Author: Daniel Lavender

Feature November 16, 2016

An Open Letter to Nashville

Nashville:

When I arrived to the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena last Saturday for the Milwaukee Admirals contest against the Grand Rapids Griffins I did so with an on edge feeling knowing just how last season came to a thunderous and unceremonious end. I also arrived with a trusted source informing me that Marek Mazanec would be heading up to the Nashville Predators after his start for the Admirals that night. It felt like that would be a quick AHL stint for the prospective NHL back-up goaltender but, that being said, that source informed me of that information long before he played the game that night. It was after that game was played when I felt like the information was due to change.

Mazanec didn’t just allow four goals from twenty-six shots against the Griffins that night. He darn near single-handedly lost the Admirals that game. A gusty effort in front of him, combined with some confidence building stops here in there in net, saw the Admirals climb out of a 3-0 first period deficit against one of the more polished and versatile teams you’ll find in the AHL. The Admirals outshot the Griffins 27-16 from the second period to the end of regulation in that comeback effort. It was an astonishingly good fight back and one that saw them claim a point on a night that could have just as easily been thrown in the garbage after a period of play. The momentum was 100% on the side of the Admirals heading into overtime. That was right up until Mazanec did precisely what he did to start the game which was passing it from his net to the opposition who would score almost instantaneously. Nail. Meet. Coffin.

At points such as that night on my end of things you get put in the very awkward position of asking questions you already know the answers to. Mazanec looked absolutely dejected after that performance and pretty much spoke to that regard as well.

“I saw our guy. He was looking at me and so I thought I could give it to him and he’s going to go,” said Marek Mazanec of the pass he made in overtime that would lead to the game-winning goal for the Griffins seconds later. “The pass didn’t work out for me as I expected. I wanted to make a difference in the game and it didn’t work well. It cost us the game.”

“You step into the game and want to be the difference maker in the game. Want to have a good game and help the guys. It just didn’t work out for me today.”

Anyone viewing Mazanec’s stint as a quick cup of AHL coffee to better himself, his sharpness in net, and bounce right back to the NHL simply doesn’t know Mazanec the human being away from the game. This stint saw him coming back to a place he considered to be a home away from home, Milwaukee. It was something you could tell he took to heart. Not only did he want to make sure he left a good impression back with the Admirals he wanted to do what he could for the team’s success. This is a results based game with a multi-tier system in place that sees players rise and fall at a moments notice. That last result really hurt him. It isn’t often I outright here a player take full responsibility for a loss but Mazanec did that. It was tough seeing and hearing that. He had a bad one. And he knew he had a real bad one. Because who was to say at that point he didn’t just seal an Admirals loss but a further duration in the AHL?

As it so happened that performance did end up being Mazanec’s last outing in the AHL before he was recalled by the Predators due to a day-to-day injury to starting goaltender Pekka Rinne. I was at morning skate the day that news took place and was more surprised than anything to see that news come paired with Predators goaltending coach Ben Vanderklok was on-hand at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena teaching up the likes of Jonas Gunnarsson and Mark Visentin. Would it not have made sense to have given Mazanec that one-day to go over the mistakes made against Grand Rapids with Vanderklok before meeting back up the next day with the parent club in Toronto? If Mazanec is back with the NHL group without the main goalie coach there to dissect and walk through moments from that last outing who was?

The slight bit of roster shuffling chaos of course boiled down to one key component: Rinne having a day-to-day injury. Shame, really, because he had just put on a twenty-seven save shutout performance prior to the injury announcement. No Rinne? Well, then you better bring Mazanec up to have two serviceable goaltenders for the game against the Toronto Maple Leafs regardless of whether or not Mazanec’s AHL stint was indeed over or not as planned.

Here comes the biggest question of all for me though towards the Predators coaching staff. Knowing full well how rough Mazanec’s last outing was at the AHL level for the Admirals, and how tough he took that performance, why would he be the best possible choice to start against the Maple Leafs last night? That is with zero disrespect said of Mazanec’s ability but it just makes no sense to take someone who was rattled in two outings at the AHL level with an 0.849 save percentage against AHL competition and throw him back into the deep end of the pool to see if he can swim. Mazanec was already fighting it previously and was in need of game shape sharpening, hence the reason why he was assigned to the AHL in the first place, and -naturally- he wasn’t that sharp. He had made two starts from the Predators opening eleven games of the season. Goaltenders can often be creatures of habit so to go through long stretches without playing and getting thrown into the fire can be rattling at times. Here is the thing though – that’s perfectly OK. Because that’s precisely why a platform such as the AHL exists.

If Mazanec needs time to sharpen back up, polish his mind, and knock some dust off rather than collect more watching Rinne play all the time – send him to Milwaukee. That’s no issue in relation to the player himself. It isn’t. But it is an issue with making sure the rotation of what is in place can allow for that process to work without coming back to blow up in the parent club’s face. It did last night. And it didn’t have to.

Mazanec starting last night’s game was the equivalent of a race car driving missing multiple races, hopping in a go-kart for a weekend, breaking his go-kart and finishing less than desired, and then being told to run in the Monaco Grand Prix. What did anyone truly expect was going to happen? If his confidence and game sharpness are in question, put more into question after a last game played in the AHL, Mazanec suddenly finding his groove once again at NHL game speed would be like catching a bullet in the dark. Do I expect Mazanec to allow as many goals as he did? No. Do I expect a less than quality-standard performance in net after what I just saw previously? Yes. And the Predators chose that option.

A major catch to all of this is to then assume that if Saros hopped in net last night that he would magically have saved the day. That also is simply not the case, either. As much as Mazanec being shaky in net and out of practice right now as he is there is still a massive team element to the game. The Toronto Maple Leafs won 6-2. Something tells me that scoreline doesn’t purely rest on the head of one individual. Accountability in such a resounding loss is shared by everyone. Plus, I also believe a bit of credit can be bestowed to the Maple Leafs on doing that damage. Let’s do a quick jog through of last night, shall we?

The goals scored against Mazanec essentially went as follows:

(1) Mitch Marner shoots from the wide left wing using Ryan Ellis as screen for the shot that was placed against the grain and into the upper-90 to Mazanec’s blocker side.

(2) The Maple Leafs break in on a three-on-two rush, James van Riemsdyk‘s initial shot gets blocked down off of Mattias Eklholm, Mazanec bit blocker side on the initial shot, van Riemsdyk stuck with the puck, and shot glove-side where Mazanec just gave up added space.

(3) Maple Leafs enter the zone on a three-on-three, Tyler Bozak glides down the right wing with Ekholm pressed on him, Craig Smith allows van Riemsdyk to win the foot race to the back post because he’s watching the puck carrier, and Bozak snaps a phenomenal pass across the net to create a back post a tap in.

(4) After a good cycle along the boards a puck gets over to Martin Marincin at the left point and his long range wrister deflected in off of the net front screening Leo Komarov – who Ellis left all alone directly in front of Mazanec. The Predators had three bodies around the net and allowed two Maple Leafs to camp in around one defender in front of the net on the redirect.

(5) On a face-off three Predators converged to the face-off dot against two Maple Leafs players to get a puck loose. The puck did get loose and, when it did Marner poked the puck past Ekholm in a small scale two-on-one with the lone Maple Leafs forward watching that face-off scramble taking place -van Riemsdyk- who then breaks in on Mazanec down the slot and delivers a stiff backhanded shot low glove-side before Viktor Arvidsson could race in and close him down.

(6) The Maple Leafs have a three-on-two rush breaking into the attacking zone with a trailing Predator, Filip Forsberg, in hot pursuit. The rush gets to the endboards. William Nylander hops opposite side of the cage away from the continual backcheck of Forsberg, fends off Ellis, and spins around to take a shot from the low right wing circle between Ellis and Ryan Johansen that catches Mazanec off guard to the near post as he was screened by Ben Smith – who turned out to be the forgotten man on the ice at the time, freely skating directly in front of Mazanec with no one watching him.

That is bad. That is an awful lot of bad. And, hey, it isn’t limited to a one-person issue. It probably wouldn’t have been made any better if Saros or Rinne himself were in net at the time, either. It was just plain sloppy from a tactical perspective for the Predators and done simultaneously while the speed, precision, and smart offensive reads by players on the ice for the Maple Leafs shined.

I can understand then the frustration, on a number of platforms, for Nashville Predators fans. How can a team that just won a 5-0 shutout one night lose 6-2 the next night? I suppose this is where a lot of the “Maz sucks” comments came pouring in last night. He was the difference in personnel between the two games after all, right? It has to be on him. It can’t be on any other solitary figure or groups of players on that roster. Mazanec is a wasteland of not good hockey player. He’s AHL quality. A vacuum of goaltending talent. The Robin to Magnus Hellberg‘s Batman. Fire Peter Laviolette. Fire David Poile. The World is burning and the time for panicking and abandoning ship is well and truly upon us all.

This commentary has to stop. Period.

I know full well that the Predators had a world of hype behind them heading into this season. I know that the early stages to the 2016-17 season aren’t going that well right now. People want to search for answers as to why or excuses as to why not. It’s a patience issue and an over-expectations issue – wanting too much, too soon.

Is a back-up goaltender the difference between winning and losing last night’s game? The answer you’ll be shocked to find is no, no it is not. Is that position in particular a gray area for the Predators right now? Sure, but the cost effective and sound developmental process way of doing things was to give Mazanec his due after three full-seasons of development in North America. How are you ever to truly know if he is NHL quality or not until gets a chance such as this season to prove it? He had twenty-seven games of NHL experience with the Predators prior to this season. The hope was likely to meet a lesser figure such as Carter Hutton from a season ago. Is he? Certainly not now but who is to know until it actually happens?

If the leash for Mazanec is a short one than it is a short one but the way the goaltending position stacks up behind him tells a big story. Saros is going to be a good one. The emphasis in that last sentence is set on future tense. He split the deck in AHL starts a season ago with Mazanec and you would like for him as a way of the developmental process to see him have a full-season as a first choice goaltender eating up experiences and learning more about the North American pro game at an AHL level pace. I’m sure plenty can be learned kicking back and joining the Predators camp as a back-up goalie but if the starts are sporadic and the results become erratic than who benefits out of that situation both short and long term? Saros needs to play and be kept rolling. That start people might be gaga over, his first career NHL win, came after he started three games in the week leading into that effort. Predators fans haven’t seen Saros play a cold game, yet. What happens if it is bad? Does he get the “Saros sucks” treatment for it? It’s a learning process being conducted at NHL level pace with NHL level stakes. The right man of the two to play that game with right now is Mazanec based on experience and experience alone. If it isn’t enough? You better believe a trade is coming if it is such a problem area.

This same attitude towards Mazanec that I saw last night I already see enough of in relation to the blockbuster trade that took place in the off-season. The Predators acquired P.K. Subban from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Shea Weber. It was a straight-up one-for-one deal. High profile players involved. It’s something you don’t see that much of across sports that much anymore. What I feel mostly happened in that trade was that the Predators traded the soul of their locker room in order to acquire a superstar. It was a shakeup due to the previous years seeing a lack of success looking to inject a new kind of kick to the system. It is ambitious to trade away a franchise pillar level player in Weber and one that meant a tremendous amount on and off the ice. But a shake-up likely needed to be done in the sense of needing a change to make a change.

What I imagine has not been counted on as of yet is the void left from Weber’s leadership has likely been left like an open wound and others aren’t stepping in to heal it and fill that void. To lose one leader in a locker room is tough. To lose -the- leader in the locker room requires the ones that are left to really step up their accountability and those around them to strive for far bigger and better of themselves. If you think that is a process that was going to magically occur in the off-season or the first months of the season? You’re silly.

The beauty of all that takes place in a hockey season is that it can all feel shorter and more rapid than it actually is. The season is a long one. It very much is the case of a marathon versus a sprint. As much as everyone wants to see the Predators shoot to the Moon the reality is that there are a multitude of pieces, on and off the ice, that need to adhere. What most should rest their heads about is that the pieces to the puzzle are there. They just need to come together and stay together.

Does Mazanec suck? No. Do the Predators suck? No. Is the World going to end? Yes, but we’ll be long dead by the time it does so fret ye not. Hockey presents obstacles on a daily and game-to-game basis. It’s about winning and learning. There is no Doomsday Clock required. The Predators may have been, for the lack of a better term, spanked last night but they were also given a plethora of information from which to learn and improve. Patience is a requirement here. No amount of scapegoating or blame gaming will make the process run any better.

Bad games will happen. Rough stretches will happen. All teams have them. It’s the teams that learn from those situations the best that go the furthest. There is no reason to believe the Predators aren’t that sort of a team that can’t learn or couldn’t achieve what they set out to achieve this off-season. It’s mid-November. Let the narrative run longer.

Sincerely,

Daniel Lavender
Editor-in-Chief
Admirals Roundtable

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Chatterbox November 15, 2016

Chatterbox, Vol. 154

Is it me or are we all just starting to get used to the Milwaukee Admirals ability to comeback in games now? The past three games the Admirals have managed to find the strength to claw back and earn either wins or points in games they may well have otherwise squandered completely. Last Wednesday’s School Day game saw the Admirals go down 3-2, 4-3, and defeat the Chicago Wolves 5-4 in overtime. Last Saturday the Admirals went down badly 3-0 to the Grand Rapids Griffins but fought back to take a point in a 4-3 overtime loss. And then -last night- the Admirals come from behind against the Charlotte Checkers late in the second period from a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2 in overtime.

This honestly shouldn’t be a place where there is a level of comfort. Yet, I kind of don’t get a sense of panic on the ice when the Admirals actually do concede a goal or two. The group doesn’t seem to switch off or change much of what was happening prior to the goal or goals being scored because they’re well aware of their capabilities at five-on-five, power-play, or penalty kill. If there is time on the clock this Admirals team seems to be able to stay calm as a group and continue to press forward as a group.

What would be absolutely swell would be if the need to come from behind wasn’t required in the first place. That’s a no doubter. It’s just a position in a game that the Admirals haven’t been in often enough yet. The best scenario of that to date would probably be the 7-3 win on the road over the Rockford IceHogs and even still in that game they trailed 2-1 at one stage of the first period before really shutting the door from there on out.

It’s all been such an odd start to the season. I don’t think I have seen this Admirals team play a solid, well polished, and complete 60-minutes of hockey yet this season. And they are still holding a record of 8-2-1-1 (18 points, 0.750 points percentage). I suppose the short and sweet of it is: at what point will this comeback flavor of the Admirals stop coming back and actually start to hurt? When will we all see the Admirals as individuals and therefore as a team start playing up to their full potential? Because they actually haven’t yet and they are getting by through some tight battles where they can sneak out the results.

I’d imagine the true test is sitting before the Admirals now. In their next 18 games, from now through the month of December, they will be logging 12 road games. The travel schedule involved sees them go from Cleveland, Rockford, Cleveland again, Iowa, Grand Rapids, Texas, Grand Rapids again, Chicago, and Chicago all over again – with some home trips interspersed. If the style of games the Admirals have been playing haven’t been taxing enough the actual league schedule in front of them outta add even more of a weight to the body and to the mind. It has been great to see the Admirals earning these results, regardless of the game situation, because these points earned now might be paying off in the long run for the road trips to come.

After last night’s game I spoke with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason as well as quite a few players: Harry Zolnierczyk, Trevor Smith, Jonas Gunnarsson, and Frédérick Gaudreau. Here were their post-game comments.

Comments on the comments? Do you think the upcoming weight of road games will start to see the Admirals slow down or will they start finding better ways to achieve the results that they currently are?

Game Recaps November 15, 2016November 15, 2016

The Cardiac Kids Are At It Again; Ads Comeback to Win 3-2 in OT

The Milwaukee Admirals 3-2 in overtime against the Charlotte Checkers Tuesday night at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.

This year’s group is becoming the cardiac kids at this point. It was yet another display of resiliency that saw the Admirals come all the way back from 2-0 down late in the second period to earn not just a point by reaching overtime but the full allotment with the overtime winner from team captain Trevor Smith. The Admirals have extended their current point streak to six straight games.

“We’d rather not be as resilient as we have been the last few nights,” said Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason of what was discussed with the team after the game. “The good part is that we are. If we can figure it out, put a first period together, maybe get a lead, we’d like to see ourselves handle that situation as well. Certainly happy with the way our guys competed and battled and stuck with it again.”

A loose puck battle out in front of Jonas Gunnarsson went the way of the Charlotte Checkers to open the scoring up tonight in the first period. Andrew Poturalski just so happened to be in the right place at the right time when the puck squirted loose to him on the left wing side of Gunnarsson to pop in a rebound and make it 1-0. The tally for Poturalski was his fifth of the season for the Checkers.

The game was staying really tight until five minutes into the second period during an Admirals power-play when the Checkers had a prime opportunity to increase their lead. The Admirals fumbled up a puck at the blue line and the Checkers had a two-on-none shorthanded breakaway. What did it result it though? Absolutely nothing. The Checkers stayed too close and passed themselves too close to the doorstep of Gunnarsson who was able to swat away they’re shorthanded effort towards his blocker side. It could have been a disaster. It ended up just being a gaffe on the part of the Checkers.

After a grinding shift in attack the Checkers did get rewarded with a goal to get that 2-0 lead that alluded them earlier in the second period. Valentin Zykov unleashed a rocket of a wrister as a puck fell to him in the low right wing circle. His shot flew over the glove shoulder of Gunnarsson and banked in off the crossbar and down for his fourth goal of the season.

At the end of the second period the Checkers had a power-play following an interference call against Harry Zolnierczyk. Fortunately, a great penalty kill by Kevin Fiala forced the Checkers into negating that advantage and taking a penalty of their own. Once the four-on-four situation ended Zolnierczyk was able to rip a wrister from the slot that beat Michael Leighton to the glove-side for a power-play goal and his first goal of the season to make it a 2-1 game.

The resiliency of the Admirals has been displayed throughout this season long five-game homestand. That attribute turned up once again as the Admirals finished their rally from down 2-0 to equalize early in the third period. Frédérick Gaudreau was working along the blocker side of Leighton in the low left wing when Vladislav Kamenev delivered a pass towards him and Gaudreau threw a bad angle shot in on the veteran netminder. The puck kicked up and snuck in on the near-post to give Gaudreau his second goal of the season and make it a 2-2 contest.

This game would need overtime to be decided and the Admirals would complete the comeback with a win. Matt White would draw in two Checkers into the left wing corner and deliver a backhanded pass to Admirals captain Trevor Smith who was all alone on Leighton. Smith waited for the five hole to open up and got the shot through for his third goal of the season.

Tip your cap to the new Swede on the block, Gunnarsson. This was his second outing of the season. His first came in an abysmal 6-1 effort from the Admirals on the road against the Iowa Wild. He waited patiently to get another go in net and had the chance tonight to finally shine. He stopped 23/25 shots on goal against the Checkers to earn the first win of his North American professional playing career.

“It feels great,” smiled Jonas Gunnarsson. “It feels a lot better than last time, for sure. It’s been awhile but it was fun being out there again. I’m happy we came back and got a win here. It feels great.”

The Admirals complete the season long five-game homestand with a record of 4-0-1-0 and now have a record of 8-2-1-1 (18 points, 0.750 points percentage). They are next off to do battle with the defending Calder Cup Champions the Cleveland Monsters on the road this Thursday (6 PM CST) and Saturday (4 PM CST). The next time the Admirals will be back on home ice will be next Wednesday when they play against the Grand Rapids Griffins (7 PM CST).

“I can’t describe how great it is for us to be here,” said Evason of the five-game homestand at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. “Bradley Center was wonderful to us but this place has a character to it, has a feel to it that its our rink. I think our fans feel that way. Even on a Tuesday night when there’s not a lot of people here it’s loud, there’s energy, it’s excitement, it’s bright. Our dressing room is so comfortable. It’s a working environment that is good for the staff and it’s great for the players. I think they really respond to it.”

Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals last played on Saturday there were a few roster moves made and all of them came at the goaltending position. The Nashville Predators recalled Marek Mazanec in response to a day-to-day injury to Pekka Rinne. This meant the Admirals needing to recall Mark Visentin from their ECHL affiliate the Cincinnati Cyclones. Tonight’s scratches for the Admirals were: Adam Pardy (lower-body injury) and Anthony Richard (healthy).

Thoughts on tonight’s game for the Milwaukee Admirals? Do you feel like this nature of coming back in games is the way things are going to be throughout the season or just an early hiccup? What did you think about Jonas Gunnarsson’s start in net tonight for the Admirals as well as Jonathan Diaby’s return to the lineup?

Scouting November 15, 2016

Checkers: Scouting the Enemy

After tonight’s game the Milwaukee Admirals longest homestand of the season will have come and gone. (Photo Credit: Stephanie Moebius)

An interesting talking point for tonight’s game between the Milwaukee Admirals and Charlotte Checkers came up yesterday when chatting with head coach Dean Evason. In his place on the opposition bench will be a former teammate and long-time friend of his named Ulf Samuelsson who is in his first season as head coach of the Checkers. The two spoke about their teams together and said they saw similarities between their groups. The term pace was brought up and, if true for both sides, we could be in for a track meet tonight.

This will be the first stop on the 2016-17 calendar for the Checkers in Milwaukee. They won’t be back again until January 10th and the Admirals don’t venture out to Charlotte until the week after that when they play two games in three days. Plenty can change by then. As for now? Things set up well for a good show on the ice.

The Checkers have started the season with a record of 7-4-0-0 (14 points, 0.636 points percentage). They have allowed the least amount of goals of any team in the Western Conference and only have the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (20 goals allowed) ahead of them in that respect in the whole of the AHL. I feel like Mr. Shutout himself Michael Leighton has something to do with that as he joined the organization after a year spent with the Rockford IceHogs.

Leighton has been in net for all but three games that the Checkers have played this season and has a 6-1-0-0 record to show for it with a 1.44 goals against average, 0.944 save percentage, and 2 shutouts. When looking back at how he performed against the Admirals as a member of the IceHogs last season he had a record of 5-0-1-1 from 7 starts and 8 games played. He had no shutouts against the Admirals last season but held a 2.52 goals against average and 0.907 save percentage.

There are other familiar names in the Checkers camp that you might recall from different places. The names that leap off the page to me are Mitchell Heard (because of his tenure with the Lake Erie Monsters) and Jake Chelios (his start with the Chicago Wolves and move to Charlotte last season). Heard, in particular, was a pesky sort of player when he was part of the Monsters. In his time there against the Admirals Heard produced 3 points (2 goals, 1 assist) from 10 games played over the course of three seasons while having a plus/minus rating of -4 with 49 penalty minutes (5 fighting majors).

Derek Ryan is the current leading scorer for the Checkers with 13 points (5 goals, 8 assists) in 9 games. Yet, he won’t be a concern to the Admirals tonight as he is currently with the Carolina Hurricanes. He wasn’t alone in that recall, either. Brock McGinn was also part of that roster move by the Hurricanes. McGinn was third in scoring for the Checkers this season with 8 points (5 goals, 3 assists) in 9 games.

Who is left then for the Checkers on the firepower side of things? On the active roster first year pro Andrew Poturalski is the Checkers highest scorer with 10 points (4 goals, 6 assists) in 11 games. Poturalski joined the Checkers late last season as an undrafted talent out of the University of New Hampshire and logged 16 games before the end of the 2015-16 season. He is currently tied for third in rookie scoring in the AHL this season with five other players.

Thoughts on tonight’s game? Will the Milwaukee Admirals be able to solve the Charlotte Checkers defense and goaltending? Will Jonas Gunnarsson be able to bounce back and shine when he makes his second start of the season tonight?

Chatterbox November 14, 2016

Chatterbox, Vol. 153

If anything, Mark Visentin’s return to the Milwaukee Admirals does mean we get another good look at his awesome Admirals mask. (Photo Credit: Todd Reicher)

I was hoping for yet another edition of Chatterbox based around fan requests this morning. Yet, as it so happens, there was a curveball thrown by the organization with goaltending moves taking place. Marek Mazanec went up to the Nashville Predators and Juuse Saros didn’t get reassigned to take his place. Instead, Mark Visentin was recalled from the Admirals ECHL affiliate the Cincinnati Cyclones. It’s unclear as of now whether or not Pekka Rinne was out from practice for the Predators purely for a maintenance day or if Saros and Mazanec will provide goaltending duties tomorrow night up in Toronto. Time will tell. And, luckily, there isn’t exactly a lot of time before things get all that more clear.

What does seem to be clear, regardless of how moves shake out, is that Jonas Gunnarsson will be getting his second start of the season for the Admirals tomorrow night. Gunnarsson’s North American pro debut did not go so well but I’d argue there wasn’t much he could do on the night as the defense sort of fell apart in a 6-1 win for the Iowa Wild at the Wells Fargo Arena. Gunnarsson has been patiently waiting to get another crack at it ever since.

As far as everything else that took place at today’s morning practice? That too was a little bit, well, different. I felt like I was watching some sort of a video game at times with all sorts of different practice equipment on the ice all at once. The majority of practice was conducted with an emphasis on these skill drills with the practice tools in use. It wasn’t your typical practice day so, as far as line combinations go, the best I can offer up is that it is exactly the same minus the fact that Adam Pardy was absent from practice today as he is nursing a lower-body injury. It’s unclear whether or not today was simply a day of recovery for him or if he will miss tomorrow night because of it or not. If so, the Admirals would likely rotate in Jonathan Diaby who did perform rather well in his brief spell with the Cyclones.

Once practice came to an end I spoke with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason to get his comments on the goaltending moves that were made as well as what it will be like when his ol’ teammate Ulf Samuelsson takes the bench as head coach of the Charlotte Checkers tomorrow night. I then chatted with Harry Zolnierczyk who was shadowed by his new PR Director Trevor Murphy. With Visentin now back in Milwaukee I had the chance to ask him about what it was like starting against his former team on the day of the food poisoning chaos in the organization. And -thankfully- I did get the top requested Kevin Fiala to round out the day and ask up one of the age old questions: what is up with the stick tape? Exhibit A, B, C, and D. It is always a fun topic to bring up and one that had him actually wanting to show me how he tailors his stick blade for use. I might take him up on that next time.

Anyways! Busy day. Busy after practice wrap-up. Here is the talk from the locker room today.

In a final note, I did have a quick discussion with Justin Kirkland today specifically about why he changed his number from #24 to #19. As you may have known Kirkland’s number in Kelowna was #23 and that number was unavailable as the now team captain Trevor Smith chose that and had veteran preference to it. With that unavailable he went one-up but once Eric Robinson was traded to the Springfield Falcons it opened up the #19 which Kirkland wore growing up. He asked if he could make the change and was given the thumbs up.

News November 14, 2016November 14, 2016

Goalie Rotation Continues in Milwaukee

The Nashville Predators have officially recalled Marek Mazanec from the Milwaukee Admirals this morning. In response the Admirals have recalled Mark Visentin from their ECHL affiliate the Cincinnati Cyclones.

This goaltending swap originated to give Mazanec game action that he wasn’t seeing top side while giving the youngster Saros a look up with the Predators. At today’s practice for the Predators all goalies were accounted for except Pekka Rinne.

Mazanec made two starts for the Admirals during his time back in the AHL. He recorded a win and an overtime loss in two gutsy performances in front of him by the Admirals in comeback style. As for the last game he played he took much if not all the blame in the team’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Grand Rapids Griffins. He had a 3.90 goals against average and 0.849 save percentage in his two starts with the Admirals.

The Admirals and Predators are both in action tomorrow night. The Admirals host the Charlotte Checkers at 7 PM CST while the Predators take to the road for a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at 6:30 PM CST.

Thoughts on today’s roster news? Who do you feel sees the start in net for the Admirals tomorrow?

Chatterbox November 13, 2016

Chatterbox, Vol. 152

There is a lot to process from last night’s 4-3 overtime loss for the Milwaukee Admirals against the Grand Rapids Griffins. Weirdly, for all it is worth, I keep thinking there is far more great things to take away from it than there were bad things. Were the mistakes bad? Yes. Did they cost the Admirals the result? Yes. Here is the thing though, for all those mistakes, the Admirals still found something deep within themselves rally back against a team that can and has outplayed them much the same way that they ended up doing from the second period to the finish. The Admirals came all the way back from 3-0 to earn a point. They could have just as easily phoned it in from the errors in the first period or allowed for those errors to continually snowball but they didn’t. They fought back.

It’s a stinger to know that effectively all four goals scored by the Griffins last night were extremely avoidable. It is. Though I often think having performances such as last night, experiencing situations such as last night, have a long lasting payoff for a team and individuals moving forward. There is plenty to correct but there is also a lot to praise from the effort and response to errors made that caused the setbacks in the first place.

So, tough result to take. There are still some problem areas that the Admirals do happen to have but the flashes of dominance shown from late in the second period and the third period showed a real sign of the team’s true capacity to take a game over. It was a loss -but- a point was claimed before regulation could shut the door on the Admirals. Great fight back. They just need to learn from the mistakes that cost them from it being the type of game that it turned into.

After the game I caught up with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. I also chatted with goaltender Marek Mazanec and forward Adam Payerl. Here were their post-game comments from last night’s overtime defeat.

Thoughts on all the chaos that yesterday’s game provided? Do you feel it would be wise for the Nashville Predators after a performance like last night to actually keep Mazanec down for a further stint to not only make sure that he is back in game shape but sharpened game shape?

Game Recaps November 12, 2016November 13, 2016

Blunders Cost Admirals in Comeback Bid; lose 4-3 in OT

The Milwaukee Admirals lost 4-3 in overtime against the Grand Rapids Griffins Saturday night at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.

This one was a heartbreaker considering how the Admirals rallied back from a 3-0 hole to earn a point in overtime. There were some blunders in this game and it ultimately cost them the outright win over the team that eliminated them from the playoffs last season.

“We talked to the group after that they did not deserve that result,” said Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason after the game. “We played hard. We played real hard and for us to fight back like that.. clearly it’s disappointing with the effort that we thought that we got from most all our players. The effort was there. It’s disappointing, but we do have to use it as a positive that the resilience is good.”

A big gaffe from Marek Mazanec allowed for the Griffins to take a first period lead. Mazanec, who is known for being pretty good at handling the puck, got a bit overconfident with his abilities and passed from his net into traffic to essentially set up the primary assist on a Colin Campbell tap in. The goal for Campbell was his second of the season and, outside of empty netters, I doubt they’ll be any easier than that.

The Griffins extended their first period lead to 2-0 with a power-play goal from Mitch Callahan. The Griffins power-play came following what appeared to be a shoulder to chest hit by Mike Liambas that knocked over Tomas Nosek but was called an elbowing minor. After a shot by Martin Frk hit off the pads of Mazanec the rebound kicked over to the left wing where Callahan was able pop the puck in with the Czech netminder scrambling out of position. The goal for Callahan was his third of the season.

It took the Griffins just forty seconds to score once again. The first goal allowed by the Admirals was a blunder from Mazanec. The third goal allowed was plain bad luck. Kevin Fiala was tripped up and it spurred a rush for the Griffins that had a tight two-on-one in on goal. The pass across from the left wing to the right wing by Louis-Marc Aubry ended up getting deflected by Admirals defenseman Jack Dougherty and right through Mazanec to make it a 3-0 Griffins lead in 10:22 of ice-time. The goal does get credited to Aubry as the last Griffins player to touch it before going in and it was his second tally of the season.

A power-play late in the second period appeared to finally calm the Admirals down and shake the life back into their offense. It didn’t result in a power-play goal but thirty-one seconds after the white hot power-play came to a close a different sort of white hot took center stage. A shot from the point by Jack Dougherty deflected off of Matt White’s stick in the slot and past Griffins goaltender Eddie Pasquale for his team leading sixth goal of the season.

The Admirals would answer right back only twenty-nine seconds later to cut the deficit to a single goal advantage for the Griffins. Adam Pardy managed to race in down the right wing and whip a wrister while shuffling between defenders to record his second goal since being acquired from the Springfield Falcons.

A noteworthy hit took place in the final two minutes of the second period. The Admirals were countering out of the defensive half of the ice when Harry Zolnierczyk attempted to dump a puck around Joe Hicketts and skate around the opposite side of him. Rather than get into a foot race Hicketts went for a low hip check to the knees of Zolnierczyk and sent the veteran forward airborne and landing onto his head. Justin Kirkland went straight after Hicketts but no fight took place. After the scrum dissipated the lone penalty assessed was a roughing minor against Kirkland. Thankfully Zolnierczyk returned to the contest and nothing came from the following Griffins power-play.

Ads sustained plenty of attacking pressure throughout the third period but would still find themselves trailing 3-2 late. At 1:41 the Admirals used their timeout and brought Mazanec to the bench to play with the extra attacker. The Admirals would cash in after Kevin Fiala’s shot to Pasquale fell free and was jammed in by Adam Payerl for his fourth goal of the season to complete the three goal deficit comeback.

The Admirals would earn a point by pushing the game into overtime but sadly the same situation that started the game ended it. Mazanec tried an up-ice pass from his net and it went right to the tape of a Griffins player for a goal. The area where it hurts even more? The goal scorer was the man behind the low hit on Zolnierczyk – Hicketts.

“I saw our guy. He was looking at me and so I thought I could give it to him and he’s going to go,” said Marek Mazanec of his pass in overtime. “The pass didn’t work out for me as I expected. I wanted to make a difference in the game and it didn’t work well. It cost us the game.”

The defeat for the Admirals snaps a four game winnings streak but they do claw back from 3-0 down tonight to earn a point from a game they may have easily thrown in the garbage early. It was still a hard earned point, disappointing finish, but another point earned from a night when things weren’t close to as good as they can be.

“We can’t continually say we’re a resilient group and that’s great and we keep coming back,” stated Evason in response to the team’s comeback efforts in recent games. “You have to correct why we’re being a resilient group. We want to be a resilient group being up and maybe showing our discipline in being resilient.”

Next on tap for the Admirals will be the Charlotte Checkers on Tuesday night which will finish up the team’s season long five-game homestand. It will be the first meeting between the Admirals and Checkers in the 2016-17 season.

Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals last played on Wednesday they recalled defenseman Jonathan Diaby from their ECHL affiliate the Cincinnati Cyclones. Diaby, along with forward Anthony Richard, were healthy scratches for the Admirals tonight. With the overtime loss tonight the Admirals are now 9-18-2-3 against the Griffins the last three seasons including last year’s playoff series.

What were your thoughts on tonight’s performance for the Milwaukee Admirals? Would you feel Marek Mazanec is ready for an NHL return after a showing such as tonight or should the Nashville Predators keep him down for longer? Despite the poor opening period did you appreciate the response from the second period onwards?

Scouting November 12, 2016

Griffins: Scouting the Enemy

When saying “Grand Rapids Griffins” now all that comes to mind is the insanity that took place during last season’s Calder Cup Playoff series that saw various bizarre situations en route to a first round sweep to end the Milwaukee Admirals otherwise brilliant 2015-16 season.

There was a situation in which Corey Potter had his helmet ripped off during a Griffins forecheck yet was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct for playing without his helmet. There was the infamous “no goal” call in which a Potter shot was deflected off of Max Görtz and went in for a goal that would have made it a 2-1 game with a period left to play. It was waved off for goaltender interference despite the fact no one was remotely close to Griffins goaltender Tom McCollum. The Admirals would later score through Vladislav Kamenev but ultimately lose 2-1 with the deficit being the disallowed goal.

And then of course, it had to come to it, the madness that was Game 3 that saw not one but two pucks go flying clean through the net. Were they goals? Yes. Was the huge delay in determining what was happening all while leaving the exact same net in after the first goal took place a factor? Yes. It was the worst of the worst as far as AHL officiating ineptitude could possibly have and on display at a stage where it should never be an on-ice issue. It was. And it will sting for awhile.

Thankfully, there are plenty of the exact same bodies on both sides coming back from that series to take part in tonight’s first head-to-head meeting since that cruel playoff exit for the Admirals. Memories in the game of hockey are long. And the matter of “revenge” is a true storyline heading into tonight’s game. The great news is that the very first meeting of the season is at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena where the nets are in tip-top shape and it would take a Shea Weber-like effort to torch a puck through the net.

Another nice thing the Admirals will have going for them tonight is the fact that the Griffins played last night at home and shutout the Rockford IceHogs by a final score of 3-0. The Admirals have been stationary since playing Wednesday in the AM hour so the freshness factor should really be seen as tonight’s game progresses.

The Griffins enter tonight’s game with a record of 7-4-0-0 (14 points, 0.636 points percentage). They have won their last two games consecutively but have been sporadic having won half of their last six games. It’s either been good enough or just a touch off -but- they haven’t really played a poor game to date.

If anything their performance last night to finish off a four game homestand was one of their better efforts this season. Not only did they earn a shutout over the IceHogs but they uncorked 42 shots on goal including a massive third period finish that saw them outshoot the IceHogs 14-4 to cement the wire-to-wire win.

Jared Coreau was the man in net for the shutout last night and he stopped all 30 shots the IceHogs threw at him. It was his first shutout of the season and it came in his tenth start of the season. Coreau has started as many game in net as the Admirals have played as a team this season while utilizing four different goaltenders. It’s pretty crazy. That said, he has met the massive work load with quality results: 7-3-0-0 record, 2.10 goals against average, and a 0.934 save percentage. The other man to start for the Griffins in Coreau’s lone rest day to date was Eddie Pasquale who suffered a loss while the Griffins offense was blanked on the road against the Charlotte Checkers.

There are currently two players out of the Griffins lineup on recall to the Detroit Red Wings who you’d hope don’t magically arrive in time for tonight’s game given the damage they’re capable of offensively. Anthony Mantha started the season in the AHL on fire by scoring 10 points (8 goals, 2 assists) in 10 games before an injury to Andreas Athanasiou saw him recalled yesterday. In Mantha’s career against the Admirals he has scored 14 points (8 goals, 6 assists) in 17 games including last year’s playoff match-up. The other notable man absent from the Griffins lineup is Tyler Bertuzzi who scored 3 goals in 3 games during the Griffins sweep of the Admirals in the playoffs. This season he had 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) in 9 games prior to being recalled while Thomas Vanek was placed on injured reserve.

When scanning the rest of the Griffins roster you see plenty of familiar names returning from last year’s group. Players to keep an eye on tonight I feel will be: Louis-Marc Aubry, Mitch Callahan, Martin Frk, Tomas Nosek, Eric Tangradi, and Robbie Russo. Elsewhere the Griffins have added good veteran depth with one of those being an Admiral from a season ago by the name of Conor Allen who I suspect signed with the hopes of not playing for three different AHL teams this season.

All those names and I could rattle off even more solid veteran minded players: Brian Lashoff, Nathan Paetsch, Daniel Cleary, Matthew Ford, and Ben Street. That gets paired with some prospects that the likes of Vladislav Kamenev and Jack Dougherty should be familiar with in Yevgeni Svechnikov and Dominic Turgeon. Svechnikov was drafted by the Red Wings in the 1st Round (19th Overall) in the 2015 NHL Draft and played with Kamenev at the national team level at World Juniors. Turgeon was team captain of the Portland Winterhawks (WHL) last season where Dougherty was an alternate captain alongside him.

So, the Griffins have yet another very stacked, deeply talented, and diversely structured team once again. Go figure, right? I feel as if two of the best teams right now in the NHL when it comes to scouting and the developmental process through the AHL are the Detroit Red Wings and Nashville Predators. No wonder these two sides lock horns so well.

What are your expectations for tonight’s game? Will the Milwaukee Admirals winning streak continue? Do you still cringe when thinking about last year’s playoff games against the Grand Rapids Griffins?

Feature November 11, 2016

A Room Filled With Leaders

We’re only ten games into the 2016-17 season and I already feel as if a word that is going to get used a lot this season is character. The Admirals as a team has character. The UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena is an old school building that has character. This was something felt and said quickly by Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason at Media Day ahead of the season and it is already an attribute of the team that is strongly being showcased.

“We feel real good about our group of veteran people and prospects. But most importantly we’re excited about the character of this team as opposed to other teams of the past. We’ve had real good teams here. The character of this group seems really high and really good.” ~Dean Evason

What does this character element mean, you ask. To me it means having leadership far and wide in various aspects where it is needed. There are veteran players who have been part of the Admirals current group for a few seasons that know life and the process of the team and city. There are new veterans that were brought in that conduct themselves professionally on and off the ice and lend themselves to teaching and assisting those in the locker room. And the young up and coming talents of the team feature a background in their own right as leaders from previous teams, locker rooms, and have taken that mindset into the professional ranks.

Recent years the Admirals roster has been either the youngest in the American Hockey League (AHL) or among the youngest. As a developmental league you expect that to a degree but would also expect such youth to trickle into less than favorable results as opposed to the rest of the league’s more polished or experienced players and minds. Last season in particular the Admirals played 23 players who were 23-years of age or younger at some point in the season. They played 6 players that were teenagers. And that team was able to finish on top of the Central Division, nearly even the entire Western Conference, with a record of 48-23-3-2 (101 points, 0.664 points percentage).

How is something such as that achieved? Is it a simply matter of having the right pieces? Having a locker room and on-ice chemistry that clicks incredibly well? Or are there key players that pull extra weight and can be accountable when things shouldn’t be going right? The answer is of course – all of the above. What helps it all come together though is having the right leaders in the room to make it all work. The Admirals have a room filled with leaders. And this season’s team just so happens to have a room with heart and soul type players and people.

If you were to purely judge someone such as Mike Liambas based on his career’s statistical measurements you would probably consider him to be an undersized enforcer. On paper, saying that, you can probably assess that he clearly has warrior spirit and one that can endear him to his team, teammates, and the fans. The thing is that Liambas has always been far beyond the sort of player that simply drops the gloves when he chooses to. He isn’t just a fourth line AHL level grind it out player. Liambas is a leader. Liambas is the type of person that can lighten the mood of a locker room and tighten it up. He is both a vocal leader and one who can lead by example for the way in which he conducts himself as a professional athlete.

After completing the 2012-13 season a young defenseman by the name of Anthony Bitetto sought out advice for a diet and work out regiment to better prepare himself for the riggers of a pro hockey season. The man who helped him was Liambas and the lessons learned for Bitetto saw him produce career best offensive numbers in 2013-14 with the Admirals and gave him a platform to start working on the full-game as a pro level defenseman.

When arriving to the Admirals as an 18-year old first year pro after completing a junior playing career with the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League Colton Sissons roommate for the season just so happened to be Liambas. The two quickly formed a solid friendship. Sissons was a skillful yet tactically sound two-way center. Liambas the hard-nosed winger that scrapped it out. Both learned tremendously from one-another and Liambas’ game in that season and the one that followed grew to new heights as a very solid defensive minded forward.

It was bittersweet to see last season when Liambas signed an NHL contract through the Chicago Blackhwaks. He earned an NHL contract but wasn’t just leaving the Admirals organization but playing head-to-head against them as a member of the Rockford IceHogs. He has his moments but, one season later, finds himself right back in familiar surroundings in Milwaukee. It hasn’t taken long to see what bringing Liambas back to the team does for the team. It doesn’t take much from watching him at team practices as to why he wears an “A” on the front of his jersey. He has the keen ability to know when to get his teammates to laugh and when to get them to listen. He can bring them together post-practice and come up with a silly activity such as who can hit the net on the fly from a slap shot taken at center ice. He can then skate on up to an individual player to communicate through details and specific questions. And, once the puck actually drops, he can make even the best of the best impressed for the compete level that he brings to the ice.

“He’s a warrior that guy. I’m impressed. It’s amazing. He’s got a big.. a big set of…” ~Pekka Rinne on 2/28/14

That is Liambas. One player in a group of now 22 players on the Admirals roster. Trevor Smith is one of those leaders. Harry Zolnierczyk and Adam Payerl are those type of leaders. Adam Pardy, someone who only recently acquired, is now one of those leaders. And what do they all have in common? They are good quality people as well as quality players. It is an aspect of the Admirals in recent years to bring in quality people as much as they are a player on the ice. And it makes plenty of sense at the AHL level when wanting to set an example for the professionalism required to reach the end goal of playing in the NHL.

(Photo Credit: Andre Ringuette // HHOF-IIHF Images)

It is then that this ideal of what it is to have a solid locker room with quality people as well as players also gets found by the Nashville Predators scouting process. This isn’t limited to players that the Predators draft, either. Frédérick Gaudreau, Jimmy Oligny, Trevor Murphy, and Matt White were all undrafted players that made their way into the Admirals roster. Those names were solid players and leaders who wore letters in their junior or collegiate playing careers before becoming professional hockey players. But, what of those who were drafted that exist on the Admirals roster right now? Alex Carrier was an alternate captain for three of his four-year junior career with Gatineau (QMJHL). Jonathan Diaby was an alternate captain for his final two seasons of a four-year junior career with Victoriaville (QMJHL). Jack Dougherty was an alternate captain in his one and only junior playing season for Portland (WHL). Félix Girard was a team captain for his final two seasons of a four-year junior career with Baie-Comeau (QMJHL). And, despite never captaining a league team, Vladislav Kamenev has served as team captain for his national team at the Under-18 and Under-20 levels.

So, why then should any of us be all that surprised that ten games into the 2016-17 season that the Admirals find themselves with the best record in the Central Division by claiming 15 points out of a possible 20 points and all while not yet truly playing their best hockey? It is because the team is comprised of a solid and grounded group of people. All that flash and all that offensive skill will come in time if the team continues to provide detail oriented hockey with an emphasis on not only minimizing mistakes but learning from the ones made.

There is still so much to come yet this season. There will be games when the Admirals manage to fall 6-1. There will be rough patches and stretches when players get recalled and swapped around. That’s AHL hockey. The importance is having precisely what the Admirals have which is high level leadership and character from a wide range of individuals in their locker room. It’s what takes those heavy defeats or stretches and turns them into something the likes of which the Admirals are on right now – a four-game winning streak. The Admirals a season ago had a special group that achieved pretty much everything but winning a Calder Cup as the team exited the BMO Harris Bradley Center. Much like the building they’ve returned to this year’s team has a character and a charm about it that might just see them take that extra step.

News & Discussion Site For Your Milwaukee Admirals