Author: Daniel Lavender

Scouting November 26, 2016

Moose: Scouting the Enemy

I hope you like the colors blue and blue because that’s all you’re going to get tonight. (Photo Credit: Jeff Hanisch)

This is the first appearance of the Manitoba Moose on the Milwaukee Admirals 2016-17 schedule. It’s also going to mark one of my favorite things in hockey. For the first time during an Admirals game at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena tonight we will hear -both- the United States and Canadian anthems. All you could possibly hope for after that is for the game to go the way of the two teams parent clubs last night.

The Moose arrive to Milwaukee with a blissfully average record of 7-7-1-1 (16 points, 0.500 points percentage). Unlike the Admirals the Moose were inactive last night. Their last games came at home on Tuesday and Wednesday against the Iowa Wild. They lost both of those contests and only scored a single goal from 56 shots.

I do ponder how the game that proceeded the two games against Iowa actually played into the performance. The Moose were the opponents to the Tucson Roadrunners when their captain Craig Cunningham collapsed on the ice during the pre-game singing of the national anthem. The Moose were sightseers to that frightening scene and that game was effectively canceled on the night and postponed to be played at a later date. The Roadrunners subsequently cancelled their Tuesday and Wednesday games against the San Diego Gulls. They are expected to play their first game since that incident took place tonight at home in what should be an emotional game against the Stockton Heat.

While it didn’t happen to the Moose – that incident shook everyone in the hockey community. I’d imagine being there for when that happened would be a difficult thing to process. Not too unlike when the Admirals were guests to the Grand Rapids Griffins a season ago when Alden Hirschfeld collapsed on the Griffins bench and suffered a seizure shortly after finishing a shift. It takes some time to let something like that fade on the mind whether you knew the player personally or not. The Moose in their games against the Wild may have still been going through some of the motions. This road trip to Milwaukee might serve them well.

The leading scorer for the Moose at the moment is first-year pro Jack Roslovic who has 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) from 16 games. The 19-year old who was drafted in the first round by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2015 NHL Draft is their lone player at the double-digit plateau in points. The Admirals have four.

The good news for them is that they happen to have a version of Matt White on their team by the name of Quinton Howden. Both haven’t played the full allotment of games for their respective teams but both lead their teams in goal scoring with 7 goals. White does have a slight edge as a point per game player at the moment to Howden’s 0.75 point per game average.

A glaring stat for the Moose happens to come in the form of their 255 penalty minutes. There is a good reason for this, too. Remember that new AHL fighting policy that came up this Summer? Cool. Me too. Now somebody tell the Manitoba Moose that because they are current tied with three other teams for fourth most fighting majors (11) in the AHL this season. The only teams who have more are: Albany Devils have a league high 17 fighting majors taken so far while the Hershey Bears and Ontario Reign are tied with 12 fighting majors. The Admirals have only taken 4 fighting majors all season and the only teams who’ve taken fewer than that are the Charlotte Checkers and Griffins who both have had just 3 fights all season.

If anything the good news is that there isn’t a soon to be red flag yet for the Moose. The most fighting majors accumulated to date by a single player on their roster stands at 2 fighting majors and is shared by Patrice Cormier, Darren Kramer, and J.C. Lipon. Beyond that? Sparkling. Only five other players have dropped the gloves for the Moose. So, this game should be 100% civil… ignore the photo used above.

In net the Moose have a young up and comer as well as someone who has been there and done that. Eric Comrie was someone that really impressed me in net for the Moose every chance I got to watch him play. He ended up shouldering a massive work load a season ago but that can now be shared because he is partnered with Ondrej Pavelec.

To this point Comrie has been the much better option of the two. He has a 2.31 goals against average and 0.925 save percentage compared to Pavelec’s 3.62 goals against average and 0.899 save percentage. With such a healthy bit of rest since their last game either could start tonight. As for the Admirals? It might be interesting in the back of a two-in-two if the rotate Marek Mazanec out after last night’s wild game and gave Jonas Gunnarsson another go. It might make someone in Nashville wearing a suit frown but it also might be a smart move to play the Swede.

Expectations for tonight’s game? Do you feel like last night’s grinding effort will comeback to bite the Milwaukee Admirals tonight against a fresh Manitoba Moose team? Would you consider rotating Mazanec and Gunnarsson for the sake of rest or play Mazanec until Nashville sees that he’s back on the horse again?

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.

Chatterbox November 26, 2016

Chatterbox, Vol. 157

At the moment that I’m writing this I just enjoyed a lovely drive from Rockford back to Racine. And with that lengthy piece of night time driving I really had the chance to digest the Milwaukee Admirals 3-2 shootout win over the Rockford IceHogs that little bit more. Heck, I think it took the post-game interviews for my heart to start beating normally again. This year’s Admirals team, in short, is just special. This year’s Admirals team, in length, is the following.

The IceHogs delivered one of the most physical games that the Admirals have played in all season. It was a hard hitting game and I think it would be a safe bet to assume the IceHogs delivered more hits than shots on goal – or at the very least quality scoring chances forced. Despite that, the Admirals really did start settling down into a good groove in the second period and started to tilt the ice heavily. All to no reward, too.

Marek Mazanec has a somewhat negative spotlight on him at the moment and his purpose of being back with the Admirals is to change that. He needs the ice time. He needs to get his confidence back up. He needs to get back to battling for pucks and be a sharper goaltender than the NHL level requires him to be. It had to be among the very first shots he faced in the game but he ends up allowing a power-play goal. It deflected out in front of him, off his own defenseman’s stick, and past the blocker shoulder. The IceHogs then burned through the Admirals with pace in a counter attack to beat Mazanec blocker side from a rush play. It was 2-0 IceHogs despite them nearly being doubled up in shots.

Mazanec looked really good in that game. He was square to shooters and was helping out his defensemen a ton with keeping the puck cycling in and out of the zone. Mazanec’s last outing for the Admirals saw him make a pair of blunders passing the puck around his net but it may have been the strongest element to his game last night. It was a redeeming performance.

Yet, for all the good that the Admirals did. They were still down 2-0. Good effort from the likes of Harry Zolnierczyk playing at a high rate of speed on the night. Good all around game again from Admirals captain Trevor Smith. And yet another terrific effort by the defensive pairing of Adam Pardy and Alex Carrier. All that. Nothing to show for it.

It’s at that moment where you could have just as easily seen an Admirals team that became complacent. “Perhaps it just isn’t our night,” said a fictitious Adam Payerl. “The pucks just aren’t bouncing our way,” said a very fictitious Petter Granberg. “Oh, mon Dieu,” possibly exclaimed the real Félix Girard.

Things weren’t bad. They weren’t. They were good. Not great. All that seemed to be lacking in the game was quality finishing or getting a loose puck around the net from a rebound or a blocked shot. Those just weren’t coming despite shot after shot onslaught by the Admirals that ended up seeing the game finish with a shot disparity of Admirals 38, IceHogs 16. The Admirals held the IceHogs to 16 shots in 65 minutes of hockey. That is insanely good defensive effort and offensive pressure being mounted to keep the ice tilted. There just weren’t finishes to them. Until, that is, the last five minutes of the game.

The first goal from Frédérick Gaudreau came on the power-play. It was a break that the team needed and one where you could get a collective sense of “finally” from the group. Perhaps lost in that was also a small sense of “uh-oh” on the part of the IceHogs. And what makes the Admirals as special as they are is that their fight to win games is always at such a high level regardless of the situation and, likewise, they stay calm throughout the process. If the Admirals seem to find a sign of a team wilting a bit they keep the pressure on. When the Admirals worked a puck loose around Mac Carruth and kept fighting in the scrum to get a rebound past him – that was just that. Vladislav Kamenev found the loose puck and smacked it home to make what was a 2-0 “Oh, mon Dieu” game with five minutes left in regulation into a “there goes those Admirals again” …game.

I’m pretty certain I’ve made the joke either here in a post or through social media but I am starting to just get used to this year’s Admirals team being able to comeback from whatever hole they happen to get themselves into. 2-0 down? Well, they already came back from 3-0? Why not? I’ll give you this much, though. Leaving it to the final minutes like in that game with Rockford made it more tense in that respect -but- they still did it. I’m starting to give up on asking just how are they constantly able to do that and just start accepting that they do it all the time now – it’s just a force of habit. This year’s Admirals are more resilient than a cockroaches.

I keep thing at some point these sorts of games will and probably should end on a sour note. It’s just that this team isn’t having it right now. These last four games in particular have had the make-up of a playoff style hockey game. Everything is so tight and well structured from a defensive standpoint and it comes down to which offense can grind out the result. The Admirals have won all four of those games. This is a ten-game point streak and a five-game winning streak that might just be seeing the Admirals starting to get to another gear. It’s almost worth pulling yourself back a bit to just take it all in.

After the game I ended up speaking with Milwaukee Admirals assistant coach Scott Ford. I also was able to chat with Marek Mazanec and Cody Bass. These were their comments after the shootout win in Rockford.

Comments from the comments? What does the resiliency of this year’s Milwaukee Admirals say to you? Do you view the Admirals ability to comeback as a positive or a negative that they’re tip-toeing past at the moment?

Game Recaps November 25, 2016

Cardiac Kids Again; Ads Comeback Late to Win 3-2 Shootout

The Milwaukee Admirals won 3-2 in a shootout on the road against the Rockford IceHogs Friday night at the BMO Harris Bank Center.

This game was a whacky one. The Admirals thoroughly deserved a win from their play tonight but nearly saw themselves on the wrong side of a 2-0 scoreline. It was looking that was until the final five minutes of regulation when the Admirals scored twice in just over two-minutes to force overtime where they would eventually win it in a shootout.

“We definitely have a resilient group,” smiled Milwaukee Admirals assistant coach Scott Ford after the game. “They continue to do the right things for the majority of the games because of the big chunks of time that we’re playing in other teams zones. We’re doing the right things and it is giving us a chance to win every night. We found a way to get the big wins in the close ones.”

The IceHogs got on the board first from their opening power-play chance on the night. The Admirals had almost killed the tripping minor against Trevor Murphy but with fourteen seconds remaining on the power-play defenseman Cameron Shilling’s long range wrister from the right point deflected off of net front traffic. The puck skimmed past the blocker shoulder of Marek Mazanec and the tally was credited to Schilling for his fifth goal of the season to give the IceHogs a 1-0 first period lead.

In the closing stages of the second period the IceHogs were able to extend their lead off a blistering counter attack. The Admirals were beginning to pin the IceHogs into their own half but, after a failed power-play, the IceHogs started opening up the game more. The transition from defense to offense quickly saw Tanner Kero racing down the left wing where he was able to spot the back post rush of Tyler Barnes. The pass was taken first time by Barnes who beat Mazanec to the blocker side to record his first goal since joining the IceHogs organization.

With less than five minutes remaining in the third period the Admirals were able to finally get on the board and deny Mac Carruth his shutout bid with a power-play goal. Alex Carrier was able to pick out Frédérick Gaudreau all alone in the slot as he was cutting towards the right wing. Gaudreau whipped a wrister past Carruth to score his third goal of the season with 4:47 remaining in regulation.

The Admirals most outstanding characteristic to this point in the season has been its resiliency. That shined once more as the Admirals were able to tie the game 2:04 after Gaudreau netted their first. A net front puck scramble went on for what felt like a life time. One can only assume the reason the whistle never came to freeze the puck was because they saw it free. As the battle kept on Vladislav Kamenev finally managed to secure a shot that snuck through to equalize with 2:23 remaining in regulation off of his fifth goal of the season.

This game would then be forced to overtime. That alone extended the Admirals point streak to ten straight games but the extra point was up for grabs. The frame saw its typical share of anxiety driven three-on-three open play but the best chances went more to the side of the IceHogs. Mazanec came up big in net during the overtime frame and helped see the game need a shootout.

The first man up in the shootout was the Barnes for the IceHogs and he deked himself past the chance to ever get a shot off. Then Kevin Fiala stepped up for the Admirals, showed a different shootout move, and worked a shot past Carruth to the stick side on a much more direct approach down the slot. He simply beat him with a quick release.

In the second round both Martin Lundberg and Gaudreau saw their attempts miss out. The game fell on the shoulders of IceHogs defenseman Erik Gustafsson to score on Mazanec to extend the shootout to one more shooter and he simply couldn’t get the job done. Mazanec was able to lay out and make a toe save to complete the Admirals comeback victory in the shootout.

The win for the Admirals is their fifth straight and extends their point streak to ten games. They now have a record of 12-2-1-1 (26 points, 0.813 points percentage) which makes them second in the entire AHL and Western Conference to only the Tucson Roadrunners (0.818 points percentage). The Admirals are tied with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for the most points earned to this point in the season and the Admirals have played two less games than they have.

The Admirals are right back at it tomorrow night on home ice when they face the Manitoba Moose for the first time all season. The game starts at 6:00 PM CST at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and will be the last home game for a good while. The Admirals won’t be back on home ice until Saturday December 10th when the Chicago Wolves come to town. The Admirals will play four consecutive road games after facing the Moose tomorrow night.

Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals last played on Wednesday there were a few roster notes from the organization. The Nashville Predators recalled Juuse Saros and reassigned Marek Mazanec to the Admirals. After clearing waivers Cody Bass was assigned by the Predators to the Admirals. Matt Carle, who like Bass was placed on waivers by the Predators, did clear waivers but was not assigned to the Admirals. Carle announced his retirement from professional hockey after a twelve-year career today. Tonight’s lone scratch for the Admirals was healthy, Justin Kirkland.

Thoughts on tonight’s game? How did you feel Marek Mazanec looked in his return to the net? What is it about this team being able to comeback so often this season?

Scouting November 25, 2016November 25, 2016

IceHogs: Scouting the Enemy

Now that we’re all over our food comas from yesterday we can get back to hockey! The last time the Milwaukee Admirals and Rockford IceHogs met it saw the best offensive output that the Ads have had all season, 7-3. For completion’s sake that is also where the Ads current nine-game point streak started back on 10/30/16.

Unlike the Admirals start to the season the IceHogs have had a tough go of things. They enter this game with a record of 7-9-1-0 (15 points, 0.441 points percentage) and are in seventh place in the Central Division. In fact, the only team worse than them by way of points percentage in the division are last year’s Calder Cup Champions – the Cleveland Monsters.

The way the Central Division stacks up right now is actually an odd sight to behold, really. Who would have though as we near December that the Charlotte Checkers, Manitoba Moose, Chicago Wolves, and Iowa Wild would all be better off than the IceHogs and Monsters? Perhaps we can add the Admirals consistency out the gate as one of the things we can all be thankful for. Not all have been able to say as much to start the season.

Where is the IceHogs weakness then this season? I’d have to say that belongs to a poor start on defense. The IceHogs have a goal differential on the season of -11 (39 goals forced, 50 goals allowed) from 17 games played. I also wonder just how much not having Michael Leighton back between the pipes has hurt the IceHogs. He’s started well for the Checkers this season: 6-2-1-0 record from 10 appearances, 1.66 goals against average, 0.937 save percentage, and 2 shutouts.

That of course isn’t to say the IceHogs main man in net, Lars Johansson, has been bad. He really hasn’t been. Numbers-wise you’re looking a guy who has a 2.48 goals against average and 0.916 save percentage. That’s not that bad. The group in front of him just isn’t taking pressure off of him. He has faced the fourth most shots of any goaltender in the AHL this season at 391.

For the IceHogs to start trending upward they need to display better composure in defending and not switch out of a simple and structured approach to the game. When you consider who the IceHogs possess on defense alone (Ville Pokka, Cameron Schilling, Viktor Svedberg, and Nolan Valleau) there is really no excuse for how the team can’t lead from the defense side of the puck and transition towards offense.

Speaking of that offense. That becomes an issue when the defending is spotty. You can’t do much offensively when you don’t have the puck. The Admirals have played 2 games less than the IceHogs yet have twice as many players scoring in the double digits. The IceHogs leading scorers right now are: Spencer Abbott, 11 points (4 goals, 7 assists)… and Mark McNeill, 11 points (3 goals, 8 assists). Meanwhile, the Admirals currently have the current four above the double-digit mark in points: Matt White, 13 points (7 goals, 6 assists)… Alex Carrier, 12 points (3 goals, 9 assists)… Trevor Smith, 11 points (5 goals, 6 assists)… and Vladislav Kamenev, 11 points (4 goals, 7 assists).

The mystery elemenet of tonight’s game will ultimately come down to how Marek Mazanec performs in net for the Admirals. It’s been awhile since he last made a start but his last two starts, both for the Admirals and Predators, weren’t anything to write home about. For the Admirals to have success tonight they are going to want to play smart in front of Mazanec, make scoring chances as difficult to come by as they did in their performance over the Griffins on Wednesday, and let the Czech settle down into the flow of the game. If they do that, tilt the ice against the IceHogs, they should manage a good result on the night.

Expectations for tonight’s game? Are you nervous at all having Marek Mazanec start in net for the Milwaukee Admirals right now or is the team’s performance ultimately going to make more of a difference in his effort? With Cody Bass returning to the Admirals where do you think he best fits in and who ultimately is the odd-man out for the forwards?

News November 24, 2016

Thanksgiving Day Serves Up Roster Moves

Firstly, I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving from here in Wisconsin. As it so happens our appetizer for the day will not be a Detroit Lions game (that’s a positive) instead it will be a few roster moves to note made by the Nashville Predators this morning. The Milwaukee Admirals’ NHL parent club have peformed a goaltending swap that will see Marek Mazanec and Juuse Saros switch places. And, as I noted last night, the Predators have also recalled Anthony Bitetto from his conditioning assignment.

I suspect the goaltending move to be similar to what happened not too long ago. This gives Mazanec a prime opportunity to log consistent playing time as well as give Saros a nice look up at the NHL level. Saros showed off of the previous swap that he can handle a week or two off and jumping back into the AHL fire easily enough. Since returning from the Predators he has won three games from three starts with a 0.978 save percentage and earned a shutout in his first game back.

Saros and I spoke recently about his most recent visit with the Predators earlier this week. He had to say the following about both his time spent and getting to learn up close from fellow Finnish netminder Pekka Rinne.

Mazanec has not played in net since 11/15/16 when the Predators lost 6-2 on the road against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Prior to that was a game that saw him make a pair of gaffes in his last stint for the Admirals that meant conceding the first goal and last goal of the game in a 4-3 overtime loss at home to the Grand Rapids Griffins. That overtime loss sees the lone point dropped by the Admirals in their last nine-games played.

You’d suspect the similar approach for the organization as last time to play out. In fact, if not for an injury to Rinne during the last goaltending switch, I wonder if Mazanec wouldn’t have been recalled when he did after playing as he did against the Griffins. It’s all about getting Mazanec game time. The more he plays, the sharper he can get, and the sharper he can get should serve him just fine at the next level.

I spoke at longer length on Bitetto in this morning’s edition of Chatterbox but the short and sweet of it is he looked great last night. The ball is in the Predators court as to how they use him from here – break up their current third defensive pairing or just have him sitting out until required for rotation as the seventh choice defenseman.

These shouldn’t be the last roster notes of the day, either. Expect to hear soon enough whether or not Cody Bass and Matt Carle clear waivers. Should they, there is a chance both could suit up as early as tomorrow when the Admirals play on the road against the Rockford IceHogs.

UPDATE. Both Bass and Carle have cleared waivers yet only Bass has been assigned from the Predators to the Admirals.

Chatterbox November 24, 2016November 24, 2016

Chatterbox, Vol. 156

How good has this guy been? (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)

Last night’s performance by the Milwaukee Admirals was one of the strongest the team has had all season. For awhile now the talk has been to play a complete sixty-minutes of hockey and these past three-games have really shown just that level of commitment from the entire group. It was defensive minded for the two-games in Cleveland. Yet, last night the Admirals really took a leap forward from what they had accomplished against the Cleveland Monsters and the result was a completely smothering effort to beat the Grand Rapids Griffins 3-1.

I suppose we can get past the elephant in the room right away. The Admirals and Juuse Saros really deserved a shutout last night. It would have solidified what was such a masterful team performance against a great team in the Griffins. Unfortunately it just seemed as though tempers were rising a touch at the end and it got the better of the Admirals by way of penalty trouble. You’re asking for trouble when you give the Griffins numerous power-play chances. You’re really asking for trouble when you give them a full two-minutes to play with a two-man advantage. It burned the Admirals. It slightly stings knowing that’s the way the shutout bid ended. But it doesn’t negate the result and the collective effort to make the shutout such a possibility.

Saros made stops when he needed to. His best save of the night came from what I felt was the Griffins lone solid scoring opportunity at full-strength. Shortly after Trevor Smith scored in the first period the Griffins worked a piece of space open for themselves with Kyle Criscuolo sneaking behind the Admirals defense. Criscuolo was wide open from the low right wing, unleashed a wrister from the bottom of the right wing face-off circle, and his shot went against the grain while Saros held tight to the near post. The shot stayed low and Saros was just able to get the right-toe to it. Beyond that? I can’t say that anything else was all that stressful for the Admirals defensively or for Saros in net. …aside from that two full minutes of five-on-three penalty kill but we went over that.

Saros though just continues to be astonishingly consistent in net. In his AHL career during the regular season he has now made 48 career starts with the Admirals, holds a record in net of 38-9-0-0, 2.10 goals against average, 0.926 save percentage, and five shutouts. That’s a winning percentage of 0.792 when he starts in net. He current leads the AHL this season in wins (9) and is second in goals against average (1.59) and save percentage (0.945) to Casey DeSmith (1.40 GAA, 0.949 SV%) who has played just five games this season. Saros arrived to Milwaukee on a hype train and it is only gathering steam that should pack a punch once it is needed in Nashville. He is absolutely the real deal.

Offensively the Admirals really looked to establish themselves against a defense that in the past has made them sputter in place. There were stretches in that game where the Griffins didn’t even look like they belonged on the same ice as the Admirals. Bizarrely, it felt oh-so often like how most Admirals and Griffins games have felt in recent years but with the roles reversing. The Admirals were the ones clogging lanes, pressuring pucks, winning battles, and scrapping at the net. The Griffins were the ones pressured into making poor passing decisions, turning pucks over, seeing shots get blocked by bodies or sticks, and being unable to find a real flow to the game. It was so impressive to see. And it might finally have been a showcase of just how this year’s Admirals look playing at their maximum potential.

There are numerous individual mentions that could be made out of that game. Though I feel that top line deserves it the most. Smith obviously scored the two goals in the game but that entire line set the tempo from the opening puck drop. The Admirals captain with Kevin Fiala and Matt White around him played a quick, hard, and skillful game. It was a table setting line. I got the feeling every shift that followed was trying to match the compete level.

Fiala has looked better with each passing game with the Admirals during this recent AHL stint. If the goal is to find a consistent high-energy effort from a shift to shift basis from him then he is getting there. He isn’t giving Viktor Arvidsson levels of “whoa, look at that guy” or even Pontus Åberg levels of wanting to double shift him because of how good he’s looking. But, that’s why he is in Milwaukee and why there is a Milwaukee relative to Nashville. He’s learning. He’s improving. And he had a solid effort last night.

Another notable player from last night’s game was defenseman Anthony Bitetto. It wasn’t even until I spoke with him after the game that I took into account how, for a conditioning assignment, he was thrown right into the fire: Cleveland Monsters (last year’s Calder Cup Champions) and Grand Rapids Griffins (always -always- tough). He was paired as a lefty-lefty tandem with Trevor Murphy and really looked to be much more comfortable than his first game back. Bitetto skated really well. He made smart decisions with the puck. And was really locked in when working in the defensive zone: positioning, battling the wall, stick work, blocking shots, and operating around Saros in net.

Bitetto’s conditioning assignment with the Admirals will come to an end following last night’s performance. He logged two games. He played as a seventh defenseman for the Admirals in the comeback and looked good. The Admirals then sat Jack Dougherty for the night to get Bitetto a more lengthy run on the ice and he responded well with a much stronger game. The Ads won both contests he participated in and both were highly defensively sound and structured performances by the team. Bitetto should be back in Nashville come Friday night when the team hosts the Winnipeg Jets.

Right now the Admirals hold a record of 11-2-1-1 (24 points, 0.800 points percentage). With the win over the second placed team in their division last night they now have a 6 point gap in the Central Division. In terms of sheer points, 24 points, they have the most in the Western Conference by 6 points over the Grand Rapids Griffins and Tucson Roadrunners. The Admirals are second to only the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (25 points) in the entire league as far as points earned. The WBS Penguins have played two-more games than the Admirals have at this point though. And, back to that lovely points percentage figure that the Pacific Division brought in last season, the Ads are second to only the Roadrunners in points percentage in the entire league and trail them by (0.018).

The Admirals are on a nine-game point streak. They are just starting to play some of their absolute best hockey as this run is extending. In short, Happy Thanksgiving Admirals fans.

After last night’s game I caught up with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. I also spoke with Bitetto, Saros, and Fiala. This is what they had to say following the Admirals victory over the Griffins on Wednesday night at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.

On a last note. Both Cody Bass and Matt Carle were placed on waivers by the Nashville Predators yesterday. Keep an eye out for news today to see if they (1) clear waivers (2) get reassigned to the Milwaukee Admirals (3) accept their assignment to the AHL.

Comments on the comments? Do you feel that the upcoming amount of road games will throw this current run of form for the Milwaukee Admirals for a loop?

Game Recaps November 23, 2016November 23, 2016

Ads Clamp Down on Grand Rapids; Win 3-1

The Milwaukee Admirals won 3-1 against the Grand Rapids Griffins Wednesday night at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.

The Admirals point streak has hit nine-games and, with the win over the Griffins tonight, they have beaten every team they’ve faced on the calendar so far through the first fifteen games of the season through eight opponents.

“Some of these games could have went either way,” said Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason after the game. “Certainly the Cleveland games. Tonight, although it was 3-0 for a lot of the game, it’s a tight hockey game. We realize that we’ve been fortunate to get the right end of it but we do know that we’re playing good hockey and in all three zones as well.”

A good cycle from the Admirals top line tonight put them on top early. Matt White was swooping South from the left wing corner along the boards and passed to Trevor Smith who was charging North. The Admirals captain snapped a quick release shot into the top shelf over Jared Coreau to record his fourth goal of the season to give the Admirals a 1-0 first period lead.

The Admirals captain wouldn’t be done there, either. After a stretch of penalties in the second period the Ads would extend their lead with a power-play goal. Kevin Fiala fumbled the pass to him by Frédérick Gaudreau which caused a double clutch on his part to get a shot to the net. Once the Swiss native did release a shot the puck spilled off of Coreau and free to the net front presence of Smith to score his second goal of the night and fifth on the season to make it 2-0.

“He’s our captain for a reason,” said Evason of Trevor Smith. “He’s a pro. He works so hard. He is committed. He is great in the room. He’s such a professional and a team-first guy. He is nothing but positive for our group.”

With the Admirals scoring that power-play goal it snapped a run of twenty-eight consecutive penalty kills by the Griffins. That penalty kill streak lasted a total of nine games with the last power-play goal allowed by the Griffins coming on the road against the Charlotte Checkers on 10/29/16.

And as tough as that penalty kill was for the Griffins the Admirals would light the lamp once more on the power-play. Martin Frk sat for a high sticking call in the third period which set the stage for Vladislav Kamenev to score his fourth goal of the season. The Russian was stationed in the right wing circle and released a low wrister that trickled underneath Coreau for the Admirals second power-play goal of the night to make it a 3-0 lead.

The Griffins would deny the Admirals shutout bid after receiving a full two-minute five-on-three power-play following a high sticking minor from Jimmy Oligny and an unsportsmanlike conduct call against Petter Granberg. Robbie Russo’s one-timer from the high left point hit off the end boards and came out the opposite side of the net for Tomas Jurco to score into a wide open net as Juuse Saros had bitten hard from the initial shot attempt. The tally for Jurco was his first of the season and came in the first game of his conditioning assignment from the Detroit Red Wings.

It might not have been a shutout then for Juuse Saros but the 21-year old Finn had yet another terrific performance in net for the Admirals. He only allowed the lone goal that came from a two-man advantage for the Griffins. The other twenty-eight shots to the net he dealt with easily to earn his eighth win of the season.

The Admirals will next travel to face-off against the Rockford IceHogs on the road on Friday night. They will then return home Saturday night to play against the Manitoba Moose for the first time this season.

Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals last played on Saturday night in Cleveland the team reassigned Anthony Richard and Jonathan Diaby to the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL. With the roster trimmed down the lone scratch for the Admirals tonight was defenseman Jack Dougherty who was a healthy scratch.

Thoughts on tonight’s game? Was this the best performance by the Milwaukee Admirals of the season so far?

Scouting November 23, 2016

Griffins: Scouting the Enemy

The last time these two met it was the best of times, it was the worst of time. Marek Mazanec and company made some blunders in the first period and it put the Milwaukee Admirals in a 3-0 hole to the Grand Rapids Griffins. Yet, the Admirals surge and fight from that deficit was among the more impressive displays in this young season. The Admirals could have easily snowballed more mistakes or flat out conceded defeat early. They didn’t and the pushed back hard to earn a point in overtime. Sadly, another gaffe from Mazanec meant it being an overtime loss after such a strong comeback. Sour taste.

Fortunately there was no real hangover from the mistakes made that night. That overtime loss for the Admirals resulted in the lone point being dropped by the team in 8 games. The last time the Admirals lost in regulation was to the Iowa Wild on the night of the home opener. If anything the stronger side of the Admirals performance against the Griffins has been manifested in the games that have followed. The Admirals have been defensively sound, limiting mistakes, and grinding out timely offense to earn three straight wins since the Griffins overtime win in Milwaukee. The last team to come in and beat the Admirals? The Iowa Wild. The next time that team came into Milwaukee? They lost. If history repeats itself tonight the Admirals will have beaten every team they’ve faced on the calendar so far through the first 15 games and 8 opponents.

The Griffins enter tonight’s game with a record of 9-5-0-0 (18 points, 0.643 points percentage). They are second in the Central Division and trail the Admirals by 4 points while having played the same amount of games to this point. Since defeating the Admirals in overtime the Griffins have played host to the Texas Stars for a pair of games and split the two: winning 6-3 on 11/16/16 (Video Highlights) and losing 4-3 on 11/18/16 (Video Highlights).

As far as just how the Griffins look at the moment one could say depleted. That’s simply down to the sheer amount of injuries that the Detroit Red Wings are currently battling through up top. The slight bit of bright news, on their end, is that one of those injured players is on the comeback trail from injury and returns to the Griffins on conditioning assignment: Tomas Jurco.

Jurco has bounced between the NHL and AHL since becoming a pro in 2012-13. He has logged 143 games at the NHL level where he has recorded 39 points (15 goals, 24 assists). He has played less at the AHL level, 111 games, but does score at a much higher clip: 69 points (32 goals, 37 assists) for a 0.62 points per game average. In his career against the Admirals Jurco has scored 7 points (1 goal, 6 assists) from 14 games with 10 penalty minutes and a plus/minus rating of +8. He played in one game against the Admirals a season ago while -also- on a conditioning assignment. It was the last of 5 games played during his conditioning assignment and he recorded no points in the outing while the Griffins won in Milwaukee 6-0.

Of all the head scratching items from the first meeting of the season one came before the game even started when Eddie Pasquale received the nod in net over Jared Coreau. Pasquale to this point has only made 2 appearances on the season, both starts, and his last appearance came in Milwaukee. He stopped 34/37 shots on goal in that game while earning his first win with the Griffins.

I’d still say it would be a safe bet for Coreau to get the start. He has started all but 2 games for the Griffins this season, holds a 8-4-0-0 record, 2.33 goals against average, 0.926 save percentage, and held a 30-save shutout over the Rockford IceHogs on 11/11/16 to record his first shutout of the season. Since the shutout he has made 2 starts and stopped only 52/59 for a 0.881 save percentage.

What are your expectations for tonight’s game? How big of an advantage will it be for the Milwaukee Admirals to have both Juuse Saros and Anthony Bitetto around for this game against the Grand Rapids Griffins? Will the defensive style game that the Admirals displayed in Cleveland shine again tonight or is the offense going to step up as a result of positive defensive efforts?

Chatterbox November 22, 2016

Chatterbox, Vol. 155

Finnish language intensifies. (Photo Credit: John Saraya)

This morning’s practice at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena gave a small preview into what to expect out of the Milwaukee Admirals clash against the Grand Rapids Griffins tomorrow night. The forward groups look set and the team was working on plenty of drills that saw them working North and South at pace.

Zolnierczyk-Kamenev-Gaudreau
White-Smith-Fiala
Liambas-Girard-Payerl
Florek-Kirkland-Görtz

Pardy-Carrier
Murphy-Dougherty
Oligny-Granberg
Bitetto

Saros
Gunnarsson

The forward group was trimmed down to twelve this morning when Anthony Richard, along with defenseman Jonathan Diaby, were reassigned to the Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL). That made for consistent line drills up front. As for the defense that is a completely different story.

The defensive pairings I gathered are essentially the norm with Anthony Bitetto slapped on at the end. In reality, today saw Bitetto pretty much running drills with everyone – including a lefty-lefty pairing with Trevor Murphy. It could be possible for the Admirals to once again dress seven defensemen as they did against the Cleveland Monsters last time out. That could mean sitting Justin Kirkland, dressing Bitetto as the seventh d-man, and rotating centers on the the fourth line.

After practice wrapped up I had the chance to speak at length with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. I also spoke with Juuse Saros and Frédérick Gaudreau. Here were today’s interviews with the team.

News November 22, 2016

Richard and Diaby Reassigned to Cincinnati

The Milwaukee Admirals have assigned forward Anthony Richard and defenseman Jonathan Diaby to their ECHL affiliate the Cincinnati Cyclones this morning.

For Richard one kind of wonders why he didn’t just stay with the Cyclones after joining them last Friday night. He made his ECHL debut and ended up scoring his first career pro goal and followed that up with an assist in a 6-5 overtime loss for the Cyclones. This season Richard has yet to record a point with the Admirals at the AHL level from 10 games.

Diaby basically is the Admirals seventh defenseman at this point but is even firther down on the totem pole while Anthony Bitetto serves his two week conditioning assignment from the Nashville Predators. Diaby has played 4 games with the Cyclones this season while picking up 3 assists. He has played 2 games this season for the Admirals.

The Admirals and Cyclones are both in action tomorrow night on home ice. The Admirals match up against the Grand Rapids Griffins at 7:00 PM CST. The Cyclones will be playing against the Quad City Mallards at 6:35 PM CST.

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