According to today’s ECHL Transactions the Milwaukee Admirals have recalled defenseman Jonathan Diaby from their ECHL affiliate the Cincinnati Cyclones.
Diaby was reassigned by the Admirals to the ECHL last Tuesday. He has since played in four games for the Cyclones and registered 3 assists, 3 shots on goal, and a plus/minus rating of +2. The Cyclones won all four games during the time Diaby was involved. So far this season Diaby has only logged a single appearance for the Admirals which came during the food poisoning chaos topside for the Nashville Predators. Diaby was dressed as the seventh choice defenseman for the Admirals in that contest and saw minimal action.
The Admirals next game is on Saturday night at 6 PM CST when they face the Grand Rapids Griffins for the first time in the 2016-17 season. The Griffins swept the Admirals out of the 2016 Calder Cup Playoffs last season. Hopefully the game taking place at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena will mean the nets will actually do what they’re supposed to do.
How about this Alex Carrier kid, eh? (Photo Credit: Sara Stathas)
It was great. It was not so great. And then there were back and forth exchanges that spiked suspense for a chaotic finish. No, we’re not talking about the 2016 Election around these parts but the latest installment of the Amtrak Rivalry. It has had its moments in the past but this season it has been delivering intensity and nail-biting moments. Three games so far between the Milwaukee Admirals and Chicago Wolves. Three games decided by a single goal. One in regulation. One in a shootout. And now one in overtime.
The Admirals 5-4 overtime win today can probably be best summed up by two specific moments late in the game. In fact, it probably sums up the way the Admirals are starting the 2016-17 season on a microscopic level. (1) The Admirals allowed the Chicago Wolves to score a power-play goal with 4:07 remaining in regulation. They responded by scoring 25 seconds later. (2) The Admirals earn a power-play with 1:47 remaining in regulation only to take a penalty of their own, a poor one, with 38 seconds remaining of regulation. The penalty kill survives the four-on-three overtime kill, regroup at four-on-four, and score on the rush to earn a win in a game they could have lost on two separate occasions (3-2, and 4-3) after having held a 2-0 lead out of the blocks.
It’s early. It’s very -very- early still into the season. And I’m 100% convinced that the Admirals haven’t played close to their potential. Yet, here we are now 10 games into the season and the Admirals have a record of 7-2-0-1 (15 points, 0.750 points percentage). That’s startling. So, is this the Admirals team we will sit back and watch all season or will the speed and skill fully manifest offensively and defensively to push them into the stratosphere? It’s early. So we’re just going to have to wait and find out. Either way this start has become something special in its own right. The Admirals are on a four game winning streak and really only have the first game on this current run as a game you could say was stress free or made to look easy. The character of this year’s team is shining far brighter than any highlight reel goals we may have been anticipating. And that’s awesome to see this fast.
After today’s game I caught up with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason as well as Alex Carrier, Marek Mazanec, and Matt White to hear their comments on the wild win over the Amtrak Rivals. This is what they had to say.
Thoughts on the current form of the Milwaukee Admirals? Is the best still yet to come or will this year’s team be winning ugly like this all season long?
The Milwaukee Admirals 5-4 in overtime against the Chicago Wolves Wednesday morning at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.
This game was nothing short of a thrill ride in front of the Admirals second ever school day crowd. The atmosphere was actually matched by the entertainment on the ice as a tightly played game pushed into overtime and saw one more piece of brilliance out of the first-year pro defenseman Alex Carrier to net the game-winner and stretch the Admirals winning streak to four games.
“It was all over the place,” said Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason of today’s contest. “We thought we started real well. First period was as good a period as we’ve played. No penalties. Everything was flowing. We were able to play four lines, rolling. And then we turned the pucks over in the second period. Mistakes on our PP. Mistakes on our PK. Breakdowns. Turnovers. It turned into an ugly game and then we corralled it in again at the end.”
The Admirals appeared to have the much more alert and awake start from the opening puck drop. Their pace was giving the Wolves problems and keeping them pinned on defense. The Admirals were able to capitalize off of this energy as a quick turnaround in and out of the offensive zone spearheaded a play that saw a returning Harry Zolnierczyk bat a puck toward the net that trickled free for Adam Payerl to lift past Jordan Binnington to score his third goal of the season.
At the final horn of the first period a tussle broke out between Matt White and Morgan Ellis. It was determined, somehow, that the lone penalty to assess on the play would be a roughing minor against the Wolves’ Ellis. The Admirals started the second period on the power-play and managed to score twenty-four seconds in through Frédérick Gaudreau’s first goal of the season. Gaudreau was working the high left point, moved in low while measuring his shot, and wired a wrister to the blocker side of Binnington to make it a 2-0 Admirals lead.
The Wolves would answer back shortly after the Admirals power-play goal and did so after their first power-play of the contest expired. Brad Hunt whipped a backhander to the net that alluded the pads of Marek Mazanec and fell to a redirect to the right wing for Ivan Barbashyov. The quick tip beat Mazanec and Barbashyov had his sixth goal of the season to cut the Admirals lead in half at 2-1.
The second period momentum would stick with the Wolves to see them level things after a successful penalty kill. A great individual effort by Andrew Agozzino saw him cut through with pace and in on Mazanec with a very short run to the net. He was able to stickhandle and get a shot up and over the glove of the Czech goalie to record his first goal on the season and make it a 2-2 game.
Heading towards the midway point in the third period the Wolves run continued. After a trip against Conner Bleackley the Admirals power-play group passed themselves into trouble which triggered a two-on-one shorthanded rush. Agozzino kept the puck in a shooting position and snapped a wrister to the low glove of Mazanec to score his second of the game and season to give the Wolves a 3-2 lead.
With under eight minutes left to play in regulation the Admirals were treated to the skills of Kevin Fiala. The Switzerland native took a hard wrist shot from the left wing that spanked off the end-boards with pace and worked back out in front of the net and back to Fiala’s path for a follow up shot that he threw above the glove of Binnington to score a goal a day after being reassigned to the Admirals from the Nashville Predators to make it a 3-3 game.
The Admirals penalty kill was motoring along strongly right until their fourth kill of the game which came in the closing stages of the third period. Magnus Pääjärvi unloaded a wrister from the high left circle that sawed through traffic and flew in high over the blocker of Mazanec and in for a power-play goal and Pääjärvi’s third tally of the season. Thankfully, just twenty-five seconds later, the Admirals answered right back. Matt White put used traffic to his advantage to put a shot on goal from the slot that found a way past bodies and Binnington for his fifth goal of the season to quickly make it 4-4.
“Matt White has been great,” stated Evason. “He’s a pro. He conducts himself that way. He’s got skill in all areas of the game. If we didn’t have as many penalty killers than we have he’d play even more. Plays on the power-play. He’s just a real good good player.”
The game would need overtime and it started with two players in the penalty box, Kevin Tansey for elbowing and Fiala for cross-checking. The Admirals penalty kill would manage to work out of the Fiala penalty and at four-on-four in overtime Gaudreau hit Alex Carrier on a stretch pass that saw the first-year pro score a dazzling game-winning goal. Carrier won a footrace down the right side of the slot and label a shot top shelf before the Wolves defense could close him down. The game-winning goal for Carrier goes down as his third goal scored this season and all of those have come in back-to-back games.
“I didn’t even see the puck go in,” smiled Alex Carrier. “But I saw the fans screaming. So I was happy.”
While I’m certain he would have to have a few goals allowed back it was a rather nice outing in net from Mazanec. The Czech goalie, making his debut with the Admirals this season after starting the year with the Predators, stopped 21/25 shots on goal and came up big a number of times from the second period to the finish.
The Admirals next play on Saturday night when they get to seek out a slight bit of 2016 Calder Cup Playoffs revenge when the Grand Rapids Griffins turn up for the first time on the calendar this season. That game has a 6:00 PM CST puck drop and will be the fourth game of this five game homestand which concludes next Tuesday night when the red hot Charlotte Checkers come into town.
Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals last played on Saturday there have been quite a few roster moves made. The Nashville Predators recalled Pontus Åberg and Juuse Saros from the Milwaukee Admirals. The returning move saw the Predators reassign Kevin Fiala, Marek Mazanec, and -later in the day- Harry Zolnierczyk. The Predators won last night 3-1 and in the contest Åberg logged 14:20 of ice time from nineteen shifts in his NHL regular season debut. Åberg’s NHL debut came during last season’s Stanley Cup Playoffs. With thirteen forwards now in camp the Admirals actually had to make a scratch this morning. The odd man out today was Anthony Richard who was a healthy scratch. Today’s attendance was 8,631.
Thoughts on today’s game? How impressive has Alex Carrier been to start his pro career? What was your assessment of Marek Mazanec and Kevin Fiala’s Admirals debuts for this season?
Wednesday morning will be Pardy Time! … Well, I laughed. (Photo Credit: Jeff Hanisch)
The Milwaukee Admirals will be playing their second ever school day game on Wednesday with puck drop coming in at around 10:30 AM CST. Typically I enjoy publishing your pre-game scout at around 7 AM CST. Considering how little time that actually is to get your locked in I feel compelled to publish this tonight so you’re ready right out of bed and en route to the rink in the morning.
Last season’s inaugural event was a really big success I felt. And by that I’m not even simply talking about the Admirals 6-3 win on the day. The official attendance at that game was 12,972. Of that total there were 11,047 students on-hand. The game was incredibly loud. Kids who may not yet have experienced a hockey game either in-person or ever before were introduced to the game. It was a real blast to experience. Now take that same level of students and the noise they’ll be making and place it in a smaller venue with the roof lowered? Hot diggity! All that is needed next is a similar nasty and snarling level of game on the ice that last season provided. …this is when the Amtrak rolls up to station and the Chicago Wolves exit to their usual music.
The Wolves enter this game with a record of 5-4-0-1 (11 points, 0.550 points percentage). They have played the Admirals twice so far this season and have lost both games by a narrow margin. They faced-off against the Admirals last Friday for their first trip into the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. In that contest they lost 3-2 in a shootout after the Admirals climbed back from a 2-0 Wolves lead.
After the Wolves lost to the Admirals they then had the pleasure of a lengthy bus ride over to face the Grand Rapids Griffins the next night. The Wolves vented a bit of frustration from the night before and beat the Griffins 4-2. The man on fire that night was Ivan Barbashyov who scored twice to elevate his season total to 9 points (5 goals, 4 assists) from 10 games.
Barbashyov is the top scoring forward on the Wolves roster but not the team’s leading scorer. That title current goes to defenseman Brad Hunt who has scored 11 points (3 goals, 8 assists) in 10 games. Out of all the players on the ice for the Wolves in the Amtrak Rivalry game on Saturday I felt that Hunt was easily their best player. He was everywhere. He nearly reminded me of the often roaming from the blueline T.J. Brennan. What’s funny to me is that I never recall Hunt being as active in movement as he was when a member of the Edmonton Oilers organization. He produced amazing offensive numbers with the Oklahoma City Barons and Bakersfield Condors: 142 points (43 goals, 99 assists) in 185 games. He just seems even more polished this season than memory serves. It’s just hard to not notice “#39 Hunt” when he is on the ice.
The goaltender of choice for the Wolves in the first two games against the Admirals this season has been Pheonix Copley. It’s slightly weird that he has only made 3 starts, has a record of 1-1-0-1 on the season, and his single win wasn’t his best outing. It’s actually his starts against the Admirals that have been his best work so far. In the pair of Amtrak Rivalry games Copley has a 1.95 goals against average and 0.934 save percentage. While I can just as easily see Jordan Binnington get tabbed for the 10:30 AM start. I would expect Copley’s hot hand against the Admirals to get a run until it cools.
What might be the biggest storyline for this game doesn’t so much as come from the Wolves as it does the Admirals. Juuse Saros and Pontus Åberg were recalled. Marek Mazanec and Kevin Fiala were reassigned and take their place. It’s not the most drastic of changes by any means but it is a shakeup to an Admirals team that has a three-game winning streak at the moment. How does Mazanec respond in net after little action and poor results with the Nashville Predators? How does Fiala look in his reintroduction to the AHL and will he flip off another team’s bench during an AM Admirals game? So many variables! Yet, the changes aren’t huge. They just add a fresh layer of mystery as to what happens in a game that starts while most of us aren’t all that awake yet – much less playing a hockey game.
~UPDATE~
The Nashville Predators have officially reassigned Harry Zolnierczyk to the Milwaukee Admirals. Zolnierczyk was brought up to help the Predators during their food poisoning incident but only played the single game in his time up with the team. He had played the opening three games of the season for the Admirals prior.
~Pre-Game Skate Tunes~
I meant to place this in -yesterday’s- fan requested edition of Chatterbox but flat out forgot. Today’s edition of Chatterbox was just too busy with the roster move news. So, for fun, here is a fan requested item. What songs play during the Admirals pre-game skate?
Often I read or hear people saying that the tunes are a bit “out there” or rave party inspired but the reality is that this is what the players are asking for to get hyped up prior to puck drop. Is this the accurate playlist order? Nope. It’s just the way I plopped them all down via the Admirals DJ’s list. If you hit shuffle it may run just as nicely.
Thoughts on the third meeting between the Admirals and Wolves? How will Mazanec and Fiala perform in their first AHL game of the 2016-17 season? Will you be attending the AM game?
Oh, hey! Look who is back. (Photo Credit: Stephanie Moebius)
This morning when I rolled into the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena I did so early enough that the skaters weren’t even on the ice yet. It’s because I left early to vote before morning skate to (1) get it out of the way and (2) do it in case there was a bit of a procession. There was. But I still made it rinkside before the first skater took to the ice. It was then to my shock that a goaltender wearing a highly visible yellow Nashville Predators mask with a catching glove on the wrong hand made his way to the ice. As it so happens there was a roster move officially made as I was kicked back.
This morning the Nashville Predators made a forward and goaltending swap that sees Pontus Åberg and Juuse Saros head up to the NHL while Kevin Fiala and Marek Mazanec make their way to the Milwaukee Admirals in the AHL.
Nashville, Tenn. (November 8, 2016) – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced Tuesday that the club has recalled forward Pontus Aberg and goalie Juuse Saros from Milwaukee (AHL), and assigned forward Kevin Fiala and goalie Marek Mazanec to Milwaukee.
Aberg, 23 (9/23/93), leads the Admirals in points (9), goals (5) and shots on goal (28) this season, and has added four assists in nine games. In his last game on Saturday, Aberg tallied two goals and recorded an assist to extend his point streak to three games (10/30-11/5: 4g-3a). The Stockholm, Sweden, native played in two Stanley Cup Playoff games with the Predators last season.
Saros, 21 (4/19/95), is 6-1-0 with a 1.99 goals-against average and .929 save percentage in seven games with the Admirals this season. Recalled on an emergency basis to the Preds on Oct. 22, Saros started and earned the win in a 5-1 victory against Pittsburgh. He stopped 34 of the 35 shots he faced, allowing just one goal in 59:22 of ice time. It was Saros’ first career NHL victory and second NHL game.
Fiala has appeared in 10 games for the Predators this season, and earned his first career multi-goal game on Oct. 22 vs. Pittsburgh (2g-0a). Mazanec has played in two games for the Preds in 2016-17, starting one, and stopping 29 of 36 shots faced.
The Preds return to action tonight against the Ottawa Senators at 7:00 p.m. CT at Bridgestone Arena. The game will be televised on FOX Sports Tennessee, beginning with the Predators Live! pregame show at 6:30 p.m. The contest can also be heard on the Preds flagship radio station, 102.5 The Game.
It is a bit of a shake-up for the organization but one that makes sense. Åberg has been outstanding to start the season for the Admirals and has earned a look topside for the Predators. Meanwhile, the Predators would like to lean on Mazanec at some point to give some relief to Pekka Rinne but would rather he fine tune his sharpness in game action rather than daily practice. By doing that in Milwaukee it can bring Saros up and give him a look up with the NHL squad and get a further feeling out process as to the pace and responsibilities on and off the ice that come with being an NHL level talent.
It might not be the longest of moves for all parties involved here. The plan to get Mazanec playing time in net at the AHL level can be worked around the Predators and Admirals schedules easily enough: Predators tonight (home), Admirals tomorrow (home), Predators Thursday and Saturday (home), Admirals Saturday and next Tuesday (home), and then Predators next Tuesday (in Toronto).
If needed that overlap a week from now could see Saros and Mazanec flip after the Admirals play three games and Mazanec could join the Predators once again by their Ottawa game on Thursday. If he just needed the two starts, Wednesday and Saturday in Milwaukee, he could join the Predators in Toronto while Saros returns before the Admirals finish off the five-game homestand on Tuesday. That or we could all be in for a swerve and this is just life now and Mazanec is an Admiral while Saros is in the NHL backing up Rinne. The Predators have plenty of options. It’s just on them to chose how they want to play it.
At forward the Åberg move is an exciting one given just how well he has played to start the season for the Admirals. Åberg has produced 9 points (5 goals, 4 assists) in 9 games while playing strong enough defensively that he’s been comfortably double-shifted often this season. Fiala had a great Summer and Pre-Season Camp but, like the Predators in general to start this season, isn’t 100% what was expected. Limited ice time can only hinder progress so why not give him a jump-start with double the amount of ice time he is seeing in Nashville by playing him in Milwaukee? He will essentially plug right in where Åberg left off – same line and all.
This all adds a wrinkle to the games ahead for both the Predators and Admirals. Something ever so slightly different for Nashville. Something ever so slightly different for Milwaukee. The biggest difference being that the goaltending swap rotates the starters in Milwaukee. When Mazanec does take the net tomorrow morning it will be the first time since the 2013-14 season that the Admirals will have had four different goalies log a start in a season.
~Chatterbox~
To preview tomorrow’s second school day game for the Admirals I had a chat with President Jon Greenberg this morning. I then spoke with Admirals head coach Dean Evason, the two newly reassigned players from Nashville, and the “gem” himself – defenseman Trevor Murphy. Here were today’s interviews from the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.
Thoughts on today’s roster moves? How long do you think this goaltending situation will play out? Could this be the first of a few occasions in which Saros and Mazanec rotate in the organization this season? How long do you feel Fiala will remain with the Admirals?
Pontus Åberg has been a point per game player for the Milwaukee Admirals so far this season. Will that continue when the Admirals face the Amtrak Rivals Wednesday morning? (Photo Credit: Jeff Hanisch)
This morning I ventured in to catch the Milwaukee Admirals practice at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena to get a look at the team after yesterday’s off-day. The next game for the Admirals will be at 10:30 AM CST for the second ever school day game for the organization. They will be matching up against the Chicago Wolves who they have narrowly beaten twice this season – once on the road (2-1) and once at home (3-2, SO).
What you’ve seen out of the Admirals for awhile now, roster-wise, is pretty much what you’ll see for at least the next little bit I suspect. Once again the Admirals line combinations looked exactly as they have been for the past two weeks. It’s made all the more solidified by the fact that (1) there aren’t even players to healthy scratch in camp and (2) the team has been earning a good chunk of points with this lineup.
That all looked familiar enough so, for a bit of fun and insight, I decided to try and test out the Admirals new Ice Box seating area between the two benches and on the glass. When I heard the concept I loved the idea of it but wasn’t sure how obstructed the view might be with curved glass and then the benches jumbled up on the side panels. Honestly, it was really a cool spot. It’s a fish bowl but one that surrounds you with the full playing environment. I’d imagine that would be a blast to experience during a game.
After practice wrapped up I gather up interviews with the players that today weren’t just chosen by fans but had some of the questions actually asked by fans. In the past, I’ve always enjoyed throwing it out on Twitter to check who you would like to hear from but I wanted to expand on that even more by getting your questions as well. It was a lot of fun doing that today and I encourage following up with suggestions and your own questions for the coaches or players more often. For a first crack at it today? Not too shabby.
As a preface to the interviews: I might want to have a re-think about wearing the Finland World Cup of Hockey pullover when they are the minority of the Euro contingent this season. Dougherty states that his WHL pal and roommate Justin Kirkland had his secondary assist, therefore first career pro point, changed on the scoresheet. To this point the AHL still lists Kirkland as the secondary assist – so – oops. Then there were a pair of interview bombs during Oligny’s interview which included your first proper Kam-eo of one Vladislav Kamenev and then his roomie from last season Trevor Murphy. Here are today’s fan requested interviews:
I should be due back for practice tomorrow and will likely speak with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason as prep for Wednesday morning’s school day game. Have any players in particular you would like to hear from or have questions for them? Do comment down below. Note. Kamenev’s English is still not what I’d call interview friendly yet – but he’s slowly getting there. Until he’s comfortable to do it I’d prefer to not put someone with a language barrier problem on the spot as I relate to the social anxiety of the situation a bit too much.
The WHL Connection was felt last night as the roommates Justin Kirkland and Jack Dougherty were able to score some firsts together. Kirkland’s first career pro point was a secondary assist on Dougherty’s first career pro goal. The two played against each other last season as members of the Kelowna Rockets and Portland Winterhawks in juniors. (Photo Credit: Jeff Hanisch)
In Chatterbox prior to yesterday’s game I probably overused the word “character” to describe how the Milwaukee Admirals have been achieving success despite less than desirable play to open up the season. I feel as if I could go that route once again except the play last night was pretty darn good from the Admirals. The second period of last night’s 5-3 win was pretty dominant from the Iowa Wild up until a Pontus Åberg goal put the Admirals back into a lead that they’d never relinquish.
Other than the second period, where the Admirals were outshot 15-8 and had the ice tilted against them, the game was really solid. I can’t express enough how impressed I was watching the Admirals play so defensively in the third period, practically playing keep away, and how little that same Wild team that posted 15 shots in the period prior managed to take advantage of a defensively minded Admirals group. The Wild only registered 5 shots on goal in the third period. And that’s with an Admirals team that was comfortable enough cycling the puck around in their attacking zone not really doing much of anything else. They worked that cycle into a penalty and, BOOM, they get a power-play goal. How about that? The Admirals power-play, which was trending near 8% prior to the weekend, has gone 50% this weekend at a 4/8 clip between Friday and Saturday.
Patience might really be the word needed for the Admirals start to the season. Just as I started to wonder if some of the younger prospects within the Admirals ranks could start gripping the sticks a little tighter awaiting their offensive abilities to shine – they do. Max Görtz did so well a season ago but didn’t score a goal until Friday. Alex Carrier, Jack Dougherty, Justin Kirkland, and Anthony Richard are all first year pros that came with great junior playing careers prior to this season. Most of names, sorry Richard but your time will come, scored their first goals or points last night. The ability and talent is there. It just takes games such as, say, last weekend in Rockford to ignite a real burst within the group. This five game homestand is the longest the Admirals have all season and that too has an impact on the team being able to settle in, learn, and grow. It simply takes time.
The Admirals ended last season with their first 100 point season since the 80-game regular season era of the AHL in 2010-11. This season the Admirals have claimed 13 points in their first 9 games of the season. It took last year’s group 11 games to accomplish that. So, despite the slower offensive start, this year’s group is grinding out the wins and building for more. That’s an exciting prospect to think about knowing we’ve really not seen all players yet at their maximum. It’ll come. And, for now, this is pretty good.
~The Ol’ Arena~
In -settling into the new venue land- I do want to touch on my experience from last night. I didn’t quite get the opportunity to roam much the first two home games but I made a point last night to do a lap or two around the concourse to see what it is like in game ops mode. I read some comments that said it was narrower and congested. I knew the first part of that was true, it is a smaller concourse than the BMO Harris Bradley Center, but the lone area where a small bite point was felt in the congestion area was around the new Pro Shop and a concession area right outside of it.. and even then it was easy enough to zip through. The new Pro Shop looks fantastic and there are a ton of different Admirals items that I don’t recall seeing across the street. The concessions seemed full in the times I jogged about and I did give a go at “The Coop” and enjoyed their cheese curds. I’d honestly love to hear more feedback from people as to what they do think of the concessions, better – the same – or lesser than the Bradley Center? It’s busy enough so I’m hopeful there is a good reason for that beyond people are just hungry.
My parking experience isn’t quite the same as fans, being media, but even on my end it is a slow building process to get used to. Lots and lots of “new” being experienced or re-learning areas that I’ve not parked or driven around in a bit to get where I need to be. It’s a change but it’ll get way better the more used to it I get. I’d hope the same can be said on the fan side of things, as well. There’s plenty of parking options. The cheaper option just isn’t the old Bradley Center parking structure is all. Some walking is to be expected -but- some walking can save some money as well. It’s all a process. From the fan end to those folks working the microphones that cut out the last two nights… it will all be a challenge at first. But, hey, we learn and improve, right? The team on the ice adapts to situations on a near shift to shift basis. I’m looking to settle into the new barn in much the same way.
~Chatterbox~
After last night’s game I spoke with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. I also caught up with the defensemen that claimed their first career pro goals last night, Carrier and Dougherty. This is what everyone had to say following last night’s 5-3 win over the Iowa Wild.
Thoughts from last night? Is this year’s Milwaukee Admirals group better suited to use their skill defensively rather than be a flashy offensive unit? How impressed are you with first year pro defensemen Alex Carrier and Jack Dougherty?
Have a day – Alex Carrier! (Photo Credit: Jeff Hanisch)
The Milwaukee Admirals won 5-3 against the Iowa Wild Saturday night at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.
The Admirals have now beaten every team that they have faced in the 2016-17 season after avenging last weekend’s defeats to the Wild. Tonight it was the young guns breaking out with career firsts to go along with two two-goal nights from Pontus Åberg and Alex Carrier. The Ads have claimed the first two games of their season long five game homestand and now have a record of 6-2-0-1 (13 points, 0.722 points percentage).
“Iowa they play hard, heavy. I don’t know They’ve changed coaches. They’ve changed personnel,” smirked Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason after the game. “But whenever they play us it’s a battle. They’re physical. They’re fast. They work. They compete. And it’s a grind for us every time we play them.”
The Admirals were able to get off to a quick start after a Pat Cannone slashing minor put them on the power-play three-minutes into the contest. Alex Carrier was working the right point and snapped a low shot through traffic and rebounded off Wild goaltender Alex Stalock into the low left wing. Pontus Åberg raced to win the rebound and recorded his third power-play goal of the season and fourth overall to make it 1-0 Ads inside four-minutes.
In the Admirals second trip to the power-play moments later things weren’t so sparkling. The Admirals allowed a shorthanded two-on-one between Colton Beck and Pat Cannone which forced a huge stop out of Juuse Saros. Unfortunately the Wild would zip right back with a shorthanded breakaway with Kurtis Gabriel scoring on a backhander to level the contest up 1-1.
If the first four minutes of the first period was a bit crazy the final four minutes was even more so. The Admirals youngsters had some firsts. Jack Dougherty was able to hammer a slap shot from the right wing circle against the grain of Stalock for his first career pro goal. A secondary assist on his goal went to his pal and WHL rival last season Justin Kirkland who, by doing so, earned his first career pro point.
1:04 of ice time after Dougherty scored his first pro goal another first year pro on the Admirals blueline followed. Alex Carrier unleashed a slap shot from the high right point that flew top shelf over the blocker side of Stalock to make it a 3-1 Admirals lead on the Québec native’s first career pro goal.
The hype surrounding the situation may have had the Admirals mentally check-out for the final minute of the period. Following Carrier’s goal it took the Wild thirty-two seconds to answer back. The Wild had a quick rush through the Admirals zone that had three crashing towards the net. Mike Weber leapt up from defense to take a lead pass from Grayson Downing. Weber’s initial shot was stopped by the right pad of Saros but Weber was able to get his own rebound before he sailed wide of the net to make it a 3-2 game on his first goal of the season.
It would take until the midway point of the second period before the next tally took place. Nick Saracino went for a wrap-around shot swooping from the left wing to the right wing but his shot flew across Saros and out to Marc Hagel. Saros was committed to the shot by Saracino and it was an easy enough finish on the back post for Hagel to make it level at 3-3 from his first goal of the season.
Despite a lackluster second period the Admirals were able to find a dagger of their own during a run of nonstop Wild offense. An outlet pass from Trevor Murphy sent Åberg on his merry way. It looked like a line change was going to happen behind the play but Åberg kept pushing down the right wing, double pumped his wrister, and wired a low shot past Stalock’s blocker-side and in for his second goal of the game and fifth of the season.
“Pontus Åberg was so good tonight,” said Evason. “So good we doubled him up in the third period to try to get him out there a little bit more. Not only because he was doing things right offensively. His speed, tenaciousness on the puck defensively. His forecheck. He is doing everything to not be in the American Hockey League. I can tell you that.”
The entirety of the third period felt like a “keep away” drill by the Admirals. Late in the last frame of regulation they earned a power-play and capitalized. Justin Florek had broken his stick trying to set a pass up in the high slot. Rather than get a new stick Vladislav Kamenev came on in his place to bail the Admirals out of a brief four-on-four. The pressure sustained and a puck fell back to the point for a howitzer shot by Carrier for his second goal of the night to make it 5-3 Admirals.
“I think the second one was better than the first one actually,” smiled Alex Carrier when speaking about his two-goal performance. “Because the first one I wasn’t sure it was me. I thought it was [Frédérick Gaudreau] that tipped it. So, I wasn’t sure. And then right away they score another goal. So that was not as good as I thought but then the second one was a lot of fun. Nice pass by [Trevor Smith]. It wasn’t the greatest shot, not the hardest shot, but I’ll take it.”
Despite an empty net extra attacker push for the Wild, which also saw a power-play come with an Åberg tripping minor, nothing came of it. The Admirals defense in the third period played lights out and it was quite impressive to see them cruise through full-strength hockey and shut the door.
The Admirals are back on home ice Wednesday at the top of the morning, 10:30 AM CST, for the organization’s second ever school day game. They’ll face the Chicago Wolves on that day. The came back from 2-0 to beat the Wolves in yesterday’s 3-2 shootout.
Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals played last night there were no roster moves made within the Nashville Predators organization. Pontus Åberg has produced 9 points (5 goals, 4 assists) in the Admirals opening nine games of the season. Juuse Saros improved his individual record to 6-1-0-0 from seven starts this season to go along with a 1.99 goals against average and 0.929 save percentage.
Chatterbox: You can listen to tonight’s post-game interviews ASAP right here.
Thoughts on tonight’s game? Is the Admirals offense starting to pick up the pace? Are you more impressed by the Admirals defensively than offensively?
Mike Liambas was as happy as we all were last night when Juuse Saros closed the door on Brett Sterling to secure the 3-2 shootout victory for the Milwaukee Admirals over the Chicago Wolves. (Photo Credit: Jeff Hanisch)
The Milwaukee Admirals currently have the best record in the Central Division and the second best record in the Western Conference. It doesn’t exactly feel right saying or reading that though, does it? I feel as if all the flash, speed, and skill that was expected of this year’s team has still yet to really turn up and stick around. That’s what makes wins such as last night’s 3-2 shootout win over the Chicago Wolves all the more impressive and important. The character of the Admirals is getting them through a lull and getting them through it will still hauling in points.
The biggest problem areas for the Admirals right now is staying out of the penalty box and doing something when the opposition is in it. The Admirals have taken 60 minor penalties in the opening 8 games of the season. Last year’s group took 41 minor penalties in the team’s opening 8 games of the season. The Admirals record this season through 8 games is 5-2-0-1 (11 points, 0.688 points percentage). The Admirals record through 8 games last season was 3-4-1-0 (7 points, 0.438 points percentage. …something about that doesn’t feel right.
All these constant penalties, as great as that Admirals penalty kill has been this season, add up. They come at a cost. The ebb and flow of the game gets stopped dead in its tracks and breaks the rhythm for the forwards getting shift after shift of work in. The penalty killers do feature some great forwards but those forwards are getting sapped by high pressure defensive situations while other contributors are sitting cold on the bench until the PK completes before they can get their next shift. Lines start to get jumbled up. And before you know it the Admirals find themselves right back where they started on the penalty kill.
It is an issue. One that needs to be resolved quickly. Regardless of how well the Admirals penalty kill is. Constant penalty killing begs for games such as last night when the team is forced to come from behind. That isn’t what the team should be. So, it is very fortunate that the group has been able to lean on its high character players to find ways to win in less than ideal circumstance games. The opening two games on the road against the San Antonio Rampage were character wins. The win in Chicago was a character win. Being able to come back from down 2-0 on the road against the Rockford IceHogs when the Nashville Predators food poisoning situation took place and the Milwaukee Admirals briefly became the Milwaukee Cyclones – was a display of the high level of character the team has to so much as earn a point out of that situation.
The talent of this year’s Admirals roster is outstanding. It is. What makes it more impressive is to see them getting grunt work done such as last night. The offense seems limited to scoring on the rush. The power-play, while netting two last night, really has looked disjointed and confused to start the season. Things have been sloppy. The hope is that they’ll be learned from and corrected. If it all comes together paired with the ability to dig deep and find results when it still isn’t going the greatest? This group might find itself in a better position than it did a season ago.
A true test to get that all figured out comes in the form of a bit of revenge for last weekend. The Iowa Wild enter the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena tonight where they won 3-2 against the Admirals in the home opener. The night prior to that they blasted the Admirals 6-1 in Iowa. That all came before the Wild were able to place noted Admiral Killer Teemu Pulkkinen to their AHL lineup. As a member of the Grand Rapids Griffins the “Holy Slapper” Pulkkinen recorded 15 points (10 goals, 5 assists) in 15 games against the Admirals. Again, that damage is now part of the Iowa Wild lineup. Stopping him now becomes a major point of emphasis.
There was plenty that didn’t go right in the two games last weekend against the Wild. They’re essentially the same things that have been nagging the Admirals to start the season. With more game time and experience the errors bugging the Admirals should start getting minimized. What better way to start than by correcting the two blips on the radar last weekend when the Wild gave the Admirals their only two defeats in regulation this season?
In the interview department last night I spoke with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason as well as Pontus Åberg and Juuse Saros. Here were their comments from last night’s shootout victory at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.
Expectations for tonight’s game? Are the penalty woes going to be a common theme this season or are the Admirals being caught out for overaggressive play? How will the Pulkkinen factor play into tonight’s game and can the Wild be a thorn in the side of the Admirals once again? Should the Admirals attempt to get Jonas Gunnarsson back in net or would he be better served kicking back until, oh I don’t know, the end of November’s two-game weekend?
The Milwaukee Admirals 3-2 in shootout against the Chicago Wolves Friday night at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.
After trailing 2-0 in the second period the Admirals clawed back with a pair of goals on the power-play from the Swedes Max Gortz and Pontus Aberg. The game required a shootout and in the end Aberg had the game-winning tally with Juuse Saros getting the stop on Brett Sterling to secure the first win at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena since the 1986-87 season.
“We’re just getting our feel here,” said Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason of playing at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. “It’s such a wonderful building. So disappointed that we couldn’t get it done on the home opener for Harris [Turer] and the city. The guys are jacked, I know, to get it done.”
After an Adam Payerl tripping minor the Wolves were able to score from their second power-play opportunity in the first period. A low shot from the right wing circle by defenseman Brad Hunt kicked off the pads of Juuse Saros and into the path of Landon Ferarro for a rebounder. The goal for Ferraro was his second of the season.
In the second period the Admirals looked to have a prime chance to equalize after Félix Girard and Mike Liambas were set with a two-on-one from close range in the low right wing. Liambas was all alone in net but Girard’s pass was prevented by a sliding Hunt. In the following rush down the ice the Wolves made it 2-0. A tic-tac play from Ivan Barbashyov teed up Justin Selman for his first goal of the season and Selman’s second career pro goal.
On their fourth power-play of the night, having gone 3/37 on the man advantage this season entering the chance, the Admirals finally notched a goal. The passing by the Ads from the low right wing set the stage as Matt White pass to Trevor Murphy gliding across the front of the net before backhanding a feed to Max Görtz in the left wing where the net was wide open for him to score his first goal of the season and make it a 2-1 game.
The Admirals power-play struggles weren’t restarting anytime soon, either. The Admirals equalized with yet another Swede smacking a puck past Pheonix Copley and this time it was Pontus Åberg with a rocket from the left point that smacked the crossbar and went straight down for his third goal of the season to make it 2-2 late in the second period.
This game would fly through the third period and require overtime. The overtime period featured incredible end-to-end action including a save of the year candidate from Copley to rob Trevor Smith as well as a great stop by Saros on Hunt. It needed a shootout.
Copley was extremely aggressive in leaving his crease to track shooters. Gaudreau used that to his advantage to dangle in a backhander past him for the first Ads tally. Saros was a perfect 13/13 in shootout attempts last season. On his first shootout of the 2016-17 season he allowed a shootout goal from the first attempt as Magnus Pääjärvi slipped a shot underneath the pads to level the shootout at 1-1. After successive misses from Justin Kirkland and Kenny Agostino the overaggressive play by Copley came back again as Åberg’s backhand to forehand move had him way out of position to glide the puck through the crease and in. Saros was set at match-point to stop Brett Sterling’s chance and the Admirals earned a 3-2 shootout win after trailing 2-0 in the second period.
“It’s kind of 50-50,” said Juuse Saros after the game. “I always want to be good at those but it was good that our guys scored a couple there so I didn’t have to make every save.”
Although it is not ideal for the Admirals to spend so much time on the penalty kill their penalty killing group was terrific in tonight’s game. The Admirals went 8/9 on the PK against the Wolves and have improved their overall penalty killing percentage to 84% (42/50).
“It was a funny game,” commented Evason. “Clearly we can’t continue to kill penalties like we are. Having said that, I love to run our guys up on being undisciplined but we’re not. We’re giving the refs opportunities to call them, so it’s on us, but there’s so many penalties in the game that the flow of the hockey game is not fun.”
Saros did allow his first shootout goal in his AHL career tonight but he is still 15/16 and is a perfect 5-0 in shootouts. His twenty-seven save night helps him improve to 5-1-0-0 in net this season with a 1.82 goals against average and 0.933 save percentage.
The Admirals return right back to the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena tomorrow night at 6pm CDT against the spoilers of last weekend’s three-in-three the Iowa Wild. It will be the second game of a five game homestand for the Admirals.
Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals played on Sunday the team assigned defenseman Jonathan Diaby to the Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL). Diaby played in both of the Cyclones wins on Wednesday and Thursday while registering an assist in his Cyclones debut this season. With Diaby playing at the ECHL level the Admirals roster was trimmed such that there were no scratches for tonight’s game. In uniform number news, Admirals forward Justin Kirkland switched from #24 to #19.
What are your thoughts on tonight’s game? Was that the most entertaining/excruciating three-in-three overtime the Admirals have played yet?
Admirals Roundtable 