Being traded midway through a season is never easy. For 29-year old defenseman Patrick Mullen arriving to the Milwaukee Admirals from the Binghamton Senators was the second time in his career that he was moved out in the middle of an AHL season. In 2013-14 he was flipped from the Vancouver Canucks organization, where he had been playing for the Utica Comets, to the Ottawa Senators.
When he was traded away from the Senators organization in exchange for Conor Allen it was part of a big defensive transformation done in a way to balance out the Admirals who lacked right handed shots. The results of that change were rather immediate and effective. In his first 13 games with the Admirals the team went 9-3-1-0. Then the unfortunate happened.
While playing against the Iowa Wild in Milwaukee on 2/21/16 Mullen suffered an injury that always leaves me shocked that it doesn’t happen more often than it does. He was falling down and an opponent’s skate caught him underneath the cuff of his glove and sliced into him badly. I had initially been told he suffered thirteen stitches and narrowly avoided tendon damage. In sitting down with him Monday night at organization’s Celebrity Serve event he showed me the scar and said it was fourteen stitches. He went on to miss eight-games as his wound healed and has since suited up for the last three-games.
Mullen is yet another one of those players on the Admirals roster who I wonder if folks know the family from which he comes from. His father, Joe Mullen, had a tremendous collegiate and professional career. He was a three-time Stanley Cup winner, the recipient of the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy twice, and inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000. His uncle, Brian Mullen, also had an outstanding professional playing career that included an NCAA Championship with the Wisconsin Badgers (1980-81), an NHL All-Star Game selection (1988-89), and 832 games of NHL experience as a member of the Winnipeg Jets, New York Rangers, San Jose Sharks, and New York Islanders.
~Fifteen~
Thanks very much to Patrick Mullen for taking the time to conduct this interview as well as our ol’ pal Max Reinhart for his cameo appearances in it. Fifteen currently is at a stand still until the next wave of interviews can be conducted. Until then, keep tuned because the list of players is almost completed.
These times they are a changing. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
Perhaps the weather today in Southeastern Wisconsin is fitting because it has been an absolute whirlwind of a day for the Milwaukee Admirals organization. The team will be moving across the street starting next season after being approved to a ten-year lease to make the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena their new home. That makes these final six home games of the Admirals regular season all the more special because it serves as a countdown to the final games of Admirals hockey at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
This news comes with multiple angles of interest and questions. It is hitting some negatively and others joyously. Some understand the landscape of the move quite well and others are clutching at thin air making remarks that are bitter and false regarding the situation. What I’m sure so many seem to have their finger pointed at is that shiny attention seeking missile of a term: the new Bucks arena. So, let’s address that first.
The Milwaukee Bucks were tasked with creating a new playing arena by the NBA under the threat that the team would be moved out of the city. For many of us in the hockey community some might say, “who cares,” and others might see the major benefits that such a new arena could bring to downtown Milwaukee. The biggest point on this issue in connection to the Admirals though is that the Bucks were the ones under the threat of relocation. They had to look after themselves and, throughout all of these new arena talks and plans, that’s the gist being given off by the Bucks organization and it’s not that hard to understand why. Whether the Bucks did or didn’t get the new arena this fact remained certain. The BMO Harris Bradley Center had a future demolition date attached to it and there was no escaping that. The Admirals needed to follow suit and start looking after themselves. As talks weren’t being had between the two organizations it forced the Admirals hand to plunge into their options and pursue the one that befitted themselves and their fans the absolute best. That option wasn’t that far away. That option was across the street and connected at the hip of where the Admirals front office is located. That option was the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.
What the Admirals are getting in the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena is a home. I fear many people are looking at the headlines of today’s news without taking in the news underneath the venue change which is that you’ve just been guaranteed Admirals hockey for the next ten-years. In an age where professional hockey teams in the AHL or ECHL either move away, change leagues, change affiliations with parent clubs, or simply no longer exist – the Admirals appear to be a permanent anchor at the minor professional hockey league level and that is by no means something that should be forgotten or taken lightly. The Peoria Rivermen, gone. The Oklahoma City Barons, gone. So many organizations come and go yet the Admirals stay right here, functioning at a high level, in Milwaukee. The Calgary Flames have switched AHL affiliates three times in the last three years. The Admirals have been partnered with the Nashville Predators ever since the Predators came into existence. There is a model of consistency that is pretty much unheard of at this level of hockey with the Admirals and, thanks to today’s news, that model of consistency will continue.
For those looking at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena as a step backwards I encourage you to have a pause. The Admirals are leaving a pro level building that was made in 1988 and entering a pro level building made in 1950. In that respect you might view things as a step backward. If you were comparing that shiny new Bucks arena versus the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena you might be thinking it as a step backwards. Now, let me explain to you why you are wrong.
The moment the Milwaukee Admirals 2016-17 season begins they will be the premier professional sports organization playing games at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. The Admirals front office will no longer have their hands tied in knots waiting to see what the Bucks need to get done first. This is the Admirals building and it will be every part the home they could have wanted moving out of the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
Another area that screams improvement will come by way of cost. I can’t imagine most fans of the Admirals are going to want to be paying NHL level premiums at a new Bucks arena versus the beauty that awaits them as far as ticket packages will be concerned at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. The Admirals are not making this move entirely just to put a roof over their head. They’re making this move to also be able to provide their fan base with an entertainment experience that leaves you feeling as if you received more than the ticket price stated. The Admirals have long provided a bang for your buck experience and that same feeling of appreciation in fans wallets will be felt in kind starting next season.
One more item that I’m unsure of just how many people are unaware of was the restrictiveness of the Admirals ability to make money on game-days at BMO Harris Bradley Center. The Admirals make zero money on concessions. They only just in recent years started making a percentage of merchandise revenue from their own merchandise that gets sold at the building. Where does the rest of your money for Admirals merchandise purchased at the BMO Harris Bradley Center go? For the lack of a better example let me just say it rhymes with the situation: sucks. When the Admirals 2016-17 season arrives it arrives with a team enjoying one of it’s best business years in memory and en route to finally start making revenue through game-day sales made at the arena that they play in. This wasn’t going to happen with further years in the BMO Harris Bradley Center. This certainly wouldn’t be a point that changed at the negotiating table for the new Bucks arena. Financially, the Admirals are about to experience something totally different than these last several years and those rewards will have a trickle down effect to the fans – big time.
The UW-Panther Arena is slated to see $6.4 million worth of upgrades during the duration of the Admirals ten-year lease. These upgrades will go above and beyond the team looking to get a pro level locker room installed. The fan experience will be a major point of focus in the years to come. Improved kitchens, concessions, concourse, and lobbies are all on the start of a list that is sure to grow as time moves forward now that this partnership between the Admirals and the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena is a reality. Suggestions from fans to the front office over time, through personal experiences in these first few years back, may have a direct impact on some of the millions of dollars worth of upgrades due to come. This isn’t just a new home address being made for the Admirals it is a big community involved effort to see a 66-year old historical building become more of a home to our hockey team in Milwaukee ever has before.
The BMO Harris Bradley Center seats up to 17,845 in hockey mode. The current average attendance for the Admirals this season is 5,749 through 32-games. That is down just ever so slightly from where the team ended on last season with 5,809 but, hey, these next few (and final) games at the building are sure to boost that attendance figure. With that sort of an average, for many fans or readers suggesting there aren’t enough seats at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, I suggest you have a rethink about the scale and size of the arena you sit in the next time you attend an Admirals game. The BMO Harris Bradley Center has serve the team so very well but it was build with NHL hockey in mind not AHL hockey. What you’ll be getting at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena is the exact same experience with a lowered ceiling to create a more intimate and loud setting. Say what you want but that sounds an awful lot like something I want to be every bit that part of. This isn’t a step backwards. It is exactly as the Admirals are calling this move: a step forward.
~Chatterbox~
I had the opportunity to attend this afternoon’s press conference in-person to get to take in everything live. For those unable to have done so you can watch that press conference right here:
After the press conference I had the opportunity to speak with Milwaukee Admirals Owner/CEO Harris Turer as well as play-by-play broadcaster Aaron Sims. Then, as a pleasant surprise, the French Fries were all in attendance to join in the big news for the Admirals. Here is what everyone had to say from the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.
What are your general thoughts to today’s major news? When was the last time you attended any sort of an event at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and will this news cause you to attend an event prior to the Milwaukee Admirals arrival later this fall?
Did you really think that today’s news cycle for the Milwaukee Admirals would be complete without some sort of roster activity? Of course not. The Nashville Predators have just assigned forwards Gabriel Bourque and Eric Nystrom to the Admirals under long-term injury loan conditions which specify that their loan duration cannot exceed up to either six-days time or three-games. All you need to do is look at the Admirals schedule to know that this weekend is a three-in-three which should fulfill that loan process.
Nashville, Tenn. (March 16, 2016) – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced Wednesday that the club has assigned forwards Gabriel Bourque and Eric Nystrom to Milwaukee (AHL) on Long-Term Injury Loans. Both are expected to suit up for the Admirals this weekend when they host Charlotte (Friday and Saturday) and travel to Chicago (Sunday).
Bourque, 25 (9/23/90), has missed the Predators last 48 games after leaving the team’s Nov. 27 game at Philadelphia with an upper-body injury. In 22 NHL games in 2015-16, the Rimouski, Quebec, native has four points (1g-3a). Nashville’s ninth choice, 132nd overall (fifth round), in the 2009 Entry Draft, Bourque appeared in two games for the Admirals during a conditioning assignment last month, and has 64 points (27g-37a) in 120 career AHL games.
Nystrom, 33 (2/14/83), has missed Nashville’s last 21 games with a broken foot sustained on Jan. 26 at Vancouver. In 40 games for the Predators this season, the 6-1, 200-pound winger has seven goals/points. The Syosset, New York, native last appeared in the AHL with Houston in 2011-12, and has 42 points (21g-21a) in 109 career AHL contests.
The Nashville Predators return home from a five-game road trip tomorrow night, Thursday, March 17, when they face-off against the New York Islanders (7 p.m. on FOX Sports Tennessee; 102.5 The Game). The game will coincide with St. Patrick’s Day, where players will be wearing specialized jerseys during warmups which will be auctioned off that night. During the game, fans will also have the opportunity to purchase a commemorative St. Patrick’s Day Mystery Puck. For a $20 donation to the Nashville Predators Foundation, fans will be able to select a wrapped, themed puck autographed by a Predators player. Four lucky fans will win a special, additional prize. For tickets to the game, fans can visit NashvillePredators.com or call 615-770-7800.
This will be the second time this season in which Bourque will be handling one of these long-term injury loans in Milwaukee. He played only two out of three games of his loan condition before being recalled by the Predators in mid-February. Those both were unfortunately regulation losses for Admirals and Bourque didn’t register a point of offense – although he was far more lively in the second game of his loan.
If you thought Cody Bass was happy when Corey Potter joined the team to take the mantle as the oldest player on the roster then imagine how happy Potter can feel for just this weekend when Nystrom shows up. The 33-year old last played in the AHL during the 2011-12 season as a member of the Houston Aeros. That season he only played in a single game. You need to crawl back to 2007-08 when he logged more games in the AHL, with the Quad City Flames, and back to 2005-06 with the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights when he played a full season in the AHL.
No doubt that this beefs up the Admirals roster for the weekend when they’ll be taking on the Charlotte Checkers at home on Friday and Saturday before hitting I-94 and playing on the road against the Chicago Wolves on Sunday. Should Cody Hodgson return to fitness I believe the Admirals forward group should be more than capable of matching up with a Checkers team than really pushed the Rockford IceHogs their last three-games.
So long BMO Harris Bradley Center. Hello UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
The Milwaukee Admirals will be officially moving to the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena for the start of the 2016-17 season after being approved by the Wisconsin Center District for a 10-year lease. The lease also includes a mutual option for a further 5-years.
The Milwaukee Admirals will contribute $2 million and the Wisconsin Center District $4.3 million to upgrade the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, which will add the hockey team as a tenant starting with the 2016-2017 season.
The capital projects will be completed over the next two to three years and include a new kitchen, a new Admirals locker room and general updates to the 66-year-old arena.
“The arena needs to be brought back to a level that we know it’s capable of being,” Admirals owner Harris Turer said in an interview with the Milwaukee Business Journal. “It’s just gotten a little old and tired. We really want our fans to be able to come to games and just see a really beautiful place.”
The 10-year lease with a five-year mutual option extension was approved Wednesday morning by the Wisconsin Center District board. The public Wisconsin Center District owns the arena at 400 W. Kilbourn Ave. in downtown Milwaukee.
The lease will produce a positive financial result for the Wisconsin Center District and taxpayers, said board chairman Scott Neitzel. Adding 38 Admirals home games per year greatly increases the viability of the Panther Arena.
“From the community standpoint, I think it’s wonderful,” Neitzel said in an interview. “It keeps the Admirals downtown in Milwaukee and therefore it meets what I think is the mission of the Wisconsin Center District — to continue to bring as many people to downtown Milwaukee as possible.”
The Wisconsin Center District also owns the Milwaukee Theatre and the Wisconsin Center convention hall.
The Admirals, who play in the American Hockey League, had no other viable options for a home rink after the BMO Harris Bradley Center closes in 2018. The Admirals need a new home rink because they were not in the plans for the new Milwaukee Bucks arena that will replace the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
Turer said he is excited about the new home rink and what he considers successful negotiations with the Wisconsin Center District leadership. The Admirals have played at the Bradley Center, which was a gift to the community from former owners Jane Bradley Pettit and Lloyd Pettit, since the venue opened in 1988.
“I had no desire to sell the team and that would have been a terrible thing for our community,” Turer said. “I’m just grateful that we have a home.”
Turer said he is not sure yet what he will spend the $2 million on other than a general facelift and modernizing of the Panther Arena. He would like to improve the concourse areas, main lobby and concession stands.
Turer, who bought the Admirals 11 years ago, said the team has been losing money at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. He said the Wisconsin Center District lease will result in profits because the team for the first time will receive a split share of merchandise revenue and a share of concessions revenue.
“This allows the Admirals to be a financially viable entity and that means a lot to me,” said Turer, who is the grandson of Master Lock founder Harry Soref.
The Wisconsin Center District will fund its portion of the arena improvements with part of a $5.25 million bond issue the board also approved Wednesday.
The district did make a couple of significant improvements after UWM agreed to a 10-year naming rights deal in June 2014. The district spent $1.1 million on a new scoreboard and video board at the Panther Arena and is replacing all the permanent seats in UWM black and gold colors over a three-year period.
UWM has 10-year naming rights agreement for the arena. The Admirals would like to add some signage at the arena but need to negotiate that with UWM officials, Neitzel and Turer said.
UWM and the Milwaukee Wave indoor soccer team also agreed to some flexibility in scheduling games to accommodate the Admirals, Neitzel said.
The Admirals lease at the BMO Harris Bradley Center runs through 2016-2017 but the team and Bradley Center officials have discussed an early exit from that agreement.
The ol’ MECCA will be seeing plenty of upgrades because of this move by the Admirals. A new locker room will be needed to match that of what the team has at the BMO Harris Bradley Center and the upgrades won’t be performed purely from a player experience, either. The fan experience is going to a focus as well. Upgrades to the concourse, lobbies and concession stands will be a point of focus during the course of this lease. As reported by Kirchen of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel there are $6.3 million in upgrades in works with the Admirals set to contribute $2 million and the Wisconsin Center District set to contribute $4.3 million.
There will be a press conference this afternoon at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. I will be on-hand to take that all in and, hopefully, provide a Chatterbox later this afternoon with different parties associated with this move being able to shed some insight on this huge news for the Admirals.
For those that missed out on the festivities of Celebrity Serve at Major Goolsby’s on Monday night I did try my best to live tweet one of my favorite events that goes down: the player shirt auction. All players, who act as various servers on the evening, wear specialty shirts with their name and number on the back with a specialty theme behind the shirt. This year’s theme was Mardi Gras. This year’s top dollar shirt belonged to Cody Bass whose shirt was auctioned off for $2,000.
In short, it was a fantastic night for the Milwaukee Admirals and specifically the Admirals Power Play Foundation thanks to its tremendous fans.
Bass being the top dog for the shirt auction makes a great deal of sense for reasons that will come clear once you listen to today’s interview. He is far more than that guy you see stick up for his teammates and get into a fight on the ice. He’s been every bit the part of a captain for the Admirals this season as an on and off ice leader. When the Admirals last played at home, after a frantic first period, head coach Dean Evason left the locker room for Bass to conduct discussion among the team during the first intermission. If that sounds familiar that’s because Evason would allow current assistant coach, and long time Admirals team captain, Scott Ford do just that all the time when the time called for it to be done.
This season Bass has been able to log 14 games at the NHL level with the Nashville Predators. It was the first time since the 2013-14 season that he had played in the NHL and the most games he had logged in the NHL since the 2011-12 season when he also played 14 games as a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets organization. His season to date for the Admirals has seen him produce 7 points (3 goals, 4 assists) in 32 games while accumulating 14 fighting majors.
~Fifteen~
Thanks so much to Cody Bass for taking the time to do this interview. It might have been one of the most fun interviews I’ve been able to have with a member of the Admirals since coming on-board here at Admirals Roundtable. Really appreciate that. Tomorrow will see yet another edition of Fifteen as Patrick Mullen joins in on the fun as well.
The long wait and see news story of what will become of the Milwaukee Admirals under the umbrella of all the Milwaukee Bucks new arena discussions may finally reach a breakthrough tomorrow morning. The Wisconsin Center District board is set to discuss a lease for the Admirals to move into the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena for the 2016-17 season.
The Milwaukee Admirals’ likely move to a different venue could become official Wednesday.
The Wisconsin Center District board is scheduled to discuss a potential new Admirals lease at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.
That discussion and possible vote to approve the lease are to occur at the board’s Wednesday meeting, according to an agenda issued Monday. The district operates the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, Wisconsin Center convention facility, Milwaukee Theatre and will own the future Milwaukee Bucks arena.
The Admirals now play at the BMO Harris Bradley Center, but plans for a new Bucks arena haven’t included the minor-league hockey team.
The Bucks will demolish the Bradley Center after the new arena is completed. That facility is to open by the start of the 2018-’19 National Basketball Association season.
Under the proposed lease, the Admirals would move to the Panther Arena starting in the 2016-’17 season. That season runs from October through April and includes 38 home dates — not counting possible postseason games.
This comes after a district official said in October that the Panther Arena could include a renovated locker room for the Admirals. That comment came during a discussion of the Wisconsin Center District’s 2016 budget.
Admirals Chief Executive Officer Harris Turer said in June that he did not believe the team would be part of the future Bucks arena.
Turer said then that he had started preliminary discussions with district officials about a possible lease at the Panther Arena, where the Admirals would share the facility with the UW-Milwaukee men’s basketball team and the Milwaukee Wave.
The Panther Arena, where the Admirals played for several years before the Bradley Center opened, does have ice-making machinery and is Milwaukee’s only “true alternative” for the team, Turer said.
As it stands, there truly hasn’t been much of any positive “breakthrough” level discussions as it pertains to the Admirals being part of the new Bucks arena. That has pretty much been the narrative all along. When you scratch that option off, and of course the BMO Harris Bradley Center off because it would be demolished once the new arena is introduced, there are only so many options for the Admirals to turn.
The UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena was the Admirals home until the introduction of the Bradley Center in 1988. It’s gone through different names over time: MECCA Arena, Wisconsin Center Arena, US Cellular Arena, and now goes by the title of the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. It currently hosts, as the name suggests, events associated with UW-Milwaukee as well as hosts the Milwaukee Wave, Brewcity Bruisers, and several other entertainment acts. Should the Admirals be approved the immediately become the highest profiled professional sports tenant of the building and that would be a partnership that should greatly benefit all parties involved at the arena.
Discussions I’ve had with various parties close to this situation have all come back by saying this phrase, “It has to be done the right way.” That encapsulates the full-scale of this massive project for the Admirals that goes above and beyond simply switching venues for next season. The organization would be installing renovated locker room facilities that would be on par with the current norm that the team experience at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. Admirals President Jon Greenberg went to experience and talk with the Charlotte Checkers organization at the start of the season to get a sense for their recent move from the Time Warner Cable Arena to the Bojangles’ Coliseum which mirrors what would take place should the team switch back to the old barn. There is far more than a simple changing of home address at work for the Admirals when it comes to this move and the focus of the operation is being handled with surgical-like precision in the background to this 2015-16 season. As they’ve all said. If this move is to be done it has to be done the right way.
What are your reactions to a potential move across the street to the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena? What do you feel is needed, upgrade-wise or fan experience-wise, that must be addressed by the Milwaukee Admirals should they officially make the move to the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena?
For those only getting a little familiar with Max Reinhart this season you’re probably unaware of just how big the Reinhart name is in the game of hockey. His father, Paul Reinhart, had an extraordinary NHL career as a member of the Flames and Canucks organizations that spanned eleven seasons. Max also happens to be the oldest of two other brothers who are in the NHL. Griffin Reinhart was drafted fourth overall in the 2012 NHL Draft by the New York Islanders and is now playing for the Edmonton Oilers. Sam Reinhart was selected second overall in the 2014 NHL Draft by the Buffalo Sabres where he has 34 points (19 goals, 15 assists) in 67 games during his first full-season of professional hockey.
Although he hasn’t had the chance to do so as a member of the Nashville Predators this season Max also joins his family with games of NHL experience. He played 23 games with the Calgary Flames and was able to score his first career NHL goal in his fifth career game in Edmonton on 4/13/13. As you’d expect, he scored that goal with his family in attendance (video).
Reinhart’s season to date with the Admirals has been solid. He has been one of the most reliable and consistent all-around forwards the team has had in the 2015-16 season and he’s pushed to play in all game situations. He has 31 points (19 goals, 12 assists) in 59 games. His 19 goals and plus/minus rating of +13 are the best on the team. He has had four multi-goal games this season including the first hat tricks of his professional playing career.
~Fifteen~
A big thank you to Max Reinhart for taking the time to do this interview. Also, cheers to Stefan Elliott for the fun cameo appearance! This week Fifteen will be published two more times: Cody Bass (Wednesday) and Patrick Mullen (Thursday).
The Milwaukee Admirals won 5-1 on the road against the Sunday evening at the Wells Fargo Arena.
It wasn’t the prettiest of games but the Admirals power-play unit made sure to take advantage of the opportunities presented to the today. The Admirals scored four power-play goals from seven chances against the Wild. It’s the most power-play goals scored by the Admirals all season.
Unlike when these two locked horns on Friday night the opening period was slow paced and sloppy across the board. The same tags can be slapped to the Wild who on a few occasions were nearly caught out with bad changes to the bench. They’d be caught for too many men on the ice midway through the first period and it would be the opening the Admirals needed to get on the board.
Trevor Murphy had just allowed a puck to skip through him as he held the point. When the Admirals power-play re-established the zone it nearly happened all over again but Murphy whipped a pass to the low left wing for Max Görtz who would pass back post for Max Reinhart to score on a tap in.
There was a fight in the first period. After Joe Pendenza was clocked in the Admirals defensive zone it started a chain of invites for dance partners to mix it up. Cody Bass would pair with Kurtis Gabriel and the two didn’t do too much damage to one-another. Gabriel removed Bass’ helmet and landed a glancing punch to the top of his head as they fell down but that was about it.
It wouldn’t take the Admirals long to get off the mark in the second period. Just sixteen-seconds after puck drop the forward line of Reinhart, Frédérick Gaudreau, and Pontus Åberg raced down the throat of the Wild and delivered with a second goal of the night for Reinhart. The second tally for Reinhart extends his team lead in goals scored to nineteen now on the season. His career high in the AHL came during the 2013-14 season as a member of the Abbotsford Heat when he scored twenty-one goals.
Tyson Strachan was put in the penalty box shortly after Reinhart’s second period goal after setting a pick on offense and being whistled for interference. The Admirals would make it two-for-two on the power-play after a howitzer of a slap shot by Åberg in the left wing circle beat Steve Michalek to the near post. Åberg now has seventeen goals this season – four of which have come from the Admirals power-play.
The Wild were able to break up the shutout bid for Marek Mazanec tonight thanks to a shorthanded goal inside of three-minutes of the third period. Former-Admirals defenseman Conor Allen put a shot to the front of the net that Rob Bordson was able to deflect in to score his ninth goal of the season. The Admirals weren’t too thrilled by the cross-check that Bordson appeared to get away with on Murphy that generated the space Bordson had for the deflection in front of Mazanec but there was no call made on the play.
Perhaps karma would come in the form of a few penalties that let the Admirals power-play get back to form. Scott Sabourin caught Corey Potter with a high stick that left the Admirals defenseman wounded and racing to the bench for repairs. Gaudreau would fire a quick release shot to score on the first half of the double-minor to score his fifteenth goal of the season and seventh scored on the power-play to make it a 4-1 lead.
As the second half of the double minor against Sabourin continued the Wild chucked a puck into the stands for a delay of game penalty. With the extended five-on-three power-play Görtz teed up Murphy at the point for a slapper that clanked iron an went in for his tenth goal of the season.
The win for the Admirals comes at the end of a day that saw the IceHogs lose and Griffins win. The Admirals remain in third place of the Central Division which is now led by the Griffins who are on an eleven-game winning streak at the moment. The race between the three up top, in terms of points percentage, is separated by 0.019.
Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals played last night there were no roster moves made throughout the organization. Tonight’s line combinations were: Reinhart-Gaudreau-Åberg, Fiala-Kamenev-Payerl, White-Girard-Görtz, Murphy-Pendenza-Bass, Oligny-Potter, Näkyvä-Mullen, Elliott-Aronson. Tonight’s scratches were: Jamie Devane (upper body), Cody Hodgson (undisclosed), and Johan Alm (lower body).
All things considered, the Admirals were able to snag four out of six-points this weekend. Are you happy with that or are some of these games troubling to you?
The Milwaukee Admirals lost 4-2 on the road against the Chicago Wolves Saturday night at the Allstate Arena.
Despite getting the right opening twenty-minutes that they wanted the Admirals weren’t able to do what they did last night and shut the door for the remaining two periods of play. The Wolves were able to comeback from a two-goal deficit in the first period by scoring four unanswered goals. All three wins for the Wolves against the Admirals this season have come at the Allstate Arena.
With last night’s start to the game in mind, the Admirals made certain that tonight’s first period would be more direct and precise. Following a boarding minor by Cody Beach, that drove Corey Potter into the glass, the Admirals cashed in on the power-play less than five-minutes into the game. Pontus Åberg was able to create a lane to pass from the left wing to the back post where Max Reinhart zipped a shot first time past Jordan Binnington to notch his seventeenth goal of the season.
The first period then saw even more penalty box action and it really started to build around a fight between Adam Payerl and the aforementioned Beach. The fight wasn’t anything too special, plenty of jersey pulling and grappling, but Payerl received an instigator on the tilt. That put the Wolves on a power-play which would prove to be short lived following back-to-back penalties from Patrick Cannone and André Benoît. For good measure, one-time Admiral from last season Jared Nightingale also got involved with a slash and the Admirals had an extended five-on-three power-play. This set the stage for Kevin Fiala to smack home a one-timer from the right wing circle to score his fourteenth goal of the season to give the Admirals a 2-0 first period lead.
As the Admirals did in the first period the Wolves did in the second period. A pair of power-play goals from the Wolves in the sandwich stanza made it a 2-2 game through two periods. It started with a Ty Rattie shot that smoked through Juuse Saros that was pushed behind him by Evan Trupp for his fourth goal of the season. That power-play goal for the Wolves was their first scored against the Admirals from twenty-one previous power-play opportunities.
At the end of the second period the Admirals were back on the penalty kill following a tripping minor against Åberg. With just 6.3 seconds remaining in the frame the Wolves found an equalizer to make it a 2-2 contest. A long range backhander by Jordan Schmaltz from the left point deflected off of the net front traffic of Stefan Elliott and Jordan Caron. The harsh redirect left Saros sliding to his left as the puck darted right. The goal would be credited to Caron for his fifteenth goal of the season. The young Finn really could do little to stop that piece of puck luck from beating him.
In the opening minute of the third period the Wolves scored their third unanswered goal to claim their first lead of the game. Jeremy Welsh forced a bad turnover out of Kristian Näkyvä in the Admirals defensive zone and the puck laid free for Rattie. The Wolves sniper went bardown shooting from the right wing against Saros for his twelfth goal of the season.
Saros made his way to the bench a few times in the closing staged of the game. Following the Admirals’ use of their timeout he made his way to the bench with forty-two seconds remaining to get the extra attacker on. The Admirals late rally was thwarted by an empty netter from Danny Kristo for his nineteenth goal of the season. This was the first time in nineteen-games that the Wolves scored four goals in a game.
Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals played last night there were no roster moves made throughout the organization. Tonight’s line combinations were: Reinhart-Gaudreau-Åberg, Fiala-Kamenev-Payerl, White-Girard-Görtz, Murphy-Pendenza-Bass, Oligny-Potter, Näkyvä-Mullen, Elliott-Aronson. Tonight’s scratches were: Jamie Devane (upper body), Cody Hodgson (undisclosed), and Johan Alm (lower body).
Where did tonight’s game fall apart? Why were the Admirals unable to mount any serious attacking pressure in the third period? Will a loss like this spill into tomorrow in Iowa or is it better for the Admirals to erase this game instantly?
WHY CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?! (Photo Credit: Ross Dettman)
It may not have had the start they wanted but the Milwaukee Admirals did bounce back quickly last night against the Iowa Wild. Perhaps most importantly was their finish. The Admirals were smart and precise with the puck and took what was a 4-2 first period lead and made it the final scoreline. That’s one game out of the way. Now for the next rodeo of this three-in-three weekend.
~The Amtrak Rivals~
The Chicago Wolves enter tonight’s game with a record of 25-27-5-3 (58 points). Their 0.483 points percentage has them in sixth place of the Central Division and twelfth place in the Western Conference standings.
It has been a dog rough season for the Wolves, pun entirely intended, but who could have ever thought they would be below 0.500 this late into the season? They’re entering this game with a 0-2-2-1 record from their last five-games and only have two-wins from their last twelve-games.
It’s astonishing how poor the Wolves have been this season and that trend lent itself to the Admirals claiming their first Amtrak Trophy since the 2012-13 season. The Wolves were the AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks that season. As an AHL affiliate of the St. Louis Blues this was the first season in which they came up short against the Admirals – and short is right. The Admirals are 7-2-0-0 against the Wolves this season.
If there is a glimmer of hope to this poor run of form for the Wolves they do have this little nugget. The Wolves have played the Admirals four times in Chicago this season and have won twice. That might sound so-so but, hey, it’s 0.500 hockey. That’s better than they’ve been doing this entire season much less the last five-games.
~Who What Now?~
The Wolves top scorer this season is their captain Pat Cannone who has 45 points (20 goals, 25 assists) in 58 games. He is followed by linemate Danny Kristo who has 39 points (18 goals, 21 assists) in 55 games.
In third place on the Wolves scoring list this season is the man with the most points scored against the Admirals in this match-up. André Benoît has 8 points (all assists) in 9 games against the Admirals. He has 30 points (7 goals, 23 assists) in 56 games for the Wolves this season.
In net the Wolves still have a tandem of Jordan Binnington and Pheonix Copley. Last time out in the Amtrak Rivalry it was Copley who turned up huge in net. His efforts last week probably helped earn the Wolves a point. He stopped 38/39 shots on goal, including all 21 shots the Admirals threw at him in the third period, before taking the tough luck overtime loss in a 1-0 game. Copley was tasked with the follow up game the next day and fared much less as he’d stop 20/25 shots on goal as the Admirals won 5-2 in Chicago to clinch the Amtrak Trophy.
Expectations for tonight’s game? How vital will it be for the Milwaukee Admirals to have a good start after last night? With this being a three-in-three weekend is tonight the opportune time to rotate the goaltenders?
Admirals Roundtable 