Let’s take a gander at the Milwaukee Admirals recent three-game homestand, shall we? They defeated the Rockford IceHogs in a comeback thrill ride that ended 4-3 in overtime. They shutout the Iowa Wild in a slow and grinding game that ended in a 2-0 final. Then, last night, they took care of business in a similarly played contest to the one previous and earned a 3-0 shutout of the Charlotte Checkers.
These games haven’t been flashy. They haven’t featured a high powered offense that is blowing people away. They’ve been playing what I consider to be playoff style hockey and really digging in deep to yield great results. These last three-games have all physically demanding, high pressure, grinding, chess-match like defensive battles that have all come up with the same result: the Admirals win.
Since January 15th, when the last trade to bring in Elliott went down and Mullen made his Admirals debut, the team has held their opponents to an average of 24.0 shots on goal per game. They’ve only been outshot by their opposition once and have only allowed 30 shots on goal once. Both of those instances came when they beat Rockford in OT (2/12/16). They have twice held their opponents to less than 20 shots on goal: at San Antonio (1/15/16) and at Lake Erie (1/23/16). The penalty kill of the Admirals has gone a dominant 31/33 for a 0.939 penalty kill percentage.
In short, while what’s happening in the net has been outstanding what is happening in front of the net lately is even better. Both Mazanec and his pal Juuse Saros are doing great. They have been all season. When you adjust the way the Admirals defense operates with three left-shooting defensemen and three right-shooting defensemen it makes for quicker exits on defense and the goaltenders have been benefiting from limited attacking zone time as a result. The less shots you face the lesser the chances will be that a high quality scoring chance gets produced. The less high quality scoring chances that get produced, well, just look at the Admirals last two results because that’s essentially what happens. Get some quality from the forwards, as Matt White and Max Görtz were able to link up twice and do last night, and it’s a recipe for success. Defense – to offense. The Admirals are on fire with that formula right now.
~Chatterbox~
After the game, I joined Mr. Dave Boehler (he has a blog) to interview Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. We then chatted with Saros, White, and Görtz for their thoughts on the game. Here is what they had to say after the shutout of the Checkers all just moments before hitting up the bus and getting to Grand Rapids for tonight’s game.
Comments on the comments? How important was it for the Admirals to shift towards a clean split of three right shots and three left shots on defense? Will the Admirals be gassed for tonight’s game against the Griffins in Grand Rapids?
The Milwaukee Admirals recorded a 3-0 shutout against the Charlotte Checkers Tuesday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
Juuse Saros picked up his second shutout of the season by stopping all twenty-six shots on goal. This comes on the heels of Marek Mazanec’s twenty-three save shutout of the Iowa Wild on Sunday to make it back-to-back shutouts. That’s the first back-to-back shutouts from the Admirals since January 9-10, 2015 when Mazanec and Magnus Hellberg did the job. Like last season, the second of those two shutouts came against the Checkers.
After what could be considered a dud of a first period for both sides the game opened up in the second period and saw the Admirals notch the opener.
Matt White caught the Checkers in a bad change which put Max Görtz behind their defense. White’s pass hit Görtz in stride and the Swede’s shot powered through Checkers goaltender Drew MacIntyre. The puck squeaked through his gear but didn’t stray too far. Fortunately Görtz followed in to push the puck behind to record his tenth goal of the season.
The Görtz-White combo linked up once again for the Admirals second goal of the second period. The Checkers goaltending has had a rough go of things coming into tonight and this goal was an example of that. White fired a wrister from behind the cage that ricocheted off of MacIntyre’s shoulder and up into the top of the net. The goal for White was his seventh of the season.
The third period saw Juuse Saros hold the fort just long enough for the Admirals to take the empty net goal and seal things off. Kevin Fiala made a crafty move to avoid a stick check before wiring a wrister into the empty cage for his tenth goal of the season.
Saros made it back-to-back shutouts for the Admirals. His game was calm and consistent throughout the night and appeared to get better later into the game. In total he stopped twenty-six shots on goal to record his second shutout of the season. The Admirals now have six shutouts between their two goaltenders on the season.
Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals played on Sunday there were no roster moves made in the organization. Tonight’s line combinations were: White-Hodgson-Åberg, Reinhart-Sissons-Gaudreau, Fiala-Kamenev-Görtz, Devane-Girard-Payerl, Oligny-Elliott, Näkyvä-Mullen, Alm-Aronson. Tonight’s scratches were both healthy: Joe Pendenza and Trevor Murphy. Tonight’s attendance was 2,780. The Admirals bus for Grand Rapids officially left at 10:30 PM following the conclusion of the game.
What was your take from tonight’s game? While the Admirals offense hasn’t exactly been at its finest these last three games what can be said of their defense?
If you thought things have been going well for the Milwaukee Admirals since they re-tooled their defense you can’t help but see the following news and appreciate the depth within the organization. Today Garrett Noonan has been named the Sher-Wood Hockey ECHL Player of the Week for Feb. 8-14.
Cincinnati Cyclones’ defenseman Garrett Noonan is the Sher-Wood Hockey ECHL Player of the Week for Feb. 8-14.
Noonan scored two goals and added five assists for seven points last week as the Cyclones went 4-0-0.
The 25-year-old had a goal and an assist in a 4-1 win over Kalamazoo on Wednesday and in a 6-5 victory over Fort Wayne on Friday, picked up an assist in a 2-0 win over Evansville on Saturday and tallied two assists on Sunday in a 4-3 victory at Evansville.
A native of Norfolk, Mass., Noonan has 26 points (5g-21a) in 36 games with the Cyclones this season and he has added one assist in 14 games with Milwaukee of the American Hockey League.
Selected by the Nashville Predators in the fourth round (112th overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Noonan has 36 points (6g-30a) in 59 career games with Cincinnati and 10 points (4g-6a) in 54 career games with Milwaukee.
Prior to turning pro, Noonan tallied 81 points (30g-51a) in 144 career games at Boston University.
On behalf of Garrett Noonan, a case of pucks will be donated to a Cincinnati youth hockey organization by Sher-Wood Hockey, the exclusive puck supplier of the ECHL. Since beginning its sponsorship of the award in 2000-01, Sher-Wood Hockey has donated more than 33,000 pucks to youth hockey organizations in ECHL cities.
This season Noonan has logged 36 games for the Cyclones and is their top scoring defenseman with 26 points (5 goals, 21 assists). He has a plus/minus rating of +11, 43 penalty minutes, and is a 0.72 point per game player from the blueline. In the week that gave him this award he notched 7 points (2 goals, 5 assists) from 4 games.
Oh. Hey Charlotte. It’s been awhile. Hi. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
Yesterday in Chatterbox I made mention of the Charlotte Checkers dipping as opposed to the consistency of the Milwaukee Admirals. The Checkers were on an astonishingly good run from December 9th to January 23rd where they went 14-1-1-2 (31 points, 0.861 points percentage) over the course of 18 games. That’s lethal. But it isn’t the team that is rolling into Milwaukee tonight.
The Checkers have a record of 25-19-3-2 (55 points). Their 0.561 points percentage sees them in fifth place of the Central Division and seventh in the Western Conference standings. Since their win on January 23rd the Checkers have gone a dead cold 0-8-1-0 (1 point, 0.111 points percentage) over a span of 9 games. That includes four games against lower tier opposition such as the Iowa Wild and San Antonio Rampage. It’s bizarre but just another friendly reminder to not take the Admirals consistency for granted.
So what is the real issue that has plagued the Checkers lately? My eyes wander off to the net where inconsistency has been perhaps the biggest issue. In this winless streak for the Checkers their goaltending duo of Daniel Altshuller and Drew MacIntyre have stopped 231/263 of shots on goal for a 0.878 combined save percentage. In addition, the Checkers have pulled their starting goaltender three times over this span. How many times have the Admirals pull their starting goaltender this entire season? Not even once.
I feel where things all fell apart comes on the shoulders of the first-year pro, Altshuller. The 21-year old has already run the gauntlet of starting in the ECHL, blew up his name at the AHL level during that incredibly successful stretch for the Checkers, and had a quick cup of coffee getting an NHL recall -but not seeing action- with the Carolina Hurricanes.
When Altshuller arrived to the Checkers he started 11 games, won 9 games, had a 1.70 goals against average, 0.941 save percentage, and a shutout. No wonder the Checkers were so hot before, right? But what happens when that young netminder starts to hit a wall? He scrambles. What happens when a goaltender scrambles? Unless you’re name is Dominik Hasek usually nothing ever good. And that’s what has been going on.
The Checkers have continued to lean on a mightily struggling Altshuller hoping to see him regain his form when he hit the AHL scene. That hasn’t been working out for anyone. Since his last win he has lost seven-straight starts in net and has a 4.87 goals against average and 0.838 save percentage over his last eight games in net. Long story short, this whole “let the kid play through it” mentality isn’t working and it’s costing them games.
In front of their goaltenders the Checkers do offer plenty of attacking options and match-up nicely with the Admirals. The Checkers have nine players with 20+ points of offense including two at the 30+ point mark: Derek Ryan with 37 points (14 goals, 23 assists) and Trevor Carrick with 30 points (9 goals, 21 assists). Compare that to the Admirals who have eight players at the 20+ points mark and only one player at the 30+ points plateau: Frédérick Gaudreau with 31 points (12 goals, 19 assists).
If the Admirals last two games are anything to go by then they should be up to the task handling the offense of the Checkers. What will be a question mark is how the Checkers defensive game will play out and if they’ll be looking to avoid getting into a track meet with the speed of the Admirals. This game could be a goal fest for the Admirals if the Checkers aren’t careful but, just as easily, it could be a goal fest for everyone if the Admirals get trigger happy in a up-tempo paced game where their defensemen will look to hop up into the rush. As long as the Admirals stay smart, like they were against Iowa, the should avoid major mistakes and allow themselves the opportunities the Checkers will present them – because those chances will and should be presented tonight with a team spiraling out of control like the Checkers are right now.
UPDATE: As a means of hilarity the Carolina Hurricanes decided to negate my pre-game scout and recall goaltender Daniel Altshuller from the Charlotte Checkers. This meant the Checkers recalling Anthony Peters from their ECHL affiliate the Florida Everblades. And, no doubt, this should mean Drew MacIntyre starts in net tonight for the Checkers.
Expectations for tonight’s game? Will the Milwaukee Admirals find themselves in yet another defensive game?
Nashville Predators Assistant General Manager Paul Fenton presents Milwaukee Admirals head trainer Doug Agnew with a team autographed jersey from the Predators organization to commemorate Agnew’s 2,000 game behind an Admirals bench. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
The feature series Fifteen takes a completely different look into the Milwaukee Admirals today. Per reader suggestion I was tasked with interviewing long-time head athletic trainer of the Admirals Doug Agnew.
I’m not going to lie. This was a left field suggestion and a feature interview that drastically changes up the general run of questions I ask – because Dougie isn’t a hockey player he’s in the sports medicine side of the sport. That doesn’t mean he hasn’t seen his share of hockey though. Far from it. This is his twenty-seventh season with the Admirals and he hit the 2,000 games milestone two years ago and is still going. That’s a ton of hockey that has been viewed up close, injuries that have been attended to, and great stories to share.
That is precisely what I enjoyed so much about my chat with Dougie. There’s a lot of great stories to be told as well as someone who has seen the sports medicine industry evolve so much over his time with the Admirals organization. So much so, I feel this edition of Fifteen is another one of those interviews that is best suited to listen to rather than read. Kick back and let’s all get to know that mystery man on the bench that many probably only know for his amazing dance moves.
~Fifteen~
Fun Fact. Who was that interview bomb from at the end? Why, that cameo appearance came from none other than the Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason.
Thanks much to Doug Agnew for taking the time for this interview. Reminder, my list of players you great readers have suggested is almost completely exhausted. Please comment down below with more suggestions!
This is Marek Mazanec. He’s happy. And who can blame him? He has been brilliant for the Milwaukee Admirals this season. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
On paper, or really just the box score, the Milwaukee Admirals 2-0 shutout of the Iowa Wild sounds pretty good. Nothing outrageous in the scoring department but a controlling game of shutout hockey where the lesser team was put in its respective hole.
That of course wasn’t exactly how it played out. Not even close. That game was ugly – very ugly. Neither the Admirals or Wild could really string passes or solid attacks throughout the game. Both sides struggled to find any sort of a foothold from which to build their offense up and chip away with shots to the net. It was really a game of misguided passes or deflected passes. It was an all-around slop fest.
(Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
What is important to note though is one very simple fact. The Admirals didn’t commit a major mistake in the contest. For as rough as so many passes were throughout the night there weren’t botched transitions out of the Admirals defensive zone to allow for the Wild to grind out and create multiple chances. The team such together and forced pucks out of their zone. If it meant the cost of icing the puck? So be it. The Admirals appeared to win the better majority of their defensive zone face-offs on the night and, time-and-time again, get out of the jams that those should create. It allowed for a deep breath to be taken and a chance to re-establish their own base of attack. That clearly was a rough area for the Admirals on the night but all that was needed was a touch of quality that their forwards group possess to get the job done. Kevin Fiala provided it. And that was enough.
I still look at games that the Admirals have played this season against the bottom feeders of the Central Division and scratch my head a bit. What is it about the Admirals and lower tier opposition? The Admirals have gone 5-4-1-0 against the bottom two teams of their division. Of those five-wins two were one-goal contests that ended with overtime or a shootout. Last night could have just as easily ended at a 1-0 final. The Wild. The Manitoba Moose. They appear to bring out the worst of the Admirals and I’m not sure why that is.
(Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
Regardless of how tough teams like the Wild or Moose seem to match up – it is worth looking closer at the standings right now. The Admirals and Texas Stars both became the first teams in the Western Conference to reach the 30 wins mark on the season last night. The major difference to the two teams is it took the Stars seven extra games to accomplish it. The Admirals are 30-14-3-0 (63 points). They have won seven or their last nine games. This is all happening while teams like the Charlotte Checkers and Grand Rapids Griffins are suffering major setbacks in recent weeks. Through this entire season the Admirals consistency has been outstanding and it’s important to not overlook that. This Admirals roster featured a 100% healthy lineup this weekend for the first time since December 1st when there were so many roster moves within the system that Vinny Saponari was needed on PTO basis just to have a full forward group. To have secured the wins that the Admirals have throughout so much mayhem has been incredible when you remember back to the destruction levels that all began on this exact date last season when Brendan Leipsic was traded away and Miikka Salomäki was declared done for the rest of the season due to a second shoulder injury that required surgery. Times have changed for the better.
~Maz-tronomically Good~
Sure, last night’s game was a bit of a sleeper. Sure, it was sloppy. But, whenever he was needed for a save or a stoppage of play, Marek Mazanec was there for the Admirals. He stopped everything that Iowa threw at him and picked up yet another shutout this season. Mazanec now has 4 shutouts in 26 games this season. He had 4 shutouts from 48 games all last season and none as a rookie with the Admirals in 2013-14 when he appeared in 31 games. The evolution of Mazanec this season has been something of an eye-opener.
In year one, Mazanec actually spent a solid chunk of time helping out the Nashville Predators. He appeared in 25 games, had a 2.80 goals against average (GAA), 0.902 save percentage (SV%), and a pair of shutouts. His numbers, GAA and SV%, were both better with Milwaukee but he was never someone I would feel comfortable with in net. He allowed two or more goals per game for 24 straight games and didn’t really settle down in net until the final month of the season and the 2014 Calder Cup Playoffs.
The same sense of here-there-everywhere could be felt last season, too. Mazanec would go through stretches that would have you so excited, winning five-straight games, but follow it up by losing nine of his next eleven games. He’d win seven-straight games but follow it up with four-straight losses. He ended his season winning one of his last eleven starts. The numbers fluctuated so much but the one that stood out the most was seeing a 0.917 SV% as a rookie fall off to a sophomore 0.900 SV%.
Plenty of changes were made last off-season but I think one of the biggest ones came in the form of Juuse Saros‘ arrival to North America. Mazanec was suddenly placed in a role his old battery-mate Magnus Hellberg found himself in back when Mazanec arrived in 2013-14. The starting job isn’t a lock. People are talking about Goalie 1-A and 1-B but, mainly, people are riding the hype-train that is Saros – the supposed heir to Pekka Rinne‘s Nashville/Suomi Predators goaltending position.
(Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
The pressure of in-house competition was higher than ever before on Mazanec this season. The two years previous he was the one in the position of dethroning an elder. This season he is the elder with an expiring contract looking to (1) succeed in net when given the opportunity (2) beat out his teammate Saros to earn more playing time (3) earn a new contract with the Predators and possibly give them a more bang for your buck alternative to Carter Hutton. It is mid-February and Mazanec has proceeded to Phase 2. Phase 3 will be worked out when the season ends and made all the more interesting should both Mazanec and Hutton continue performing as well as they have been. Ironically, the better Hutton plays while Mazanec also plays well actually makes the case for Mazanec that much stronger when you think about Nashville wanting to limit the dollar amount attached to the back-up goaltending job.
This season Mazanec has made 26 appearances (all starts), has a record of 15-8-3-0 in net, a 2.32 GAA, 0.919 SV%, and 4 shutouts. With only three more wins he will have matched last season’s overall wins total of 18. He has been nothing short of brilliant.
~Chatterbox~
After last night’s game I had the chance to speak with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. I also spoke with Fiala and Mazanec. Those interviews took place with Dave Boehler and Colin Fitts on-hand. For one last interview I tackled the prospect of asking Max Reinhart about why he left the team for two weeks due to personal reasons as well as his general thoughts on the game and playing on the “Super Centers Line” with Colton Sissons and Frédérick Gaudreau. This is what everyone had to say following the conclusion of last night’s shutout win over Iowa.
Comments on the comments? With today marking the one-year anniversary of the Leipsic trade are you at all concerned that this Admirals team might see some names get dealt before the NHL Trade Deadline this season?
The Milwaukee Admirals shutout the Iowa Wild 2-0 Sunday evening at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
This game was a sloppy one but the Admirals, to their credit, avoided making major mistakes. The result of that was a smooth night in net for Marek Mazanec as he stopped all twenty-three shots on goal to earn his earn his fourth shutout of the season.
“He’s sure been good,” said Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason of Marek Mazanec’s recent form. “We [the coaching staff] just talked about it upstairs. We all felt, and I’m sure his teammates felt the same way, he was just real calm.”
It feels like it has been ages since there has been a fight to report in Admirals-land. That changed tonight after a massive check by Jimmy Oligny pasted Marc Hagel into the glass. Oligny was called for boarding but was quickly called to answer the bell by Rob Bordson. The two dropped the mitts and Oligny polished off yet another member of the Wild with solid overhand shots that knocked Bordson down to the ice. For instigating the tilt Bordson’s actions, while no doubt respected by his teammates, nullified Oligny’s boarding minor.
The game’s first goal wouldn’t come until past the midway point and until video replay confirmation. Kevin Fiala blazed around the net, left wing to right wing, on a wrap-around that appeared to beat Leland Irving to the punch. Fiala celebrated like he scored it yet play kept on going. After review it was clear that Fiala knew something the powers that be didn’t. Irving was beaten on the post-to-post save attempt and it counted as a good goal – Fiala’s ninth of the season.
“I saw the puck behind the line,” laughed Kevin Fiala of his wrap-around goal that wasn’t initially ruled a goal. “That’s why I celebrated. I was sure it was in the net.”
With their backs against the wall the Wild went empty net and extra attacker on with 1:54 remaining in regulation. The Admirals would cap off things from there with an empty net tally for Max Reinhart. The goal goes down as his twelfth goal of the season.
It wasn’t his busiest game of the season but Marek Mazanec did what he needed to do to earn his fourth shutout of the season. Mazanec stopped all twenty-three shots he faced and is now on par with Juuse Saros with fifteen wins this season.
“He was really good,” said Fiala of Mazanec’s performance. “Not just tonight. He’s been very good the whole season I think. Everybody in here is happy to have both goalies. They’re really good. They’re competing against each other. We like that.”
Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals played on Friday night there were no roster moves made. Of note, Jonathan Diaby did make his return to game-action for the Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL) after having missed the last month’s worth of hockey due to an upper-body injury. Tonight’s line combinations were: Reinhart-Sissons-Gaudreau, White-Hodgson-Åberg, Fiala-Kamenev-Görtz, Devane-Girard-Payerl, Alm-Aronson, Oligny-Elliott, Murphy-Mullen. Tonight’s scratches were both healthy: Joe Pendenza and Kristian Näkyvä. Tonight’s attendance was 14,075. It was the Milwaukee Admirals annual charity game and the team announced that they raised $28,108.00 tonight for the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.
Thoughts on tonight’s game? What is it about the Wild that seems to give the Admirals so much trouble? Is this the best Marek Mazanec has played since he joined the Admirals?
This photograph was taken on John Torchetti’s first game in charge of the Iowa Wild. He would go on to defeat the Milwaukee Admirals 3-2 in the BMO Harris Bradley Center. He has just been promoted to the Minnesota Wild and an interesting scenario has the chance to be replicated. Can a new head coach for the Wild defeat the Admirals in their own barn? (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
Yesterday there was some news that hit through the Minnesota Wild organization that rumbled through their farm system. Wild head coach Mike Yeo was fired following the team’s 4-2 loss against the Boston Bruins. It was the Wild’s eighth-consecutive loss had gone 3-12-4 over his final 19 games in charge. The Wild opted to look within their system and promoted Iowa Wild head coach John Torchetti as interim head coach of the NHL outfit.
Minnesota had already fired Yeo before puck drop in Iowa last night. As you might expect – that game wasn’t an easy one to coach for Torchetti. Yet, the Wild have been making really positive strides under Torchetti’s watch in the past month or so. Last night wasn’t any exception to that, either. The Wild squared off against the Grand Rapids Griffins and held them to a 3-3 scoreline until a late Joël Chouinard goal with 2:59 remaining in regulation gave the Griffins the 4-3 win in Iowa. Literally two-minutes after the game went final the Minnosta Wild announced Torchetti as the interim head coach. So, make that a regulation loss and loss of a head coach in that window.
Now that all has been cleared up top-side the focus comes right here this evening in Milwaukee. Who takes the reigns behind the bench for Iowa now that their head coach has been promoted less than twenty-four hours before a game? The man tasked with the interim coaching duties for Iowa will be David Cunniff – who has been promoted from his associate coaching duties with the team.
What is very interesting to note with this coaching scramble on Iowa’s side of things is that this isn’t the first time this has happened in recent memory. Just last season Kurt Kleinendorst was fired as the head coach of the Iowa Wild which prompted the arrival of Torchetti to the Wild organization. What was Torchetti’s first contest as newly appointed head coach of the Iowa Wild? A road game against the Milwaukee Admirals. The result? The Wild won 3-2.
Simply put: There is a chance for history to be replicated in another one of those win one for “The Gipper” type performances from Iowa. Let’s not do that.
~Oh, Yeah, The Rest of the Team~
The Iowa Wild enter tonight’s game with a record of 15-29-3-3 (36 points). Their 0.360 points percentage has then sitting in seventh place of the Central Division standings and fourteenth in the Western Conference standings. Who is that I spy underneath the Wild in both of those standings? The Manitoba Moose… state of your team, mate.
When looking at the Wild since Christmas they’ve actually strung together a not so bad record – for their norm anyways. Since Christmas they’ve gone 10-7-1-0 (21 points) over a spell of 18 games for a 0.583 points percentage. Now, that might seem shrug inducing to us Admirals folks but prior to Christmas the Wild were an appalling 5-22-2-3 (15 points) over the opening 32 games of the season for a 0.234 points percentage. So, when you see that the Wild have actually managed to leapfrog ANYONE in ANY standings it is a borderline miracle that the Wild have gone on the run that they have since Christmas.
~Who What Now?~
The Wild currently have five players at the 20+ points plateau with two deadlocked at 30 points: Zack Mitchell, 30 points (18 goals, 12 assists)… Grayson Downing, 30 points (14 goals, 16 assists)… Jordan Schroeder, 29 points (10 goals, 19 assists)… Christoph Bertschy, 28 points (10 goals, 18 assists)… Michael Keränen, 22 points (8 goals, 14 assists).
In goal for the Wild you will no longer see former Admirals netminder Jeremy Smith. “Why’s that,” you ask. Well, he was loaned to the Wild from the Boston Bruins organization at the start of the season. It looked as if Smith was going to be stationed in Iowa for the 2015-16 season the way things were going. At the start of the season in Milwaukee? He had a full range of Bruins goaltending gear including the mask. Last time we saw him in Milwaukee? He had paid up to get customized Wild goaltending pads, stick, and a mask. That all changed though after a scary situation for Providence Bruins goaltender Malcolm Subban that saw him fracture his larynx during warm-ups on February 6th. The younger brother of P.K. Subban is expected to miss up to two-months following successful surgery to repair his fractured larynx. That means a goaltending vacancy is open in Providence. That means Smith’s loan with Iowa is over as it is unclear how the recovery process for Subban will play out for the remaining 2015-16 season.
Smith’s stay with the Wild had to be an absolute joy or misery depending on how you look at it. On one hand, he went from being in the Boston Bruins organization to a dysfunctional and sloppily defending Iowa Wild team that was sure to keep him on his toes game after game. On the other hand, basically the exact same sentence that I just wrote.
The man that takes the net from Smith will come down to two options: the veteran Leland Irving or the first year pro Steven Michalek.
Irving has factored into more games in net than anyone for the Wild this season with 25 appearances. He has a record of 7-14-3-2, a 2.78 goals against average, 0.912 save percentage, and a shutout to his name.
Michalek, obligatory movie reference, has played in 4 games for the Wild this season and has excelled out of his stint with the Quad City Mallards of the ECHL where he started his debut season of professional hockey. Michalek has a 3-1-0-0 record, 2.02 goals against average, 0.945 save percentage, and a fight on his AHL debut no less! Hey, when Zach Boychuk is the one uploading your fight videos you know you made it in the game of hockey.
Of note, it was Michalek that started in net for the Wild in their loss last night to the Griffins. If you task a goalie with that high pressure of a game with that long of a bus ride and little sleep to play against an Admirals team that is coming off of a big comeback win with a 100% healthy roster… you’re either bonkers or hoping to bank on some brilliance. I expect to see Irving get the nod tonight. He’s only made one appearance, which was a start, against the Admirals so far this season. That was an overtime loss in which he stopped 32/35 shots on goal.
Expectations for this evening’s game? Do the Iowa Wild in a state of new voice behind the bench panic or thrive? Will the Milwaukee Admirals learn from Friday night and deliver a 60-minute hockey game?
EVERYONE MOB KEVIN FIALA. (Photo Credit: Stephanie Moebius)
The Milwaukee Admirals did not play their best game of the season last night. Not at all. They were caught up in a defensively grinding contest where sticks clogged up passing and shooting lanes and never really seemed to have much of a secure grip on the game.
It’s precisely that reason why I believe the Admirals 4-3 win in overtime over the Central Division leading Rockford IceHogs felt so sweet. The Admirals form wasn’t great but it was still able to get them across the finish line ahead of a team that has been performing so well such as the IceHogs. In a game that felt so much like a playoff style game from a defensive chess match perspective – the Admirals overcame a rough second period wave to come up with checkmate.
The goal that forced overtime for the Admirals could be considered puck. It could. But, I say otherwise. The IceHogs opted for much of the third period to sit back and defend. They started playing trap through the neutral zone and were holding on to their 3-2 lead with a death grip. They allowed the Admirals to bring wave upon wave of attack into their trap and defensive zone minefield. The Admirals kept pushing and finally forced a loose puck out in front of Michael Leighton that could be jammed home. From there? The open ice of three-on-three overtime eliminates the strength of the IceHogs which is their great defensive structure at five-on-five. The IceHogs have the strength. The Admirals have the speed. Speed kills in three-on-three overtime – as does intelligence.
Marko Dano was throwing a weak pass from the left point that Cody Hodgson was able to easily bat down. Dano’s mistake and Hodgson’s smart stick-work allowed for an odd man situation to develop in neutral ice. Kevin Fiala had Hodgson’s read on Dano’s pass and was off to the races with the interception by Hodgson which allowed him to beat Vinnie Hinostroza to the punch. Dano squares to the man who picked him up, Hodgson, but fails to assess -as a forward playing last man back on defense- that Fiala has cheated behind him for the breakaway. Hodgson’s dish is perfect. Fiala is in all alone. Waits for Leighton to sprawl out and give him an open net to elevate into – and he just gets the puck over the right pad to bury the IceHogs on what was their third mistake with the puck that directly lead to an Admirals goal.
The overtime win for the Admirals against the IceHogs didn’t change the divisional standings. The IceHogs remain in first place with a 0.670 points percentage from 47 games played. The Admirals are hot on their heels with a 0.663 points percentage from 46 games played. What is starting to look fantastic though is the head-to-head numbers this season. The Admirals are now 6-2-1-0 against the IceHogs this season. The Admirals have claimed 68.4% of the points available in the match up while limiting the IceHogs to 38.9% of the available points. The IceHogs have lost to the Admirals four times after regulation – last night was the first time this season where it was the Admirals that needed to get scrappy and score an equalizer to force overtime. The IceHogs have done well to claim some points from the nasty clutch of defeat but the majority of points in a head-to-head of the top two teams in the Central Division is going the Admirals way. As it stands, the IceHogs could find themselves in a position down the stretch where they’ll be needing outside help if put in a position where they’re chasing the Admirals. The season series only has three more games remaining. That includes two games in Rockford. If last night felt like it was a playoff teaser then we’re in for a treat come then because those are big points that could be the difference between winning this year’s Central Division or not.
~Mr. Everything~
If you thought that I would go through Chatterbox without breaking down Frédérick Gaudreau‘s first career pro hat trick – you’d be wrong. He needs and deserves his own segment of the Chatterbox. So, let’s plunge into it.
Gaudreau’s season through December was looking astonishing. It was the type of feel good story that makes me love covering life at the AHL level as much as I do. An undrafted free agent signing who flipped between the AHL and ECHL in his debut season that earned a second career AHL contract which would get bumped up by the Nashville Predators brass into an NHL two-year entry level contract. Heck, two days after that announcement came another one – he was going to represent the Admirals as an AHL All-Star in Syracuse. Then Colton Sissons was re-assigned by the Predators to the Admirals and, for whatever reason, the Gaudreau machine kind of hit a wall.
From the moment to Sissons return to the Admirals to the game prior to last night – Gaudreau had scored 7 points (0 goals, 7 assists) in 15 games. He went from playing Sissons role as a top line center to Sissons wing-man. Sissons in that same span? Also not hot. Sissons had gathered 6 points (3 goals, 3 assists) in 15 games. In that 15 game span the two were held pointless on the same night seven-times including a spell of six-straight games which came two games after Sissons return from Nashville. What happened to Gaudreau’s December mojo when he scored 12 points (4 goals, 8 assists) in 14 games?
I’ve had the feeling that it wasn’t so much the return of Sissons to the Admirals that impacted Gaudreau’s performance as much as it was his switch from center to the left wing. Kind of ironic in a way when last season saw the exact same scenario unfold for Austin Watson with such brilliant results. There is more freedom on the wing to be creative offensively and a little lighter defensive load when operating around the outside of the ice. What was it about the move to the wing that caused Gaudreau to sputter while Watson thrived? … That’s a legitimate question that I honestly don’t have a clever answer to. I believe the simplest guess for an answer would be that it all comes down to what’s going on between the ears and, with a player as defensively stout as Gaudreau can be, allowing yourself the ability to attack more and worry less about the heightened responsibilities that come with playing center. I would be surprised if at some point during the end of that 15 game span that someone didn’t out and tell Gaudreau, “You don’t have to worry about that work load down the middle of the ice – Sissons is already doing it. Handle your own assignment and be the playmaker that you already are when marching North.”
It just so happened that last night’s game for Gaudreau, a center playing on the wing, also happened to be the return of Max Reinhart after nearly two full weeks of hockey. So, what did the Admirals, with a now 100% fully fit squad, decide to do with him, Hodgson, and Vladislav Kamenev all coming back into the lineup after not having any of those players a weekend ago? Drop three centers all on the exact same line: Reinhart-Sissons-Gaudreau.
What were the results for all three of those lads? Reinhart, no points but a +3 rating in a 4-3 game… Sissons, one assist and a +3 rating in a 4-3 game… Gaudreau, scored a hat trick in regulation to force overtime and was a +3 in a 4-3 game. That line alone combined for 28% of the Admirals shots on goal last night. They were active. And, when I say active, I mean across the board. The first two goals scored of Gaudreau’s hat trick are prime examples of defense-to-offense: Gaudreau keeps an active stick, Nolan Valleau thinks he has a breakout pass, Gaudreau takes away the passing lane, keeps the puck in front of him to complete the intercept, squares to the net, scores a goal… Cameron Schilling, and the rest of his IceHogs forward group, thinks he’s going to carry the puck out of the defensive zone and make a play through neutral ice. WRONG. Sissons turns on those CCM Jetspeeds of his, back-checks Schilling, loops with Gaudreau.. who was watching the back-check by Sissons unfold from the slot to the blueline.. and the two-on-one gets buried with a nasty wrister that all came from heads up defensive awareness from both forwards.
So, what’s it all boil down to then? Gaudreau went on a stretch of 15 games without scoring a goal and then proceeds to score a hat trick. Is he streaky or just going through a slight lull coming off of what was for -everyone- on the Admirals a highly taxing month of December? My guess is just that. It was a lull in the scoring department. Just because the points and goals weren’t stacking up didn’t mean his overall play was bad during that stretch. It’s the balance between defending and attacking that Gaudreau seems to teeter between and, for at least last night, he did both brilliantly. That’s a great sign for the busy time ahead for the team.
On an ending fun note for Gaudreau… and that goal that forced overtime… and provided him with his first hat trick since 3/28/14 during the 2014 President’s Cup playoffs as a member of the Drummondville Voltigeurs when he scored 5 goals against the Victoriaville Tigres… I attended Admirals practice Thursday morning at the MSOE Kern Center. After formal practice ended a group of players stationed around Juuse Saros in net and proceeded to perform a reaction drill (photo). One shooter, placed in the slot, would fire a puck on target and the group would try to smack any sort of rebound off of Saros directly in. Look at Gaudreau’s hat trick goal one more time. Practice makes perfect. And, in this instance, practice made two points against the IceHogs.
~Chatterbox~
After the game, I had the chance to interview Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason with fellow media scrum-mates Dave Boehler and Mario Tirabassi. I then proceeded to get post-game comments from Gaudreau, Sissons, and Fiala. Here is what they all had to say following the comeback win over the IceHogs last night.
Comments on the comments? Should the Nashville Predators not sell the farm to buy the present at the trade deadline where do you see the Milwaukee Admirals team going this season as far as the playoffs are concerned? Which team within the Central Division scares you more: Rockford or Grand Rapids?
The Milwaukee Admirals won a 4-3 comeback thriller in overtime against the Rockford IceHogs Friday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
“We were lucky in this hockey game,” commented Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. “[The Rockford IceHogs] deserved better. We talked after the first period how their second periods are good – they completely outplayed us.”
With 1:03 remaining in regulation the Admirals trailed 3-2 but were able to force overtime when Frédérick Gaudreau buried his third goal of the game to complete his hat trick. The Admirals completed the comeback with a defensive play by Cody Hodgson that sent Kevin Fiala in for a breakaway. The nineteen year old Swiss native coolly finished off the chance to give the Ads an overtime win over the division leading IceHogs.
“We were fortunate we only gave up three,” said Evason. “And we were lucky again to get the goal to tie it. Three on three – you never know what happens. We didn’t like our game past the first period at all. We have to correct it for sure.”
The Admirals were able to get on the board first thanks to a poor turnover from the IceHogs in their own zone. Nolan Velleau was trying to hit a breakout pass from behind the net and Frédérick Gaudreau picked it off and set his sights on Michael Leighton. The Admirals All-Star snapped a wrister high glove side to record his tenth goal of the season and deny Leighton his chance to set the all-time AHL record for shutouts tonight.
In the second period the IceHogs scored twice in a span of 1:55 of ice time to take a 2-1 lead. After a wrap-around chance by Pontus Åberg went for naught the IceHogs counter rush came up trumps with a shot that rang bardown by captain Jake Dowell for his eighth goal of the season. This was followed by a puck scramble in front of Marek Mazanec that ended with Mark McNeill stepping in and smacking a shot off the right wing post and in for his eleventh goal of the season.
Following Jimmy Oligny’s third minor penalty of the game the IceHogs scored on the power-play to make it three-unanswered goals in the second period. Cameron Schilling was stationed on the left point when he unloaded on a slapshot that zipped through traffic and past Mazanec for his third goal of the season.
The Admirals were able to finally ring the bell by the end of the second period and did so with another great defensive play that ended with a goal for Gaudreau. This time it was a back-checking Colton Sissons that jarred a puck loose off of Schilling who then re-entered the zone, fluttered a backhanded pass to Gaudreau, and the All-Star did the rest. It was Gaudreau’s second goal of the game and eleventh of the season.
“It’s awesome,” said Colton Sissons of Gaudreau’s level of play tonight. “We had a little chat this morning that we haven’t really had much success playing together, unfortunately, when we should be pretty dominant. And we sure turned that around tonight. It’s fun to see him score goals and do well. I’m so happy for him.”
With time running down in regulation Mazanec hit the bench with 1:03 remaining in regulation. Just twenty seconds later and the Admirals equalized with, who else, Gaudreau to notch his first career professional hat trick. Gaudreau’s twelfth goal of the season forced overtime as the final forty-seven seconds of regulation rolled off.
“You can say that he worked his butt off,” smiled Evason when asked of his thoughts on Gaudreau’s hat trick. “Freddy Gaudreau, it don’t matter where you play him. You play him left wing, you play him on the power-play, penalty kill, maybe, if not, no big deal. He’ll just go out and play. He has such a great attitude and he just keeps plugging along.”
In overtime the Admirals made yet another bit of puck luck thanks to active stick work on defense. Cody Hodgson blocked off a point shot in three-on-three overtime that sparked a two-on-one with Kevin Fiala. Hodgson lofted a pass ahead for Fiala to race in on Leighton all alone and the teenager patiently and calmly waited out the veteran goaltender to beat him as he was down and out. The goal was Fiala’s eighth scored this season.
“Everybody loves those games,” said Frédérick Gaudreau of the playoff-like atmosphere against the IceHogs. “Especially Friday night, perfect scenario, against those guys. Good rivalry. I mean, the crowd was really good.”
Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals last played the only significant roster move came earlier today when defenseman Jonathan Diaby was reassigned to the Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL). During the week all inactives from last weekend participated in practice including Max Reinhart who had been missing in action for two weeks due to personal reasons. Tonight’s line combinations were: Fiala-Hodgson-Åberg, Reinhart-Sissons-Gaudreau, White-Kamenev-Görtz, Devane-Girard-Payerl, Alm-Aronson, Oligny-Elliott, Murphy-Mullen. Tonight’s scratches were both healthy: Joe Pendenza and Kristian Näkyvä. By being healthy scratched tonight Näkyvä missed his first game for the Admirals this season. Tonight’s attendance was 6,793.
Thoughts on tonight’s game? Did this feel like a teaser for playoff hockey? Was this a statement game? The Admirals have been burned in consecutive games allowing rapid fire goals – what’s the problem?
Admirals Roundtable 