The Admirals will be spectators to what happens in the AHL until next Friday and possibly past next Sunday. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
It happened again. Just when you thought it couldn’t possibly happen any more than it already has. It happened again. The Milwaukee Admirals played a good game. They did. They genuinely did. And they still lost 4-1.
It took one of the better snipes of the entire season from Viktor Arvidsson to solve Jordan Binnington. The Chicago Wolves 21-year old netminder was incredible last night. He really was. He stopped Triston Grant, Austin Watson, and Rich Clune on breakaway chances. He stopped them cold.
Despite all of the superlatives that could be given to Binnington the Admirals had a lead entering the third period and were coming off of a second period where they launched nineteen shots on net. Where did that momentum and confidence moving forward in attack go?
There can be some solid discussion on last night’s officiating in regards to some key points. (1) There were only three assigned officials to last night’s Admirals/Wolves game as opposed to four. (2) Was Mark Van Guilder guilty of a double-minor for high sticking or was he wrongly penalized for doing-so because he had made contact with a puck and it was the follow through of his swing that hit Pat Cannone? (3) As you’ll hear head coach Dean Evason answer in regards to my question on the matter. Joe Pendenza had his stick slashed out of his hands on the back-end of the double-minor for high sticking. That wasn’t called because the official didn’t see it happen. The result was a go-ahead goal for the Wolves scored on the power-play. If the officiating crew was a four man unit the slash probably gets caught and the power-play would have ended, there would have been a brief four-on-four, and the Admirals would have had a power-play to jump start their offense the same way it did in the first period.
The hardest part of all of that above discussion is the harsh reality that it doesn’t matter. None of it. The Admirals should have never been in the positions to be beaten the way that they were in the third period. The effort that was produced in the second period couldn’t be replicated and the team wilted under the Wolves attempt to shove back in response to allowing nineteen shots on goal.
Reality may have finally sunk in last night that the Admirals final game at home this season is next Friday. The team needs to win their next two games and get some serious help from around the Western Conference. The odds of the Toronto Marlies, Hamilton Bulldogs, or even the Adirondack Flames crashing to a halt the way that the Admirals have while the Admirals claim wins in their final two games feels like a massive impossibility. The Admirals have won two games… in their last seventeen games. The last time they won consecutive games… was more than a month ago with a road win in Lake Erie and an overtime thriller against Grand Rapids. Stranger things have happened, sure. If the Admirals pull this one off it’d have to be the strangest.
After the game I believe I asked more questions to coach Evason than I probably have in any post-game presser I’ve taken part in. Dave Boehler started it (did you know he has a blog?). And I ended it by unloaded what was in my head in regards to the talking points in the game and this tailspin to end the season. In addition, I sat in on Mario Tirabassi‘s interview with Admirals captain Joe Piskula. Then the two of us talked with MVG on the high-sticking incident and more. Here is what was said after the game.
The tailspin continues. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
The Admirals lost 4-1 against the Chicago Wolves Friday night. The Amtrak Rivals came back to win their first game of the entire season after trailing in the second period. Jordan Binnington was dominant in net for the Wolves as he made thirty-nine saves to allow the Wolves to win this year’s Amtrak Rivalry trophy.
This game started off with a quick fight between Mike Liambas and Jacob Doty. A net front scrum in the Wolves end escalated into a bout between the two and there was at minimum one haymaker landed from each before the pair spilled to the ice.
Viktor Arvidsson’s twentieth goal of the season opened up the scoring in the first period. Anthony Bitetto was able to keep a puck in the Admirals attacking zone and passed up to Arvidsson. The Swede, skating away from his eventual target, wired a wrister over the glove shoulder of Jordan Binnington, off the crossbar, and down. Arvidsson joined Austin Watson and Colton Sissons as Admirals with twenty or more goals scored this season.
In the second period the Admirals pelted twenty shots on goal. The story was Wolves netminder Binnington who was lights out in the sandwich stanza. He was making some sensational saves and was responsible for the second period scoreline staying exactly as it was after the first frame.
After weathering the second period storm the Wolves equalized 2:20 into the third period. Jani Hakanpaa leapt up from the point to work towards the right wing of Mazanec’s cage. As he swooped down he dished to the net front presence of the first period combatant Doty who scored over the glove shoulder of Mazanec despite Joe Piskula draped all over him as the shot was released. It was Doty’s second goal of the season – all of which have come in Milwaukee.
Close to eight minutes into the third period, Mark Van Guilder went to swat a puck out of the air and got the puck followed by Pat Cannone’s face. The officials called a double-minor for high sticking on the play but failed to call a slashing penalty when Joe Pendenza had his stick swatted out of his hands. Shortly after Pendenza retrieved his stick the Wolves had scored a tic-tac-toe goal with Shane Harper sliding across the front of the net from the low left wing to score his thirty-first goal of the season.
With 2:25 remaining in regulation the Wolves capped off an odd-man rush to put the game out of reach. Harper was in a shooting position forever and a day before Magnus Paajarvi finally dropped back to him. The shot rifled past Mazanec for his second goal of the period and thirty-second of the season.
Adam Cracknell added an empty netter almost instantly following the Admirals decision to go for the extra attacker. It was his tenth goal of the season but it was pretty much unnecessary. Binnington only ever needed the Wolves to get him two back after Arvidsson tagged him. He stopped thirty-nine shots in the game. His performance allowed the Wolves to win their first game of the season after trailing heading into the third period. They were 0-25-3-1 before tonight.
Not only was the Admirals loss crushing but the rest of the league responded against them as well. The Toronto Marlies defeated the Rochester Americans 3-1 and the Hamilton Bulldogs won 4-3 over the Texas Stars. The Admirals no longer control their destiny and it is going to take something miraculous at this point to continue their playoff consecutive appearances streak.
Ramblings: Tonight’s scratches for the Admirals were Jonathan Diaby (healthy), Felix Girard (out for the season), Miikka Salomaki (out for the season), Zach Budish (healthy), and Pontus Åberg (healthy).
Did the officials get the Mark Van Guilder high sticking call right? Blown calls aside, where did the Admirals high rate of attack go from the second period to the third period?
Be sure to follow Admirals Roundtable on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and see our photos on Instagram.
(Photo Credit: Marc DesRosiers // USA Today Sports)
The AHL Award season is here. Today the AHL announced the winner of the Eddie Shore Award for the league’s most outstanding defenseman. This year’s recipient is Chris Wideman of the Binghamton Senators.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that Chris Wideman of the Binghamton Senators has been voted the winner of the Eddie Shore Award as the AHL’s outstanding defenseman for the 2014-15 season. The award is voted on by coaches, players and members of the media in each of the league’s 30 cities.
Wideman has recorded 17 goals and 37 assists for 54 points with a plus-5 rating in 70 games for Binghamton this season, leading all AHL defensemen in assists, points and shots on goal (213). He is an anchor for the league’s second-ranked power play, contributing seven goals and 12 assists with the man advantage, and all three of his game-winning goals this season have been scored in overtime. Wideman began his breakout campaign with a nine-game scoring streak early in the year – still tied for the longest by an AHL defenseman this season – and earned CCM/AHL Player of the Month honors for October. He scored seven goals in his first 10 games and had already established a new career high with his 10th goal of the season on Nov. 22. Wideman, who represented Binghamton at the AHL All-Star Classic in January, was named a First Team AHL All-Star on Thursday.
A native of St. Louis, Mo., Wideman, 25, was selected by the Ottawa Senators in the fourth round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. He played four seasons at Miami University (2008-12) before turning pro, and currently has 28 goals and 95 assists for 123 points in 203 AHL games, all with Binghamton.
This award, which was first presented by the AHL in 1958-59, honors the late Eddie Shore, a member of both the Hockey Hall of Fame and the American Hockey League Hall of Fame who is widely regarded as one of hockey’s greatest defensemen. Shore won a total of five Calder Cups in his career, including two as the general manager of the Buffalo Bisons and three as the longtime owner of the Springfield Indians. Previous recipients of the Eddie Shore Award include Steve Kraftcheck (1959), Al Arbour (1965), Jim Morrison (1966), Noel Price (1970, ’72, ’76), Brian Engblom (1977), Terry Murray (1978, ’79), Dave Farrish (1982), Brad Shaw (1987), Dave Fenyves (1988, ’89), Eric Weinrich (1990), Darren Rumble (1997), John Slaney (2001, ’02), Niklas Kronwall (2005), Johnny Boychuk (2009), Mark Barberio (2012), Justin Schultz (2013) and T.J. Brennan (2014).
In operation since 1936, the American Hockey League continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. Nearly 90 percent of all players competing in the NHL are AHL graduates, and through the years the American Hockey League has been home to more than 100 honored members of the Hockey Hall of Fame. The 2014-15 regular season ends on Apr. 19, and then 16 clubs will continue to vie for the league’s coveted championship trophy when the 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs get underway.
The winner of the 2014-15 Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award (sportsmanship, determination, dedication to hockey) will be announced Monday.
Be sure to follow Admirals Roundtable on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and see our photos on Instagram.
Austin Watson has been one of the more reliable offensive pieces to the Milwaukee Admirals this season. In his last fifteen games he has scored 11 points (8 goals, 3 assists). (Photo Credit: Jeff Hanisch)
So, where do we begin? The Milwaukee Admirals remain the eighth seed in the Western Conference. Depending on how things play out this weekend that may no longer be the case. The Admirals play host to the Amtrak Rivals tonight. Meanwhile, the ninth seeded Toronto Marlies play a road-home set tonight and tomorrow with the Rochester Americans. To put it bluntly, there is the potential that the Admirals will not be the eighth seed as early as dinner time Saturday night.
That of course comes with a grain of salt. It shouldn’t be all doom and gloom. The Admirals still have three games on the schedule and can claim wins. Plus, the Americans beat up the Lake Erie Monsters 5-1 on the road last night. There’s reason to believe they can play stride for stride and take points from the Marlies.
Most important thing though. The Admirals need to win, period/exclamation point/CAPS LOCK. They have only two wins from their last sixteen games and only one win in regulation from their last seventeen games. That absolutely needs to change. If things continue as they have it will mean the Admirals streak of making the AHL Calder Cup Playoffs stops at twelve. The only time in the team’s AHL history that they missed out on the playoffs was their debut season to the league in 2001-02. The team’s winning percentage that season was 0.001 better than the Admirals current winning percentage today.
~Short & Sweet~
It hasn’t been that long since we’ve played the Chicago Wolves. The two met two weeks ago and the Admirals lost at home 8-4 and the next day in Rosemont fell 3-2 in overtime.
The Wolves current record is 37-26-6-1 (81 points). They have played three less games than the Admirals and sit 2 points ahead as the seventh spot of the Western Conference standings.
Since the Admirals saw the Wolves they have won four of their last five games. The lone loss they suffered was a 6-2 loss to the Texas Stars. The Wolves instantly bounced back by beating Lake Erie 7-3.
~Dissection~
We’ve seen these Wolves recently, so there isn’t too huge of a need to re-hash the who factor of this team. Instead, I’d like to poke at the how factor. How did the Admirals lose the last time the Wolves played in Milwaukee two weeks ago? And what are the steps needed to be taken to avoid such a result tonight.
The 8-4 loss was one of the most punishing games to sit back and watch from the Admirals the entire season. Yes, the Admirals were shorthanded on the night. Both Viktor Arvidsson and Kevin Fiala were with the Nashville Predators at that time. But the things that took place in that game were pretty much all avoidable.
That contest opened with yet another shorthanded goal allowed by the Admirals. While I understand the team is unwilling to change the structure of their power-play (one at the point, two on the half walls on opposite wings, two near and around the net) the lack of bodies back in defense and, just as importantly, understanding the defensive coverage required as they skate back has been abysmal this season.
The shorthanded goal by Jeremy Welsh? He was all alone because three Admirals decided they were going to hound Nathan Longpre. While that in itself isn’t so bad it is the inability to pounce on the puck carrier, force the puck off, use those numbers to force back on offense, or take a peak back and look for a secondary defensive assignment. No one did that. No one. Wolves defenseman Petteri Lindbohm was the only man trailing Welsh. It was a defensive lapse that was completely avoidable.
Small note on that shorthander: Marek Mazanec, stick side. It was a breakaway goal, yes, but that’s becoming a running theme that is worth mentioning. In his last four games 6/11 goals that he has allowed have come on the stick side including 3/4 in the shootout.
Now some of the good news. Joe Pendenza, Austin Watson, and Pontus Åberg put in a grinding shift and produced a goal off of second and third chance opportunities. The Admirals have been aiming so much over the last month to generate pucks to the net and create scoring chances from there. Pendenza flipped a puck at Jordan Binnington, it was fumbled loose, and Åberg capitalized. That was a perfect example of what the Admirals want to do.
The Admirals would give up a power-play goal later in the first period, which was tough, but -hey- special teams. The goal scored twenty-seven seconds into the second period? That was another defensive lapse. Adam Cracknell was left all alone in front of Mazanec for a shot and the follow up rebound swats that he needed to score. Scott Ford was up ice. And Gary Steffes was last man to react to Cracknell’s movement.
Here is when things get irritating. Eric Robinson scores his first pro goal. Steffes notches a power-play goal that snapped an 0/39 drought on the power-play for the Admirals. It was a 3-3 game. What happened? A long range redirect goal puts the Wolves back out in front 2:31 after the Steffes power-play goal. Rough, but the Admirals just came back from 3-1 down to tie things up and it is only the second period right? Go get the next one. 1:27 later, Cracknell squeezes a puck through Mazanec from the left wing on a one-timer.
The Admirals closed the gap to a one-goal game again after Mike Liambas scored from another net front garbage-style goal to make it 5-4. What came next is simply the way the puck has been bouncing against the Admirals. A puck flew up into he air, hung for a few seconds, and Magnus Pääjärvi hammered it off the first bounce off the ice into the top shelf for a goal. The game was pushed back to a two-goal lead for the Wolves and took the final amount of air out of the Admirals sails that night. Sure, there were two more empty-netters scored -one of which was recorded as a shorthanded marker for that man Welsh again- but Pääjärvi’s miracle bomb was the KO punch.
How did the Admirals rebound? They played a much tighter game that allowed them to earn a point the very next night against the Wolves and started to turn the tide a bit. Then the Rockford IceHogs and Grand Rapids Griffins happened.
What is the key to the Admirals final three games of the regular season? Simplicity. The Admirals need to play a simple game which can allow for tight and intelligent defense to get pucks up and out of their zone quick and let the forwards handle the offensive load. Don’t go for the home run stretch pass. Don’t get flustered when either the Wolves or Marlies attempt to clog up the neutral zone to eliminate speed. Create speed by getting pucks deep and winning those foot races to the puck down low, battle free, and let the offense set up.
All that should be required for the Admirals approach is to play simple and play smart hockey. When they’ve achieved that this season it is them at their maximum effectiveness. Remember that phrase, “play the right way,” that head coach Dean Evason preached throughout January? That’s what that was. And it is something that hasn’t been accomplished for a full sixty minutes probably since then.
Three games. Six points. The Admirals need to bag a win tonight to alleviate the pressure they are putting on themselves. I wouldn’t count on the teams behind the Admirals in the Western Conference standings to lose out. As such, the Admirals can’t afford to do so either.
What are you expecting from the Milwaukee Admirals tonight? Can the Admirals rebound or are these final three games going to continue as the recently scheduled programming has provided? What is needed for the Admirals to produce a win tonight to get the ball rolling?
Be sure to follow Admirals Roundtable on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and see our photos on Instagram.
Miikka Salomäki was having a superb sophomore season for the Milwaukee Admirals and even scored a goal in his NHL debut for the Nashville Predators. Then a shoulder injury would wipe out the rest of his 2014-15 season. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
Before making an appearance on Penalty Box Radio last night I was scanning through stats and various figures on the decline of the Milwaukee Admirals in the late stages of the 2014-15 season. What I started keying in on was the date of February 15th. The importance of that date was the loss of two key Admirals forwards for the rest of the season.
Early on February 15th, the Nashville Predators decided to pull the trigger on a big trade that would see them acquire Cody Franson and Mike Santorelli from the Toronto Maple Leafs. The repercussions of that trade for the Admirals was that Brendan Leipsic was part of the transfer back to Toronto.
At the time of the trade, Leipsic was second on the Admirals in scoring behind Viktor Arvidsson. Leipsic had 35 points (7 goals, 28 assists) in 47 games, a plus/minus rating of +2, 16 penalty minutes, and was averaging 2.04 shots on goal per game.
That alone was a small reminder of the way things work in the AHL level. The Admirals are a prospect pool for the Predators and boasted a quality group of young prospects to start the 2014-15 season. There was the aforementioned Leipsic and Arvidsson making their North American pro debuts. There was also Pontus Åberg. Those names were three new additions to a young mix that didn’t even include Kevin Fiala yet.
Out of the players the Maple Leafs scouted they had their heart set on Leipsic as someone they would want if the Predators were looking to wheel and deal. To the Predators, they wanted to make a move to bolster their squad in an effort to improve an already stellar team. Their eyes went to help the now and, in doing so, sell a part of their future plans. That’s business and business that helps the Predators and hurt the Admirals. That’s what being an AHL affiliate is like sometimes.
Still, on the positive moving forward from that move, the Admirals were losing Leipsic and in the process of getting the Predators fifteenth overall selection in the NHL Draft, Fiala, acclimatized to the North American pro game. The good ol’ give and take of AHL hockey. In the same way it hurt to see Leipsic come and go the Admirals would be seeing a high level prospect that could just have easily developed overseas before making the leap to the NHL. The idea would be that Fiala would instantly fill in the gap of Leipsic. And, for his skill set, that seemed like it would work well enough even with some speed bumps in his learning process taking place.
As February 15th trucked forward the Admirals had a game to be played in Milwaukee still. They were facing the Lake Erie Monsters and would come away with a 5-2 victory. That game was solid. And, as said above, Fiala filled Leipsic’s role and did so brilliantly. He scored twice in that game and set up another. So what was so important about that game? It was the final game of the 2014-15 season for Miikka Salomäki.
Salomäki, who had suffered a concussion and a dislocated shoulder earlier in the season, had once again suffered a dislocated shoulder in the win over Lake Erie. Rather than go through the probability of coming back and that happening again, which had already happened once, Salomäki ended up going the surgery route to ensure that his shoulder would be 100% moving forward.
What the Admirals lost in that game was a heart and soul type of player on the ice. Salomäki had 18 points (7 goals, 11 assists) in 38 games, a plus/minus of +15, 30 penalty minutes, and was averaging 2.2 shots on goal per game. In an additional bummer, the Predators lost out on a seasoned player they could rely on in the need of a call up from the AHL. He had made his NHL debut in early-January and scored a goal while registering a game-high 7 hits.
In one day, the Admirals lost both Leipsic and Salomäki for the rest of the season. Those were roles that players needed to step up into and contribute accordingly. What has the result been? The Admirals record the night of February 15th was 29-14-3-4 (65 points). Since? The Admirals record has been 4-13-4-2 (14 points).
Has the impact of what went down on February 15th been the knockout blow on the Admirals 2014-15 season? Truth is, it really shouldn’t be. There should be no excuses for the loss of Leipsic and Salomäki contributing directly to the Admirals down turn. The thing is. That date, and their subsequent absence moving forward, says otherwise. The Admirals lost two players on the ice who packed a lot of energy, spark, and bite to their game. It’s safe to say right now that is something the Admirals have desperately been lacking. No one has filled those sorts of roles. The depth, which seemed so strong early in the season, has wilted. The question as to why that has been the case is defining this season.
How big were the losses of Leipsic and Salomäki to the Admirals? Has the loss of one or both been a major factor down the team’s fall down the standings?
Be sure to follow Admirals Roundtable on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and see our photos on Instagram.
It felt like Andreas Athanasiou stepped over a lot of Admirals tonight. (Photo Credit: Mark Newman)
The Admirals lost 6-2 on the road against the Grand Rapids Griffins Wednesday night. It appears the defensive mistake bug, which haunted the Admirals during their season long road trip last month, returned tonight. The Admirals swapped goalies twice in this game as the rough keeps getting rough and the team lost in regulation for the fourteenth time since the start of February.
Grand Rapids got on the board from the power-play off of their first shot on goal in the game. Kevin Fiala was called for a trip after the Admirals opening power-play chance came and went. With their power-play opportunity, Nathan Paetsch slid a puck on over to the right wing for Anthony Mantha whose slap shot wired through traffic and beat Magnus Hellberg low glove side just over his pad. It was Mantha’s fifteenth goal of the season.
A little over halfway through the first period the Griffins added a second goal to make it 2-0. After the Admirals won a defensive zone faceoff, and attempted to clear the zone, Griffins defenseman Brennan Evans held the puck on the left point before delivering a hesitation-style shot. Andy Miele was camped out in front of Hellberg and managed to get a stick to Evans point shot to record his twenty-fourth goal of the season.
Colton Sissons reputation against the Griffins continued late in the first period. After a Johan Alm wrist shot from the left point Sissons got the redirect that beat Tom McCollum past the blocker for his twenty-fourth goal of the season and his eleventh scored against Grand Rapids in eighteen career games.
The second period went just about as badly as it could for the Admirals. Just about all of their defensive mistakes were punished. Johan Alm was caught behind his own net with Mantha aggressively hunting him down, forced a turnover, and passed out in front of the net for Andreas Athanasiou. It was a quick one-timed swat for Athanasiou past Hellberg for his fifteenth goal of the season.
Only twenty-nine seconds later another defensive lapse by the Admirals cost them a goal. Another turnover was forced out in front of Hellberg, who was hung out to dry, and Martin Frk buried his fifth goal of the season. The Admirals would burn their timeout after the goal and make the goaltending change. Hellberg stopped 10/14 shots on goal on the night before giving way to Marek Mazanec.
After Griffins captain Jeff Hoggan went to the box for tripping the Admirals allowed their twelfth shorthanded goal of the season. It was a simple chip and clear off the wall from Kevin Porter to Athanasiou. Rather than throw the puck deep Athanasiou plowed forward, beat Taylor Aronson with speed, cut in front of him, and finished five hole on Mazanec’s first shot that he faced since replacing Hellberg. It was Athanasiou’s second goal of the period and sixteenth goal of the season.
Triston Grant would set a career best in goals scored in a single season by notching his thirteenth goal late in the second period. The veteran Admiral, who won a Calder Cup with the Griffins in 2012-13, nailed a slap shot from the right wing low to the ice and beat McCollum far post. His previous career high for goals scored in a season came as a member of the Admirals during the 2009-10 season when he tallied twelve.
In the third period, Mazanec attempted to glove a shot by Xavier Ouellet that had knuckled up into the air. He stepped up to the top of his crease and missed the catch with the glove, tumbled on his skates for a bit, and watched as Mark Zengerle scored with ease for his fourteenth goal of the season.
Mazanec was immediately pulled from net after the goal by Zengerle. Mazanec stopped 6/8 shots on goal in relief of Hellberg before Hellberg hopped right back into the game to go 2/2 in saves to finish things up.
The Admirals record is now 33-27-7-6 (79 points) on the season with three games remaining. They are primed for the Toronto Marlies to knock them out of the playoffs right now unless the Admirals can string wins against the Chicago Wolves, and the Marlies next Friday, in those last three games. As far as things look tonight. It doesn’t look good at all. The Admirals playoff streak is hanging by the smallest of threads.
Ramblings: Tonight the Admirals shook up their line combinations which meant that the scratches tonight included Zach Budish (healthy), Frederick Gaudreau (healthy), and Jonathan Diaby (healthy). Miikka Salomaki and Felix Girard are out for the rest of the season due to injury. The Admirals season series has now finished up against the Griffins. They went 3-5-1-1 against the Griffins in 2014-15 while the Griffins bettered their record from a season ago by posting a 7-2-1-0 record against the Admirals.
What has happened to the Admirals team? Is tonight’s result the final nail in the coffin as far as the Admirals playoffs hopes are concerned? Do they have a chance to win out this season and maintain their spot? If the Admirals make it into the playoffs, do you even like their chances in an opening round series against a top team such as the Utica Comets or these same Griffins?
Be sure to follow Admirals Roundtable on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and see our photos on Instagram.
Celly! Viktor Arvidsson has just been named to the AHL’s 2014-15 All-Rookie Team. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
The AHL has just announced the 2014-15 AHL All-Rookie Team which is voted on by coaches, players, and media in each of the league’s thirty host cities. Among those announced was Milwaukee Admirals winger Viktor Arvidsson.
It’s been a great debut season in North America for Arvidsson. He currently leads the Admirals in scoring with 51 points (19 goals, 32 assists). He made his NHL debut on March 21st and has played six games for the Nashville Predators. The timing of this distinction is also pretty great considering today is Arvidsson’s birthday. Not a bad gift from the AHL.
Be sure to follow Admirals Roundtable on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and see our photos on Instagram.
These guys have been in a jolly mood for quite awhile now. (Photo Credit: Mark Newman)
The Admirals 5-3 regulation loss last night to the Rockford IceHogs drops their record to 33-26-7-6 (79 points). There are only four games remaining in the 2014-15 season for the Admirals and the battle for the final playoff position is tight.
The Toronto Marlies are perhaps the biggest threat to the Admirals at the moment. They sit in ninth place right behind the Ads and trail by 2 points with a pair of games in-hand. It’s setting the stage for the penultimate game of the season when the Admirals play host to the Marlies.
There are 8 possible points available to the Admirals for the rest of this season. Tonight the Admirals are playing on the road against the Midwest Division leading Grand Rapids Griffins. Then there is a home-road set with the Chicago Wolves with the Marlies game sandwiched between them. Success is possible in all of those games. The way that the Admirals and the competition have been playing lately paints an ugly picture moving forward. Perhaps that could all change with a thumping result tonight.
~Short & Sweet~
The Griffins enter tonight’s game with a record of 42-20-6-2 (92 points). Same as the IceHogs last night, the Griffins have already clinched a playoff spot but they still have something big to play for with both teams battling for the Midwest Division crown. The Griffins and IceHogs have played the same amount of games and the Griffins only lead by a single point. To boot, there is a chance to leap the San Antonio Rampage for the second seed in the Western Conference.
In the Griffins last ten games they have gone 6-3-0-1 (13 points). Wait. The Griffins losing in regulation? That’s nice to see, right? They’re human after all. Their wild point streak of nineteen games finally came to an end with a 4-3 loss on the road to the Lake Erie Monsters. With that being said, they’re not entirely slowing down any. In those last ten games the Griffins have been outscoring teams 32-23 from open play. That includes beating up the Marlies 7-2 in their last game.
~The Road So Far~
The Griffins lead the season series against the Admirals with a 6-2-1-0 record. With a win tonight the Griffins will one-up their head-to-head with the Admirals from last season when they had a 7-3-0-0 record.
When looking at the three times the Admirals have bested the Griffins you will find a pair of shutouts and an overtime thrill ride: Magnus Hellberg pitched a 22-save shutout in a 4-0 win in the first meeting of the season. In late-January Hellberg posted a 26-save shutout in Grand Rapids in another 4-0 win. Then came the Viktor Stålberg score at 0.4 seconds and overtime winner for the hat trick in a 3-2 game. In fact, that last game was documented by the Griffins on the road for their series Between the Benches:
The Griffins power-play against the Admirals this season is 3/36 (8.3%) and their penalty kill is 31/32 (96.9%). That penalty kill has also scored a shorthanded goal against the Admirals this season.
~Offensively Offensive~
The Griffins will be without top notch scorers Teemu Pulkkinen and Landon Ferraro tonight. They’re both up with the Detroit Red Wings. Those two were the Griffins leading scorers in the head-to-head match up against the Admirals: Ferraro, 5 points (4 goals, 1 assist)… Pulkkinen, 4 points (3 goals, 1 assist).
Why doesn’t that matter? There are still three other Griffins who have scored 4 points against the Admirals this season: Andy Miele, 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists)… Mark Zengerle, 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists)… Nathan Paetsch, 4 points (0 goals, 4 assists).
Miele leads the Griffins in scoring this season with 65 points (23 goals, 42 assists). There are still plenty of other players contributing. Probably the reason why the Griffins have been so lethal this season as there isn’t any one key cog on the team: Kevin Porter, 35 points (13 goals, 22 assists)… Anthony Mantha, 31 points (14 goals, 17 assists)… Andreas Athanasiou, 30 points (14 goals, 16 assists).
The Griffins have nine players with 30 points or more and have ten players with double-digit goals on the season. The Admirals by comparison have six players with 30 points or more and have eight players with double-digit goals.
~Netminding~
Petr Mrázek is still with the Red Wings, where he belongs (huzzah), which means goaltending duties have gone to the likes of Tom McCollum and Jared Coreau.
Both Griffins goaltenders have played the Admirals three times this season: Coreau has a 1.28 goals against average, 0.949 save percentage, and a shutout. McCollum has a 2.02 goals against average and a 0.918 save percentage.
The bulk of games in net have been going to McCollum lately. Since March he has played in ten of the Griffins fourteen games. Coreau might have the better numbers against the Admirals but has two starts in the Griffins last nineteen games.
~Griffins Killer~
The term “Admirals Killer” can go to someone the likes of Mrázek for all the damage he has done. The term “Griffins Killer” can just as easily go to Colton Sissons for how lethal he has been against Grand Rapids. In seventeen games against the Griffins Sissons has scored 12 points (10 goals, 2 assists). 26.1% of Sissons goals this season have come against the Griffins.
What will the Admirals need to do to earn a win over the Griffins on the road tonight? If the Admirals lose in regulation again would that be a nail in the coffin? After Mazanec was pulled from net last night would you stick with him or switch to Hellberg?
Be sure to follow Admirals Roundtable on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and see our photos on Instagram.
Rich Clune dropped the gloves for the first time in thirteen games for the Admirals tonight in Rockford. Unfortunately, the biggest thing dropping lately are points. (Photo Credit: Greg Hamil)
The Admirals lost 5-3 on the road against the Rockford IceHogs Tuesday night. It was the Spencer Abbott show as he continued to be a dominant force for the IceHogs since he was traded from the Toronto Marlies for T.J. Brennan. Abbott recorded two goals and two assists as the Admirals four game point streak came to an end tonight.
It was the IceHogs jumping out in front with a tally for defenseman Stephen Johns in the first period. Spencer Abbott peeled off of the right wing corner with a backhanded pass straight to Johns as he skated back into the slot. His shot was rifled low stick side on Marek Mazanec and went in for his fourth goal of the season.
The second period started with a bout between Rich Clune and Cody Bass. The two exchanged some rapid fire right handed jabs at each other. Clune was landing clean early and kept trading away despite Bass punching his helmet off. This ended with a spill to the ice. In your fight cards, I’d suggest scoring this an even ten for both combatants.
Abbott was on the scoresheet again in the second period when he recorded his fifteenth goal of the season. A turnover in the Admirals attacking zone allowed the IceHogs to chip forward and send Abbott off on a breakaway. He finished off by letting the puck roll through Mazanec’s five hole. It is his eighth goal for the IceHogs in fourteen games since being traded over from the Toronto Marlies.
Austin Watson responded thirty-five seconds later to record his team leading twenty-fifth goal of the season. Pontus Åberg’s initial shot was stopped by Antti Raanta but the Finn wasn’t able to prevent the rebound opportunity by Watson from going in.
Scott Ford was given a five minute major for boarding at 9:26 of the second period. The Admirals nearly held up through the entire penalty kill but with fifteen seconds remaining Brandon Mashinter scored on the third shot from the major power-play to pick up his sixteenth goal of the season. Peter Regin was able to slip a backhanded pass through to Mashinter who flew from left to right to finish on a backhander to the blocker side of Mazanec for the power-play goal.
Gary Steffes scored his fourth goal with the Admirals in the opening minute of the third period to make it a one-goal game. Åberg rounded the cage and threw a pass from the low left wing out in front of the net where Steffes was crashing to pick up the goal. Steffes, between his time with the Admirals in the AHL and Allen Americans in the ECHL, has scored forty-eight goals in his 2014-15 campaign.
Near the midway point of the third period, and after some solid work by Vince Hinostroza, the IceHogs restored their two-goal advantage with Keith Seabrook’s first goal in the AHL this season. No one picked up Seabrook as he stepped up and into the right wing. Hinostroza picked him out and it was a simple finished to the near post for Seabrook.
Less than two minutes later, Abbott ripped in his second goal of the game to make it a 5-2 IceHogs lead. Regin chipped a puck out from the left wing wall and Abbott skated up on Johan Alm before wiring a shot high to the glove side of Mazanec for his sixteenth goal of the season. It ended Mazanec’s night in net. He stopped 19/24 shots on goal before giving way to Magnus Hellberg.
After a late fracas between Matt Carey and Taylor Aronson, the Admirals tagged the IceHogs for a late power-play goal to make it 5-3 with twenty-seconds remaining. Kevin Fiala’s shot from the right wing bounced around in front of Raanta and Watson was able to put away the garbage for his second goal of the night and twenty-sixth of the season.
The game would end right there with another Admirals regulation loss. Elsewhere around the league tonight the Hamilton Bulldogs lost 3-1 against the Utica Comets which will mean the Ads will remain in eighth place in the Western Conference tonight. Though, that gap between eight and everyone else that trails is vacuum packed tight right about now.
Ramblings: Tonight’s scratches for the Admirals included Eric Robinson, Joe Pendenza, and Jimmy Oligny. All scratches were healthy. The Toronto Marlies moved into ninth in the Western Conference with a Brendan Leipsic hat trick headlining their 7-4 win over the Adirondack Flames. The Chicago Wolves won 7-3 over the Lake Erie Monsters to move two points clear of the Admirals with two games in-hand.
Thoughts on tonight’s game? When the Admirals score to make it 3-2 a minute into the third period where does this game fall to pieces? Can the Admirals regain their defensive composure when they face the Griffins tomorrow night?
Be sure to follow Admirals Roundtable on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and see our photos on Instagram.
Rich Clune likes making friends. (Photo Credit: Greg Hamil)
Alright, yesterday wasn’t that great of a day in Wisconsin sports but –great news– the Milwaukee Admirals are back in action tonight and tomorrow to ease or amplify all of the damage that Monday caused you.
The Admirals take on the top two teams in the Midwest Division and still need to expand or maintain their gap over the trailing teams in the Western Conference standings. Make no bones about it. These next two road games are going to be tough ones to plow through but there isn’t really any surprises in-store for them either. There has been success in both of these same fixtures throughout the season so there is still plenty of reason to be up for what’s ahead.
~Short & Sweet~
The Rockford IceHogs enter tonight’s game with a record of 41-21-5-2 (89 points). They current sit behind the Grand Rapids Griffins in the Midwest Division and rank fourth in the Western Conference.
Rockford have played 69 games on the season so far compared to the Admirals (71) and Griffins (70). While the Ads are pushing to stay in the playoff picture the IceHogs have their sights still set on winning the division. They trail the Griffins by only 3 points with a game in-hand. It’s entirely doable. As for taking the top of the conference? That would take some losing on the part of the Utica Comets (69 games, 93 points) and San Antonio Rampage (70 games, 92 points).
~The Road So Far~
The season match-up between the Admirals and IceHogs has seen 11 games played so far with the Admirals holding a record of 7-4-0-0.
When looking at the recent string of overtime games for the Ads there might be some good news here. There has only been one overtime game played between the Admirals and IceHogs this season and it ended as a 1-0 Admirals shutout victory in Rockford.
There has also been a ton of scoring in this match-up. The Admirals and IceHogs have multiple players with over 7 points in the head-to-head: Viktor Arvidsson, 9 points (1 goal, 8 assists)… Phillip Danault, 8 points (4 goals, 4 assists)… Taylor Aronson, 8 points (1 goal, 7 assists)… Austin Watson, 7 points (4 goals, 3 assists)… Ville Pokka, 7 points (0 goals, 7 assists).
Goaltending has also had its great moments on both sides. Marek Mazanec: 7 games, 5-2-0-0 record, 2.15 goals against average, 0.930 save percentage, and 1 shutout… Magnus Hellberg: 4 games, 2-2-0-0 record, 2.02 goals against average, and 0.924 save percentage… Michael Leighton: 7 games, 2-3-1-0 record, 1.92 goals against average, 0.921 save percentage, and 1 shutout.
~Since Last We Met~
You might have noticed I left a name off the goaltending list there. That’s because former-Admiral Scott Darling is no longer a member of the IceHogs he’s been up with the Chicago Blackhawks since signing a two-year contract extension back in late-February. He has been doing brilliantly at the NHL level when called upon and that made a swap with Antti Raanta effortless for the Blackhawks.
Raanta has played in 9 games for the IceHogs this season and has a record of 6-1-1-0 with a 2.60 goals against average, 0.913 save percentage, and a shutout. He has allowed 10 goals in his last 4 games in net.
Since we last met feels like ages ago. No, it really does. You have to go back to mid-February to the last time the Admirals and IceHogs faced off. That game ended with a 2-1 IceHogs win in Milwaukee.
Want a swift kick in the gut? Here is a stat for you. In the time since that last encounter the IceHogs have gone 14-5-1-0 (29 points) while the Admirals have gone 5-11-4-2 (16 points).
~Scoreboard Watching~
Around the AHL tonight there are some games of interest to the playoff chase that is taking place right behind the Admirals in the Western Conference. The current ninth seed the Hamilton Bulldogs will be playing on the road against the top team in the West the Utica Comets. The tenth and eleventh seeds will square off when the Toronto Marlies host the Adirondack Flames. Then, the twelfth seeded Lake Erie Monsters face the seventh seeded Chicago Wolves on the road.
What are your expectations from these two games? Can the Admirals catch the IceHogs and Griffins taking some sort of a breather with both already having cliched their playoff spots?
Be sure to follow Admirals Roundtable on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and see our photos on Instagram.
News & Discussion Site For Your Milwaukee Admirals
Admirals Roundtable 