nashville, Tenn. (November 13, 2015) – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced Friday that the club has signed 2015 fourth-round selection (100th overall) Anthony Richard (AN-thuh-nee rih-SHAHRD) to a three-year entry-level contract.
Richard, 18 (12/20/96), is ranked among the Top 10 QMJHL skaters in goals (sixth, 16), points (eighth, 34) and assists (10th, 18) through 22 games in 2015-16, while also leading the league in game-winning goals (5) and shots on goal (103) in his fourth season with the Val-d’Or Foreurs. The 5-foot-10, 163-pound center, who has seven points (3g-4a) in his last three games, and was recently named the QMJHL’s third star of the month for October after posting 24 points (11g-13a) in 14 games.
A native of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Richard ranked eighth in the QMJHL in goals (43) and tied for eighth in league points a season ago, then tied for third in the 2015 QMJHL Playoffs in goals (12) and ranked ninth in postseason points (22) as the Foreurs advanced to the league semifinals. In his first full season with Val-d’Or in 2013-14, he helped the club win the 2014 President’s Cup and advance to the Memorial Cup, ranking fourth on the team and tying for seventh among all skaters in postseason goals (10).
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The American Hockey League have suspended Milwaukee Admirals forward Kevin Fiala for two-games in relation to the incidents that took place Wednesday afternoon in the team’s 6-3 win over the Lake Erie Monsters. Fiala will not be available to the Admirals for both road games this weekend against the Charlotte Checkers. In his place the team recalled forward Eric Robinson from his loan assignment with the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL yesterday morning.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League today announced the following suspensions:
Providence Bruins left wing Dalton Smith has been suspended for three (3) games as a consequence of his actions in a game at Bridgeport on Nov. 11.
Smith was suspended under the provisions of AHL Rule 28.1 (supplementary discipline) for leaving the players’ bench on a legal line change for the purpose of starting an altercation. He will miss Providence’s games tonight (Nov. 13) vs. Albany, Sunday (Nov. 15) vs. Portland and Nov. 20 vs. Lehigh Valley.
Milwaukee Admirals left wing Kevin Fiala has been suspended for two (2) games as a consequence of his actions in a game vs. Lake Erie on Nov. 11.
Fiala was assessed a game misconduct resulting in an automatic two-game suspension under the provisions of AHL Rule 75.5(ii). He will miss Milwaukee’s games tonight (Nov. 13) and Saturday (Nov. 14) at Charlotte.
You can read my full description and assessment of what took place with Fiala during Wednesday’s game in the last edition of Chatterbox. The short and sweet of it is that he received a game misconduct with nineteen-seconds remaining after he flipped off the entire Lake Erie Monsters bench. That probably is why AHL Rule 75.5 (ii) was utilized.
AHL Rule 75.5 (ii): Any player who uses obscene gestures on the ice or anywhere in the rink before, during, or after the game. The referee shall report the circumstances to the President of the League for further disciplinary action. Any player assessed a game misconduct under this section shall automatically be suspended for the next two (2) regularly scheduled games of his team.
Short. Sweet. And to the point per the AHL rulebook. Fiala becomes the second member of the Admirals this season to be suspended by the AHL joining Vladislav Kamenev who was suspended on 10/31/14.
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This was a high traffic area the entire game when the Admirals and Checkers last battled one-another. I think more time being spent at the opposite net would be a welcome change. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
This is the second meeting of the season between the Milwaukee Admirals and Charlotte Checkers. If you don’t remember the first one I can’t say that I blame you. It was the second game of the season and the Admirals lost soundly by a final scoreline of 7-2. That might have been the Admirals at the height of their individualistic style of play this season when terrible passing and bad special teams were among a long list of repairs needed to be fixed.
It has been a month’s time since that game took place. The Admirals enter on a four-game winning streak with a record of 6-4-1-0 (13 points). The Checkers enter with a record of 7-5-0-0 (14 points). Thanks to the Pacific Division’s California based teams and the newly formatted standings based on percentage of points earned to games played ratio it is actually the Admirals (0.591) who have the better position in the Central Division than the Checkers (0.583). Imagine that after how the first meeting turned out?
I do suppose some major credit can be given to these Checkers though. They opened the season up with a crazy ten-game road trip. They weren’t able to finally unveil their new/old barn the Bojangles’ Coliseum until this past weekend when they reintroduced the place with two games against the Manitoba Moose. Game 1: Checkers get shutout, 3-0. Game 2: Checkers win, 3-2. Call me crazy but I think the Carolina Panthers against the Green Bay Packers is the reason why attendance fell from 8,317 to 3,514 on the first two days back in the building.
~Developments for the Admirals Next Home~
In talking about the Charlotte Checkers moving back into the Bojangles’ Coliseum one should take note of the potential mirroring story unfolding right here in Milwaukee in the not too distant future. When I spoke with Admirals President Jon Greenberg on Wednesday I brought up Charlotte’s recent move back into an old building and how it could be similar to an Admirals move to the UW-Milwaukee Panthers Arena.
“We’ve had preliminary discussions with the UW-Panther Arena about the possibility of coming over,” said Jon Greenberg. “Those have been positive discussions so far. I’m actually going to Charlotte this weekend to study – to meet with the Checkers just about the challenges that they had moving forward – things that needed to be updated in their building that we need to be keeping in mind when we move because the life span of this building isn’t going to be here much longer. We do have to start planning for our future and those discussions with the UW-Panther Arena we’re excited about where those have a potential to go.”
So, there is your on-ice hockey development with the players and the team itself taking place this weekend as well as developments off-the-ice in regards to the Admirals search for a future home. The time between the Checkers leaving and returning to the Bojangles’ Coliseum was ten years. The Admirals last played hockey in the ol’ MECCA back in 1988 – probably before I was born yet. What challenges are there for the Admirals with respect to such a move? Well, that’s part of what President Greenberg will be finding out with the Checkers who went through the same thing just recently.
“We’re excited about what’s going on in the UW-Panther Arena,” said Greenberg. “They’ve done a lot of amazing work over there. If you haven’t been in there recently, every seat is being replaced, they’ve done about eighty-percent of them already, so it’s brand new seats. Beautiful HD scoreboard. Technologically that building is very advanced. There are things that they still have to get ready for a new tenant that they’re willing to do. So, exciting possibilities for the Admirals moving forward.”
~Checking Those Checky McCheckers~
The Checkers are led in scoring by Phil Di Giuseppe currently with a total of 10 points (4 goals, 6 assists). In fact, when looking at the Checkers top five in scoring you will surprisingly not find a single player with a positive plus-minus rating. That’s sort of the state of things for them so far this season. Perhaps even stranger than that is perennial AHL scoring talent Zach Boychuk is 12 games and 42 shots on goal into this season without scoring a goal. He hasn’t recorded a goal in 19 AHL games now. It was 3/22/15 on the road against the Iowa Wild when Boychuk last picked up a goal.
Things are also not so sound in net for the Checkers. They have been heavily leaning on veteran netminder and former Admiral Drew MacIntyre. He has played in all but a single game out of 12 for the Checkers this season. That includes an appearance where he was yanked from the net and one in which he wishes he was never put in the net to relieve Rasmus Tirronen.
My thought is for the Checkers to be attempting a similarly played game to the one played against the Admirals previously. They forced the Admirals to take long perimeter shots, 24 shots on goal in the game, and MacIntyre wasn’t tested much with many of them. The Admirals power-play was blanked in four opportunities while the Checkers cashed in from two of their four power-play chances.
The great news is that this is in absolutely no way the same Admirals team right now. During this five-game points streak and four-game winning streak the Admirals have: outscored their opponent 17-9, produced a power-play goal in four consecutive games, gone 6/28 (21.4%) on the power-play and 18/22 (81.8%) on the penalty kill, and have outshot their opponents by 179-149 while only being outshot once from their last five games.
In short, these two games in Charlotte shouldn’t really reflect what the first meeting in Milwaukee displayed. Thinking back to what happened a season ago in Charlotte also makes me wonder what type of fireworks could take place. I know, I know. That was all circumstantial stuff but anytime I can reference last season’s goalie fight I will.
Expectations for the Admirals two-in-two on the road in Charlotte? Can this current streak last the weekend or will the East Coast travel sap some of the energy that was built here in the Midwest?
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The Nashville Predators have announced the signing of Alexandre Carrier to a three-year entry level contract. The defenseman was selected by the Predators in the fourth round of the 2015 NHL Draft and is currently playing his fourth full-season of junior hockey with Gatineau Olympiques of the QMJHL. The team is also expected to make an announcement in regards to another entry level signing from their 2015 NHL Draft class tomorrow morning.
Nashville, Tenn. (November 12, 2015) – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced Thursday that the club has signed 2015 fourth-round selection (115th overall) Alexandre Carrier to a three-year entry-level contract.
Carrier, 19 (10/8/96), is currently tied for 12th among QMJHL defensemen in points (3g-12a-15pts), and 11th in assists, through 17 games for the Gatineau Olympiques in 2015-16. The Quebec, Quebec native ranked third in points (12g-43a-55pts), tied for second in assists and tied for 10th in goals among QMJHL blueliners during his draft-eligible season in 2014-15, earning QMJHL Second All-Star Team honors.
“He’s really built as a defenseman for the way the game is played today,” Predators Chief Amateur Scout Jeff Kealty said. “He’s a very good skater, he’s great on his edges and he’s got terrific hockey sense. He moves the puck real well, he can get up in the offense and he can play defensively. He’s not the biggest guy but he uses that sense and instinct to defend with his stick and his angles. He’s got all sorts of character and leadership. He’s the captain of the team in Gatineau and plays huge minutes in all situations so we just think he’s going to get better and better. If he continues to grow and get stronger, he could turn into a terrific player.”
The 5-foot-11, 174-pound Carrier helped Team Canada to the Gold Medal at the 2013 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, and a bronze medal at the 2014 Under-18 World Championship. His brother, Samuel, was a sixth-round selection (176th overall) by the Washington Capitals in the 2010 Draft.
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Eric Robinson has enjoyed a solid start to his 2015-16 season while on loan to the Milwaukee Admirals ECHL affiliate the Cincinnati Cyclones. The last time he was recalled a week ago that offense manifested itself with a goal against the Iowa Wild. (Photo Credit: Jamie Wahl)
The Milwaukee Admirals have recalled Eric Robinson from his loan assignment to the team’s ECHL affiliate the Cincinnati Cyclones. The roster move comes ahead of the Admirals’ East Coast swing as they travel to face the Charlotte Checkers twice this weekend.
Robinson’s season has mainly been in the ECHL but he has taken that as an opportunity to work his way back into the AHL lineup. Despite missing three of the Cyclones’ nine games played this season he is the team’s joint top scorer with 8 points (4 goals, 4 assists). When he was brought up into the Admirals mix to smooth out the roster situation at the time he hit the ground running, was double shifting in place of a benched Kevin Fiala, and scored a goal in the team’s 3-0 shutout of the Iowa Wild. He participated in pre-game skate the next night before being returned to the ECHL on loan to the Cyclones.
Since being returned to Cincinnati, Robinson has logged two games with last night providing more offense. In the Cyclones 3-1 win over the Fort Wayne Komets Robinson recorded a primary assist on Joe Pendenza‘s opening goal of the game and went on to score a power-play goal.
The return of Robinson doesn’t necessarily indicate his injection into the Admirals roster for Charlotte as much as it guarantees an option at forward if need be. The Admirals had a bare bones roster yesterday of twelve forwards, six defensemen, and two goaltenders dressed. Call me old fashioned but I like having the in-house competition for position battles to have players earning their spot in the lineup or to force decisions of the coaching staff as to who should get games. That’s now the case for the Admirals as they take to Charlotte.
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The Milwaukee Admirals line combination of Pontus Åberg, Vladislav Kamenev, and Adam Payerl has been nothing short of stellar these last two games. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
The Milwaukee Admirals are on a four-game winning streak. How nice is that to say after the first few games felt very icky and cringe inducing to watch? The reality is that this is a young group that probably needed to get through a stretch like that in order to grow and really find its identity. When I say identity I’m also talking about that on an individual basis. This group now knows one-another very well and chemistry is starting to really form on the ice.
~Important Start~
(Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
What impressed me the most about the Admirals 6-3 win today was their start. You might only remember the goals which sprung a 3-0 first period lead but think about those first few minutes of the game. Juuse Saros was tested in a big way from a partial breakaway, a full-on breakaway, and a racing counter attack that finished with a clean shot from the right wing. All of those came early while it was a scoreless game. If so much as one of those shots gets past Saros it could be a completely different game recap. Instead, Saros bailed out his defensemen getting caught out with turnovers on their attacking blueline and provided a platform to unload from. That’s precisely what they did after weathering a quick storm in the first period. The result was three goals scored at even strength by the likes of Pontus Åberg, Trevor Murphy, and Taylor Aronson. The Admirals ability to recover off an early lull and tilt the ice gave them a first period lead that they would never let go of.
~The Admirals Brightest Line~
(Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
I think the next bright spot is when you start to see a line that isn’t really getting changed around often. That to me is a great signal that the coaching staff sees a line paring that understands how everyone is playing, feed off each other, and are playing successfully on both ends of the ice. That one line that really doesn’t feel like it should be going anywhere for awhile features Åberg on the left wing, Vladislav Kamenev down the middle, and newly signed to a standard player contract Adam Payerl on the right wing. That line has been paired up these last two games with a combined 8 points (3 goals, 5 assists) between the three. Kamenev is such a smooth player who looks really confident and controls the puck well. Payerl can bring a slightly harder edge to the ice but actually mirrors his centerman in ability pretty closely. And I think right now this might be the best Åberg has looked in an Admirals uniform. Around this time last season, specifically dialing it to November 11th on the calendar, he had a quick start: 5 points (4 goals, 1 assist) in seven games of work. This season Åberg has 5 points (3 goals, 2 assists) in ten games. He’s producing the points while limiting the mistakes that were very prevalent in his game a season ago. That’s progress and I think his skill level is really what makes this line combination as explosive as it has been, is, and will continue to be.
~Fiala: The Lightning Rod of Lake Erie’s Hate~
(Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
I suppose now is the time to hit upon that rough stuff that took place. Yeah, the headline player involved here is Kevin Fiala but I have to believe any player that is seen running through a goaltender would incite negative attention. In fairness to Fiala, the replay that was shown of the incident in which he collided with Joonas Korpisalo appeared as if he was given the ejector seat treatment after a stiff crosscheck propelled him into the Monsters netminder. In the speed of the moment all you view of the situation is Fiala bumping into Korpisalo, Korpisalo selling like death, and a lot less thinking and a whole lot more “why I outta” happens. This seemed to then stick with Fiala like a lightning rod and, in some ways, I actually think he likes playing up to that. There is nothing wrong with having a competitive edge and playing aggressive while chirping away. I think Miikka Salomäki‘s playing style alone when he was a rookie with the Admirals got under the opposition’s skin. The problem is really all between Fiala’s ears after this situation takes place. Yes, the wrong call might have been made by him getting a charging minor instead of Lake Erie being assessed a crosscheck but don’t lose your composure to tack on yet another minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct after the fact. That first minor for charging? Admirals not only killed it off but Frédérick Gaudreau and Max Reinhart contributed with a fantastically worked shorthanded goal. That second part to the double minor? The one that Fiala received while losing his composure? That turned into a power-play goal for Sonny Milano. That never needed to happen.
The Fiala vortex unfortunately doesn’t end there as he picked up a game misconduct for an unsportsmanlike penalty with nineteen-seconds remaining in regulation. Still the target of the Monsters frustrations, Brett Gallant saw Fiala – measured his scope to snipe – checked Fiala in the head – and then was left to do battle with Cody Bass. This is where this storyline should be over. But it isn’t. As Fiala is being escorted away from the fracas he proceeded to flip off the entire Lake Erie Monsters bench and get himself a game misconduct for an unsportsmanlike penalty. Now, I get the built up frustrations, emotions, anger, and confusion of the matter all connecting back to the incident with Korpisalo getting hit – but there is just no reason for him to do that in any way shape or form. My best defense for him in this situation is that, for all that transpired leading up to it, he was a 19-year old kid who had no other idea how to show his anger at a team that was looking to get after him following an incident that he doesn’t think he’s responsible for. The reality is that if he skates to the bench and sits down for nineteen seconds I think the scoreboard would have spoke bigger volumes that his middle digit did. It’s now something that the AHL will be taking a closer inspection of:
Rule 23.2: A player incurring a game misconduct penalty shall incur an automatic fine of one hundred dollars ($100) and the case shall be reported to the President who shall have full power to impose such further penalties by way of suspension or fine on the penalized player, goalkeeper or any other player involved in the altercation.
Any game misconduct penalty for which a player has been assessed an automatic suspension or supplementary discipline in the form of game suspension(s) by the President shall not be taken into account when calculating the total number of offenses under this subsection.
The automatic suspensions incurred under this subsection in respect to League games shall have no effect with respect to violations during Playoff games. A member club requesting review of an automatic suspension of a player may use the services of the player during the President’s investigation of the incident. If the request for review is upheld, no
further action shall be taken against the player. If the request is denied, the player shall be suspended for the number of games that the player participated in during the President’s investigation, in addition to the number of games specified for the original suspension.
If a review is requested by a Club, it must be initiated within twenty-four (24) hours following the completion of the game in which it occurred. This does not apply to infractions addressed under Rule 28.
So, that’s fun. The biggest piece of evidence in this matter will probably come from the on-ice officials who saw the incident take place as I suspect this flipping of the Fiala bird was picked up by any cameras present at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. We’ll just have to kick back and see what transpires but I’m thinking a little heart-to-heart to Fiala from any number of people on the team, coaches or players alike, is good medicine here. Competitor? Absolutely and it makes him such a driven player. He just needs to use better judgement and learn to channel those emotions a better way than that is all.
~MAKE SOME NOISE~
Let’s get away from the bad and talk about something I thought was immensely positive: the crowd today. When I saw there were two AM games for the Admirals in this year’s schedule I wasn’t sure if there was a typo or not. How many people are really turning out of work for this on a weekday? What amount of schools would schedule field trips for a hockey game this early into a school year? Well, between Iowa last Thursday and Milwaukee today, a combined 24,475 fans watched two games of AHL hockey during the middle of the week with opening puck drop taking place at 10:30 AM. That is so unbelievably awesome to see.
(Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
What also puts a smile on my face is how many first time watchers of a hockey game there probably were in attendance this afternoon. In total, there were 11,047 students in attendance at today’s game. That has the potential to spawn plenty of, not only Milwaukee Admirals fans, but brand new hockey fans and potentially even players. I obviously wouldn’t be doing what I do if I didn’t love this sport and part of why I love it is just how exciting and non-stop the action is. Kids’ attention spans aren’t the longest in the known universe so I think a sport like hockey lends itself well to such an audience. The game itself is rather easy to pick up while you watch it. And I think by the time the game ended fans of the sport were created. That to me goes above and beyond what could have ever happened on the ice. That’s very special. And I applaud the Admirals effort and coordination to see to it that this game took place. It was a complete success and I expect this to happen once again for the 2016-17 season.
~Chatterbox~
Prior to the game I actually did a pre-game interview with Milwaukee Admirals President Jon Greenberg. We discussed the school day game before it happened, the process in which it was developed, and touched upon the potential move to the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. After the dust settled on the inaugural school day game I spoke with Admirals head coach Dean Evason as well as a group of players: Payerl, Saros, Åberg, and Gaudreau. Here is what they had to say after the game:
Comments on the comments? Dare I ask for your follow up comments on what Kevin Fiala’s game and post-whistle activities were like? Do you feel as if the Admirals have finally been groomed into playing like a team as opposed to the opening few games in October?
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The Admirals won 6-3 against the Lake Erie Monsters Wednesday afternoon. This was the Admirals inaugural school day game and saw an attendance of 11,047 students hit the rink for a 10:30 AM puck drop. They were treated to a quick start for the Admirals who opened up a three goal lead in the first period and never looked back.
“I think it is absolutely awesome,” said Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason of the school day game. “The one in Iowa was incredible. The kids were screaming. It gets so loud. It creates such a wonderful atmosphere. It’s fun for the players to play and it’s fun for us.”
Pontus Åberg opened the scoring in the first period with his second goal scored on the season. The Swede made a heads up defensive play in the neutral zone as he intercepted a pass to set up his own scoring chance. He carried on down the right wing before unleashing a wrist shot against the grain to beat Anton Forsberg far post and blocker side.
After a few missed blind passes the Admirals kept pressing on and found a second first period goal. Adam Payerl entered the attacking zone and left the puck behind him where the on-rushing Trevor Murphy was racing up from defense. A quick swoop towards the left wing, with Jamie Devane setting up in front of the net, allowed for a great shooting angle and Murphy ripped a wrister high blocker side past Forsberg to score his second goal of the season and second in as many games.
Perhaps after being beat blocker side twice in the first period the Monsters netminder Forsberg was being a little protective of his right side of the cage. As Vladislav Kamenev moved up the right wing wall and passed up on the right point for Taylor Aronson the Admirals would answer for the third time in the opening frame. Aronson’s long range wrister beat the glove of Forsberg to pick up his second goal of the season.
At the start of the second period it was announced that Forsberg had been pulled from the Monsters net. In stepped Finnish netminder Joonas Korpisalo to face what was left of an Admirals power-play that trickled over into the start of the sandwich stanza. A mere thirty-eight seconds and a few passes later the Admirals would beat the new goaltender. Max Görtz was on the tail end of some quick passes to score from the slot high glove for his second goal of the season.
With a four-on-four taking place the Monsters picked up their first goal of the game eight minutes into the second period. Alex Broadhurst was in the right wing pocket and picked out a wide open Michael Chaput breaking in on goal. The pass connected and it was a crisp finish for Chaput’s fifth goal of the season.
It wouldn’t take long at all for the Monsters to cut the Admirals lead in half. Payerl was whistled for a hooking minor as he was being a little overly aggressive in the attacking zone for the Admirals. Only seven seconds into the Monsters power-play and Markus Hännikäinen scored his third goal of the season with 11:01 remaining in the second period to make it
Just because there were mainly school children in attendance doesn’t mean a good ol’ fashion fight isn’t allowed to take place. After Justin Falk lit up Kamenev into the glass his Admirals linemate Payerl was quick to make Falk answer for his crime. The fight, while fists were thrown, was more of a wrestling match with the two grapping at the collars of one-another.
In the third period, moments after failing to convert on their sixth power-play opportunity of the game, the Admirals and their Swedish winger Åberg were on the board once more. Payerl sent a puck loose behind the net where Kevin Fiala got up on his high-horse and raced a wrap-around attempt on Korpisalo off his glove side of the net. The loose puck trickled out and over to Åberg for a quick smack home for his second goal of the game and third of the season.
“Four games in a row we’re playing really good right now,” said Pontus Åberg after the game. “Sticking up for each other and just playing a solid game. It’s nice to have in a group.”
Fiala would get tagged with a double minor for charging and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty with 8:38 remaining in the third period. There were goals for both teams on each of the minor penalties. A solid piece of defensive work by Frédérick Gaudreau on the penalty kill jarred a puck loose and allowed him to tee up a quick snipe for Max Reinhart to score shorthanded. It was Reinhart’s third goal of the season. Moments later on the second half of the double minor against Fiala a tic-tac-toe passing play gave Sonny Milano a power-play goal to make it a 6-3 contest off of his second goal of the season.
With nineteen seconds remaining Brett Gallant attempted to take a run at Fiala and succeeded with a check to the head. This caught the eye of Cody Bass who dropped the gloves and went after Gallant for their second fight in six days. It was once more a grappling based bout but the message was sent. As was the subsequent repeat fight between Jamie Devane and Oleg Yevenko that took place directly on the next faceoff out of the penalties being added up from the previous altercation.
Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals last played there were a few roster moves made: Marek Mazanec and Colton Sissons were recalled by the Nashville Predators as both Carter Hutton and Eric Nystrom were placed on injured reserve. Sissons played in last night’s Predators game and took home first star of the game honors while scoring his second career NHL goal. With Sissons topside the additional alternate captain on the ice was Max Reinhart. This morning the Admirals released Adam Payerl from his PTO contract and signed him to a standard player contract that will keep him with the team for the rest of the 2015-16 season. Today’s line combinations were: Arvidsson-Gaudreau-Görtz, Åberg-Kamenev-Payerl, Devane-Girard-Moses, Fiala-Reinhart-Bass, Näkyvä-Aronson, Allen-Oligny, Alm-Murphy. Admirals roster today was bare bones meaning there weren’t excess players outside of the lineup to necessitate a scratch. Today’s official attendance was 12,972.
Reactions to this game? Were you in attendance for this game and, if so, what did you think of the Admirals first ever school day game? What did you think of Kevin Fiala’s extracurricular activities today?
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When Adam Payerl‘s 2015-16 season began it did so with an ECHL contract from the Cincinnati Cyclones. He was invited to the Milwaukee Admirals pre-season camp on a PTO contract basis which rolled into the season. He scored 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) in 8 games for the Admirals. This morning he’s being rewarded by the team by being released from his professional try out contract and signed to a standard player contract that will keep him with the team for the rest of this season.
Prior to joining the Admirals Payerl was a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins organization where he predominantly played AHL hockey in Wilkes-Barre Scranton. He scored 31 points (10 goals, 21 assists) in 130 games for the Baby Pens and was able to suit up for 2 games in the NHL back in the 2013-14 season.
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