Author: Daniel Lavender

Chatterbox, Feature November 21, 2016

Fifteen with Anthony Bitetto

Anthony Bitetto didn’t choose the #24. It chose him. Probably because of Tino Martinez or some other New York Yankees shenanigans. (Photo Credit: John Saraya)

There are now numerous players that I’ve had the chance to see come and go through the Milwaukee Admirals organization. I’m not sure there has been a more fun personality to be around than defenseman Anthony Bitetto. He always seems to be on the cusp of some kind of joke. He keeps the group around him loose. But he also has worked incredibly hard to get where he is today.

Bitetto-tbt-1 — (Photo Credit: Indiana Ice)

Bitetto’s journey into the game started out of the sheer fun he had playing it. When he found himself traded from the New York Apple Core (EJHL) to the Indiana Ice (USHL) it was a wake up call to him that people saw a bright long-term future for him as a hockey player. That last statement comes with then Indiana Ice head coach, now head coach of the Detroit Red Wings, Jeff Blashill specifically in mind. It was Blashill who acquired him, told him he should take the game seriously because he could have a bright future in it, and stick to it. The Ice would win the USHL’s Clark Cup the year that Bitetto joined.

Now that he has been around the NHL scene with the Nashville Predators for the past year or so some might forget that Bitetto is yet another classic case of ECHL to AHL to NHL. His start with the Admirals at the AHL level wasn’t necessarily anything to write home about. He required a trip to the Cincinnati Cyclones at the ECHL level to get more minutes and come that much more to grips with day-today life as a professional hockey player. The response was met well and Bitetto from that point forth made big strides to his game. In the off-season that followed, with an assist from teammate Mike Liambas, Bitetto put himself in excellent physical condition and made even further strides on and off the ice. That season he produced 36 points (11 goals, 25 assists) for the Admirals in 73 games.

As good as the 2013-14 season looked from an offensive standpoint for Bitetto it wasn’t entirely the case defensively. He made a big leap in one regard but not much of one in the other. As the name of the game is defense to play as a defenseman Bitetto needed to up his two-way ability and found himself in a top defensive role for the Admirals the following year where he grew incredibly on defense. His game starting to really polish saw him get called up to the NHL that season as a member of the Predators. He’d log 7 games at the NHL level in the 2014-15 season before making the full leap the following season.

I always do my best to keep a real unbiased take when it comes to forwarding news out of Admirals camp. Yet, for anyone who comes across Bitetto, you ultimately become a fan of him the person. Back when Chatterbox first started up here on Admirals Roundtable a person like Bitetto would be a go-to guy in victory or defeat. A hockey locker room after a win is a joyous place to be. After a loss? Not so much – especially given the brutality of said loss. Bitetto could be an interview bombing type of personality but more-so always provided an honest assessment of how the team and himself played no matter the result. If he’s that way to the media – I can only imagine how much more candid he is to his coaching staff and teammates.

Bitetto’s path to get where he is today is a pretty remarkable one. In 2008-09 -as a kid- he was just playing the game for the fun of it. After the end of the next season he was drafted in the sixth round of the 2010 NHL Draft. Ever since turning pro he has made constant improvements on a year-to-year basis. It’s a shame then that he was injured to start this current season when he looked set to be taking that next new big leap forward and doing on a stage as big as the one Nashville has lined up for itself in the NHL this season. But, I am a believer in things happening for a reason. And I think Bitetto’s NHL run will get back and going very soon.

Massive thanks to Anthony Bitetto for taking the time after practice this morning to catch up and then do this big ol’ interview. Now that we have our first in-season edition of Fifteen in the books I’d love to know who you want to hear from in the interview series next! Leave a comment down below and let me know who should be in Fifteen next time around. There are plenty of new people to hear from this season.

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.

Ramblings November 21, 2016November 21, 2016

Waiting for the Best of the Admirals and Görtz

The Milwaukee Admirals current record of 10-2-1-1 (22 points, 0.786 points percentage) is the best in the AHL’s Central Division. They were the first team in the AHL’s Western Conference to reach 20 points and are still the lone team in conference to win 10 games. At the moment the Admirals are also on a point streak that is up to 8 games (7-0-1-0).

That all said and yet the Admirals aren’t totally there yet. And I feel a very case and point example of what I mean by that can be best demonstrated in the form of the man who finished second on the team in scoring a season ago, Max Görtz.

Görtz finished his first pro season in North America scoring 47 points (18 goals, 29 assists) in 72 games with 18 penalty minutes and a plus/minus rating of +14. Out of Görtz’s 18 goals he scored a team leading 11 power-play goals during the 2015-16 season. The catch is, for as strongly as he played at the end of last season, not much has trickled over just yet.

This season Görtz has 1 point (1 goal, 0 assists) in 14 games with 2 penalty minutes and a plus/minus rating of -6. The lone point came from a power-play goal in the Admirals eighth game of the season. When looking back at Görtz a season ago the Swede through his first 14 games of the season had scored 6 points (2 goals, 4 assists). And, if you wondered, he did have a power-play goal of the 2 goals scored to start last season.

In the split between season-to-season Görtz’s shots on goal through the opening 14 games also differ. Last season he registered 22 shots on goal (1.57 shots per game) and was held without a shot in only one contest – the season opener. This season he has registered 20 shots on goal (1.43 shots per game) and has been held without a shot on goal twice.

So, is Görtz just a bit of a slow starter or is there cause for concern to the way he has actually started?

What has stood out to me this season with Görtz is that he has been tucked away in the Admirals lower rotational forward line. It has seen him centered by Justin Kirkland with Anthony Richard on the opposite wing – both first year pros. On the date of the food poisoning up top for the Nashville Predators Görtz found himself centered by Eric Robinson who never played center until practicing with the Admirals in Training Camp. Earlier in that Training Camp he was finding himself centered by Frédérick Gaudreau with Richard on the opposite wing but he’s yet to really get a foothold on a high functioning line just yet. Be it shifting in Justin Florek, another non-traditional center, or out-right making the center role a rotation piece such as last game when Anthony Bitetto dressed as a seventh defenseman.

Görtz is therefore on the Admirals bottom line in terms of use with players either coming to grips with the pro game or newly acquainting themselves to the center position. He was the Admirals second best scorer a season ago and missed out on the top spot to Kevin Fiala by 3 points. It isn’t to say that Görtz deserves to be where he is. It’s just where he finds himself with the forward roles being really stacked this season. Görtz might be having a slow start at the moment but if he finds any part of the magic he did a season ago he becomes someone with high level scoring ability from the Admirals lower tier lines. Players the likes of Kirkland and Richard can greatly benefit from having him start elevating his play and, with that, the whole team kicks up a notch.

As a whole the Admirals are still tip-toeing through a minefield with surgical precision. The results, points, and wins have been coming and have so out of high level character play by the team playing as a team. That’s an attribute that lends itself extremely well come playoff time and the two contests played on the road against the Cleveland Monsters were basically a preview of just what playoff hockey is like. The Admirals were able to out perform the Monsters defensively in a playoff style game and no one did that better than the Monsters a season ago.

There can be a springboard effect from that type of an effort and the Admirals are still looking for a game where they can get a lead and play from the front. When the Admirals can start getting into those sorts of environments you’d expect better flow of forward lines hitting the ice so players such as Görtz start doing more consistent damage.

What are your early impressions of the Milwaukee Admirals this season? Are the types of games they keep finding themselves in, nail-biters, what should be expected throughout the season or will play start opening up more? Is Max Görtz slow start down to him or more down to how he is being utilized early this season?

Game Recaps November 19, 2016

Overtime is Admirals Time; Ads Win 2-1

The Milwaukee Admirals won 2-1 in overtime on the road against the Cleveland Monsters Saturday night at the Quicken Loans Arena.

The Admirals extended their point streak to eight straight games with the overtime win tonight in Cleveland. They have gone 7-0-1-0 in that stretch and have now played five overtime periods during the run. Tonight’s theatrics can be credited to Félix Girard who buried the game-winning goal after a crafty piece of play by Vladislav Kamenev rushing to the net created the opportunity to win it in overtime.

It was yet another scoreless period of hockey between these two teams to start things off this evening. The only thing of note for the first period is that there was a twenty-seven minute delay to repair a section of boards that were moving around freely near the Zamboni entrance in the Admirals defensive zone. The game was stopped just 6:05 into the contest. The players remained on the ice and around the benches during the length of the delay for rink maintenance.

The Admirals would open the scoring at the midway point of the second period. Admirals captain Trevor Smith broke into the attacking zone and delivered a drop pass to the tape of the trailing Kevin Fiala who scooted in and then labeled a low wrist shot over the left pad of Joonas Korpisalo who couldn’t get his glove to it. The tally for Fiala was his second scored for the Admirals this season. Alex Carrier picked up the secondary assist on the goal to extend his scoring streak to seven straight games.

Unfortunately the 1-0 scoreline wouldn’t hold up in Cleveland tonight. The Monsters were able to respond to Fiala’s goal less than six minutes later to knot things up at 1-1. Nick Moutrey whipped a shot from the right wing that Juuse Saros was able to fend off but the puck trickled between his pads and the net front defending Jack Dougherty. Moutrey continued his run, wrapped around the net, and was able to swat the loose puck in as he stood next to Aaron Palushaj at the doorstep to record his third goal of the season.

This game, like so many lately for the Admirals, would need overtime. It was the team’s sixth game requiring overtime this season and fifth overtime game from their past seven games. Perhaps experience from having so many is the reason why they’re succeeding in the department as the game wouldn’t need a shootout.

Vladislav Kamenev worked deep in the Admirals attacking zone and made a very skillful play in the left wing corner to create space for himself and then cut loose towards Korpisalo. The puck seemed to jar loose as Kamenev ran on goal but it fell free for Félix Girard who popped in his second goal of the season to record the game-winner in overtime and see the Admirals take two-of-two from the Monsters in Cleveland.

This was a hats off performance for both goaltenders tonight. The two Finns in net made some really spectacular stops to keep the game level at 1-1. Korpisalo gets the tough luck loss stopping 21/23 shots on goal while Saros improves to 7-1-0-1 in nine starts this season as he stopped 30/31 in the win tonight.

The Admirals are heading back home from Cleveland after tonight. Their next game is on Wednesday when they’ll take on the Grand Rapids Griffins in their first trip to the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena this season. That game starts at 7:00 PM CST.

Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals played on Thursday there were a few notes related to the roster. Anthony Richard was assigned to the Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL) and played last night. In the Cyclones 5-4 overtime loss to the Atlanta Gladiators Richard scored his first career goal and assist of his professional playing career. Richard played with the Admirals in Cleveland Thursday night, played in Cincinnati Friday night, and traveled back to Milwaukee today where he will rejoin the Admirals once the team returns from their travel back from Cleveland. The Nashville Predators then assigned defenseman Anthony Bitetto to the Admirals on a two week (fourteen consecutive days) conditioning assignment. Bitetto took part in a conditioning assignment with the Admirals last season and played in six-games. He can play for the Admirals for up to five-games on this stint which will end following the contest in Cleveland on December 2nd. Tonight the Admirals dressed seven defenseman which made tonight’s line combinations look as follows: White-Smith-Fiala, Zolnierczyk-Kamenev-Gaudreau, Liambas-Girard-Payerl, Florek-(rotating)-Görtz, Oligny-Granberg, Murphy-Dougherty, Pardy-Carrier, Bitetto. All scratches tonight were healthy: Diaby, Kirkland, and Richard.

Thoughts on tonight’s game? How do you feel about the Milwaukee Admirals persevering through all of these overtime games? Given the look topside do you feel Anthony Bitetto will be with the Admirals for the full length of his conditioning assignment? Once Bitetto’s conditioning assignment does wrap what will that mean as far as the Nashville Predators defensive setup and will the Admirals end up getting someone from them to make space?

News November 19, 2016

Bitetto Returns on Conditioning Assignment

The Nashville Predators have assigned defenseman Anthony Bitetto to the Milwaukee Admirals on conditioning assignment. In addition, the Admirals have recalled forward Anthony Richard from the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL.

Per the rules of a conditioning assignment Bitetto’s stint with the Admirals can last no longer than two weeks (14 consecutive days). Bitetto served a conditioning assignment last season and played 6 games during that time. In accordance to that rule this stint should at maximum take him through 5 games beginning today in Clevand ending with the Admirals second pass through Cleveland on December 2nd. With Petter Granberg taking Bitetto’s more familiar #2 the New Yorker will play in the newly vacated by Justin Kirkland #24.

The other move today comes with the in-state rodeo for Richard who was reassigned yesterday from the Admirals, who are in Cleveland, to their ECHL affiliate in Cincinnati. Richard made his ECHL debut last night and recorded a goal followed by an assist. Those were firsts in his professional playing career and he has immediately been recalled. Should he play tonight it would be a three-in-three set of games for the first-year pro.

News November 18, 2016November 18, 2016

Anthony Richard Reassigned to Cincinnati

The Milwaukee Admirals have reassigned forward Anthony Richard to the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL. The roster move comes a day after the first-year pro played in the Admirals 1-0 shutout on the road over the Cleveland Monsters.

Richard has played in 10 games for the Admirals so far this season but has yet to score a point of offense. He joined the Admirals late last season after finishing a four-year junior career with Val-d’Or Foreurs (QMJHL) where he produced 238 points (111 goals, 127 assists) in 232 games. He made his professional debut during the 2016 Calder Cup Playoffs with the Admirals.

This roster move should do Richard well by way of granting him much more ice time in the ECHL to get his offensive game back in motion. Richard has had some flashes here and there but has generally looked to be fighting it at times as far as keeping up with the pace of the game goes. He oddly didn’t look nearly as overwhelmed as he does now as when he did in his debut during the playoffs. This ECHL trip could do him real well to eat up minutes and eventually return to the Admirals all the sharper because of it. I’d imagine in the meantime it would mean a return to the lineup for Justin Kirkland who was a healthy scratch in place of Richard last night. The two have rotated here and there in that respect a few times this season.

The Cyclones play tonight on home ice against the Atlanta Gladiators. It won’t be that long of a trek from Cleveland to Cincinnati for Richard to get to the ECHL affiliate. It is the lone contest of the weekend for the Cyclones so it’ll be a wait and see game as far as if Richard plays just the lone game tonight or sticks around for small portion longer.

Ramblings November 18, 2016

Defining Last Night’s Shutout

With today’s off-day I figure it would be good to really plunge back into what happened in last night’s shutout by the Milwaukee Admirals over the Cleveland Monsters. You would perhaps think there isn’t a whole heck of a lot to pull out of a 1-0 contest but there honestly was. While it wasn’t a track meet offensively that game delivered one of the better sixty minute performances that this year’s Admirals squad put together and they did it by playing a brand of playoff style hockey against a group that did it better than anyone in last season’s Calder Cup Playoffs.

Plenty will be quick to leap at the effort in net by the returning Juuse Saros. So, let’s get that topic out of the way. On paper you would see that Saros stopped all 35 shots on goal that he faced last night to earn the shutout in a game decided by a single goal. And in itself that is impressive. What stands out more to me is that this was really the first time since making the North American leap that Saros really had a long layoff between game action and that was how he responded. He was tested early, all be it shots that were rather straight forward, but enough to the point he really fell back in-line with the pace of the game and rode out the rhythm of it until the final horn.

Now, as quickly as everyone might feel the need to therefore urge a Saros recall and a short-term Marek Mazanec reassignment, I implore you to consider the following. As bad of a team performance as it was when Mazanec was in net for the Nashville Predators 6-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs was – last night was just as good of a team performance when Saros was in net for the Milwaukee Admirals 1-0 shutout on the road in Cleveland.

The most impressive element to last night’s game for the Admirals was the grounded and intelligent defensive play from the group. There were really many glaring mistakes and when there were individual misplays it felt like someone not far behind was there to account for it. The Admirals became the first team in the AHL’s Western Conference last night to reach the 20 points plateau and they were the second team in the league to get there just behind the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins who have played one-game more than the Admirals have. I still don’t even feel the Admirals have truthfully played up to their true potential yet. Last night just so happened to be the first sort of a “hello” as to what that can look like.

I suspect this year’s Admirals at their maximum potential are a team that can control a game with pace, skill, and precision at all three areas on the ice. While the scoreboard last night wouldn’t wow anyone those attributes all pretty much stayed true to the result that was earned. The Admirals simply did it in the art of defending. It made the night in net for Saros that little bit more relaxed. And, with the talent they have on offense, eventually the battling down ice earned a goal – and a power-play goal at that. The Monsters were a perfect 29/29 on the penalty kill on home ice up until that power-play goal from Matt White that proved to be the game-winner. So, as sloppy as 1/5 on the power-play might look for the Admirals it still looks a whole lot better than the Monsters 0/6 on the power-play did last night. Some nights all you need is one-goal. Last night was that kind of night.

Going back to Mr. White for a moment. How crazy is it to think that the Admirals at forward were so jam packed to start the season that White was a healthy scratch up until the food poisoning circumstances opened the door back up for him to be inserted into the lineup? He didn’t dress for the first three-games of the season and is currently the team’s leading scorer with 12 points (7 goals, 5 assists) in 10 games. It’s incredible to think that this time last year he still had never played a game in the AHL. It wasn’t until the Admirals brought him in on a PTO Contract from the Manchester Monarchs (ECHL) that he had a run out the next tier up. He scored 3 points (2 goals, 1 assist) in his second career game at the AHL level, ended up finishing off last season for the Admirals with 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists) in 54 games, and last night’s game-winning goal was his first career AHL power-play goal. It’s rather remarkable to see what he’s done since hitting the AHL scene.

Another element to note from last night’s lone tally was one of the players on the assists to White’s goal was Alex Carrier. I’ve made the comments towards Admirals head coach Dean Evason, Carrier’s defensive linemate Adam Pardy, and Carrier himself that he just doesn’t look or play like someone who is a first-year pro. Carrier turned up late in the Admirals season once the Gatineau Olympiques (QMJHL) season came to an end. He lightly practiced and got a look at the AHL lifestyle but didn’t get to log any game action such as current first-year pro defenseman for the Admirals Jack Dougherty or even Carrier’s teammate in Gatineau Yakov Trenin who made his pro debut in the Calder Cup Playoffs with the Admirals. Instead, Carrier just waited, observed, worked hard over the off-season, had a solid Development Camp in Nashville, and arrived to Milwaukee like he already had been through the process many times over. Carrier is now second on the team in scoring and is the top scoring rookie defenseman in the AHL with 11 points (3 goals, 8 assists) in 13 games. His scoring total ranks seventh among all AHL defenseman and, of the names ahead of him, only T.J. Brennan has a better plus/minus rating. Carrier has arrived as a first-year pro looking incredibly polished at all avenues of the game. It’s really been awhile in Milwaukee when there has been a defenseman such as him that makes you sit back and watch what he does on a shift-to-shift basis.

FYI. There will be no Scouting the Enemy ahead of tomorrow’s game. If there were several key talking points or moments from the game worth dissecting to shreds I would have done that as a game preview. Being that the game turned out as it did – this kind of was that. The only thing I’d say is that the game tomorrow does have the unusual start time for a Saturday contest of 4:00 PM CST. I’m not sure why that is the case but keep it in mind and tune in early. Until then, “I’M ON A DEADLINE.”

Game Recaps November 17, 2016November 18, 2016

Saros Shines in Return; Ads Earn 1-0 Shutout

The Milwaukee Admirals won 1-0 on the road against the Cleveland Monsters Thursday night at the Quicken Loans Arena.

The Admirals defense and goaltending was the story tonight in a very tight contest. Juuse Saros was making his return to game action after a quick back-up spell for the Nashville Predators. It was his first game since the first Saturday of November and he responded with a thirty-five save shutout over the Monsters. It was his first shutout of this season and fifth of his AHL career. The Admirals point streak is now up to seven games.

This game was about as tight as it has been yet this season. It wasn’t until 10:14 into the second period when the game saw a puck trickle past a goaltender. Even then the goal did not count. Aaron Palushaj raced down the left wing and swooped across the mouth of goal to put a shot in on Juuse Saros. It looked like the Admirals goaltender had made a spectacular glove save, he held the mitt out after the shot, but the puck crawled underneath him and glided across the line. The whistle did blow before it did. And, after a lengthy video review, it was determined to be no goal. The safe assumption for the reasoning being that the whistle came before the puck crossed the line.

The deadlock finally broke courtesy of an Admirals power-play goal before the midway point in the third period. Frédérick Gaudreau was stationed behind the net and timed a pass to the slot as Alex Carrier glided right to left in front of Anton Forsberg. The movement screened Forsberg just enough as Gaudreau’s pass met Matt White for a one-timer that hit twine for his team leading seventh goal of the season that finally broke the deadlock with 12:37 left to play in regulation. The Monsters had a run of killing twenty-nine consecutive penalties on home ice to start the season prior to White’s first career AHL power-play goal.

From that point forward a tip of the cap could go to the Admirals defense. Not only did the penalty kill deliver a perfect performance on the night, stopping all six Monsters power-play opportunities, but the lockdown the group provided made scoring chances so difficult to come by. There were multiple blocked shots and several great reads to be disrupted in passing lanes and clear the zone.

The Monsters had two late power-play chances. The final of which saw them take their timeout with 2:12 remaining and the players on the ice seemingly negotiated their way to playing with the net emptied as well as with the power-play advantage. For effectively having a two-man advantage the Monsters only posted one shot on goal in that last push. The Admirals defensively took care of the rest and helped guide Saros and the team to a shutout performance.

These two lock horns once again on Saturday. The start time is a tad unusual as far as Saturday games go, 4:00 PM CST. Note that. After the Admirals finish up in Cleveland they will return home on Wednesday to face-off against the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals played on Tuesday night there were a few roster moves made within the organization. The Nashville Predators reassigned Juuse Saros to the Admirals and in-turn the Admirals reassigned Mark Visentin to their ECHL affiliate the Cincinnati Cyclones. Tonight not only saw the return of defenseman Adam Pardy who missed Tuesday’s game due to a lower-body injury but also saw a shake-up in the forward group with Justin Kirkland being rotated with Anthony Richard causing lines to shuffle. Tonight’s line combinations looked as follows: White-Smith-Fiala, Zolnierczyk-Kamenev-Gaudreau, Richard-Florek-Görtz, Liambas-Girard-Payerl, Pardy-Carrier, Oligny-Granberg, Murphy-Dougherty. Tonight’s scratches for the Admirals were both healthy: Kirkland and Diaby. In tonight’s Nashville Predators game Pontus Åberg scored his first career NHL goal.

Thoughts on tonight’s game? How well did the Milwaukee Admirals play as a team tonight? Do you feel Juuse Saros showed tonight that he could filter up and down between the Nashville Predators -if needed- to give Marek Mazanec a boost in game action at the AHL level?

Scouting November 17, 2016December 28, 2016

Monsters: Scouting the Enemy

Now that our group therapy session is over we can get back to action. The Milwaukee Admirals completed their season long five-game homestand by going 4-0-1-0 and currently ride a six-game point streak heading into a three-game road trip. The first stint sees the defending Calder Cup Champions for the opening two-legs and the first meeting under their new designation. The Lake Erie Monsters are no more. The Cleveland Monsters is the new title.

I actually far prefer them actually being called Cleveland, as much of a minor league charm as there is to Lake Erie, but when you are -in- Cleveland and play -in- The Q you might as well call it like it is. Besides, the ownership group is the same as the Cleveland Cavaliers. Why not change the name to Cleveland and make them look like the Cavaliers On Ice- oh my gosh they did.

(Photo Credit: @monstershockey // Twitter)

In reality, the Monsters have had a boring look in the first place. Their retro themed uniforms were a step up and -hey- said Cleveland on the front. But they needed a rebranding effort regardless of last year’s success. As far as hockey goes it is a unique look for the team. That’s always a win in my book to have the minor league affiliates creating their own unique identity to that of the NHL parent club. It’s not to say that they don’t still dabble in that territory but it’s fine enough. If only a bit too blatantly cavalier in design. … That was a pun. … Well, I laughed. You can read more about the Cleveland Monsters off-season rebranding at Icethetics.

Aesthetics addressed. What about that team? The Monsters retain plenty of the group that saw them storm their way to the 2016 Calder Cup. It is a nicely balanced mix of veterans and prospects – some of whom are teetering on that NHL cuff. It all actually sounds not too dissimilar to the Milwaukee Admirals. Perhaps then they are on the receiving end of the results column that the Admirals have managed to avoid getting burned in thus far.

The Monsters enter tonight’s game with a record of 5-7-0-1 (11 points, 0.423 points percentage). They have played one fewer game than the Admirals have but have allowed 12 goals more while scoring a goal less. Something tells me that’s a problem.

In part the Monsters last road trip really was taxing. They went 0-3-0-1 and were outscored 20-11. They were outshooting the likes of the Chicago Wolves, Manitoba Moose, and Grand Rapids Griffins by a narrowly combined 142-139. Still, that’s allowing 34.8 shots on goal per game. The Admirals have averaged 30.4 shots on goal per game this season. That sort of trend on the part of the Monsters would be a welcome sight.

That all being said, the comforts of home ice have already found the Monsters getting pieces back together on the ice. Since that underwhelming road trip they have played two games at home and defeated the Wolves on both occasions: 2-1 on 11/11/16 (Video Highlights) and 4-2 on 11/12/16 (Video Highlights).

The first of those contests against the Wolves has a moment that you can bottle up and carry the momentum from it for awhile. The Monsters came back from 1-0 midway through the third period and scored the game-winning goal with 15 seconds left in regulation. The momentum didn’t 100% carry over to the start the next time out, Wolves took a 2-0 first period lead, but the Monsters scored four unanswered goals to polish off a comeback performance. It almost sounds a little familiar. It’s just being done -in- regulation is all.

Another thing that catches the eye is the amount of penalty minutes that the Monsters have accumulated this season, 206. That is second only to the Manitoba Moose (213 penalty minutes) in the Central Division. Why is that? Well, I’d imagine having double the amount of fighting majors as the Admirals goes a small way to helping that total. The Monsters have 8 fighting majors in 13 games this season. Brett Gallant, Jordan Maletta, and Nick Moutrey already have two strikes against them. With an emphasis on limited fighting majors this season in the AHL thanks to the new disciplinary rules in place it is surprising to see a team such as the defending champions loading up in that department. They had 49 fights last season and Gallant was part of 11 of those fights. That just won’t fly this season. Not without suspension by the AHL. It’s why someone such as a Mike Liambas has seemingly kept a much cooler head in earlier games this season. Teams, and players for that matter, almost have to save fighting majors for later in the season if it can be afforded to do in the energy department or even the when the game calls for it category. Monsters are jumping the gun a touch, there. It could hurt them a whole lot more later in the season if it continues.

The leading scorer for the Monsters right now is a familiar name in Alex Broadhurst who has 11 points (4 goals, 7 assists) in 13 games. He and his older brother Terry have come across the Admirals often enough over the years either with the Rockford IceHogs or Chicago Wolves. These past two seasons Alex has been a member of the Monsters organization and has performed well. His current season sees him second on the team in goal scoring and tied for first in assists with T.J. Tynan.

According to the AHL website at the moment it appears the Monsters are lugging around three goaltenders. As nice as that might be the true go-to option this season has been 23-year old Swede Anton Forsberg who has 10 appearances from the Monsters 13 games. Both Joonas Korpisalo and Brad Thiessen have 2 appearances each. Forsberg holds a record of 5-3-1-0 with a 2.35 goals against average and 0.921 save percentage.

A storyline for the Admirals will play out in the form of their goaltending. Juuse Saros is back after a cuppa coffee in the big time. He spent the past week with the Nashville Predators and served as a back-up for four straight games. With the Admirals Saros has made 7 starts and holds a record of 6-1-0-0. He has a 1.99 goals against average and 0.929 save percentage. Will the small departure from in-game activity impact his performance? We shall see tonight.

Expectations for the first meeting against the defending Calder Cup Champions? Now that the Admirals are in for 12 road games from their next 18 overall contests how important is it for them to set the right tone early as to not stagger on the road?

News November 16, 2016

Juuse Saros Returns to the Admirals

After the earlier news regarding Mark Visentin being reassigned to the Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL) you had to figure this news was coming. Juuse Saros has been assigned by the Nashville Predators to the Milwaukee Admirals. This roster move comes just ahead of the Admirals upcoming three-game road trip that starts in Cleveland tomorrow night.

This season Saros has made seven starts for the Admirals and holds a record in net of 6-1-0-0. He has a 1.99 goals against average and 0.929 save percentage at the AHL level and earlier in the season earned his first career NHL victory with the Predators.

News November 16, 2016

Mark Visentin Reassigned to Cincinnati

Per ECHL Transactions the Milwaukee Admirals have reassigned goaltender Mark Visentin to the Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL). Visentin was recalled by the organization on Monday to fill a back-up role while the Nashville Predators recalled Marek Mazanec in light of a day-to-day lower-body injury to Pekka Rinne. Visentin was on the bench last night while Jonas Gunnarsson got the start in the Admirals 3-2 overtime win against the Charlotte Checkers.

According to Thomas A. Willis this morning’s practice for the Predators saw Rinne take part along with Mazanec. Juuse Saros, on the other hand, was absent. It would likely be a safe assumption then that Saros could be en route to meet up with the Admirals in Cleveland before tomorrow night’s road game against the defending Calder Cup Champions.

News & Discussion Site For Your Milwaukee Admirals