The Admirals picked up a point but lost on the road to the San Antonio Rampage 3-2 in a shootout. The late Sunday afternoon contest finished off the Ads four game road trip which saw them go 1-2-0-1.

This game started somewhat slowly compared to the previous bouts with the Stars. There wasn’t a goal scored until the second period. The best chances in the first period for both teams came seconds apart from one another. Rampage defensemen Mike Mottau, just out of the box after a hooking penalty, caught the puck out of the penalty box for a breakaway chance that would be denied by Magnus Hellberg. Right after that Filip Forsberg had a chance of his own only to ring his wrist shot off the pipe.

The opening goal came in at the 14:19 mark of the second period. After a lengthy shift for the Admirals the Rampage forced a turnover. The rush the other way led to a goal for Steve Pinizzotto. That’s his second goal in as many games.

Only 1:21 after the opening goal the Rampage fired home another goal. The puck stayed the way of San Antonio out of the opening goal, and led to a goal by one-time Admiral Jed Ortmeyer to make it a 2-0 Rampage advantage.

As has been the identity of the Ads this season: they don’t quit. After drawing a hooking call the Ads tallied with a power-play goal. Mark Van Guilder picked out a wide open Bryan Rodney who buried the puck past Dov Grumet-Morris in net for his second goal of the season.

In the third period the Ads managed to level the game up at 2-2. The line of the night, Simon Moser – Austin Watson – Filip Forsberg, produced a goal through Moser after some great puck movement between the group. That’s Moser’s second goal of the season and first since October 19th.

The real story of this game was the goaltending. Hellberg and Grumet-Morris were fabulous in this one and both played key roles as to why this game lasted through overtime and all the way to the shootout. Hellberg stopped 43-45 shots. Grumet-Morris countered with a strong effort of his own stopping 31-33. While shots against were plenty again for the Ads, it looks as if Magnus has shed any rust that was present in his games against the Texas Stars.

The shootout was basically capped off on the first shooter. The one and only goal scored in the shootout came off the tape of Jon Matsumoto for the San Antonio Rampage, who scored five hole. Colton Sissons, denied. Filip Forsberg, denied. Joonas Rask, denied. Austin Watson, denied. And then Bryan Rodney was also denied by Grumet-Morris – a perfect 5-5 in shootout saves to add to his first star effort in regulation.

Thoughts on this road trip? Any particular player stand out during this four game trip? How do you feel Hellberg and Forsberg played this weekend? What can we expect when the Ads return to home ice this Wednesday?

The Admirals lost 5-4 against the Texas Stars Saturday night. Once again, the Stars had a lethal second period effort that proved to power them on to victory. The Ads did managed to claw back into this game. After trailing 5-1, the Ads scrapped out three late third period goals to nearly make for a stunning comeback. Though, time ran out on the late push for the Ads who go on to drop their second straight game in regulation.

“We gave up five goals,” said assistant coach Stan Drulia after the game on Sports Radio 1250 WSSP. “Most of them were from transition situations where we had puck possession and [the Stars] do a good job of that. We ran out of time at the end, but it’s a sixty-minute game and we didn’t push hard enough at the start.”

As far as roster shake ups ahead of this game went, it was nothing as drastic as the days ahead of this weekend with call ups and call downs. Instead, Scott Valentine stepped into the forward role to fill in for the injured Mike Liambas. This opened up a spot on defense for Charles-Oliver Roussel to return to the lineup. Still no word on how long Liambas will be out. For now, expect a roster similar to what the Ads dished up tonight.

The Texas Stars opened the scoring this go-round. Taylor Peters fired a shot off of Darling and the loose puck was hammered into the net by Francis Wathier.

Just seconds after an Admiral power-play expired, the team kept the gas on and came away with an equalizing goal. The initial shot by Filip Forsberg was stopped by Stars goaltender Allen York. It was then spilled out into the path of Austin Watson who popped in the rebound for his third goal of the season.

A big opportunity came for the Ads at 16:59 of the opening period. After some rough stuff behind the play, both marked as interference calls, the Ads received a full two minutes worth of five-on-three power-play time. There were too many passes taking place on the power-play and just not enough pucks to the net as you would want with that much space to attack. In the end, the opportunity went without a goal as the pesky Stars penalty kill escaped without damage.

The previous night Texas produced twenty shots in the second period. Tonight? They did it again. The Stars outshot the Ads 20-11 in the second. Of those twenty shots three went past Darling.

“We were fairly happy with our first period,” said Drulia on Sports Radio 1250 WSSP. “In the second period we turned the puck over twice at their blue line. Took an offensive zone penalty which lead to their power-play goal. Three situations that we were well in control of that ended up going into the back of our net.”

Texas restored their lead after Curtis McKenzie slipped the puck underneath a poke check of Darling. The shot squeaked between his legs and the Ads trailed 2-1.

The next goal for Texas came off of a power-play opportunity after a Mathieu Tousignant roughing call. A Kevin Connauton blast from the blueline was deflected by Mike Hedden to push the Stars lead to 3-1.

Late in the second, the Stars produced their third unanswered goal of the period. Jamie Oleksiak slapped in a bomb from the faceoff dot making it a 4-1 Stars lead.

Magnus Hellberg started the final period in net. Not quite by anyone’s choice. Scott Darling had an equipment issue at the beginning of the third period, went off the ice to fix it, Hellberg went in the net, and Darling never returned to the game. As it turns out, Darling’s skate broke just as the team went back out on the ice… tough break for a first career AHL start.

The Stars incredible penalty kill unit was at it again tonight by scoring another shorthanded goal. Ex-Admiral Chris Mueller generated an Ads turnover from the blue line and sent Toby Peterson loose on a breakaway. He went the distance and finished off the shorthanded break with a backhanded finish through Hellberg’s five-hole.

Then came the drama. The Ads were trailing 5-1 with 7:18 remaining in the game.

Off of the same power-play that cost the Ads a shorty, Zach Budish answered the call. Budish was at the goal mouth and kept plugging away at the puck for a goal to end the Stars run of four unanswered goals scored.

The Ads then answered with another goal to make it a 5-3 game. Simon Moser kicked the puck with his skate out to Filip Forsberg who picked out the eventual goal scorer, Colton Sissons. That’s Sissons fifth goal of the season.

Hellberg then went to the bench to bring out an extra attacker for the Admirals. With forty-one seconds remaining they scored with the extra attacker on the ice to make it a 5-4 hockey game. The pace and effort of the Ads right out of the goal from Sissons shook the Stars. This goal was scored by Anthony Bitetto for his team-best sixth goal of the season.

Milwaukee managed to have a few more cracks at tying the game up. In the end, there just wasn’t enough time on the clock for them to draw back level with the Stars. It ended 5-4. The loss in net actually end up being credited to Magnus Hellberg who played the third period but conceded the game-winning goal… ouch.

Thoughts on tonight’s game? The late response by the team? What do you think can help the Admirals start games quickly and more effectively? Can it be corrected in time for their game in San Antonio tomorrow afternoon?

The Admirals lost 7-4 against the Texas Stars Friday night. It is the first time this season the Ads have lost in regulation and ends the eight-game point streak to start the season.

This game marked the return of Magnus Hellberg and Kevin Henderson to the Ads lineup. It also marked the AHL debut of Filip Forsberg.

For Hellberg, this wasn’t him at his sparkling best. He made thirty-three saves, good. But he also let in six goals, ouch. This was his first game in net since an October 26th cameo in Nashville. Since then it has been a combination of practices, warm-ups, and sitting on the Nashville Predators bench. He only played 12:12 of ice time in that lone NHL appearance. Perhaps a reason why his timing was just -that- much off tonight.

Henderson returned to the Ads lineup for his first game since October 18th in a road win against the Grand Rapids Griffins. He didn’t factor too much into the score sheet: no points on one shot with a plus/minus of -2. Yet, his presence to the team on both sides of the puck is a plus. Was he overwhelmed in his return from injury? Hard to say. But expect #15 to be a factor as he gets his legs back under him.

Making the headlines going into this game was the AHL and Admiral debut of Filip Forsberg. How did he play? Great. He scored a goal and an assist tonight. Even better than that was his work rate on the ice, drawing penalties, and producing chances for his teammates. He spent a lot of time on the ice with Colton Sissons and Simon Moser tonight. That line seemed to be one of the better groups on the ice in this game.

The Ads did manage to score the opening goal in this game. Joonas Jarvinen scored his first goal of the season after his shot was deflected en route to the net. This was the third straight game where the Ads managed to open the scoring after a lengthy drought in which they failed to do so since the opening game in Abbotsford. Slow starts have been a talking point of the Ads. Clearly they’ve been working to jump out of the gates much faster.

An early turning point in this game happened by way of injury to Mike Liambas. It sounded as though he took a hit near the boards, stayed down briefly on the ice, and skated off to the Ads bench. Liambas has been a part of the Ads most effective line early in this season: with Tousignant and Rask/Budish. Him leaving so early in the game left a hole in the forward group and a physical presence few forwards in the team can match. According to assistant coach Stan Drulia after the game, Liambas was “looking good” and walking around in his suit after the game. No word as to whether or not this is a short term or long term injury, but he will be reevaluated tomorrow morning.

The first period would end at a 1-1 tie after a goal from Jamie Oleksiak. The Stars, from the middle of the first period and whole of the second period, really began to tilt the ice against the Ads. Oleksiak let loose a slap shot that bested Hellberg in net to level things in the opening frame.

Enter the second period. Enter a horrific period of hockey for the Admirals. Penalties really gashed the Ads in the second. How bad did it get? Mark Van Guilder received two-minutes for roughing. No joke. In total, the Ads took five penalties for ten penalty minutes. This gave the Stars multiple power-play chances – including two lengthy 5-on-3 efforts.

Texas produced quickly in the second period with a power-play goal off of one of those two-man advantage situations. Travis Morin scored with a backhanded shot to give the Stars a 2-1 lead.

Moments later, yet another power-play goal for the Stars. This go-round it was Colton Sceviour with a wrister from the left circle.

It wasn’t all Stars on the power-play, though. The Ads managed to answer with one of their own. Miikka Salomaki smashed a one-timer through heavy net front traffic to draw the Stars lead back, 3-2.

Just thirty-four seconds later, wind right out of the Admirals sails, and puck being picked out of the net yet again. The Stars picked out Morin in the slot, he beat Hellberg five hole, and scored his tenth goal of the season – restoring a two-goal lead.

The advantage in shots for the Stars through two periods was rather cringe-worthy. They managed to outshoot the Ads 33-12 in the opening two frames – including 20-6 in the second period alone.

The third period did start just as the Ads would have wanted to. The Ads scored a power-play goal off of a blistering one-time shot by Forsberg. The score was again cut to a one goal Texas lead, 4-3.

Now, in my opinion, here comes the biggest talking point of the game. While the Ads clearly weren’t playing their best hockey. They were still doing what they do best: scrapping it out and staying in striking distance late in a game. So, when the Stars netminder Josh Robinson mishandled a puck and it went into the net… you would be thinking the Ads clawed back yet another two-goal Texas Stars lead. But, the officials blew the play dead instantly. The goal didn’t count. It was still a 4-3 hockey game. The error by Robinson wouldn’t haunt the Stars.

Not only did it not haunt the Stars. The very next puck drop of the game lead to a blocked shot that sent the Stars on a two-on-zip breakaway. Brett Ritchie had Toby Petersen but finished it himself. The two goal lead was restored for the Stars, 5-3.

The Ads did manage to score another power-play goal in this game courtesy of “Mr. Power-Play” Anthony Bitetto. This goal drew the game to a 5-4 scoreline, and it goes down as Bitetto’s fifth goal of the season and third on the power-play.

The backbreaker would come just three minutes after Bitetto’s goal as the Stars scored shorthanded. Colton Sceviour zipped down the left wing and sent a backhander past Hellberg on the short side of goal – yet again restoring a two goal cushion for the Stars.

Hellberg slammed his stick in disgust after conceding the shorty… and that’s how his night would end. He stopped thirty-three of thirty-nine shots before giving way to Admiral debutant Scott Darling.

Darling faced one shot and made one save before the Ads pulled him off the ice for the extra attacker. Scott Glennie of the Stars would cap off the game by scoring on the empty net. Game. Over.

Rough night after a lengthy time off. Still, there were some real positives to the Ads game tonight. Miikka Salomaki had a four-point night for the Ads (1 goal and 3 assists). Salomaki factored into all Admirals goals and, were this game to have finished a little differently, would have easily been the big star of the night. Meanwhile, Forsberg played real well in his debut outing as an Admiral. He put up two points, drew penalties, and was an effective player tonight in an otherwise rough game.

The point streak ends at eight consecutive games. The Ads finally lose in regulation. Yet, the team is set to bounce right back against these same Texas Stars tomorrow night.

Your thoughts on tonight’s game? Salomaki? Forsberg? How do you feel about Hellberg’s performance tonight? Was Hellberg’s night in net just a sign of a goalie who hasn’t played in a game for awhile or something more? How do you think the Ads bounce back after conceding seven goals?

The Admirals won 5-2 on the road against the Iowa Wild late Sunday afternoon. Penalties were pretty abundant in this one: 64 combined penalty minutes. Yet, goals from five different Ads (Budish, Beck, Rodney, Cehlin, and Van Guilder) kept the point streak alive through eight games. The Ads have yet to lose in regulation this season. Netminder Marek Mazanec now has five wins in five starts. How about this team right now?

“It was not the type of game we expected today,” said assistant coach Stan Drulia after the game on Sports Radio 1250 WSSP. “We knew [the Iowa Wild] were playing three games in three nights and we had a fairly late travel day coming over yesterday. We were hoping to play a game of five-on-five hockey, but we got into all the penalties, power-plays, penalties. It shut a lot of guys down in certain situations. It was kind of feast or famine for both teams.”

As expected, the defense was given a slight shake up ahead of the game. Bryan Rodney returned to the lineup after serving his two-game suspension for an illegal check to the head. Also suiting up, for the first time all season, was Joonas Jarvinen who had been sidelined with an undisclosed injury. The roster shake up meant Teddy Ruth was sent down to the Cincinnati Cyclones. Ruth had played in four games for the Ads, didn’t score a point, and had neutral plus-minus. Perhaps the time down in the ECHL could help Ruth in the same way it did Bitetto last year.

The Ads managed to score the opening goal for the second straight game. Zach Budish scored his first goal of the season off of a one-time shot beat Wild netminder Johan Gustafsson. The goal was set up by Mark Van Guilder and Miikka Salomaki.

Iowa tied the game up in the final minute of the first period on the power-play. A shot from Steven Kampfer was denied by Marek Mazanec. Another robbery by Mazanec took place on Erik Haula. Yet, all the net front pressure meant that any rebound would be a tap in. That’s exactly how the power-play for the Wild would end when Jason Zucker backhanded the rebound to tie things up with thirty-nine seconds remaining in the first period.

Just forty-five seconds into the second period the Wild put a puck past Mazanec to give them a 2-1 lead. The goal, scored by Steven Kampfer, squeaked through the arm of Mazanec on the short-side.

Fight I. was between Mike Liambas and Corbin Baldwin in the second period. Talk about fearless. Liambas (5’9”) versus Baldwin (6’5”). With Aaron Sims call, this sounded like a pretty good one. Here’s hoping the YouTube machine cooks up some footage!

Fight II. took place moments later. This go-round was Mathieu Tousignant against Raphael Bussieres. Much quicker scrap. Take down for Bussieres in the end.

Fight III. was between Anthony Bitetto and Jake Dowell. Bitetto was called for slashing and lined up the experienced tough-man Dowell. The tussle was the third fight in the space of 3:02 of ice time. Egads!

The Ads responded to the Wild’s late first period goal with one of their own to end the second period. Taylor Beck managed to knot the game up at 2-2 with twenty-six seconds remaining in the period.

Bryan Rodney scored a power-play goal in the third period to give the Ads a 3-2 lead. This has to feel great for Rodney. First game back after suspension and he scores a rocket on the Ads PP unit. That is his first goal as a member of the Ads.

“[Rodney] is a real presence on the bench,” said Drulia on Sports Radio 1250 WSSP. “Saying the right things. Leading the group. On the back end, adding Jarvinen today for his first game of the year. The [defensive] core changed drastically overnight with the insertion of those two players. We have so much veteran leadership on the back end. They play hard. [Rodney] is so calm, cool, and collected with the puck. He makes things happen.”

Rodney continued his good return when one of his shots from the point would be cashed in by Patrick Cehlin. That’s Cehlin’s second goal of the season and it put the Ads up 4-2.

The third period, much quieter by the second period’s standards, was capped off by a Van Guilder empty netter. It would seem the three-in-three did just have a slight effect in the third period. The Ads were in relative control most of the period. Shots on Mazanec were managible. The game finished 5-2 and the Ads remain the AHL’s lone team to not have a loss in regulation.

“They have tremendous work ethic,” said Drulia on Sports Radio 1250 WSSP. “I think it goes to your leadership group. Scott Ford, we brought him back last year for a reason. We didn’t want [Ford] to leave when he opted to sign with St. Louis and end up in Peoria. Bringing [Ford] back is a huge factor for us. [Ford] makes a difference on and off the ice. I think we’re just a calm group.”

Thoughts on Rodney’s return performance? How about Mazanec’s run in net? Hey, how about this team in general? In the words of Aaron Sims in his post-game show, “What is going on?” The Ads are the only team in the AHL unbeaten in regulation. They have earned a point in all games played. What do you all feel is the biggest factor in this great start to the season?