Author: Daniel Lavender

Game Recaps January 3, 2017January 4, 2017

Starting 2017 Right; Ads Win 5-2

The Milwaukee Admirals won 5-2 against the Rockford IceHogs Tuesday night at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.

It was a well-rounded effort on the part of the Admirals who started the 2017 portion of the calendar on the right foot tonight. Anthony Bitetto marked his return to the team on conditioning assignment by delivering a great performance as did his defensive partner on the evening Trevor Murphy who scored twice in the win.

“He’s a good player,” said Anthony Bitetto of Trevor Murphy. “He’s got a future in the league. He’s one of those kids who if you give him a puck in a position he can make something happen. You saw that tonight.”

The Admirals drew first blood tonight from their opening power-play chance in the first period. The IceHogs trap game made life difficult for the Admirals after clearing the puck on the initial face-off. The Admirals struggled to get past that blueline to start chipping away. That is until a pass from Trevor Murphy snuck Adam Payerl through down the right wing wall behind the defense. Murphy continued his run and the two quickly found themselves on a two-on-zip breakaway. Payerl passed from right wing to slot to Murphy who worked a backhander past the pads of Lars Johansson to bury his sixth goal of the season.

In the second period the Admirals would cash in from a power-play once again. After seeing a five-on-three power-play end they were able to bury a chance with eight seconds remaining on the man-advantage. A bad bounce from behind Johansson’s net on the end boards saw a puck squirt right back near the slot where Pontus Åberg was able to dish over to Bitetto back-post for a tap in to make it 2-0 Admirals. The goal for Bitetto was his first scored in seven games across the NHL and AHL this season.

“Tony hit the ref I think,” smiled Pontus Åberg when describing the play. “It went over the net and right to my tape. I wanted to shoot it first but he had a wide open net. So, I had to give it to him.”

Shawn O’Donnell decided to let his presence be known for the Admirals as the newly added forward from the Cincinnati Cyclones dropped the gloves against Chris DeSousa. The fight took place after DeSousa finished off a hard check near the penalty box area against Justin Kirkland. DeSousa turned right into O’Donnell and the two went at it with O’Donnell getting a decisive 10-9 decision in my fight card.

As a power-play expired the IceHogs got on the board to make it a 2-1 game. Carl Dahlström stepped down the right wing and whipped a wrister past a double screen with Sam Carrick and Martin Lundberg in front of Marek Mazanec. The Dahlström shot went against the grain to beat Mazanec high glove side for the Swede’s fifth goal of the season.

Åberg made the crafty play to setup Bitetto at the start of the second period. He would be on the receiving end of a great pass by Matt White to score his ninth goal of the season by the end of the second period. White corralled a puck in the trapezoid and backhanded it out towards the Swede down the left wing slot for a first time finish. Åberg’s goal was the fiftieth of his Admirals career.

“I know he knows where I am,” said Åberg of Matt White. “We talked about it a lot actually – to find a little spot there. When I got it on the tape I just tried to shoot it right away because they had three guys around me. But I was open enough to get it in the net.”

It took the Admirals just forty-five seconds later to get a puck past Johansson once again. A d-to-d pass at the blueline from Bitetto to Murphy was met with a thunderous one-timer by Murphy that launched into the top shelf for his second goal of the night and seventh of the season.

The opening to the third period saw Mike Liambas drop the gloves against his teammate from last season Pierre-Cédric Labrie. Unlike the first bout there wasn’t really a winner as such from this tilt. It was a really spirited scrap. I’d say the winner of the fight is yours to decide.

With a solid five-minutes remaining in regulation the IceHogs went for broke and decided to pull Johansson to get the extra attacker on the ice. The Admirals made them pay for that decision extremely fast as Justin Kirkland buried the empty netter for his second tally of the season to make it a 5-1 Admirals lead.

The IceHogs wouldn’t let the game rest there. A shot by Martin Lundberg escaped the grasp of Mazanec and DeSousa was able to smack it out of mid-air past the Czech goaltender to draw the game back a goal.

The game would be sealed right there with a 5-2 Admirals win that pushes their record to 19-8-2-2 (42 points, 0.677 points percentage). It was a great night in net for Mazanec who quietly provided a solid foundation for the Admirals. He stopped 28/30 shots on goal in the win tonight and also earned a secondary assist on the Admirals opening power-play goal. Mazanec now has nine career assists as a member of the Admirals.

“We were fortunate he was back there for us,” commented Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason of Marek Mazanec’s performance in net. “He was phenomenal. He made incredible saves. What we gave them with the two goals – we gave them. Not his fault for sure.”

Next up for the Admirals is a road trip out to the West Coast. They face the San Jose Barracuda on Friday night (9:00 PM CST) and the Stockton Heat on Saturday night (9:30 PM CST). Their next home game comes a week from tonight as they see the Charlotte Checkers.

Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals last played there were several roster moves made in the organization: the Admirals released Blake Kessel from his PTO Contract, Adam Pardy was reassigned by the Nashville Predators to the Admirals, Harry Zolnierczyk was recalled by the Predators from the Admirals, Anthony Bitetto was activated from Injured Reserve by the Predators and assigned to the Admirals on Conditioning Assignment, and the Admirals signed Shawn O’Donnell to a PTO Contract from their ECHL affiliate the Cincinnati Cyclones. Tonight’s line combinations for the Admirals were: Gaudreau-Smith-Görtz, White-Kamenev-Åberg, Florek-Kirkland-O’Donnell, Liambas-Girard-Payerl, Pardy-Carrier, Bitetto-Murphy, Oligny-Dougherty. Tonight’s scratches for the Admirals included: Cody Bass (lower-body injury), Jonathan Diaby (healthy), and Rick Pinkston (healthy).

What were your thoughts on tonight’s game? What did you think of Anthony Bitetto’s return to game action tonight? Are you gaining confidence in the way Marek Mazanec has performed since returning from the Nashville Predators?

Be sure to keep updated with Admirals Roundtable through social media platform of your choice: follow along Twitter, like us on Facebook, get photo updates on Instagram, and listen along on SoundCloud.

News January 3, 2017

Bitetto Returns; O’Donnell Added on PTO

Harry Zolnierczyk has been officially recalled by the Nashville Predators from the Milwaukee Admirals. In addition, Anthony Bitetto has been activated from Injured Reserve by the Predators and assigned to the Admirals on a two week conditioning assignment. The Admirals also added forward Shawn O’Donnell from the Cincinnati Cyclones on a PTO Contract.

Zolnierczyk has 16 points (6 goals, 10 assists) in 24 games this season for the Admirals. His efforts in December earned him our nod for Admiral of the Month. He has been a terrific spark plug for the Admirals this season. This will mark the second time that the Predators have recalled him. He logged a single game to this point for the Predators which came during the food poisoning game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Bitetto has had awful luck this season. After a strong showing ahead of the 2016-17 season he was injured on opening night after a fight with Jordin Tootoo. He made his comeback following a conditioning assignment with the Admirals that saw him play a pair of games before going back up where he would break his hand and be sidelined yet again. With how the Admirals schedule is set, with a game tonight in Milwaukee and a California road swing this weekend, there is a chance that this will be Bitetto’s lone appearance on conditioning assignment before immediately returning to the Predators.

For O’Donnell this is the second time in which he has been added to the Admirals on a PTO Contract. Yet, in that first instance, he never actually played. That came during the scramble of the Predators food poisoning situation up top and enough players ended up being able to report back to the Admirals rendering O’Donnell as a healthy scratch that evening. He was part of the team’s Training Camp prior to the start of the 2016-17 season. He has 14 points (6 goals, 8 assists) in 17 games for the Admirals ECHL affiliate the Cyclones this season and also has 128 career games of AHL experience.

Scouting January 3, 2017

IceHogs: Scouting the Enemy

The last time these two teams met the Rockford IceHogs attempted to confuse the known universe by wearing urban camo uniforms. (Photo Credit: Todd Reicher)

Well, howdy there Rockford IceHogs. It has been a long ol’ time since you turned up on the Milwaukee Admirals 2016-17 schedule. This is the fourth meeting of the season between these two Central Division foes, the first game played since late-November, and the first time all season that the IceHogs will be playing in the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.

Needless to say there is some recapping in order with the IceHogs. They enter this game with a record of 11-16-2-3 (27 points, 0.422 points percentage). They are currently in seventh place in the Central Division with only 0.016 points percentage points… if that’s a thing.. separating them from the last placed Charlotte Checkers.

I feel very much like the IceHogs are this year’s version of last year’s Chicago Wolves. The IceHogs have the team. They just aren’t finding the results. I still find that letting Michael Leighton go has really hurt how their team has performed. The IceHogs are allowing 3.28 goals per game while scoring 2.47 goals per game. Right now Leighton, who plays for the Checkers, has a 2.04 goals against average, 0.927 save percentage, and 2 shutouts. The IceHogs goaltending this season has featured Lars Johansson and Mac Carruth. The two have a combined 2.93 goals against average and 0.899 save percentage.

Another sore spot for the IceHogs? Look at their roster last season. Look at the Chicago Blackhawks roster this season. Right now the Blackhawks have names such as Ryan Hartman, Vinnie Hinostroza, Tanner Kero, and Dennis Rasmussen. Prospects who could be in the AHL – aren’t in the AHL. That’s kind of the way the Blackhawks are forced into structuring a team the way they have big name talents under big money contracts.

Still, that’s not to say that the IceHogs should be let off the hook for a poor start to their season because the talent is there: Spencer Abbott, Sam Carrick, Jake Dowell, Brandon Mashinter, Mark McNeill, and Ville Pokka. It has been an incredibly underwhelming defensive effort that has shot them in the foot time and time again. And it is that approach that smells not too dissimilar to the way the Texas Stars operated minus the ability to match score for score. This could be a track meet. And it could all fall one way unless the IceHogs’ New Year’s Resolution of “minimize mistakes” holds true.

Where this game becomes fascinating from the Admirals perspective is the return of veteran stability to their defensive ranks in the form of Adam Pardy. Having him back, most likely paired with Alex Carrier, will be a very welcome sight to behold for the team. There is also the chance that the Admirals dress seven-defensemen tonight while Cody Bass is out due to a lower-body injury and Harry Zolnierczyk was recalled by the Nashville Predators yesterday.

Speaking of yesterday. I did chat with a good group to help preview tonight’s game. You can get caught up with that here in the latest edition of Chatterbox.

Expectations for tonight’s game? With the Milwaukee Admirals having lost four of their last five games what do they need to start doing to get on a good run early in 2017? Should the Admirals give the net to Jonas Gunnarsson for a third consecutive game or is it time to get Marek Mazanec back in?

Chatterbox January 2, 2017

Chatterbox, Vol. 164

(Photo Credit: Shane Abbitt // Iowa Wild) — (Photo Credit: Shane Abbitt)

This morning I went to get a heads up on how the Milwaukee Admirals are doing ahead of their first game of 2017. It’s still rather crazy to think that tomorrow night will mark the first appearance of the Rockford IceHogs to Milwaukee this season. Given how often it feels the Admirals have been playing the Chicago Wolves lately expect to feel a lot of that going forward with the IceHogs in the second half.

There were some notes to be made for today:

Reid Boucher was claimed on waivers by the New Jersey Devils. That’s the organization that Boucher had been part of before the Nashville Predators plucked him off of waivers in early-December.

Harry Zolnierczyk has been recalled by the Predators from the Admirals. It’s likely that he will be more of an option than someone who is getting swiftly injected to the Predators lineup immediately. With that in mind, it kind of makes you wonder why Boucher was put on waivers in the first place if an extra body was needed topside.

Cody Bass won’t be available to the Admirals for “any time soon” is the update on his lower-body injury from head coach Dean Evason. He had an MRI recently. It isn’t clear as of yet the extent of his injury and just how long he will in fact be gone due to that injury. It’s possible that tomorrow night, with no Bass or Zolnierczyk, that the team rolls with seven-defensemen and rotates a forward for the time being.

After practice I spoke with Evason as well as Adam Pardy and Max Görtz to get their thoughts on the past month of work and tomorrow night’s game against the IceHogs. This is what they had to say:

Thoughts on today’s news? Are you as confused by the Boucher/Zolnierczyk situation as me? What should the Admirals do for tomorrow night’s game given the forward group right now?

Chatterbox, Feature January 2, 2017

Fifteen with Jonas Gunnarsson

The first North American pro season for Jonas Gunnarsson has very much been a tale of the waiting game. While the Nashville Predators have flipped between Marek Mazanec and Juuse Saros as the choice for backing up Pekka Rinne it has been Gunnarsson quietly waiting for his chance to show what he can do in Milwaukee. The instability topside might only just be starting to solidify itself. And, to end the 2016 calendar year, Gunnarsson has shown a taste of what he’s capable of and just why the Predators elected to sign him from his native Sweden this past off-season.

Gunnarsson is a 24-year old goaltender from Eksjö, Sweden that has continually made strides in his home country. He progressed through the youth academies of Nässjö HC and HV71 before officially being unleashed on a more frequent senior team basis as a member of the Malmö Redhawks. His efforts in the 2014-15 season saw him help Malmö elevate out of the second tier Allsvenskan league in Sweden back into the top flight of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) the following season.

It was last year, playing in the spotlight of the SHL, where Gunnarsson put himself on Nashville’s radar. Although Malmö did not reach the playoffs Gunnarsson still posted career highs for himself at a senior team level and did so in one of the top European leagues: 44 games, 2.47 goals against average, 0.913 save percentage. In addition to his work at club level he also earned the chance to represent his country at an international level where he stopped 23/24 shots in a 5-1 win for Sweden over Switzerland in his international debut at senior level. It was a feather in the cap of what had already been a whirlwind and successful individual year.

Yet, the opportunity to make the splash to the North American pro scene came knocking and did so from an organization that has developed some of the better European goaltenders in the game today. The Predators organization signed Gunnarsson to a one-year entry level contract on 6/1/16. He took part in the Rookie Development Camp in Nashville over the Summer, went head-to-head to win the back-up job against Mark Visentin at Admirals Training Camp ahead of the 2016-17 season, and then settled in for what has been a struggle for time in net as the season has progressed.

While the European playing season does have an earlier start than here in North American it is somewhat surprising just how drastic of a change things have been from one-year to the next for Gunnarsson. Right now he has logged 6 games in net for the Admirals. By this time last year he had logged 28 games in net for Malmö. The rotation and uncertainty that has played out in front of him this season couldn’t have been expected. Luckily for him, when given the opportunity, he has made the most of his ice time.

The numbers might not truly give an honest reflection of Gunnarsson’s early work with the Admirals so far. In his first few appearances he has had the misfortune of being the man between the pipes for some true stinkers by the group in front of him. Yet, through all the down time and waiting to redeem himself for those games, the Swede has been a workhorse in practice. The Admirals have an incredible family atmosphere this season and workers like Gunnarsson do not go unappreciated. When he earned his first career North American pro win – it was a big boost for the entire team. When he earned his first career North American pro shutout – ditto. The locker room is a big fan of Gunnarsson the goaltender, the professional that he is around the rink, and the person that he is away from it.

After having chatted with him myself following a practice not too long ago it isn’t hard to see why people can become a fan of Gunnarsson the person. Fans who were there for post-game skate following his shutout performance can also relate to that. He didn’t even leave the rink before being swarmed by fans who shared their appreciation of his efforts that night – and he was the last person off the ice making sure no fan left without giving a thanks or an autograph. So, without further ado, let’s all get to know our new Swedish goaltender that little bit better.

Thank you so much to Jonas Gunnarsson for spending the time to conduct this interview. The next man set to be featured in Fifteen will be defenseman Jack Dougherty. That will be coming in the very near future. As always, I’d love to get who you want to hear in Fifteen next. There are still plenty of new Admirals to have featured. Let’s have some fan suggestions!

News January 1, 2017January 1, 2017

Pardy Returns to the Admirals; Kessel Released

The Nashville Predators have reassigned defenseman Adam Pardy to the Milwaukee Admirals. The Predators also announced this afternoon that defenseman P.K. Subban will be placed on Injured Reserve with an upper-body injury and will be evaluated further in two to three weeks.

In recent practices for the Predators it appears that Anthony Bitetto is nearing a return following a broken hand. Should that occur it opens this door for Pardy to make his return to the Admirals while Petter Granberg remains topside as a flex option. Pardy’s absence has been very much missed for the Admirals who have sought out Blake Kessel and Rick Pinkston on PTO Contracts from the ECHL trying to find defensive balance.

During Pardy’s time at the NHL level this season he has played 4 games with no points of offense to speak of with 6 penalty minutes and a plus/minus rating of -1. He has been a healthy scratch for the Predators in their last 3 games. With the Admirals this season he has played 16 games, scored 6 points (2 goals, 4 assists), has 18 penalty minutes, and a plus/minus rating of +6. His defensive partnership with rookie Alex Carrier has mainly served as the top defensive pairing for the Admirals.

Update: The Admirals released Kessel from his PTO Contract. His rights belong to the Kalamazoo Wings (ECHL) but he declined to report to them following an early season ECHL trade. It is unclear where he goes next from here.

Update Part II: The Predators have placed forward Reid Boucher on waivers with the intent to reassign him to the Admirals. It will become clear tomorrow afternoon if he clears waivers and is able to reach the AHL.

Feature January 1, 2017

Admiral of the Month: December

In November, the Milwaukee Admirals rolled through the month en route to a 8-0-1-1 record which pushed them to the best record in the AHL. After the month of December? Things aren’t anywhere near as chipper but it would have been a hard ask to match November.

The Admirals went 6-6-0-1 (13 points, 0.500 points percentage) in the month of December. There was a lot of hot and cold, win three, loss three, up and down kind of play. It is that time of year when other teams who didn’t have it out of the gate start finding -it- and the Admirals were fortunate enough to have had such a strong start to the point that having a lull this month isn’t so bad.

Right now the Admirals record stands at 18-8-2-2 (40 points, 0.667 points percentage). They are second in the Central Division. They are third in the Western Conference standings trailing only the Ontario Reign and Grand Rapids Griffins. What separates the Admirals from those teams is the amount of road games already endured: Admirals (18 road games) and Reign/Griffins (15 road games). Only the Charlotte Checkers by a single game have played more on the road than the Admirals have in 2016.

So, what of the players for the Admirals this month? It has been spotty for sure. I think the defense has been the hardest hit this month with players such as Petter Granberg and Adam Pardy moved out of the equation. It meant defense to offense became that much trickier for the group and it might not have been until later in the month when that transition game started to get back to where it was.

I do feel there are three players who really stood out to me this month. When I break it down more and more though I keep coming back to the same conclusion. Yes, Trevor Smith played great. Yes, Vladislav Kamenev had a stellar month. But how often was Harry Zolnierczyk factoring in for both of those guys and being such a great spark plug for the team? Zolnierczyk has been so consistent this month and to me is deserving of Admiral of the Month for December.

What’s impressed me so much about Zolnierczyk this season has been the pace at which he plays the game. I either really underestimated his speed or he has an extra gear that he can play at and uses it when needed. In December he always seemed to be hustling and around the puck at great pace. And, when seeing how his offensive production ended, he made bigger strides this month than he did coming into it. Zolnierczyk had 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists) in 11 games prior to this month. In December, he produced 12 points (5 goals, 7 assists) in 13 games. For the Admirals to keep surging moving forward? Zolnierczyk continuing what he did in December could be a big key to doing just that.

~Admiral of the Month Award~

October: Juuse Saros
November: Alex Carrier
December: Harry Zolnierczyk

Who do you feel was the top performer for the Milwaukee Admirals during the month of December? Was it Zolnierczyk, Kamenev, Smith or someone else? Tell me who your Admiral of the Month was in the comment section below.

Game Recaps December 30, 2016December 31, 2016

Just Short; Admirals Fall 4-3 in Shootout

The Milwaukee Admirals lost 4-3 in a shootout on the road against the Chicago Wolves Friday night at the Allstate Arena.

This game had a playoff style atmosphere on the ice about it as both really grinded each other out for three periods. In the end, the Wolves would get the shootout win with Kenny Agostino popping in the lone tally in the shootout for both sides. The Admirals end the 2016 side of the calendar claiming a point on the road in Chicago.

Tonight’s opening goal was slightly unlucky on the part of the Wolves. When a puck got over to Pontus Åberg in the high slot he quickly let a wrister fly that went up and hit Andrew Agozzino in the face. The Wolves forward went down quickly, Pheonix Copley in net tried to wave towards his bench area for help, but a whistle didn’t come and Åberg quickly recovered the puck for a follow up shot that went past the glove of Copley for the Swede’s eighth goal of the season.

In the second period the Wolves would level things up at 1-1. Scooter Vaughan polished off a great extended attack by the Wolves in their offensive zone. He managed to loop around the left wing wall and use Jack Dougherty as a screen before shooting to the near post to beat Jonas Gunnarsson low blocker side for his fourth goal of the season.

The Wolves would claim their first lead of the night eight minutes later in the frame. A play by MacKenzie MacEachern put a puck to the net. In the scramble out in front of Jonas Gunnarsson the puck trickled out for Brett Sterling to get a shot on target before most could react and the wee-man had his sixth goal of the season.

The end of the second period saw yet another odd play in which a Wolves player went down with injury only to see the Admirals score seconds later. Harry Zolnierczyk and Petteri Lindbohm collided in the low left wing pocket. It appeared the two caught their legs in the hit with Lindbohm coming off the worse in the check. As the play kept cycling, Frédérick Gaudreau had plenty of space around where the initial collision took place to pass over to a wide open Zolnierczyk in the right wing for a one-timer past Copley to make it a 2-2 game from Zolnierczyk’s sixth goal of the season.

The two sides would trade goals quickly to open up the third period. On a Wolves power-play Wade Megan fired a shot that Gunnarsson stopped but the rebound fell free in front of the crease where Ivan Barbashyov was credited with getting the final push through for his twelfth goal of the season. Just 1:16 of ice-time later and the Admirals’ Russian would be lighting a lamp down at the other end of the ice. Vladislav Kamenev was sent free on a quick two-on-one by Matt White and the Russian stayed in a shooting position and whipped a wrist shot high glove on Copley for his ninth goal of the season to make it 3-3.

Tonight’s game would require overtime and in that stretch the Admirals did get a chance on the power-play. Despite burning their timeout to sketch up a play for that opportunity at four-on-three the Admirals came up empty. The Admirals were 0/5 on the power-play tonight.

This game could have well came to an end just a second prior to a shootout being needed. Sterling was off to the races on a breakaway and Gunnarsson stonewalled him to prevent the Wolves winning it in overtime. The game trickled into the shootout where only one man would score tonight, Kenny Agostino with a backhander that went through the five-hole, to get the Wolves a 4-3 shootout win.

2016’s side of the calendar is now complete for the Admirals. Their record now stands at 18-8-2-2 (40 points, 0.667 points percentage). They resume action in 2017 on Tuesday night at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena when the Rockford IceHogs show up for their first meeting of the season in Milwaukee.

Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals played on Wednesday night there weren’t roster moves made in the organization. Tonight’s line combinations for the Admirals were: Zolnierczyk-Smith-Gaudreau, White-Kamenev-Åberg, Florek-Kirkland-Görtz, Liambas-Girard-Payerl, Oligny-Carrier, Pinkston-Murphy, Diaby-Dougherty. Tonight’s scratches for the Admirals were: Cody Bass (lower-body injury) and Blake Kessel (healthy). In the month of December the Admirals record was 6-6-0-1 (13 points, 0.500 points percentage).

Thoughts on tonight’s game? After such a dominant first period what happened for the Milwaukee Admirals in the second period that changed the tide? Are you happy with what you have seen from the Admirals in the 2016 side of the 2016-17 season?

Scouting December 30, 2016

Wolves: Scouting the Enemy

Oh, these guys again. In fact, I almost feel as if seeing the Chicago Wolves as often as the Milwaukee Admirals have in recent weeks and are about to in the month ahead should mean changing up the style in which we run the pre-game scout. Let’s do a dummy run today then, eh?

When last we met these Wolves it was the Admirals self-described worst played game of the season. It was the spanking of the team’s own doing and came after losing 8-4 to the Wolves in the previous game and 3-0 to the Grand Rapids Griffins before that. It was the first home game after a four-game road trip which could be considered taxing, sure, but everyone is going through the motions of constantly battling game-to-game. That 5-2 loss for the Admirals on home ice was self-destructive and pretty much sloppy for all but Marek Mazanec.

Following that loss on Monday night the group needed to be held accountable and get back on their feet fast. They had an Iowa Wild team coming in that always seems to punch above their weight against the Admirals. And, if there were ever a night or time for that to have happened again, it should have been Wednesday night. The great news was that the Admirals did rebound. The 3-0 shutout win that they had came on the back of very smart, crisp, and no nonsense play. The group got their basics done right and minimized bad penalties. They weren’t their worst enemy on the night. And that saw them get the job done, collectively, en route to Jonas Gunnarsson and the Admirals earning a shutout.

What happens next is something Nashville Predators fans have gone through far too often this season. Is that win for the Admirals a flash in the pan or can they continue the course set by that performance and keep winning? I believe the Admirals did a lot Wednesday night in simplifying their game and seeing the rewards that it provides. The focus on self can be reduced that little bit and it can go back towards solving the Wolves who are 3-1-1-1 against the Admirals this season while outscoring them 18-8 from three-games in the month of December.

How do you slow down the offense of the Wolves? Fear not, Admirals fans, because this question isn’t particular to your team right now. The Wolves in the month of December (12 games played) have managed to score an average of 4.0 goals per game. That’s pretty darn good. Yet, there was a familiar foe to the Admirals who found a way to get work done against them: the Griffins won 7-1 in Chicago back on 12/15/16. Let’s roll the tape.

Could it be that it was a School Day 11:00 AM start time? Perhaps it was the Monster Energy Motocross uniforms? I’m sure those are excuses that could be floated around for the Wolves but the reality is that they were worked over by a Griffins that morning.

What the Griffins did extremely well was driving numbers to the net, battling low, forcing the Wolves defense to react to that traffic, and creating a disruptive high-low game in the attacking zone. If the Admirals do what they did Wednesday, being smart and simple on defense while staying out of the penalty box, they could get bodies forward and make life hard for the Wolves defensively.

Another key area that can be seen from that footage is an element to the Admirals style of play that they often love to do: attacking on the rush. Perhaps that aspect of the Admirals game happens a bit too often and it becomes a point of emphasis on the Wolves side to prevent by jamming up the neutral zone but the Admirals speed in transition from defense to offense can be a real strength when the defense is clicking. If the Admirals can keep play in front of them in their defensive half of the ice and not see defenders getting turned inside-out it could mean seeing reflections of those rush style goals that the Griffins managed to create.

If I had to make one big key to the Admirals clamping down on the Wolves tonight it would be to play a simple and smart game. If anything, it might pay to play tight defensively as the Admirals did when they first saw the Cleveland Monsters this season. It wasn’t pretty or highlight reel worthy but they won both games in Cleveland despite seeing an average of 33 shots on goal over those two games. Why didn’t that comeback to hurt? The group effort was there as well as timely goaltending and special teams performances. Repeat that. And the Admirals can go from three game losing streak to a winning streak.

A last note. Unlike the Admirals this isn’t going to be the last game of the weekend and 2016 side of the calendar for the Wolves. They’re facing the Wild tomorrow night on New Year’s Eve at 3:00 PM CST. That’s a fast turn-around for both of those teams. Yet, it is something the Admirals don’t have to be concerned about at all. The Admirals can waste their gas tanks tonight before kicking back to celebrate New Year’s Eve and the Wolves will need to keep the Wild in mind. Watch for the late game tempo for both the Admirals and the Wolves. It could be telling.

Expectations for tonight’s Amtrak Rivalry game? What do the Milwaukee Admirals need to do to make sure that Wednesday’s win wasn’t a blip on the radar of a possibly lengthy losing spell? Did Jonas Gunnarsson earn himself an instant return to the net by recording a shutout?

Chatterbox December 29, 2016

Chatterbox, Vol. 163

Monday’s outing was described as “awful” and “the worst we’ve played all year” by Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. The group had an intense practice Tuesday and looked for the right response against an Iowa Wild team that can and has had the Admirals numbers at times in recent years. I feel the response by the team was a strong one. And, not to mention, the real standout for the Admirals has been the sore spot lately – the defense.

The Admirals 3-0 shutout came in large part to a group effort in really establishing their defensive half of the ice as a place the Wild were going to have to scratch and claw for and then fight harder to keep it. For a welcome change, the defense was really doing a good job getting pucks up and out of their zone and not creating traps for themselves with turnovers or overaggressive penalties. The pucks that would get deep didn’t stay deep for long. And, while the twenty-seven save shutout was great, there just weren’t a high volume of quality scoring chances against Jonas Gunnarsson. The group helped him to settle into the pace of the game and once the Swede was needed in a pinch he was up to task.

What was also a great boost for the team was seeing rewards come for the likes of Gunnarsson and Justin Kirkland last night.

Gunnarsson’s story this season is a fairly obvious one. He’s just not getting game action and a lot of that has to do with the flip-flopping nature of the Nashville Predators indecision of who they want to back-up Pekka Rinne. Between Juuse Saros and Marek Mazanec I feel both have done a good job wherever they get shipped around to. But, all the while, Gunnarsson has been on the outside looking in. The team knows it. He knows it. That said, when the name gets put up on the board as “starting in net” he has to deliver. He’s shown great signs of battling for pucks in net previously but he was so calm and confident last night. The team rallied behind that and there is an infectious attitude when the goaltender exudes confidence and stability such as he did. If the Predators could clamp down and say Saros is up top and Mazanec is staying down rather than have both always looking over their shoulder and living out of suitcases it could help everyone even more to settle in and let it roll. Mazanec has looked great since coming down from Nashville. Gunnarsson gets rotated in finally and he provides a shutout.

Kirkland’s story this season has been that of, “Hey, wait a minute. Weren’t you a big time scorer in juniors? What’s happening?” To be fair, scoring isn’t always everything and there have been a lot of times when Kirkland seemed ever so close to getting that first pro goal. It took a trip down to the ECHL, while the forward depth was getting deep again, for him to record that first pro goal as a member of the Cincinnati Cyclones. It seems whenever I watch practice Kirkland is impressive to watch across all drills the team throws him into. Sometimes it just takes getting that first one to get a weight off. Last night, with his dad celebrating his birthday in attendance as well as his old coach – who was wearing a #23 Kirkland Kelowna Rockets jersey, he got that first AHL and Admirals goal. You could see not just relief on Kirkland as that shot went through but also jubilation from the rest of the team for him. Everyone there wants to see each other succeed – even more so the ones that put the hard work in. That came good for Kirkland and then the team rallied behind Gunnarsson to see him -and the team- get the shutout.

Someone else who deserves a good mention would be Rick Pinkston. “Who is that,” you ask. Well, let me tell you. I flat out didn’t know either until close to puck drop. I was at practice on Tuesday and he wasn’t there. He was actually relaxing in Michigan at that time. He signed a PTO Contract out of the ECHL, showed up to a team where he only kind of knew Trevor Smith, heard good things about the organization from former Dartmouth teammate Eric Robinson, and spilled on the ice for a game.

The first goal last night came directly from a quick play on Pinkston’s part followed by keeping his shot low to the ice so he could generate a rebound while the Admirals had the numbers during a four-on-two rush. Mike Liambas was there to get the loose puck off Alex Stalock‘s pads. And Pinkston had himself a primary assist seven minutes into his Admirals debut. He played a very level-headed and simple defensive game that I felt made lots of sense in righting the ship defensively last night. There weren’t glaring mistakes that he made at all, either. That was an under the radar really nice night given the circumstances in which he was thrown right into the fire.

Another area that’s worth giving some praise to would be the Admirals special teams last night. The penalty kill this season has been fantastic all-around – if only over-worked lately. The taxing style that the Admirals have been toying with, taking lots of penalties, means seeing a lot of that PK group but they weren’t over-exerted last night. The Admirals killed all four penalties and did a quality job in forced very deep perimeter shots that weren’t going to cause much trouble. The best chance the Wild probably had last night came on a power-play when Christoph Bertschy finally rushed the net to attempt a jam play but Gunnarsson stayed low and forced a whistle. As for the Admirals power-play – it’s been a mixed bag this season mostly highlighted by over-passing. Some of that staple did creep in on their last two chances in the game but, first time of asking, they got one when they needed one. Frédérick Gaudreau made a really incredible play working on the backhand and out-waiting Stalock to force the net open as he glided across from slot to left. For the Admirals to get a second goal a minute out of the second period only allowed the group to calm down that much more and be the guys playing with a lead rather than in a one-goal scrap or chasing from behind. It feels like it hasn’t happened too often this season. But the result kind of says enough for what the Admirals can be if they play smart defensively and transition forward for timely offense then maintaining a lead. It just helped to shut the door.

After last night’s game came to an end I did get to catch up with plenty of the names mentioned above. I spoke Evason, Gaudreau, Kirkland, Pinkston, and Gunnarsson to hear what they made of the night. These were last night’s post-game interviews.

For the record, I did everything in my power to not burst out laughing after Evason called Pinkston by the name Pinky. I may have pulled a jaw muscle grinding my teeth through that one.

A story worth keeping an eye on come Friday night’s road game against the Chicago Wolves will be the status of Cody Bass. There didn’t look to be any ill intent by anyone when he got injured last night but he clashed legs and immediately grabbed towards the back of his right hamstring area. He needed help getting off to the locker room and never returned after that incident in the second period. And, while not official yet, Anthony Richard was already with the Admirals last night. It could be that Max Görtz goes right back in and Richard can serve as a possible flex-option should the Admirals feel the need for speed in Richard’s game.

Comments on the comments? Do you feel that the addition of Pinkston is the Admirals way of trying to find a certain defenseman that can stick to the lineup (eg. Kessel, Diaby)? Would you feel comfortable if the rest of the season the Admirals featured a goaltending tandem of Mazanec and Gunnarsson?

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