Author: Daniel Lavender

Game Recaps April 10, 2016

On The Brink Of Winning A Division Title; Ads Win 4-2

The Milwaukee Admirals won 4-2 on the road against the Charlotte Checkers Sunday afternoon at the Bojangles’ Coliseum.

It is now a wait and see mode for the Admirals who extended their point streak to twelve games with today’s win. If the Lake Erie Monsters lose in any fashion tonight to the Rochester Americans the Admirals can clinch the Central Division title. It would be the Admirals first divisional crown since the 2010-11 season.

The Admirals were able to get out in front with a first period power-play from Pontus Åberg. Kevin Fiala instigated some post-whistle shoving to draw a roughing call against Kyle Hagel. From there the age old Admirals formula of placing a Swede with a right-handed shot on the left wing circle for a one-timer held true. Taylor Aronson fed the puck off to Åberg who unloaded with a first-time shot that rifled past John Muse for the Swede’s team leading twenty-third goal of the season.

The Checkers were able to answer back 1:36 into the second period off of a counter attack following a turnover from Fiala in the neutral zone. David Wohlberg managed to score to Juuse Saros’ glove side while falling down to make it a 1-1 game on his ninth goal of the season.

Taylor Aronson’s efforts to jump up in attack helped see the Admirals regain their lead by flipping a pass out from behind the net to Matt White. Aronson skated down from the point, swooped around the cage, and caught White just on the right wing side of the net with a pass that beat Muse to the near post for White’s twelfth goal of the season.

Åberg’s hot run as of late continued into the second period as he picked up his second goal of the game to make it a 3-1 Admirals lead. Max Reinhart ripped a shot from the left wing that Muse was able to shrug off to his right side but Frédérick Gaudreau was on-hand to recover the rebound and dish across the goal mouth to find Åberg for a tap in and his twenty-fourth goal of the season.

The Checkers managed to cut the lead down to one-goal by scoring with 14.4 seconds remaining in the second period. Justin Shugg was battling on the puck with Trevor Murphy in the slot. As the puck kicked towards the left wing a touch Shugg followed and followed with a wrister that hopped up on Saros for the forward’s twelfth goal of the season.

It was a testing third period for the Admirals as the Checkers dictated much of the action and dumped eleven shots on Saros. With a late power-play chance, and the net emptied and extra attacker on, the Checkers effectively had a two-man advantage as the clawed for an equalizer in the final minute of play. Yet, Vladislav Kamenev was able to score into the empty net shorthanded to seal this game up at 4-2 on the Russian’s fifteenth goal of the season. That was the Admirals eleventh shorthanded goal of the season and second scored in as many games.

Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals last played there were no roster moves made. Today’s line combinations were the same as yesterday with the Admirals dressing seven defensemen and eleven forwards: Reinhart-Gaudreau-Åberg, Fiala-Kamenev-Payerl, White-Girard-Görtz, Devane-Pendenza, Näkyvä-Aronson, Oligny-Elliott, Murphy-Mullen, Dougherty. Today’s scratches were: Cody Hodgson (upper-body), A.J. White (healthy), and Johan Alm (lower-body).

Thoughts on today’s game? Is this the best that Pontus Åberg has played as a member of the Milwaukee Admirals? How solid was Juuse Saros this afternoon in securing the win?

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

Game Recaps April 9, 2016April 9, 2016

Admirals Win Demolition Derby in Charlotte, 6-3

(Photo Credit: Charlotte Checkers // flickr) — (Photo Credit: Gregg Forwerck)

The Milwaukee Admirals won 6-3 on the road against the Charlotte Checkers Saturday night at the Bojangles’ Coliseum.

This was about as nutty of a game as there has been this entire season. The second period, in particular, speaks for itself. There were twelve combined shots on goal in the second period that resulted in six goals being scored. The Admirals were able to win out in this track meet tonight to extend their point streak up to eleven games.

As has been the theme of this recent run for the Admirals they had a less than stellar start to the contest. The Checkers were dictating the early action and, as a result, earned the game’s opening goal. Brody Sutter whipped a wrister from the right wing circle that beat Juuse Saros against the grain and beat him to his blocker side. The goal for Sutter was his twelfth scored this season.

A little past five-minutes following the Checkers goal the Admirals equalized off of a brilliant rush off the defense by Stefan Elliott. The Admirals defenseman jumped up into the rush, motored down the right wing, swooped past Jake Chelios, and threw the puck low on John Muse that went between his legs to complete a dazzling goal for Elliott’s seventh of the season. The man with the lone assist on the play was Jack Dougherty who was making his professional debut with the Admirals tonight.

Elliott would be targeted moments later after another rush up ice into the attacking zone. As Elliott was cutting around Dane Fox on the left wing wall and racing to the slot, fired a shot on Muse, and was checked to the head by Brock McGinn as he watched his shot get shrugged to the side of the net. Elliott’s helmet went flying off and he stayed down for a few moments but was able to skate back to the Admirals bench under his own power.

The second period might rank as one of the craziest played this season with the Admirals on the ice. The two teams combined for two fights, twelve shots on goal, and six goals being scored with the goals being scored at even-strength, shorthanded, and on the power-play.

Sutter opened up the second period with his second goal of the game to regain the Checkers lead. His shot from the left wing circle took a deflection off of Kristian Näkyvä’s skate and slid underneath Saros for his thirteenth goal of the season.

There were then a pair of fights that followed one after the other. Patrick Mullen and Justin Shugg grappled for a bit before the Admirals defenseman took a scary fall that appeared to see him hit the back of his head on the ice. He was checked over by Admirals head trainer Doug Agnew on the ice and helped back to the locker room. Mullen was able to rejoin the action in the second period. Moments after that fight came and went Jamie Devane paired with Kyle Hagel and the Admirals bruiser unloaded massive uppercuts again, and again, and again. That fight may have dragged out long enough for the both of these two fights and Devane got his money’s worth.

The Admirals then scored twice in the span of 1:30 of ice-time to claim their first lead of the game.

Following a slashing minor against Adam Payerl the Admirals scored their tenth shorthanded goal of the season after Elliott managed to once again burn through the Checkers and scored a brilliant in-tight backhander for his second goal of the game and eighth of the season.

As Payerl exited the box from his penalty he joined Joe Pendenza on a quickfire two-on-one attack that ended with a lofted pass by Pendenza to get past Mike Cornell to reach Payerl in the left wing for a one-timer that beat Muse for his twelfth goal of the season.

Following the goal from Payerl the Checkers called it a night for Muse in net. He stopped 11/14 shots on goal before giving way to Daniel Altshuller who would proceed to face two shots on goal the rest of the second period and allow both pucks to beat him. More on that later because Justin Shugg was able to equalize for the Checkers less than two-minutes after Payerl’s goal that chased Muse from the net. Shugg’s snap shot alluded the glove of Saros for his eleventh goal of the season which made it a 3-3 game.

Altshuller was given a rude introduction to the contest thanks to great link up play between Félix Girard and Matt White. The first shot the Admirals were able to get on the Checkers goalie on in relief beat him with Girard tagging the charging run of White on the right wing to the back post. White’s goal was his eleventh of the season.

Dennis Robertson was called for a tripping minor to give the Admirals their first power-play late in the second period. As time was winding down on the power-play Mullen passed over from the point to the right wing where Kevin Fiala unleashed a slapper that blazed past Altshuller on the second shot he faced in the period to make it 5-3 Admirals. The goal for Fiala was his eighteenth of the season.

Midway through the third period the Admirals were able to tag Altshuller once again with Payerl scoring his second goal of the night. Vladislav Kamenev was able to carve his way through the Checkers defense but lost the handle of the puck just as he was breaking in on goal. Payerl was able to find the loose puck before anyone and whirled a shot from the left side of the net that surprised Altshuller near post and banked in off of him for Payerl’s thirteenth goal of the season.

With 6:14 remaining in regulation the game received its third fight. Jimmy Oligny and Cornell squared off and the heart and soul of the Admirals French Fries trio landed a hard shot that stung Cornell. As the Checkers defenseman was looking to answer that punch by Oligny he fell backwards hard and that was the end of that scene.

The fireworks and scoring would finally, mercifully, end right there. The Admirals may not have had their greatest defensive outing of the season but Saros was able to earn yet another win to push his season tally up to twenty-seven wins. Saros has won ten of his last eleven starts including his last six straight starts. He stopped 19/22 shots on goal tonight against the Checkers.

Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals last played on Wednesday night the team has seen the likes of Corey Potter and Marek Mazanec recalled to the Nashville Predators with Brandon Whitney joining the team from the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL. In addition, the Predators assigned defenseman Jack Dougherty to the Admirals after he finished up his junior playing season with the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL. The Admirals dressed seven defensemen and eleven forwards as Dougherty made his professional playing debut tonight in Charlotte. Tonight’s line combinations were: Reinhart-Gaudreau-Åberg, Fiala-Kamenev-Payerl, White-Girard-Görtz, Devane-Pendenza, Näkyvä-Aronson, Oligny-Elliott, Murphy-Mullen, Dougherty. Tonight’s scratches were: Cody Hodgson (upper-body), A.J. White (healthy), and Johan Alm (lower-body).

Thoughts on tonight’s game? Was this the craziest game of the season? Any slight concerns about the defensive outing for the Admirals tonight or does the way the offense responded lessen the sting of that? Should Brock McGinn have been given a match penalty for his head shot to Stefan Elliott? How will tomorrow’s game play out after a roller coaster such as tonight’s game?

News April 9, 2016April 9, 2016

Mazanec and Potter Recalled by Nashville

According to AHL Transactions this morning both Marek Mazanec and Corey Potter have been recalled by the Nashville Predators from the Milwaukee Admirals. The Predators are playing their regular season finale tonight on the road against the Dallas Stars while the Admirals also are on the road this weekend with two games against the Charlotte Checkers.

This can end the speculation around why the Admirals recalled Brandon Whitney from the Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL) yesterday. As for the move for Potter going up, of anything, it provides room for Jack Dougherty to make his professional playing debut tonight with the Admirals while giving the veteran Potter a trip up to the team that traded for him on the NHL’s Trade Deadline Day. The Admirals have gone 12-2-0-2 since Potter’s debut with the Admirals on 3/3/16.

Mazanec is enjoying his best season since arriving to North America from his native Czech Republic. In 38 appearances this season he has 19 wins with a 2.33 goals against average and 0.916 save percentage. Those are all career highs for his work in the AHL as a member of the Admirals and his 4 shutouts recorded this season match that of last season as a personal best. He was recalled under emergency conditions earlier this season but did not get to log any ice time during his time up with the Predators.

Potter has yet to play a game in the NHL this season. At the time he was acquired by the Predators he was playing for the Arizona Coyotes AHL affiliate the Springfield Falcons who are sitting at the bottom of the AHL’s Eastern Conference standings. In his career Potter has 129 games of NHL experience as a member of the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Edmonton Oilers, Boston Bruins, and Calgary Flames. He has scored 32 points (8 goals, 24 assists) at the NHL level while also having produced 170 points (33 goals, 137 assists) from 420 career games in the AHL.

UPDATE: Per the Nashville Predators, Mazanec’s recall is listed as an emergency conditions recall while Potter’s is a bog standard recall.

Scouting April 9, 2016

Checkers: Scouting the Enemy

Tonight marks the end of the regular season for both the Nashville Predators and Cincinnati Cyclones. Not the Milwaukee Admirals, though, as they will be facing the Charlotte Checkers tonight and tomorrow at the 11am hour our time. This will be followed by the Admirals returning home for games against the Chicago Wolves and Bakersfield Condors before ending their regular season one week from today on the road against the Rockford IceHogs.

As far as what the Admirals are hunting down in these final games there are a few possibilities:

(1) The thing that will need the most help, and probably winning out, would be bumping the Ontario Reign for the best record in the Western Conference. The Admirals have a 0.669 points percentage to the Reign’s 0.685 point percentage.

(2) The Admirals have five points of wiggle room between themselves and the second placed team in the Central Division the Grand Rapids Griffins. The most points the Griffins can secure by winning out the rest of their season is 100 points. That’s the number to keep an eye on as the Admirals already have 95 points this season. Wins this weekend would put them to 99 points meaning a win on the returning home game Tuesday could clinch the Admirals first divisional title since the 2010-11 season. Any losses for the Griffins only helps that number drop that much more and they will be facing the Wolves tonight after having beaten them last night in a tight 4-3 contest.

(3) As far as the Admirals record goes the last time they reached the 100 points plateau was that West Division Championship season of 2010-11. That season the Admirals secured 102 points but did it back when the AHL held an 80 game season. Other previous seasons in which the Admirals have eclipsed 100 points on a season also game during the 80 game schedule: 102 points (2003-04), 103 points (2004-05), 108 points (2005-06), and 107 points (2008-09).

(4) Another feat that is still a possibility would be if the Admirals could win out the rest of the season to reach 50 wins in a season for the first time in the franchise’s history in the AHL era of the team. The Admirals record right now is 45-21-3-2. The previous high for wins in an AHL season for the Admirals came during the 2005-06 season when they ended just one win shy of 50 wins by ending the 80 season campaign off with a record of 49-21-6-4.

~Checkers or Wreckers~

The Checkers come into this weekend’s games against the Admirals with a record of 36-28-3-5 (80 points). Their 0.556 points percentage has them in fifth place of the Central Division and in eighth place of the Western Conference.

In regards to the upcoming playoff picture the Checkers are putting themselves into a very amusing place. Allow me to explain and expand on why I get a laugh out of all of this because it is a bit choppy and I’m not sure how many realized that the actual playoff format changed this season.

Right now four teams in the Central Division have clinched playoff spots: Admirals, Griffins, Monsters, IceHogs. The Pacific Division, which features Californian teams that are playing eight less games than everyone else during the regular season, features a flex spot in their final season standings that states that if the fifth place team of the Central Division has a higher points percentage than the fourth placed team of the Pacific Division they will supersede the team from the Pacific Division’s place and enter the Calder Cup Playoffs as the fourth seed of the Pacific Division.

The Texas Stars are struggling here and there but it looks like they should be finishing in third place of the Pacific Division. They just haven’t clinched their playoff spot as of yet because the San Jose Barracuda have a near enough points percentage to keep things interesting. The points percentage right now all comes down to this: Checkers (0.556), Barracuda (0.546). If the season ended today the Checkers would supersede the Barracuda and become the Pacific Division’s fourth seed.

Where this all becomes funny, and at the same time maddening for myself, is that the playoff format isn’t about a match up of: #1 vs #8, #2 vs #7, #3 vs #6, #4 vs #5. It doesn’t work that way this season. Instead, the playoff format will see the top team in the division play the fourth team in their division with the second and third place teams pairing up. The winner of the first round faces the winner of their own divisional bracket in the second round before seeing the top two remaining teams from respective divisions clash in the Conference Finals.

Speculation on my part leads me to believe this was another way to cater to Californian teams and the possibility of wild traveling arrangements. Which is hilarious to then think that the Reign could now draw the Checkers as their opening round opponent. That’s a distance of 2,427 miles from Citizens Business Bank Arena to the Bojangles’ Coliseum, a 34-hour car trip, or a 6 hour and 35 minute flight. If points percentage hasn’t been stupid enough for most of this season, if playing less games isn’t a black eye enough for the AHL, then I take that as a small piece of karma. And wouldn’t it be spectacular if the Reign get roughed up in round one due to the games and travel right out the shoot and flame out fast?

~Who What Now?~

Before the Checkers possibly play wreckers to the Reign’s plans they’ll be looking to possibly spoil some of the momentum the Admirals have built up with this current ten-game point streak. They have the squad to do it as well. The Checkers are 5-3-0-2 from their last 10 games and are coming off of a 2-1 regulation loss to the IceHogs that was played Wednesday night in Charlotte.

The Checkers leading scorer this season is not with them at the moment. Derek Ryan has a team best 55 points (23 goals, 32 assists) but he is currently up with the Carolina Hurricanes. This means the second best scorer on the Checkers roster is one that actually did most of his damage for a different team, Andrew Miller. This season for Miller is split between the Condors and Checkers. He totals 44 points (18 goals, 26 assists) from 53 games but has 5 points (3 goals, 2 assists) from 9 games since joining the Checkers.

At the blueline the Checkers have a pair of great offensive minded defensemen, Trevor Carrick and Jake Chelios. Carrick is tied for eighth among AHL defenseman this season for scoring with 40 points (9 goals, 31 assists). Chelios has 30 points (7 goals, 23 assists). Of note, the two combine for a plus/minus rating of -28.

Between the pipes the Checkers have a goaltending duo of John Muse and Daniel Altshuller. Muse returned to his ol’ Checkers team after being part of the Texas Stars for the first half of the season. The splits for Muse returning the Checkers have been alarmingly better for him. With the Stars: 19 games, 3.02 goals against average, and 0.904 save percentage. With the Checkers: 15 games, 1.88 goals against average, and 0.925 save percentage. Needless to say he has been the backbone for the Checkers while the first-year pro Altshuller continues to have spotty performances after a high quality start to his AHL career.

Expectations for these games against the Checkers? Are you excited for the debut of Jack Dougherty? If Dougherty does debut which defenseman sits for the evening? Do you think the Admirals have a chance to win out the rest of the season to earn their first 50 win season?

News April 8, 2016

Brandon Whitney Recalled by Admirals

The Cincinnati Cyclones have made note that the Milwaukee Admirals have recalled goaltender Brendan Whitney. As a result the Cyclones have added Jake Reed as an emergency backup for their final two regular season games tonight and tomorrow.

Perhaps this move comes down to sheer karma as I poked at the Admirals goaltending not having needed their third choice goaltender much the last two seasons. Whitney has made some trips to join the Admirals this season but both occasions were made on an emergency basis and he sat on the bench. Rob Madore did much the same thing last season as the Admirals third choice goaltender.

Whitney has played in 21 games this season in the ECHL where he holds a record of 9-8-1-0 in net with a 3.18 goals against average, 0.891 save percentage, and no shutouts. I had spoken with Dakota Johnson of Sin Bin Cyclones yesterday about Whitney’s season with the Cyclones and this is what he had to say:

“Whitney has had his fair share of bright and dark spots this season. He hasn’t seen a ton of action since Andy Iles was claimed off waivers back in January, only appearing in a handful of games. He definitely has some strengths. The obvious one being his size. But, his struggles have outweighed the good unfortunately. Rebound control has been his worst nightmare. I can safely say a good 80% of the goals he’s given up, have come off of humongous rebounds he left out that could’ve been prevented if he had been able to hold onto it. Sitting all this time hasn’t done him much justice either. When he had to relieve Iles in the 3rd period of a game in Indy a couple weeks ago, I noticed his reaction timing to shots was really slow, and he just seemed to be real stiff overall in goal. I know he’s under contract through the end of 16-17, so he’ll most likely be in Cincinnati again next season. I’m very interested to see how he’s able to work on things over the off-season and see if he comes back next season with the kinks worked out.”

I’m sure the question that comes with this news from everyone is why has Whitney been recalled and that is an answer I feel will be more thoroughly answered ahead of tomorrow night’s game. Right now, speculation is about as good as it gets and that’s something that I’ll do about now: (1) Whitney hasn’t been featuring much in the ECHL anyways so why not bring him up for the Admirals potential playoff run as a third goaltender (2) Marek Mazanec did take a knock not too long ago in practice that forced Dov Grumet-Morris out of the woodworks to sit on the Admirals bench as an emergency backup for a night – perhaps Grumet-Morris was too busy to travel as far as Charlotte… (3) this is why I don’t enjoy speculating all that much because your guess is as good as mine right now.

News April 8, 2016

Nashville Assign Jack Dougherty to Milwaukee

As noted when the A.J. White signed his ATO contract. This is the time of year when several collegiate and junior teams are finishing up their playing seasons. The Portland Winterhawks of the WHL were eliminated from the opening round of the playoffs at the end of March. That opens up the door for the Nashville Predators to do what they’ve done this morning by assigning defenseman Jack Dougherty to the Milwaukee Admirals ahead of the team’s trip to Charlotte this weekend.

Press Release via Nashville Predators:

Nashville, Tenn. (April 8, 2016) – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced Friday that the club has assigned 2014 second-round selection Jack Dougherty to Milwaukee (AHL).

Dougherty, 19 (5/25/96), recently completed his first season of junior hockey with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks, where he ranked second among WHL rookie defensemen in points (11g-41a-52pts), seventh among all rookies in points, tied for 13th among all league defensemen, and tied for 16th among all skaters in power-play assists (21). The 6-foot-1, 194-pound blueliner joined the Winterhawks after spending the 2014-15 season at the University of Wisconsin, and the 2013-14 season with the U.S. National Team Development Program. A native of St. Paul, Minnesota, Dougherty helped the United States win its fifth gold medal in a six-year span at the Under-18 World Championship in 2014, and led Team USA to a silver medal at the 2013 Ivan Hlinka Tournament.

Nashville’s third choice, 51st overall (second round), in the 2014 Entry Draft, Dougherty played two seasons of Minnesota High School hockey with St. Thomas Academy in 2012-13 and 2013-14 and helped the Cadets capture their third consecutive Class A state title in 2013. Dougherty is on Twitter @jackdougherty2.

The Nashville Predators conclude the 2015-16 regular season tomorrow, Saturday, April 9, when they take on the Dallas Stars at 7 p.m. at the American Airlines Center (TV: FOX Sports Tennessee; Radio: 102.5 The Game). Tickets to Round One of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs are on sale now and available at Ticketmaster.com. Nashville’s opponent, as well as the date and time of each game in the series, will be announced at a later date. Fans are encouraged to visit NashvillePredators.com, or follow the team on Twitter (@PredsNHL) for the latest information on the playoffs.

Dougherty was part of the Predators 2014 Draft Class which included Kevin Fiala, Vladislav Kamenev, and Viktor Arvidsson. Dougherty was selected after Kamenev by the Predators in the second round. The 19-year old right handed shooting defenseman endured the Wisconsin Badgers rough 2014-15 season before making the leap to the junior hockey ranks as a member of the Portland Winterhawks in the WHL. He’s had a great 2015-16 season: 52 points (11 goals, 41 assists) in 68 games and had a pair of assists in the Winterhawks short playoff run when they were swept in the opening round by the Everett Silvertips. He has already signed his entry level contract with the Predators organization and will wear the number 15 when he suits up for the first time as a member of the Admirals.

News April 8, 2016

Cyclones Report: Q&A with Sin Bin Cyclones

Hey, everyone look! It’s Zach Budish! Hi Zach! (Photo Credit: Cincinnati Cyclones // Facebook)

It has been awhile since scanning the Milwaukee Admirals ECHL affiliate the Cincinnati Cyclones. Good news, they have followed in the Admirals footsteps in clinching a playoff spot a year removed from missing out of playoff hockey.

Tonight and tomorrow night the Cyclones play on the road against the Quad City Mallards where they will be finishing off their regular season. The Cyclones are currently in second place of the Midwest Division and are seventh place in the Western Conference standings. The team trailing them in the conference at the moment? You guess it: the Mallards who they’ll be playing these last two-games. With the Tulsa Oilers still in pursuit of the Mallards it adds a heightened element to the Cyclones weekend.

To get more information on just how well the Cyclones have been doing, and hear an update on how a few familiar names have been performing in the ECHL, I reached out to Dakota Johnson of Sin Bin Cyclones for a Q&A. Here is what he had to say regarding the Cyclones season to date.

~Q&A with Sin Bin Cyclones~

Admirals Roundtable: The Cincinnati Cyclones joined the family of the Nashville Predators and Milwaukee Admirals by making the playoffs this season. What’s been the story of the Cyclones turn-around from a season ago?

Sin Bin Cyclones: I think the biggest thing that’s made a difference has been with the guy behind the bench. Last season, when the Cyclones missed the playoffs, Matt MacDonald pretty much inherited the roster, playing his system with Ben Simon‘s guys after Simon took an Assistant Coaching role in the AHL in August prior to the 2014-2015 season. This season, MacDonald had a full off-season to piece together the team he wanted. These are his guys under his system, and I think that’s made a difference between last season’s and this season’s team.

AR: Zach Budish really only had his first full healthy season playing hockey last season and looked good in both the AHL and ECHL. This season for the Cyclones he’s looked to have really taken a leap forward. How has he improved this season?

SBC: Budish has been one of our biggest weapons this season. He was the recipient of this year’s “Sin Bin Award” for “Best Offensive Player”. It’s amazing to see how far he’s come since he first came to us back in 2013-2014 for that Kelly Cup Finals run. 2nd on the team in points with 55 in 67 games. Hard to complain about that kind of a season. Selfishly, I’d like him to come back to us again next season, but he more than deserves another AHL shot in 2016-2017.

AR: Garrett Noonan is tied for third among ECHL defensemen for scoring this season. He hasn’t quite had the opportunity to play in the AHL here in Milwaukee because of the numbers stacked on top of him. How has his all-around play been for the Cyclones and would you say he’s set to make an AHL leap next season similar to that of Taylor Aronson back in 2013-14?

SBC: Absolutely. Leads all defensemen on the team with 41 points in 53 games. Leads the entire team in the assists category with 33. The numbers-game situation was unfortunate, because back in September, I wasn’t even expecting Noonan to even be sent down to us. He’s one of those players where the fact that he is in ECHL and not the AHL just boggles my mind. I really hope he’s able to get a stable roster spot in Milwaukee next year. I firmly believe he’s made his mark at the ‘AA’ level, and he’s ready to move up.

AR: The Admirals haven’t really had the need for their third goaltender who is waiting in the wings at the ECHL level in Cincinnati. This is pretty much the second straight season that has happened with both Rob Madore (2014-15) and Brandon Whitney (2015-16) only going up to watch a game from the bench once or twice. What are you seeing from Whitney and do you feel he has improved at all over the course of the season?

SBC: Whitney has had his fair share of bright and dark spots this season. He hasn’t seen a ton of action since Andy Iles was claimed off waivers back in January, only appearing in a handful of games. He definitely has some strengths. The obvious one being his size. But, his struggles have outweighed the good unfortunately. Rebound control has been his worst nightmare. I can safely say a good 80% of the goals he’s given up, have come off of humongous rebounds he left out that could’ve been prevented if he had been able to hold onto it. Sitting all this time hasn’t done him much justice either. When he had to relieve Iles in the 3rd period of a game in Indy a couple weeks ago, I noticed his reaction timing to shots was really slow, and he just seemed to be real stiff overall in goal. I know he’s under contract through the end of 16-17, so he’ll most likely be in Cincinnati again next season. I’m very interested to see how he’s able to work on things over the off-season and see if he comes back next season with the kinks worked out.

AR: Jonathan Diaby was the poster boy for the new Milwaukee Admirals uniforms and logos this summer. He’s the man pictured in The Hockey News 50 Best Sweaters in Hockey History. For all the visual appeal he’s had from that he’s hardly seen the light of day in Milwaukee this season. What are you seeing of him in Cincinnati and is he improving as the season progresses?

SBC: Similar to Whitney, he’s had a few bright spots, but the bad has outweighed the good, unfortunately. He’s starting to learn that he can use his size to his advantage. He’s picked up his physical play a bit, even scored his first pro goal in Quad City a month or so ago. He has really struggled lately though. It’s come by just not making smart decisions on the ice. He’s been prone to turning the puck over a number of times in his own zone, a lot of times ending up in the opponent scoring. In his case, he just needs to make smarter decisions on the ice, and he’d be a high quality defensemen. What I said for Whitney can be said here again. I’d like to see Diaby come back to Cincinnati next season after working over the off-season and see what he’s improved upon.

AR: What have been some of the surprising storylines that have taken place in Cincinnati this season?

SBC: The biggest surprising storyline in Cincinnati has been the play of goaltender Andy Iles. Obviously, the Columbus Blue Jackets have had some injury troubles with goalies, so the Cyclones have been without the services of Brad Thiessen for a majority of the regular season. Iles was claimed off waivers in January and has just taken that #1 spot in goal and ran with it. He’s bounced around and struggled a bit with other ECHL teams. For him to come to Cincinnati, got named ECHL Goaltender of the Month for February, and be able to find his game has been huge for us. I can safely say if the Cyclones had never found Iles, they would not be playing playoff hockey next weekend.

AR: Outside of the crop of players that Admirals fans have come to know over time who are some of the players in the Cyclones lineup you feel could contribute nicely at the AHL level?

SBC: The obvious answer would be Andrew Yogan, who’s been back and forth between Cincinnati and a few AHL cities on PTO’s this season. I know ‘older guys’ aren’t necessarily favored in the AHL but I think guys like Jack Downing and Tommy Mele could do something to contribute offensively up there. Colin Mulvey is another guy who I think could hang around in the A.

AR: The ECHL’s regular season is nearly over. How do you see the Cyclones doing in the 2016 Kelly Cup Playoffs?

SBC: I really would prefer not to jinx it, but the Cyclones have been their own worst enemy lately and self inflicting mistakes have been what costs them games. This weekend in Quad City is their last chance to gain some last minute momentum heading into the postseason. If they can get their heads screwed on straight beforehand, I think they can make some noise. Of course, that’s easy for me to say from upstairs.

Cheers to Dakota Johnson for taking the time to provide an update on some usual suspects here to Milwaukee fans as well as insight on the Cyclones season. You can follow Sin Bin Cyclones on Twitter or at the website right here.

Feature April 7, 2016

Fifteen with Corey Potter

2/29/16. NHL Trade Deadline Day. If you were like me you woke up bright and early, flipped on any channel that was featuring TSN’s TradeCentre coverage, and was eagerly awaiting a day in which the Nashville Predators might make another one of those “go for it” types of trades that impacts the future talent pool currently residing within the ranks of the Milwaukee Admirals depths. I was almost certain that Scott Hartnell might find his way back into Nashville. But, as it turned out, the Predators didn’t do anything for themselves this season. Instead they actually turned to their AHL affiliate and made a trade to make them stronger.

I know for most Predators fans they didn’t think much of anything when Corey Potter was attached to the team’s lone trade made on Trade Deadline Day but it has quickly been proven to be a tremendous move for the Admirals. At the start of this season the Admirals lone right handed shooting defenseman was Taylor Aronson. Around mid-January the Admirals aimed to shake up their defense by balancing out righties and lefties on defense. Conor Allen out, Patrick Mullen in (1/14/16). Victor Bartley out, Stefan Elliott in (1/15/16). With Potter added to the mix the Admirals actually find themselves in an amusingly new territory where there is often a defensive pairing of two righties now as opposed to what had been a pair of lefties.

All things told, this shake up to the Admirals defense has made a big difference on the team. Since Mullen’s debut for the Admirals on 1/15/16 the team has gone 23-8-1-2. Since Potter’s Admirals debut on 3/3/16 the team has gone 12-2-0-2.

For someone in Potter’s position this has to be a wonderful feeling. The Admirals are the top team in the AHL’s Central Division at the moment and currently have the second most points (95) in the entire league behind the Toronto Marlies (105). The team that Potter had been playing for this season prior to the trade, the Springfield Falcons (AHL affiliate of the Arizona Coyotes), is currently dead last in the AHL’s Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference standings. He went from the bottom of one conference to a team attempting to bust through the Ontario Reign’s clinch to the top spot in the Western Conference.

While Potter is yet to score a goal as a member of the Admirals, only posting three assists to date from sixteen games, you can’t argue with what his two-way ability has done for the team. His pairing with shutdown defenseman Jimmy Oligny is a night after night lock. And, perhaps, what Potter provides even better might not entirely be seen on the ice but off it. Potter is 32-years old on a team full of young up and coming talent. He offers tremendous experience: 129 NHL games, 420 AHL games, and 33 games worth of playoff experience between the AHL and NHL. The Admirals don’t just want a strong regular season. They want a Calder Cup. A player of Potter’s caliber and experience makes waves on and off the ice. He might have been an eyebrow raiser to some at the NHL Trade Deadline being penciled as a trade by Nashville. But his importance to Milwaukee could be potentially massive if the season continues trending as wickedly hot as it has been since his arrival.

~Fifteen~

A big time thanks to Corey Potter for taking the time for this interview. Fifteen will hopefully continue shortly after the Milwaukee Admirals return home. As for now, the team is off to Charlotte where they will play against the Checkers on Saturday and Sunday. Fun Fact. Potter’s first professional team was the Charlotte Checkers back when they were an ECHL team in 2006-07.

Game Recaps April 6, 2016April 7, 2016

The Point Streak Hits Ten; Ads Win 5-2

This is Pontus Åberg. This guy is hot right now. (Photo Credit: Manitoba Moose // flickr)

The Milwaukee Admirals won 5-2 against the Manitoba Moose Wednesday night at the MTS Centre.

An explosive second period saw the Admirals get out of a 1-0 hole by stretching their legs a bit. The Admirals speed created several chances for them in this game including a three-point night for Pontus Åberg who is now the top goal scorer on the Admirals this season after tagging the Moose for a pair tonight. The Admirals point streak is now up to ten-games with a record of 8-0-0-2 and they have won their last four straight.

It wasn’t a good start for the Admirals who spent a fair bit of the opening period on the penalty kill. The Moose earned three power-plays in the first period but the Admirals were able to limit shots to the net and kill off all three chances. The breakthrough for the Moose came from an unlikely source as Andrew MacWilliam thumped in a one-timer from the point that whistled through four bodies camped out in front of Marek Mazanec and in for the defenseman’s first goal of the season in his sixty-eighth game.

The second period was a much different story. The Admirals used their speed and generated eighteen shots on goal while whipping three pucks past Moose goaltender Eric Comrie to take a 3-1 lead.

On their first power-play chance of the night the Admirals scored their third power-play goal from three power-play chances in Manitoba this trip. Pontus Åberg passed from left wing to right wing where Vladislav Kamenev fired a rocket shot of a one-timer for the Russian’s fourteenth goal of the season.

After a savvy bit of defensive zone work by the Admirals, Max Görtz led a charge into the Moose zone that ended with a toe-drag, rebound, and tap-in goal by Félix Girard. Görtz’s shot came from the right wing as he cut towards the slot on a toe drag move. Comrie made the initial save put kicked the puck right to Girard who had all of the net to dump the rebound into for his fifth goal of the season.

With under two-minutes remaining in the second period the Admirals added a third goal that came thanks to a home run pass from Corey Potter. The veteran defenseman spotted a gap up ice and threw a puck from deep in the Admirals defensive zone to Åberg in stride and the Swede maintained a shooting position down the right wing and snapped a shot high glove on Comrie to record his twenty-first goal of the season.

Past the halfway point in the third period the Moose were able to cut the deficit and make it a one-goal game. Sean Escobedo’s shot from the blue line was fanned on but carried to the slot like a pass where Darren Kramer scooped it up and swiped past Mazanec for a goal to his glove side. The goal for Kramer was his seventh of the season.

As was the case last night the Admirals were quick to squash the Moose getting too close for comfort. Joe Pendenza had drawn a penalty but carried on his run down the right wing to deliver a pass back post where Jamie Devane was able to score his sixth goal of the season. The Moose would then be called for a hooking minor where Åberg put on a skill show, freezing Comrie in his place with a stickhandle, and then whipped the puck back behind him before he skated past the net. It was Åberg’s second goal of the night and pushed him past Max Reinhart for the team lead in goal scoring with his twenty-second of the season. The goals for Devane and Åberg were scored 1:12 apart from each other to give the Admirals a 5-2 lead that they would hold to the finish line.

Tonight was Mazanec’s first start in net in three-games and he came up with some high quality saves in his nineteenth win of the season. He stopped 27/29 shots on goal against the Moose and was the backstop to an Admirals penalty kill that killed all four Moose power-play opportunities tonight.

Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals played last night there were no roster moves made in the organization. The only thing of note was that Stefan Elliott officially rejoined the team after his reassignment from the Nashville Predators yesterday and the Admirals decided to dress seven defensemen for tonight’s game as a result. Tonight’s line combinations were: Reinhart-Gaudreau- Åberg, Fiala-Kamenev-Payerl, White-Girard- Görtz, Devane-Pendenza, Elliott-Mullen, Oligny-Potter, Näkyvä-Aronson, Murphy. Tonight’s scratches were: Cody Hodgson (upper-body), A.J. White (healthy), and Johan Alm (lower-body). Tonight both the Rockford IceHogs and San Diego Gulls clinched playoff spots. Also taking place tonight was the Ontario Reign, who lead the AHL’s Western Conference on points percentage, managed to clinch the first ever Pacific Division title.

Thoughts on tonight’s game? What do we all think of the current run of form by Pontus Åberg? How did Marek Mazanec look in his first game back in net after a solid run from Juuse Saros? Are you worried at all that the Admirals might be peaking too soon or can this run carry over into the playoffs?

News April 6, 2016

Juuse Saros Named to AHL’s All-Rookie Team

The AHL’s year-end awards are already starting to trickle out. This first of these to be announced is the AHL’s 2015-16 All-Rookie Team and Milwaukee Admirals goaltender Juuse Saros has been named to the team.

Press Release via AHL:

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League has announced the 2015-16 AHL All-Rookie Team, as voted by coaches, players and media in each of the league’s 30 member cities.

2015-16 AHL All-Rookie Team (stats through Apr. 5)
Goaltender – Juuse Saros, Milwaukee Admirals (34gp, 26-7-0, 2.18gaa, .922sv%, 4so)
Defenseman – Brandon Montour, San Diego Gulls (63gp, 11+41=52pts., E, 29 PP pts.)
Defenseman – Robbie Russo, Grand Rapids Griffins (65gp, 5+34=39pts., +47)
Forward – Austin Czarnik, Providence Bruins (62gp, 16+40=56pts., +15, 5 PPG, 2 SHG)
Forward – Mikko Rantanen, San Antonio Rampage (47gp, 22+34=56pts., +20, 5 PPG, 4 GWG)
Forward – Frank Vatrano, Providence Bruins (33gp, 33+16=49pts., +17, 3 hat tricks)

Each player will receive a custom-designed crystal award in recognition of his selection to the 2015-16 AHL All-Rookie Team.

Previous selections to the annual AHL All-Rookie Team include Zdeno Chara (1998), J.S. Giguere (1998), Marc Savard(1998), Daniel Briere (1998), Dan Boyle (1999), Cory Sarich (1999), Barret Jackman (2002), Ron Hainsey (2002), Jason Spezza (2003), Brad Boyes (2003), Cam Ward (2005), Thomas Vanek (2005), Rene Bourque (2005), Kevin Bieksa (2005),Jimmy Howard (2006), Dan Girardi (2006), Mike Green (2006), Jaroslav Halak (2007), Troy Brouwer (2007), Ryan Callahan(2007), Bobby Ryan (2008), Teddy Purcell (2008), Brian Boyle (2008), Alex Goligoski (2008), Nathan Gerbe (2009), Justin Abdelkader (2009), John Carlson (2010), P.K. Subban (2010), Logan Couture (2010), Lars Eller (2010), Eddie Lack (2011),Brendan Smith (2011), Gustav Nyquist (2012), Tyler Johnson (2012), Justin Schultz (2013), Sami Vatanen (2013), Jason Zucker (2013), Tyler Toffoli (2013), Ryan Strome (2014), Teemu Pulkkinen (2014) and Matt Murray (2015).

The 2015-16 First and Second AHL All-Star Teams will be announced on Thursday.

2015-16 AHL All-Rookie Team

Juuse Saros, Goaltender (Milwaukee Admirals): A fourth-round draft pick by Nashville in 2013, Juuse Saros has shined during his North American debut with Milwaukee this season. Entering Wednesday’s action, the 20-year-old native of Forssa, Finland, is 26-7-0 with four shutouts in 34 appearances for the Admirals, ranking third in the AHL with a 2.18 goals-against average and seventh with a .922 save percentage. Saros, who won eight consecutive starts from Nov. 5 to Dec. 5, is currently 11-1-0 in his last 12 decisions and has helped lead Milwaukee to the top of the Central Division. Saros also made his NHL debut this season, starting for the Predators on Nov. 28 vs. Buffalo.

Brandon Montour, Defenseman (San Diego Gulls): Selected by Anaheim in the second round (55th overall) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, Brandon Montour is tied for third among all AHL rookies and ranks second among all defensemen in scoring this season, with 52 points (11 goals, 41 assists) in 63 games for San Diego. The 21-year-old native of Brantford, Ont., also leads the entire league in power-play scoring (29 points), anchoring a Gulls unit that ranks fourth in the AHL in efficiency. Montour, who turned pro last spring after completing his freshman season at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, has had 12 multiple-point games this season, including a four-point night vs. Bakersfield on Nov. 11.

Robbie Russo, Defenseman (Grand Rapids Griffins): In his first pro campaign after a stellar four-year collegiate career at Notre Dame, Robbie Russo has tallied five goals and 34 assists for 39 points in 65 games for Grand Rapids in 2015-16, while posting a plus-47 rating that is tied for the highest mark by an AHL player since 1993. Russo, who has been on the ice for only 28 even-strength goals by the opposition all season, has also contributed offensively, ranking third among AHL rookie blueliners in scoring and closing in on the franchise record for assists by a rookie (36, Gustav Nyquist). A 23-year-old native of Westmont, Ill., Russo was originally a fourth-round draft pick by the New York Islanders in 2011.

Austin Czarnik, Forward (Providence Bruins): Tied for the AHL scoring lead among rookies with 56 points (16 goals, 40 assists) in 62 games, Austin Czarnik is in the midst of a standout campaign with the Providence Bruins. Czarnik has registered two separate five-game scoring streaks, and he notched his first career hat trick in a 3-2 overtime victory over Bridgeport on Dec. 18. Signed as a free agent by Boston out of Miami University, Czarnik is tied for ninth in the overall scoring race, and his 25 power-play points – good for a share of fourth in the league – have helped the Bruins to the top-ranked power play in the AHL.

Mikko Rantanen, Forward (San Antonio Rampage): It has been a memorable season for Mikko Rantanen, who is tied for the AHL rookie scoring lead with 56 points (22 goals, 34 assists) despite appearing in just 47 games for San Antonio. The 10th overall pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, Rantanen began the season in the NHL with the Colorado Avalanche before joining the Rampage, where he has been held off the scoresheet just nine times in his 47 outings. A 19-year-old native of Nousiainen, Finland, Rantanen skated in the 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Classic – where he was the second-youngest AHL participant in the event’s modern history – and won a gold medal while captaining his country’s team at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Frank Vatrano, Forward (Providence Bruins): Frank Vatrano has been nearly unstoppable during his time in Providence this season, scoring a league-leading 33 goals in 33 games for the Bruins. Poised to become just the fourth player in AHL history to average a goal a game while scoring at least 30, Vatrano has also peppered opposing goalies with 172 shots on goal (5.2 per game) and recorded three hat tricks, including tying an AHL record with three unassisted goals in a single game on Mar. 6 vs. Portland. The 22-year-old native of East Longmeadow, Mass., and UMass-Amherst product has also appeared in 37 NHL games with Boston this season, tallying eight goals and three assists.

With tonight’s game included there are still six-games remaining before the Admirals 2015-16 regular season comes to a close but the rookie class of the AHL this season has pretty well cemented itself.

Saros isn’t just among the league leaders in major goaltending categories with rookies but across the entire league itself. He has made 34 starts this season and holds a record of 26-7-0-0 in net with a 2.18 goals against average, 0.922 save percentage, and four shutouts. He has also participated in a total of four shootouts this season and has stopped all thirteen shootout attempts he has faced to help the Admirals in securing crucial points that see them atop the AHL’s Central Division.

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