Author: Daniel Lavender

Scouting

Rampage: Scouting the Enemy
Could we see the return of Vladislav Kamenev from injury with the San Antonio Rampage tonight? (Photo Credit: San Antonio Rampage)

The Milwaukee Admirals are beginning the trend upwards after a six-game losing streak. Last night’s 5-3 win on the road against the Rockford IceHogs might have carried this season’s tradition of scoring 5 goals per game at the BMO Harris Bank Center but it was also the first time since 12/23/17 on the road against the Cleveland Monsters that they produced 5 goals inside regulation. The Admirals need to start stringing together positive results at this stage of the season and they have managed that in their last two outings. What follows next are two home games to complete a three-in-three weekend against non-divisional oppositions. That puts further emphasis on the Admirals focusing on their own game and improving it.

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Game Recaps

Hats Off For Kirkland; Ads Win 5-3 in Rockford
(Photo Credit: Greg Hamil)

The Milwaukee Admirals won 5-3 on the road against the Rockford IceHogs at the BMO Harris Bank Center on Friday night.

Justin Kirkland entered this game having only scored a single goal on the season. That lone goal came in the fortieth game of the season. Tonight, in game number forty-seven for Kirkland and the Admirals, he scores the first hat trick of his professional career as the Admirals win back-to-back games after suffering from a six-game losing streak.

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Scouting

IceHogs: Scouting the Enemy
(Photo Credit: Todd Reicher)

For the first time in three weeks the Milwaukee Admirals are rolling into a game on the back of a win. Sustaining momentum is the next great mystery for the Admirals to solve. They have a record of 8-10-3-0 this season after coming off of a win. That all came while Bobby Butler was in the lineup. This will be the Admirals first game without their top scorer as he competes in the Winter Olympics. Their opponent is a Rockford IceHogs team who are directly in front of the Admirals in the standings. The time to claw back is now in the first of a three-in-three weekend.

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Chatterbox, Feature

Fifteen with Bobby Butler
(Photo Credit: Jeff Hanisch)

The Opening Ceremonies for the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang take place tomorrow night. There will be a few former Admirals making that walk. Stefan Elliott with Canada. Martin Erat with the Czech Republic. Jani Lajunen for Finland as well as an 18-year old Eeli Tolvanen who could be a future Admiral in time. Peter Ölvecký with Slovakia. Both Magnus Hellberg and Viktor Stålberg will make the walk with Sweden. The Admirals last Olympian, Simon Moser, will once again represent Switzerland. And Bobby Butler, Jonathon Blum, and Ryan Zapolski will walk out for USA.

“When you say it it sounds pretty cool,” is what Butler told CBS 58 this past week when hearing his name an the term ‘US Olympian’ attached to it. At 30-years of age the eight-year pro has seen and experienced a lot to reach this big of a stage. His final scheduled game before leaving for South Korea was Tuesday night and he managed to record a goal for his 200th career AHL point. He helped contribute to the Admirals snapping a six-game losing streak and earning a 3-2 shootout win over one of the best teams in the league this season, the Manitoba Moose, and did it all hours before he took flight. His focus is on the here and now. And now it is time for a dream to be realized.

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Chatterbox

Chatterbox, Vol. 250
(Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)

My friends, it has happened. The Milwaukee Admirals won a hockey game. Yes, it was by a narrow margin and required a shootout to do it. What stands out -by far- was that the Admirals stamped down one of their more complete defensive efforts of the season and did it against a Manitoba Moose team that has mauled teams. The Admirals 3-2 shootout win over the Moose snapped the six-game losing streak but importantly established a launch pad that the Admirals have needed to shoot back up into the right direction.

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Chatterbox

Chatterbox, Vol. 249
Introducing the Milwaukee Admirals new #28, Mark McNeill. (Photo Credit: Daniel Lavender)

The Milwaukee Admirals returned to practice this morning at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and they did so with a new face out on the ice. Mark McNeill has officially arrived and will make his Admirals debut tomorrow night when the team looks to strike back against the Manitoba Moose and end a six-game losing streak.

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Chatterbox

Chatterbox, Vol. 248
(Photo Credit: Jeff Hanisch)

The Milwaukee Admirals are trending down. The Manitoba Moose have been trending up and towards something special ever since the season started. Last night’s result, a 5-1 loss for the Admirals to the Moose, doesn’t feel out of line given recent form of both. What continues to hurt so much watching the Admirals is their self destructive individual behavior that can stunt positive momentum swings if not outright determines the outcome of games early. It keeps happening. It is grating to watch. And there is no clear path back to a successful run of play until the Admirals fully bleed out this venom.

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Game Recaps

Six Feet Under; Admirals Lose to Moose 5-1
(Photo Credit: Jeff Hanisch)

The Milwaukee Admirals lost 5-1 against the Manitoba Moose at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena on Saturday night.

The Admirals losing streak has reached six games. They faced a very dominant Moose squad on the evening but similar errors for the Admirals turned up once again. The Admirals have conceded twenty-eight goals during the losing streak and conceded five goals in four of the six games.

“When things are not going good they go really bad and, right now, they’re really bad,” said Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason after the game. “It’s as bad as I’ve seen it here in my six-years. We have to find a way to stick together and find a way out of this.”

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Scouting

Moose: Scouting the Enemy
(Photo Credit: Jonathan Kozub)

About last night: that didn’t go to plan. The Milwaukee Admirals lost 4-1 to the Chicago Wolves on the road. While the Wolves winning at the Allstate Arena is nothing new, now having won eleven straight games on home ice, the method in which the Admirals was also depressingly nothing new. The Admirals continue to shoot themselves in the foot  during games which stunts positive momentum swings and forces them to rally from behind. The Admirals can’t afford to do that at all these next two games. The Manitoba Moose are dangerous enough on their own without any added help.

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