Author: Daniel Lavender

Scouting March 1, 2016

Monsters: Scouting the Enemy

Yesterday was a great day in the life of Milwaukee Admirals defenseman Jimmy Oligny. Hopefully that can continue with a little less of this photo going down these next two games against the Lake Erie Monsters. (Photo Credit: John Saraya)

Hello and welcome to the month of March. This should be a very important month for the Milwaukee Admirals as March has a whopping 14 games attached to it including 9 road games. For as relaxing as that month of January and start of February felt this is the weights and balances of the Hockey Schedule Gods who have made the Admirals playoff push through March a grinder. The first opponent to kick things off should send that message home rather well.

~Monsters~

The Lake Erie Monsters enter tonight’s game with a record of 30-17-5-4 (69 points). Their 0.616 points percentage sees them sitting in fourth place of the Central Division and fifth place in the Western Conference standings.

As far as timing goes, the Admirals probably couldn’t have entered Cleveland for a two-game set against the Monsters at a worse time. The Monsters have been on one of their best runs of form this season and have pulled in a record of 8-1-1-1 over their last 11 games – which covers their month of February. They enter with a winning streak of 3 games and a point streak of 5 games.

What is the cause for all of this recent success? Well, that’s what should scare you the most when looking at these two games against the Monsters because they’ve been doing it each and every way possible. The Monsters have had a pair of shutouts from Brad Thiessen. They have scored 3 or more goals in 8 of these past 11 games.

In those past 11 games the Monsters have been backed by great individual performances: Michael Chaput, 13 points (3 goals, 10 assists)… Daniel Zaar, 10 points (4 goals, 6 assists)… Oliver Bjorkstrand, 9 points (6 goals, 3 assists)… Josh Anderson, 7 points (5 goals, 2 assists).

~Brick Wall Brad~

I think a lot can be made of the Monsters season by the performances in net by their goaltender Thiessen. If you all remember, Thiessen’s season all started off with the Admirals’ ECHL affiliate the Cincinnati Cyclones. He played 15 games, had a record of 8-3-1-2, a 1.86 goals against average, 0.935 save percentage, and a shutout with the Cyclones. But the veteran netminder got his due to return to the AHL as a member of the Monsters. Why? Injures to the goaltenders of the Columbus Blue Jackets that had Anton Forsberg and Joonas Korpisalo both trek up from the AHL to help out their parent club. Who was their to help keep the ship afloat as the goaltending position was in trouble for the Monsters? Thiessen.

This season Thiessen is putting together his best numbers at the AHL level since he was a member of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the 2010-11 season. In 19 games with the Monsters Thiessen has a 10-3-4-2 record with a 1.85 goals against average, 0.932 save percentage, and 3 shutouts.

When you look specifically at what Thiessen has meant for the Monsters look to the points percentage before he arrived (12/19/15) to where the Monsters are today. Prior to Thiessen’s arrival to the Monsters the team had a 15-7-1-2 record for a 0.660 points percentage. Since, the Monsters have had a 15-10-4-2 record for a 0.581 points percentage. It isn’t as great but, considering the tough spot the Monsters were in with both their main goaltenders frequently up and out of the squad, Thiessen has allowed for this team to keep their heads above water and let the players in front of the goalie do their thing and not worry about a goaltending weakness.

Expectations for these two games against the Lake Erie Monsters? With so many road games this month how do you see the Milwaukee Admirals combating fatigue as well as all these high level opponents in their playoff push?

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.

News February 29, 2016

Predators Acquire Defenseman Corey Potter

(Photo Credit: Springfield Falcons // flickr)

The Nashville Predators have in fact made a trade today on NHL Trade Deadline Day. Although, the move itself isn’t so much for them as it is for the Milwaukee Admirals. The Predators have acquired defenseman Corey Potter from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for future considerations. He will be joining the Admirals at the AHL level.

This move makes a ton of sense for the Admirals. Potter is a right handed shooting defenseman and head coach Dean Evason was quick to praise the difference that balance of righties and lefties made for the defensive core. The organization added Stefan Elliott and Patrick Mullen to join Taylor Aronson to create that three right sided defensive make up. Following a particularly scary incident that saw Mullen have his right hand badly lacerated by a skate blade on 2/21/16 vs. Iowa – the Admirals have needed to revert back to a left-left pairing these past three-games. While certainly not a direct result of Mullen alone the Admirals have lost two of those three-games while Mullen has been out.

So, what will the Admirals be getting in Potter then exactly? They will be getting a 32-year old, highly experienced, right-handed shooting defenseman that can immediately join the team and be a provider. Potter has 129 career games of NHL experience with 32 points (8 goals, 24 assists) in time spent with the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Edmonton Oilers, Boston Bruins, and Calgary Flames.

What he provides even more so is AHL experience. Potter has logged 404 games in the AHL and has 167 points (33 goals, 134 assists) in his career. For the 2015-16 season he has been playing in the Eastern Conference as a member of the Springfield Falcons where he has dressed for 52 games, has 17 points (5 goals, 12 assists), a plus/minus rating of +4, and 32 penalty minutes.

News February 29, 2016February 29, 2016

Predators Make Viktor Arvidsson Eligible for AHL Playoffs

This afternoon the Nashville Predators reassigned Viktor Arvidsson to the Milwaukee Admirals. That came prior to the NHL Trade Deadline which is attached at the hip with the AHL’s deadline for Playoff eligibility. All players on the AHL rosters the moment of the NHL Trade Deadline expiring become AHL Playoff eligible.

Arvidsson is now eligible to join the Admirals should they qualify for the 2016 AHL Calder Cup Playoffs. Now that he is, he’s already headed back where he belongs as -according to AHL Transactions– Arvidsson has immediately been recalled back to the Predators.

This is then a paper transaction by the Predators to help look after both the Admirals and Arvidsson. Should the Admirals have a longer playoff run than their parent club – Arvidsson can rejoin his teammates in Milwaukee and provide a welcome boost to the Admirals bid for the Calder Cup.

Arvidsson has scored 18 points (8 goals, 10 assists) in 17 games with the Admirals this season. As a member of the Predators he has managed to produce 11 points (7 goals, 4 assists) in 37 games.

News February 29, 2016

Jimmy Oligny Re-Signs with Admirals for Two-Years

The Milwaukee Admirals have re-signed defenseman Jimmy Oligny to a new two-year deal that will keep him in camp through the 2017-18 season.

Press Release via Milwaukee Admirals:

Milwaukee, WI—The Milwaukee Admirals announced today that they have signed defenseman Jimmy Oligny to a two-year, American Hockey League contract extension that will keep him with the team through the 2017-18 season.

Oligny leads Admirals defenseman and is second on the team with a +12 rating. The La Sarre, QC native has three goals and 10 assists for 13 points to go along with a club best 73 penalty minutes in 52 games with Milwaukee this season.

The 6-0, 203-pound blueliner tallied five points (1g-4a) in 53 contests with the Admirals during his rookie campaign last season. He spent four years of junior hockey with the Prince Edward Island Rockets of the QMJHL from 2009-13, recording 123 points (29g-94a) and 531 penalty minutes in 302 games.

Tickets for any Ads game can be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Groups of ten or more can receive great discounts over single game prices. Those interested in booking a group can call the Admirals office at (414) 227-0550.

Remember to follow the Admirals on Twitter (@mkeadmirals) and like us on Facebook.

Oligny was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Admirals ahead of the 2014-15 season. In his first year of professional hockey he played 53 games, scored 5 points (1 goal, 4 assists), had a plus/minus rating of -2, and 46 penalty minutes.

This season, like his fellow French Fry pal Frédérick Gaudreau who also signed as an undrafted free agent the same summer, Oligny has taken an incredible step forward and has been one of the top performers at his position. Oligny has played 52 games this season and has the team’s top plus/minus rating (+12) while seeing his offensive numbers also take a leap forward: 13 points (3 goals, 10 assists).

Feature February 28, 2016February 28, 2016

Admiral of the Month: February

It is still the month of February, yes, but the Milwaukee Admirals schedule for the month ended with last night’s 2-1 loss on the road against the Chicago Wolves. Sort of a downer of a game to end the month on knowing how strong the previous effort was against the exact same team -but- that sort of sums of the month of February for the Admirals.

This past month has been a bit topsy-turvy. It hasn’t been awful. It hasn’t been great. The Admirals held a record of 6-5-0-0 in the month of February. Much of that span has been spent in a sluggish manner where the offense isn’t performing as well as it is capable of. Despite that, the Admirals still move on with more wins than losses on the month. Could it have been better? Sure. Could it have been worse? Far more so – but it wasn’t thanks to some timely performances from the group.

It’s a month such as February that makes it tricky to pluck out an individual performer who I identify as better than the rest. As I weight the options I keep coming back to one individual who seemed to not only do a tremendous job in his own right but elevate those around him in the process. That man would be none other than the captain, Colton Sissons.

In February the Admirals captain produced 7 points (3 goals, 4 assists) in 11 games. It was Sissons biggest month of offensive output in the AHL this season and he did it all while doing his prototypical all-around work rate. Sissons operates on both sides of the puck and that lends itself to his work on both the Admirals power-play and penalty kill. As you’ll notice in the Admiral Mentions portion – the top two considerations for this monthly award were predominantly wingers with Sissons throughout the month. That isn’t a coincidence that their games were also elevated thanks to the abilities of Sissons in February.

Admirable Mentions: Max Reinhart, 6 points (4 goals, 2 assist) in 9 games with an average of 2.9 shots on goal per game… Frédérick Gaudreau, 6 points (4 goals, 2 assists) in 11 games while operating on an Admirals penalty kill that went 91.9% (34/37) in February… Kevin Fiala, 6 points (3 goals, 3 assists) in 11 games… Cody Hodgson, 6 points (2 goals, 4 assists) in 8 games with an average of 3.6 shots on goal per game… Max Görtz, 6 points (2 goals, 4 assists) in 11 games… Trevor Murphy, 8 points (3 goals, 5 assists) in 10 games… Taylor Aronson, 6 points (1 goal, 5 assists) in 11 games… Juuse Saros, 2 wins from 4 starts including a shutout, 2.13 goals against average, and 0.910 save percentage.91.9% (34/37)

~Admiral of the Month Award~

October: Félix Girard
November: Viktor Arvidsson
December: Frédérick Gaudreau
January: Marek Mazanec
February: Colton Sissons

Who do you feel was the Milwaukee Admirals top performer during the month of February? Was it Colton Sissons, Max Reinhart, Frédérick Gaudreau, or someone else? Answer in the comment section below.

Game Recaps February 27, 2016February 28, 2016

Wolves Edge Admirals in Stalemate, 2-1

(Photo Credit: Ross Dettman // Chicago Wolves)

The Milwaukee Admirals lost 2-1 against the Chicago Wolves Saturday night at the Allstate Arena.

It wasn’t the dominate performance like the Admirals were able to lay down yesterday but much credit can be given to both defenses and especially both goaltenders. Jordan Binnington stopped 26/27 shots on goal for the Wolves while Marek Mazanec stopped 30/32. The difference in this game came down to a firestorm put up by the Wolves in the top of the third period which ended in a first career AHL goal for Justin Crandall.

This game was always going to unfold differently in the opening period than what was seen on the ice last night. The game was tighter defensively from both sides and the Wolves managed to force the better of the scoring chances in the first period by outshooting the Admirals 12-4.

Another thing that was evident this game would have happen is a carry-over from last night’s third period fisticuffs. Jamie Devane paired up with Nick Petrecki and uncorked the Wolves defenseman with several unanswered punches. In fact, I’m not even sure Petrecki ever threw or landed a punch in the exchange. He did skate away bloodied up. So that gives Devane a 10-8 decision in my fight card.

The Admirals would find the game’s first goal just fourteen seconds into the second period. Almost directly off of the draw to start the sandwich stanza the Admirals were in a sprint through the neutral zone and into Jordan Binnington’s goal mouth to score. The Max-to-Max connection ended with Max Reinhart dishing off to Colton Sissons in front of the net to score his eighth goal of the season. At just fourteen seconds, that goal was the fastest scored by the Admirals to start any period this season.

If the Admirals captain could do it – so to could the Wolves skipper. Pat Cannone hit a slap shot that clipped the stick of Garrett Noonan upon the release of the shot which changed the angle the puck took en route to the net. As Marek Mazanec was getting his glove up the puck ever so slightly dipped down to throw off the Admirals goaltender and give Cannone his first career 20 goal season as a professional hockey player.

At the end of the second period Emerson Clark took exception to a no-call for high sticking and took matters into his own hands by fighting Jimmy Oligny in neutral ice. Clark landed far more of the strikes thrown and gets the 10-9 decision from me on my fight card.

The Wolves took their first lead of the weekend after Justin Crandall scored his first career AHL goal in only his second career AHL game. The Wolves were really forcing the issue in the third period and, following a power-play off a Kevin Fiala high sticking minor, forced the Admirals to burn a timeout after relentless attacking shifts forced an icing. That spilled into the goal for Crandall where he scored short-side glove-side of Mazanec with a backhanded shot down the left wing to give the Wolves a 2-1 lead.

With 1:30 remaining in regulation Mazanec made his way to the bench to bring on the extra attacker for the Admirals. There was a solid push with firm control in attack for the Admirals with the extra attacker on but some big stops from Binnington helped close off the 2-1 win for the Wolves in regulation.

Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals played last night there was no roster moves within the organization. This was the last game for the Admirals before the NHL Trade Deadline which takes place on Monday. Tonight’s line combinations were: Reinhart-Sissons-Görtz, Fiala-Gaudreau-Bass, White-Kamenev-Åberg, Devane-Girard-Payerl, Oligny-Elliott, Noonan-Aronson, Näkyvä –Murphy. Tonight’s scratches were: Cody Hodgson (undisclosed injury), Patrick Mullen (right-hand laceration), and Johan Alm (lower-body injury).

What are you reactions to this follow-up performance from the Milwaukee Admirals? Is it simply a credit to the Wolves doing enough early and late or were the Wolves able to get the better of a tired all-around effort on the ice? Do you think anyone on the Admirals suited up for their last game with the organization tonight with the NHL Trade Deadline coming on Monday?

Chatterbox February 27, 2016February 27, 2016

Chatterbox, Vol. 115

As always, I like to sit back and digest a game before really making serious judgement on it. When reflecting on the Milwaukee Admirals 4-1 win over the Chicago Wolves last night I can’t help but coming back to the term “a complete game” because it really a complete sixty-minutes of hockey for the Admirals. It’s been a long time coming, too.

If you were to look at the scoreboard through two period you might be left with the impression that the game was tight. The Admirals had a 2-0 lead cut in half after an amazing goal scored by Zach O’Brien and it was just a one-goal lead entering the last period of regulation.

What probably stands out to me, more than anything last night, was the Admirals third period performance. They had the 2-1 lead but wanted to secure a result and succeeded. The Admirals came out of the second intermission with a serious purpose to finish that game off. Their speed and pressure in attack forced an ugly turnover in front of their own net to make it a 3-1 Admirals lead. The Admirals then took advantage on the power-play, an area that was struggling not too long ago, and polished off the game.

All around, that was a terrific performance for the Admirals who really needed a wire-to-wire effort such as that to get Wednesday night’s loss to the Rockford IceHogs out of their system. Instead of dragging around whimpering over recent games the Admirals find themselves back in a first place tie for the Central Division lead because the IceHogs lost 5-4 on the road against the Lake Erie Monsters last night. Funny how as bad as the last few games have felt or been for the Admirals things just have a way of balancing themselves out accordingly.

What has made this Admirals season a rather special one has been this team’s ability to limit the woeful stretches and get results on a consistent basis regardless of who is in or out of the lineup. The Wolves are a team currently being mauled by injuries up top and on their own roster. They haven’t been able to find firm ground to propel from all season long. To think that there are still six Amtrak Rivalry games left from the remaining twenty-three games of the Admirals 2015-16 season should be a huge area of importance for the team moving forward. They have a wounded team ripe for the picking and a maximum of 12 points at stake from those contests alone. For all we know, now, these clashes between the Admirals and Wolves could be the difference between the Admirals winning or losing the Central Division – perhaps even seeing them clear the Ontario Reign and having the best record in the Western Conference come season’s end.

These last few games of the Amtrak Rivalry are not all going to feature as squeaky clean of a performance like last night showed. It would be silly to even expect tonight’s game in Chicago to run as smoothly. But, the Admirals are already 5-1-0-0 against the Wolves this season. The Admirals have won five-straight games over the Wolves and could claim the Amtrak Trophy for the first time since the 2012-13 season with wins over the Amtrak Rivals tonight and next Saturday. There is this sort of “feel good” well that the Admirals can go back to time and time again at the end of this season. That well lends its water source from the tears of disappointment coming out of the Chicago Wolves camp right now.

Fun Fact. The Milwaukee Admirals current record through 53 games played is 33-17-3-0. Last night’s win matched the amount of wins the Admirals had all of last season: 33-28-8-7.

~Chatterbox~

For those that missed it, prior to yesterday’s game I spoke with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason to hear his reaction to the Nashville Predators signing Anthony Bitetto to a new two-year contract. You can listen to that right here.

After the game I spoke with Evason again but I did have company – lots of it. Dave Boehler, Mario Tirabassi, and myself were joined by several UW-Milwaukee students via Jessie Garcia of TMJ4. Plenty hopped in for a question so you’ll be hearing some different voices chirping along. The players that were interviewed include Max Reinhart, Frédérick Gaudreau, and Colton Sissons. This is what everyone had to say following last night’s victory:

Comments on the comments? Do you get the impression that the Admirals getting to face the Wolves so often at the end of the season sets the stage nicely for a solid finish the way the Amtrak Rivals are struggling this year? Will tonight’s game be even more ill-tempered than how the third period played out last night?

Game Recaps February 26, 2016February 27, 2016

Reinhart Nets Second Hat Trick of the Season; Ads Win 4-1

The Milwaukee Admirals won 4-1 against the Chicago Wolves Friday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

This was a return to form sort of night for the Admirals. Max Reinhart scored his second hat trick of the season for the Admirals to put the cherry on top of what was a great all-around performance that saw the team skate circles around the Amtrak Rivals.

“We thought we started real strong,” said Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason after the game. “We were a little worried about not getting rewarded early with our play. Then certainly when they made it 2-1 there was some dicey times and some tense times. We talked to the group afterwards that when it was 2-1 we didn’t panic, we didn’t lose our composure, we stayed calm, we played the game the right way, and allowed the game to unfold.”

The Admirals were able to take a first period lead thanks to the thirteenth goal of the season for Max Reinhart. The goal all started with a crafty bit of defensive work by Colton Sissons in neutral ice to start a rush into the attacking zone. Sissons left a puck behind him for a trailer to take a stab at and he would find that in the form of Reinhart. The Wolves lost sight of the puck after Sissons skated away and Reinhart took a slap shot first-time that ripped through Jared Nightingale, Scooter Vaughan, and the glove of Jordan Binnington.

In the second period Reinhart added his second goal of the night to make it a 2-0 Admirals lead. The Admirals managed to catch the Wolves in the midst of a sloppy change and a quick outlet pass through the neutral zone hit Reinhart down the right wing for a breakaway. Binnington sprawled low to take away the bottom of the net but he left room by his left toe – which is precisely where Reinhart would polished off the breakaway for his fourteenth goal of the season.

“I think I was cherry-picking a bit on that one,” smiled Max Reinhart. “But [Max Görtz] made an unbelievable pass. It was about a, I would say, about a 50 ft. pass and it landed about an inch behind the guy’s stick right on my tape. Pass like that you got to finish for him.”

The Wolves were finally able to solve Marek Mazanec late in the second period but it required a highlight reel effort from Zach O’Brien to get the job done. Vaughan chipped a backhanded pass from just in front of the Wolves bench to hit O’Brien in stride and the Wolves forward stickhandled Jimmy Oligny into a shot blocking squat, burned past him, forced Mazanec way up and out of the net to challenge him, and O’Brien stickhandled around Mazanec before reaching back towards the net to deposit the puck in for an amazing goal. The tally goes down as O’Brien’s seventh goal of the season.

In the opening five minutes of the third period the Admirals were in full-on attack mode. The Wolves were struggling to match the pace and the pace forced a turnover right in front of their own net that allowed Frédérick Gaudreau to score a gift of a goal for his thirteenth of the season.

The hats, and free shirts, would go flying after a power-play goal to complete the hat trick for Reinhart. The Admirals power-play setup ended with a one-timer by Cody Hodgson that trickled off Binnington. Reinhart was in the right place to quickly hop on the rebound where he would bank a shot off the back of Binnington and in for his third goal of the night and fifteenth of the season.

“[Max Reinhart] has been good,” commented Evason. “We think he’s been good since we flipped him to the wing – better than he’s been – and he’s been real real good all year. We’ve had different people called up at different times and he’s had to play a big role on our hockey club – certainly the first half of the season. He’s on the power-play, he kills penalties, he plays a hard game, an offensive game, and he’s sound. It’s not surprising that he’s had success.”

The hat trick for Reinhart was his second of the season. The last Admirals player to score two hat tricks in one season came last year when Viktor Stålberg accomplished the feat. It is the Admirals fourth hat trick of the season: Reinhart, 12/21/16 @ Rockford… Åberg, 1/16/16 @ San Antonio… Murphy, 2/5/16 @ Bakersfield… Gaudreau, 2/12/16 vs. Rockford… Reinhart, 2/26/16 vs. Chicago.

They talked about it a few times in the game but finally decided to uncork the rage and do the damage. Cody Bass and Jacob Doty let loose on what was a very fast but very high energy scrap that ended with Doty getting the better of the final exchanges. This would seemingly spill into more emotionally charged play as Trevor Murphy delivered a high hit on Jordan Caron as the two were about to battle on the forecheck. Caron went after Murphy with some sucker shots that drew the attention of Gaudreau who then proceeded to get some more Caron swats. Somehow, the end result of the second altercation was matching minors for Murphy (interference) and Caron (roughing).

With 39.6 seconds remaining in regulation Adam Payerl and Jared Nightingale decided to provide a teaser for tomorrow night’s game in Chicago – in theory. The fight they displayed ended quickly after a slip and a fall from Payerl with Nightingale landing on top of him. That would be the first and last time all evening the Wolves were on top of the Admirals.

Perhaps lost in Reinhart’s hat trick performance was a terrific and calm night in net for Mazanec. The Czech goaltender stopped 29/30 shots on goal en route to his sixteenth win of the season. Mazanec is now two-wins shy from matching his previous career high for wins in an AHL season. He had eighteen-wins in the 2013-14 season from thirty-one appearances and eighteen wins in the 2014-15 season from forty-eight appearances. Tonight was Mazanec’s thirtieth appearance and twenty-ninth start of the 2015-16 season.

“I think we played well,” said Frédérick Gaudreau. “Sixty-minutes from everybody. For sure, it is fun to play against those guys. It’s a good rivalry. It was a great game tonight.”

Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals last played on Wednesday the team recalled defenseman Garrett Noonan from their ECHL affiliate the Cincinnati Cyclones. The Nashville Predators also announced that they re-signed defenseman Anthony Bitetto to a new two-year contract this afternoon. Tonight’s line combinations were: Reinhart-Sissons-Görtz, Fiala-Hodgson-Åberg, White-Kamenev-Gaudreau, Payerl-Girard-Bass, Oligny-Elliott, Noonan-Aronson, Näkyvä –Murphy. Tonight’s scratches were: Patrick Mullen (right-hand laceration), Johan Alm (lower-body), and Jamie Devane (healthy). Tonight’s attendance was 9,852.

Thoughts and reactions on tonight’s game? Have you missed the Amtrak Rivalry or what? Was this a return to form for the Admirals?

Scouting February 26, 2016February 26, 2016

Wolves: Scouting the Enemy

Tonight and tomorrow the Amtrak Rivalry resumes after what has left like an ice age. When the Milwaukee Admirals and Chicago Wolves last played it was the end of December. That’s right. They’ve yet to buddy up and rival it out in 2016. That almost feels crazy to say -but- the Admirals will be seeing more than their share of the Wolves from here on out. Including tonight, the Admirals see the Wolves a total of seven-times from their last twenty-four games of the season.

In short, we’re all about to get to know one-another a lot better and remember that one-and-only reason to hate “Kickstart My Heart” by Mötley Crüe. [/joke made for the not casual Admirals fan]

~The Amtrak Rivals~

The Chicago Wolves enter tonight’s game with a record of 24-24-3-2 (53 points) Their 0.500 points percentage has them sitting in sixth place of the Central Division and twelfth place in the Western Conference standings.

To say that the Wolves season has been a disaster would be an understatement. The team has so much quality on it and features many players that were part of a playoff team a season ago or the year prior. This comes down to two simple realities: (1) the injuries that the St. Louis Blues have suffered throughout the season making for an inconsistent hodge podge of a lineup for their AHL affiliate and (2) players who are clearly under-performing.

When I think of the Wolves my mind shifts to Admiral Killers in net such as Jake Allen or his Admiral Killer successor Jordan Binnington. Allen? He’s doing his thing in the NHL now. Binnington? He is playing nowhere close to the high level he displayed a season ago and the goaltending battle between himself and Pheonix Copley has Binnington’s battery-mate up in the NHL while Brian Elliott sits out with injury. The goaltending has been a hot mess for the Wolves all season. Pair that with an erratic offense and you get the goal differential that the team has on the season: -19 (143 GF, 162 GA).

Let’s focus on Binnington for a moment though because I really think he drives home the struggles of the 2015-16 Wolves season. In his career against the Admirals, from when he turned pro to his first start made in the Amtrak Rivalry this season, he made 8 appearances (all starts) for a perfect 8-0-0-0 record while stopping 202/217 of the Admirals shots on goal for a 0.931 save percentage to go along with a 1.82 goals against average. Perhaps it’s surprising in that stretch he actually never recorded a shutout but, hey, he did rather well outside of that didn’t he? Since, Binnington has gone 0-2-0-1 against the Admirals stopping 78/88 for a 0.886 save percentage and a 3.31 goals against average.

Last season’s AHL stats for Binnington: 45 games played, 25-15-4-1 record, 0.916 save percentage, 2.35 goals against average, and 3 shutouts.

This season’s AHL stats for Binnington through 53 games played for the Wolves: 26 games played, 11-11-3-2 record, 0.900 save percentage, 2.95 goals against average, and a single shutout.

Call it a sophomore slump if you must but the regression in Binnington has been rough and it’s not helped the Wolves this season. When you compare the stability and reliability out of the Admirals tandem of Marek Mazanec and Juuse Saros this season you understand why the Admirals are where they are in the standings. They have a foundation from which to build every game upon because there is a confidence that the men in net can hold the fort. The Wolves this season? No confidence.

As this game approaches Binnington’s month of February reads 7 starts, 2-4-1-0 record, 0.891 save percentage, and a 3.49 goals against average. He has allowed 5 goals in both of his last two-starts in net. This team is ripe for the picking.

~The 2015-16 Amtrak Rivalry So Far~

So, what of the Amtrak Rivalry this season? It’s been so long that I nearly forgotten who did what at the start of the season – to be completely honest. Fret yet not, the Admirals have done very well this season against the Wolves:

10/10/15: Admirals lose 5-1 @ Chicago
11/18/15: Admirals win 5-3 vs. Chicago
12/5/15: Admirals win 3-2 (SO) @ Chicago
12/15/15: Admirals win 2-1 vs. Chicago
12/28/15: Admirals win 4-1 vs. Chicago

That’s correct. The Admirals have won four-straight in the Amtrak Rivalry. Should this trend last the weekend the Admirals would have six of the twelve wins in the fight for the Amtrak Trophy against the Wolves this season. That trophy could get handed to the Admirals as early as March 5th in Milwaukee on Colton Sissons bobblehead night (bobble bobble).

~Who What Now?~

The Wolves leading scorer this season is veteran and team captain Pat Cannone who leads in all major offensive categories on the team with 43 points (19 goals, 24 assists). He’s followed by Danny Kristo with 36 points (18 goals, 18 assists).

As far as the top scorer in this head-to-head goes this season it falls to defenseman André Benoît who has 7 points (0 goals, 7 assists) in 5 games against the Admirals. Benoît is among the AHL’s Top 20 Scoring Defensemen this season with 27 points (5 goals, 22 assists) in 49 games.

There will be at least one bruiser out of action for the Wolves tonight and he has only himself to blame for that. Cody Beach was suspended for both games this weekend against the Admirals after being assessed a match penalty against the Grand Rapids Griffins. The specific ruling was Match 21.1. What is that you ask? This:

21.1 Match Penalty – A match penalty involves the suspension of a player for the balance of the game and the offender shall be ordered to the dressing room immediately.

A player incurring a match penalty shall incur an automatic fine of two-hundred dollars ($200) and the case shall be investigated promptly by the President who shall have full power to impose such further penalty by way of suspension or fine on the penalized player or any other player involved in the altercation.

A match penalty shall be imposed on any player who deliberately attempts to injure an opponent in any manner.

In addition to the match penalty, the player shall be automatically suspended from further competition until the President has ruled on the issue. See also Rule 28 – Supplementary Discipline.

Well, golly. That sounds fun. There isn’t any video of the incident in question that I can find but I simply take this as the Wolves taking Kevin Fiala‘s school day game antics up to the AM start time – eleven. For everything else scrappy just keep your eyes glued to #28 Jacob Doty who has amassed 127 penalty minutes in 38 games this season.

What are your expectations for the Milwaukee Admirals after coming off of that disappointing loss to the Rockford IceHogs on Wednesday? Do you think that the Admirals seeing the Wolves twice, the way the Wolves are working a three-in-three weekend, might set themselves up nicely for a return to form?

News February 25, 2016

Garrett Noonan Summoned to Milwaukee

With Patrick Mullen expected to miss the next few weeks, following his scary incident in which a skate lacerated his right hand, the Milwaukee Admirals defense is looking for a bit of a boost. The man they’ll be turning to for an extra spark will be Garrett Noonan who has just been recalled from the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL.

Noonan was named the ECHL Player of the Week a week ago and has been doing a fantastic job for the Cyclones this season. Upon his recall, Noonan is the Cyclones top scoring defenseman this season with 31 points (7 goals, 24 assists) in 40 games. In February, Noonan has scored 14 points (4 goals, 10 assists) in 11 games. To be blunt about it – Noonan has really forced the Admirals hand, no pun intended Mullen, with how well his has played.

The way the Admirals defense has stuck together recently I anticipate this move will boil down to a choice between Noonan, Kristian Näkyvä, and Trevor Murphy will be battling for the third defensive line pairing.

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