Author: Daniel Lavender

Game Recaps January 3, 2016January 3, 2016

Not This Time; Admirals Lose 3-2 in OT

The Milwaukee Admirals lost 3-2 in overtime on the road against the Rockford IceHogs Sunday evening at the BMO Harris Bank Center.

This was the eighth meeting of the season between the Admirals and IceHogs and it would be the fourth time that overtime was required. For the first time this season it was the IceHogs winning not only in overtime against the Admirals but on home ice against the Admirals.

In the first period it actually felt like the third period the Admirals survived trickled into this evening’s first period. It took until 9:57 of the first period until Zac Larraza registered the Admirals first shot on goal. The game was all Rockford out the gate and that pressure would turn into a goal.

As Ville Pokka wound up for a shot from the left point both Vinny Hinostroza and Garret Ross were stationed in front of Marek Mazanec. The shot glanced off the stick of Hinostroza and trickled past the left pad of Mazanec and across for his fourth goal of the season.

Against the run of wave upon wave of attack by the IceHogs the first penalties of the game opened ice up for the Admirals to equalize in the first period. Kevin Fiala was called for crosschecking and Ryan Hartman was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty which put the game at four-on-four. Adam Payerl was able to generate an offensive zone turnover and whirled off a shot that beat Michael Leighton to score his sixth goal of the season. The first period ended with the IceHogs up 16-11 in shots on goal but with a 1-1 scoreline.

The second period was nearly identical in the sense that the IceHogs were rolling, picked up a goal, and then made a mistake that cost them their lead once more.

After a tripping call against Fiala the IceHogs scored from the power-play off of another net-front deflection. Pokka was once again the trigger man for the IceHogs with the initial shot. This time he was stationed out on the right wing circle when the ripped a wrister that deflected off of Pierre-Cédric Labrie and through Mazanec. The goal for Labrie was his eighth of the season.

The Admirals were put right back into the thick of the game after a poor sequence by Nolan Valleau allowed Matt White to get a step on him and then slashed the Admirals forward on a breakaway to force the officials to call for a penalty shot. White skated in centrally, faked a snap shot, and threw a low wrister just above the left pad of Leighton to score his fourth goal since joining the Admirals on PTO basis from the Manchester Monarchs (ECHL).

For the fourth time in eight games between these two teams this season overtime was required. In the overtime period IceHogs defenseman Pokka created a turnover from the Admirals attacking blueline and was off to the races on a breakaway. His initial shot rang iron and left Mazanec down and out. Following up for the rebound was Labrie who threw a forehand shot into the wide open net to win it in overtime through his second goal of the game and ninth of the season. Pokka recorded a primary assist on all three IceHogs goals.

Tip of the cap to Mazanec in net. He takes the tough luck loss tonight but he was incredible between the pipes for the Admirals. He stopped 35/38 shots on goal and is a massive reason as to why the Admirals at the very least can say they took a point from this contest. In a season built around points percentage thanks to the Californian based teams of the Pacific Division – that point earned still holds big value.

Ramblings: There were no roster moves made within the Nashville Predators organization overnight. As such, the exact same line combinations and scratches were implemented today for the Milwaukee Admirals. Lines: Fiala-Sissons-Gaudreau, Åberg-Reinhart-Payerl, White-Girard-Görtz, Devane-Pendenza-Larraza, Noonan-Oligny, Allen-Alm, Diaby-Näkyvä, Scratches: Cody Bass (upper-body), Vinny Saponari (healthy), Taylor Aronson (lower-body), Victor Bartley (undisclosed), and Trevor Murphy (upper-body). After the game, Milwaukee Admirals assistant coach Stan Drulia informed play-by-play announcer Aaron Sims that the Admirals players will be taking tomorrow off to rest up ahead of Tuesday night’s game against the Lake Erie Monsters.

Thoughts on tonight’s game? What was wrong with the Milwaukee Admirals tonight? Did the overly defensive approach from last night’s finish trickle into tonight or is this team just tired right now?

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Scouting January 3, 2016

IceHogs: Scouting the Enemy

This is Kevin Fiala. Kevin Fiala is good at shootouts. (Photo Credit: Rockford IceHogs // Flickr)

“Oh dear, it’s those dastardly Rockford IceHogs again. And they’re looking to spoil all the Milwaukee Admirals fun from last night. What ever shall we do?”

Fret ye not, fictitious Admirals fan that I just made up using a quote without an author attached. The Admirals and IceHogs are about to meet for the eighth time this season and it is the Admirals leading the season series with a record of 5-2-0-0 to this point.

Of note, three of the seven games played in this season series has gone past regulation and two of those three overtime games have required a shootout. The Admirals have come out on top in all of those circumstances including an overtime and shootout win on the road in Rockford.

Perhaps another note worth mentioning, considering this game is in Rockford, is that the Admirals have won all three games played in Rockford so far this season. For the IceHogs this game might be less to do with beating the Admirals to close the gap in the Central Division standings and more to do with just showing that the IceHogs can win on home ice against the Admirals. It’s an important game for them in both respects. With so few games left in the season series, five including today’s contest, the IceHogs are slowly putting themselves in a place where they will be needed outside help to slow the Admirals down should they let this head-to-head go bust. I’m expecting a playoff level intensity level from the IceHogs. The Admirals, coming off of a stressful third period survival style win last night, need to match that intensity and be smart with their details.

~Short & Sweet~

The IceHogs will be entering this game with a record of 19-9-2-3 (43 points) which sees them in second place of the Central Division. They trail the Admirals for the divisional lead by 0.039 percentage points.

In the last ten games the IceHogs have gone a very average 4-4-1-1 and are coming off of a 2-0 shutout loss on the road last night to the Chicago Wolves. Jordan Binnington stopped all 28 shots the IceHogs labeled at him and the IceHogs power-play went 0/5 on the night.

~Oh, Him. Great.~

Ryan Hartman served and completed his three-game suspension for his illegal check to the head of Trevor Murphy when these two teams last locked horns. I’m going out on a limb and saying that unlike last night’s Kevin Fiala versus Lake Erie Monsters scenario has a little more bad blood because someone impacted is still injured. The Admirals haven’t really shown a bad side about them in regards to proactively targeting individuals in-game. Perhaps the real thing to watch out for will be Hartman playing up the role he is known for and continuing his hard hitting in your face brand of hockey. Combine that with his history and that might let things boil over a touch.

~Leading The Oinking Oink Way~

The IceHogs currently have two players tied for the team lead in scoring, Jeremy Morin and Jake Dowell. Morin has scored 22 points (9 goals, 13 assists) in 28 games. Dowell has scored 22 points (7 goals, 15 assists) in 31 games.

Trailing those two, and actually leading the IceHogs in the goal scoring department is Mr. Hartman himself with 18 points (10 goals, 8 assists) in 28 games this season.

In net, the go-to choice is Michael Leighton for the IceHogs. He is fifth in the AHL for minutes played (1320:41) and has won 15 games from 23 appearances. Amusingly enough, it feels as if the preferred started for the IceHogs against the Admirals is his battery-mate Mark Visentin who has started four out of the seven games played in the match-up this season.

~Maz-tronomically Good~

While Juuse Saros was brilliant last night it should be Marek Mazanec getting the start later this afternoon. He has been unbelievable against the IceHogs this season: six starts, five wins, stopping 184/196 for a 0.939 save percentage and a 1.96 goals against average. That’s unreal when you remember the Admirals dropped a stinker on Mazanec’s doorstep which saw him concede 5 goals in a game. He’s been that good around that lone defeat to the IceHogs this season.

Expectations for this evening’s game? For how last night’s game ended with a rocky third period and how this one sets up with an IceHogs team looking to right some wrongs, are you concerned?

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Chatterbox January 3, 2016January 3, 2016

Chatterbox, Vol. 104

This team right now… (Photo Credit: Stephanie Moebius)

The Milwaukee Admirals 3-1 victory over the Lake Erie Monsters felt like a different kind of game and a different kind of win. What I mean by that is this. I think the Admirals stole one last night. And doesn’t that feel nice?

From the start of the second period the game shifted to a more rugged defensive battle after a first period felt more open, the offenses both were cycling and moving around well, and generated power-play goals. But what about that third period? The Admirals were holding on for dear life to a 2-1 lead in that period and were allowing shot after shot after quality shot after rebound chance after point shot after… you get it. The shots were 14-4 in favor of Lake Erie in the third period when there was 2:41 remaining in regulation. At 2:06 remaining they went empty net and extra attacker. With fourteen seconds remaining Jamie Devane scored into the empty net. And at the end of the game, for those last 2:41 of build up, pressure, and extra attacker hockey, the Monsters didn’t register a single shot on goal.

I suppose you can look at it two different ways. Either the Admirals stole one or the simply survived. Either choice selected results in the Admirals taking home another regulation win. They have 47 points through 34 games this season and have started to build a gap within their divisional race. Which brings me to the fun part. They can widen that gap over second place with a win on the road over the Rockford IceHogs later this afternoon. How lovely!

~Juusesaurus Rex~

Who is the Admirals number one goaltender right now? My answer: who cares? The production coming out of the net by Admirals goaltending has been the foundation of this outstanding run during all the injury woes and roster changes and we were all witness to another example of a netminder answering the bell big time.

Juuse Saros‘ game last night might not have been a shutout, such as the one he had earlier in the season against the Iowa Wild, but I challenge you to find a better game from him this season. He was every bit the reason why the Admirals won last night and he stopped everything thrown at him. It took an awful bounce off of Jimmy Oligny‘s trailing leg on what was meant to be a wing to wing pass by Ryan Craig to fool Saros in net and catch him by surprise. Take that bad bounce away and he probably gets the shutout outright over Lake Erie. For everything they rained down on net in the third period Saros was on point. He never looked flustered at all. He was calm. He was composed. And I feel as if that confidence spread into the Admirals defending as the period grinded to a close.

Here in Milwaukee, we’ve been so used to seeing some great goaltenders over the years and it’s high time we start acknowledging what is starting to unfold with Saros this season as an AHL rookie. Let me direct your attention to precisely what I’m getting at.

Pekka Rinne won 30 games in net from 51 appearances as an AHL rookie. Mark Dekanich won 15 games in net from 30 appearances as an AHL rookie. Chet Pickard won 14 games in net from 36 appearances as an AHL rookie. Jeremy Smith won 16 games in net from 28 appearances as an AHL rookie. Atte Engren won 8 games in net from 23 appearances as an AHL rookie. Magnus Hellberg won 22 games in net from 39 appearances as an AHL rookie. Marek Mazanec won 18 games in net from 31 appearances as an AHL rookie. Scott Darling won 13 games in net from 26 appearances as an AHL rookie.

Saros has won 14 games in net from 17 appearances as an AHL rookie. The Admirals haven’t even hit the official halfway point of the regular season. There are still 42 games to be played yet. What Saros is doing as a first year professional to North American hockey is incredible.

~That Other Swede~

Have you heard about this Viktor Arvidsson kid? Me too. Well, since he and his outrageous 1.21 points per game left Milwaukee for Nashville there was always going to be this void on offense that either one or more individuals were going to need to fill for the Admirals to be as well-rounded as they were with Arvidsson around.

Who was going to fill that void? If you answered first-year North American pro Max Görtz you would be correct. I had high hopes for what having Görtz in Milwaukee would be like this season. Knowing how rough some transitions can be from Europe to North America my bar was set for an average season with him slowly coming to grips with a faster more physically demanding league. His first two months sort of reflected that. This last month has been nothing short of staggering.

From the start of December to yesterday’s 2016 curtain jerker Görtz has scored 17 points (7 goals, 10 assists) from his last fourteen games. Where did Arvidsson’s damage come from goal scoring? On the left wing faceoff dot looking to one-time bomb a right-handed shooting slap shot. What role was Görtz handed on the Admirals power-play? Arvidsson’s. What has Görtz done? Scored 6 power-play goals from his 9 overall goals scored this season. Görtz on assuming Arvidsson’s role in general lately seems to be a case of Challenge Accepted.

~Injury Musings~

After the game, I had the chance to catch up with a few players that are currently banged up (either close to returning, coming off injury, or playing through injury). Those three guys were Trevor Murphy, Jonathan Diaby, and Félix Girard. All were in great spirits. All conversations weren’t recorded but just casual banter. And I’ll share with you some of what I now know.

Murphy, who we all know took an illegal check to the head from Ryan Hartman, told me that he has been doing very well. He also stated that he’ll be back to skating today. That’s a great first step for anyone dealing with a head injury. With bodies in camp for the time being it also means the Admirals can afford, as well they should, to go slow in Murphy’s recovery process as he can return to the team 100% refreshed. Hey, the last time they did that with him he scored a goal in four-straight games. Can’t hurt right?

That end line might have been unfortunate given the story Diaby told me last night. Because, there is no escaping it, this was a painful story to listen to. I didn’t know what happened to Diaby that sidelined him with the Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL) so I simply asked what happened. As it turns out, Diaby took a skate blade near his groin that cut deep enough into his leg that it was an inch away from cutting his femoral artery. He required initial surgery to patch it up and a secondary surgery to deal with an infection due to internal bleeding that was occurring due to the deep wound left by the skate blade. Take that knowledge and re-apply it to the game Diaby had last night and give that man a standing ovation ASAP.

Up next, it was almost like a literal line of players I kept running into with this, was Mr. Girard. If you remember the Admirals game on New Year’s Eve it was a scary one because it appeared that Girard took a wrist shot to the mouth during the second period. He left the ice in a panic and didn’t return to the game. He was suited up for game action last night but was so wearing a full cage to protect his face. Notice his face? That shot he took to the face caught him square on the cheekbone and his face is showing the effects of just that. Girard being the tough guy that he is simply laughed it off, played on, and told me it looks worse than it is. … I’ll believe him.

~Chatterbox~

Last night I spoke with Milwaukee Admirals head Dean Evason about not only the game but if he was able to catch Vladislav Kamenev‘s incredible game-tying and game-winning goals to push Russia into the Semi-Finals of the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championships (video highlights). I also chatted with last night’s top two stars, Görtz and Saros. Here is what they had to say following the 3-1 win over the Lake Erie Monsters.

Comments from the comments? What are you taking away from last night’s game? What do the Admirals need to do today in order to thwart the Rockford IceHogs?

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Game Recaps January 2, 2016January 3, 2016

Saros Shines; Admirals Outlast Monsters 3-1

The Milwaukee Admirals won 3-1 against the Lake Erie Monsters Saturday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

This game was another tale of the Admirals ability to adapt to different game situations and succeed as a team. The first period was open with great power-play work. The rest of the game tightened up with the Monsters getting better and better as time went on. Juuse Saros and the Admirals defense stayed tight to keep the Monsters to their lone tally on the night and claim their eight win from their last ten games.

“You just have to watch the third period,” commented Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason when discussing Juuse Saros’ performance in net. “We were hemmed in our zone basically the whole third period and he was huge, smother pucks, calm, made big saves when he had too, just very intelligent freezes, and gave us a chance in the end to get us to the empty net [goal].”

Tonight’s first period was all about power-play goals. The Admirals and Monsters combined for three in the opening frame to end at a 2-1 Admirals advantage.

The Max Görtz Show officially began six-minutes into the first period. Some slow and patient puck movement from the Admirals eventually lead to the breakthrough they were looking for. Kristian Näkyvä passed from the point to Kevin Fiala who was set up on the high right wing faceoff circle before snapping a low wrister that Joonas Korpisalo kicked off his pads into the left wing. Görtz was all alone for the rebound and smacked it over the top of the sprawling goaltender for his eighth goal of the season.

It would be too long before Görtz scored again on the power-play to record his ninth goal of the season and give the Admirals a 2-0 lead. This Admirals power-play was far less patient and calm than the initial chance. Instead, it was absolute chaos. Frédérick Gaudreau ripped a hard wrister from the right wing circle – Korpisalo made the save but pushed the puck in-line with the net front presence of Colton Sissons and he nearly tallied from the rebound. Then Görtz wired a shot hard off the left wing post and out. Thankfully, things settled, and Görtz would label a wrist shot top shelf blocker side of Korpisalo for his second power-play goal of the first period.

“Görtz has a world class shot,” smiled Evason. “He gets a little bit of space and he can find wholes.”

As noted, the first period power-play goals did include one for the Monsters. While the net result was a puck in the back of the net – it wasn’t a shot on goal. Ryan Craig was setup low in the left of the trapezoid and was attempting to pass opposite wing. His pass banked off of the sliding trail leg of Jimmy Oligny and underneath Juuse Saros to award the Monsters team captain with his seventh goal of the season.

As they game pushed forward the tempo altered. The second period was far more tightly defended and space to shoot forced long range chances. This barreled over into the third period with the exception of one thing: the Monsters were all over the Admirals.

In the third period the Monsters outshot the Admirals 14-6. As time was expiring, Jamie Devane put away an empty netter to record his third goal of the season and make it a 3-1 Admirals lead. For the wave upon wave of pressure the Monsters poured on in the third period, the young Finnish netminder was tremendous. Saros stopped 32/33 shots on goal to earn his twelfth win from thirteen games.

“Fun is a good word,” laughed Juuse Saros when asked how to describe the third period. “It’s always nice to have a lot of shots. You don’t have to think a lot. You just play there.”

Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals last played they recalled defenseman Jonathan Diaby from the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL. In 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship news, Russian team captain Vladislav Kamenev scored the game-tying goal with the empty net and extra attacker on followed up with the game-winning goal in overtime to see Russia beat Denmark 4-3 and advance to the Semi-Finals where they’ll face USA on Monday. The winner will advance to the Gold Medal game and the loser will play in the Bronze Medal game on Tuesday. Tonight’s line combinations for the Admirals were: Fiala-Sissons-Gaudreau, Åberg-Reinhart-Payerl, White-Girard-Görtz, Devane-Pendenza-Larraza, Noonan-Oligny, Allen-Alm, Diaby-Näkyvä. Tonight’s scratches were: Cody Bass (upper-body), Vinny Saponari (healthy), Taylor Aronson (lower-body), Victor Bartley (undisclosed), and Trevor Murphy (upper-body).

Thoughts on tonight’s game? How impressive has the Milwaukee Admirals special teams, power-play and penalty kill, been lately? How did Jonathan Diaby look in his return to the AHL?

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News January 2, 2016

Dean Evason to Coach in 2016 AHL All-Star Classic

This is Dean Evason’s happy face. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)

Knowing how strange this year’s 2016 AHL All-Star Classic might be with a new format it was curious how players would get nominated to go or if the Milwaukee Admirals were going to have any representation. As it turns out they already have a representative and have it in the form of head coach Dean Evason.

Press Release via Milwaukee Admirals:

Milwaukee, WI–The American Hockey League announced today that the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Toronto Marlies, Milwaukee Admirals and Ontario Reign have clinched the right to be represented by their coaches at the 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Classic, to be held Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 in Syracuse, N.Y.

This year’s All-Stars will be divided into four teams, one representing each of the league’s four divisions, for the 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Challenge on the evening of Feb. 1. Instead of a traditional 60-minute game, the teams will play a round-robin tournament featuring six games of nine minutes each; the first half of each game will be played at 4-on-4, and the second half at 3-on-3. The two teams with the best records at the end of the round-robin tournament will face off for the championship, a six-minute game played at 3-on-3.

The 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Jan. 31 will keep its traditional format, with All-Stars from the Eastern Conference squaring off against All-Stars from the Western Conference in seven skills events.

The Penguins, Marlies, Admirals and Reign all owned the best record in their respective divisions as of the pre-determined deadline – the end of play on Dec. 31.

Evason, 51, has Milwaukee in first place with a mark of 22-10-1-0 (.682) and will guide the Central Division All-Stars. He is in his fourth year as the team’s bench boss and has accumulated a 135-90-36 mark, the fourth most wins in team history. He spent seven seasons as an assistant with the Washington Capitals, and played 803 games during his NHL career with Washington, Hartford, San Jose, Dallas and Calgary. The last Admirals head coach to work an All-Star game was Claude Noel back in 2005.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton will be represented by associate head coach and Syracuse native Jay Leach, who will coach the Atlantic Division All-Star team. Leach began the season as the Penguins’ assistant coach before being named interim head coach upon Mike Sullivan’s promotion to Pittsburgh on Dec. 12; he was appointed associate head coach when Clark Donatelli was named head coach on Dec. 22. With the 36-year-old Leach on the staff, the Penguins have posted a record of 21-8-0-1 (.717) and rank third in the AHL in both offense and defense.

Toronto’s Sheldon Keefe will coach the North Division team as the Marlies currently sport the AHL’s best record at 25-7-2-0 (.765), including a remarkable 15-2-1-0 mark on the road. Keefe, the youngest head coach in the league at 35, is in his first season in the AHL after three years guiding Sault Ste. Marie in the Ontario Hockey League.

The reigning winner of the Louis A.R. Pieri Award as the AHL’s coach of the year, Mike Stothers has led Ontario to a 17-6-2-1 mark (.712) after winning the Calder Cup championship with Manchester last season. The 53-year-old Stothers will lead the Pacific Division All-Star team in his second consecutive All-Star coaching appearance and fourth overall; he was an assistant coach at the 1998 and 1999 events.

Playing rosters will be announced in the coming week.

Tickets for the two-day 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Classic are on sale now. Ticket prices range from $40-60 and can be purchased either in person at the Syracuse Crunch office located in the War Memorial Arena at 800 South State Street in Syracuse, by calling (315) 473-4444 or through all Ticketmaster outlets.

The 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Classic in Syracuse will feature the top young talent in the American Hockey League: Of the 679 players to take part in the AHL All-Star Classic since 1995, more than 93 percent have competed in the National Hockey League, including Patrice Bergeron, Ben Bishop, Troy Brouwer, Ryan Callahan, Zdeno Chara, Logan Couture, Jiri Hudler, Tyler Johnson, Chris Kunitz, Ryan Miller, Gustav Nyquist, Zach Parise, Tuukka Rask, Pekka Rinne, Bobby Ryan, Cory Schneider, Patrick Sharp, Jason Spezza, Eric Staal, P.K. Subban and Mats Zuccarello.

In operation since 1936 and celebrating its 80th-anniversary season in 2015-16, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 88 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and for the 14th year in a row, more than 6 million fans attended AHL games across North America in 2014-15.

So, “how did this come about,” you asked. At the turn of the calendar the AHL tabbed the current division leading teams’ head coaches for All-Star honors that will see them coach their respective divisional All-Star teams.

The Milwaukee Admirals ended the 2015 side of the calendar with a record of 22-10-1-0 (45 points). Their 0.682 points percentage betters the trailing Rockford IceHogs by a margin of one-hundredth of a percentage point. As such, that’s enough to have Evason carry the Admirals banner into Syracuse at the end of the month. Now we all get to sit tight and see if he gets to have a player of his tag along with him.

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Scouting January 2, 2016

Monsters: Scouting the Enemy

It has been quite some time since the Milwaukee Admirals and Lake Erie Monsters have clashed. The two met for the first two meetings of the season in early November, both games taking place in Milwaukee, and they’ve not met up again until tonight.

Want a perfect teaser as to what we’ll be getting to see tonight? Let’s venture back to when we last left off in the season series back on 11/11/15. It was the Admirals Inaugural School Day Game, with a 10:30 AM start time, and ended with a 6-3 Admirals win and Kevin Fiala taking a late game misconduct major for flipping off the Monsters bench. …and that shall set the tone for the evening.

Of note, the Monsters entered the last game against the Admirals as the second best team in the Central Division. They now find themselves in fourth place with a record of 17-10-2-2 (38 points) with a 0.613 points percentage. The two teams to have zipped past them during that time are the Grand Rapids Griffins and the Admirals. Though, small measure of revenge, the Monsters were the team to end the Griffins franchise record fifteen game winning streak. The only other team to have taken down the Griffins in their last eighteen games just so happens to be the Admirals.

Extra Recapping: the Admirals have won both games against the Monsters in regulation… the Admirals have outscored the Monsters, 9-4… the leading point getters in the head-to-head haven’t even scored goals as both Vladislav Kamenev and Adam Payerl have 3 assists… the Admirals power-play is 20.0% (2/10) against the Monsters and, while that sounds bad, that’s only because of the 1/8 that occurred during the AM game… the Admirals penalty kill has gone 66.7% (6/9) against the Monsters… both Max Reinhart and Pontus Åberg have 2 goals in the season match-up… Juuse Saros has started in net for both games against the Monsters and stopped 55/59 shots on goal for a 0.932 save percentage and 2.00 goals against average.

Random Fact: the Lake Erie Monsters are the only team in the AHL with a points percentage of 0.600 or better and to not have more goals forced than goals against. They are currently an even split with 83 goals forced and 83 goals against.

The Monsters leading scorer this season is currently center T.J. Tynan who has produced 21 points (2 goals, 19 assists) in 31 games. Mind you, they do have Kerby Rychel in camp and he has a better points per game average (0.94) than Tynan (0.68). The main goal scoring threats come from wingers Daniel Zaar (9 goals) and Josh Anderson (8 goals) who are first and second for the Monsters in that category.

In net, we might get a chance to see the Admirals and their ECHL affiliate, the Cincinnati Cyclones, have a clashing of the heads so to speak. The Monsters have once again signed goaltender Brad Thiessen to a PTO contract as it appears Joonas Korpisalo is either out due to injury or out due to form lately. The urge for me to bring Thiessen on Chatterbox will be up there just so I can ask about my favorite photo to come out of Cincinnati this season. …I digress.

It’s more than likely that the Admirals will be facing Anton Forsberg in net for the Monsters. This season he has made 21 appearances in net for a 12-6-2-0 record which has garnered a 2.60 goals against average and 0.900 save percentage. Against the Admirals, Forsberg has started both games while stopping 28/33 shots on goal for a 3.78 goals against average and 0.848 save percentage. He was pulled from the net after allowing three goals in the first period in the last game against the Admirals.

Expectations for tonight’s game? Do you feel there will be any attempts by the Lake Erie Monsters to target Kevin Fiala after what transpired in the previous game? Could the Admirals be planning on dressing seven defensemen and using yesterday’s recall, Jonathan Diaby, as a deterrent against such proceedings by Lake Erie against Fiala?

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News January 1, 2016

Jonathan Diaby Reassigned to Milwaukee

I spoke a good deal about how many injuries there have been with the Milwaukee Admirals in my “Admiral of the Month” Award for December. I also brought up one of the tightest knit groups in the locker room, the French Fries. Combine those two and you get today’s news story that the Admirals have recalled defenseman Jonathan Diaby from the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL.

The man who coined the group name, who I simply call The Big Fry, has had a rough 2015-16 season to date. He began the year off as the poster boy for the new Admirals logo and uniforms, played two games in the AHL, looked all sorts of lost on the ice, and was sent packing to the ECHL where he would miss a good amount of game time due to injury. He has played 17 games for the Cyclones, has an assist, a plus/minus rating of +1, and 11 penalty minutes.

The reason behind this call up is perhaps the more troubling detail to this news, sadly. Taylor Aronson is expected to be out for around a month due to a lower-body injury. Trevor Murphy was the recipient of an illegal check to the head by Ryan Hartman of the Rockford IceHogs which gave him what can most specifically be detailed as an upper-body injury. Johan Alm had missed upwards of eight-games due to a lower-body injury not too long ago. So, the mystery right now becomes which member of the defense is hurt now? There were plenty of blocked shots and heavy plays made in the previous two games against the Grand Rapids Griffins but nothing severe enough that screams to one key player that it might be. Regardless, the Admirals look to be short yet another player and this time it means calling up Diaby who himself is only two ECHL games back from an injury of his own.

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Feature January 1, 2016

Admiral of the Month: December

In the month of December the Milwaukee Admirals experienced some serious adversity in the form of injuries and roster moves. In total, the Admirals experienced seven different injuries in the month. If that’s not bad enough November standouts for the Admirals, Viktor Arvidsson and Colton Sissons, were recalled by the Nashville Predators as they themselves were feeling the sting injuries. Sissons only just returned this past week to the Admirals. Arvidsson is doing so well it’s questionable if he ever returns to the AHL this season.

What all those struggles meant wasn’t just utilizing roster depth from the Admirals ECHL affiliate the Cincinnati Cyclones because they too were bit hard with the injury bug. Eric Robinson might be done for the season with a knee injury. Jaynen Rissling has been dinged up during his transition from defenseman to forward. Jonathan Diaby has missed a chunk of time due to injury and has only recently been activated by the Cyclones to return to the ice. That left Joe Pendenza and Garrett Noonan as options for recall. But that still wasn’t enough.

The Admirals needed to dip into their rolodex to find familiar names that could be inserted into the lineup from the ECHL immidiately. Zach Budish and Vinny Saponari were added. Then the Admirals took a new approach and brought in a duo from the Manchester Monarchs (ECHL), Matt White and Zac Larraza.

Through all this chaos, which is by far and away more gruesome than the roster turnover that appeared to cripple the Admirals last season and never heal properly, you’d imagine the Admirals month of December was abysmal. It wasn’t.

In December the Admirals played 14 games and ended the month with a 9-5-0-0 record that now sees them sitting in first place of the Central Division and in second place of the Western Conference standings. To be concise. The Admirals overcame adversity big time.

It’s funny to bring all this up because my “Admiral of the Month” Award is an individualistic nod. The reality is that this month had far more to do with a group of individuals, no matter who they were or where they came from, playing as a team – and a darn solid one at that. So, while I only divvy up the distinction to one player – make no mistake about it – everyone went above and beyond in December to put the Admirals in the great position they’re in despite all the bad luck on the injury front throughout the organization.

So, who to choose from then? There have been many outstanding performers in December: both Juuse Saros and Marek Mazanec in net have played insane and ended the month with a combined 2.35 goals against average and 0.923 save percentage. Frédérick Gaudreau, in a time when the Admirals needed someone to pick them up offensively, was Mr. Everything. Max Görtz exploded offensively and lead the team in scoring during the month with 15 points (5 goals, 10 assists). Kevin Fiala came to life and scored 12 points (5 goals, 7 assists) in 14 games after having only scored 6 points (1 goal, 5 assists) from the previous 15 games. Félix Girard played high energy hockey not only game after game but shift after shift providing the Admirals a shutdown forward during a spell when Cody Bass missed the entire month due to an upper-body injury. Both Taylor Aronson and Jimmy Oligny were so outstanding to watch defensively the entire month and made countless contributions that won’t get recognized on a stat sheet. I could keep going on and on.

Choosing from that pack is immensely difficult for me. But I keep coming back to a player that after each game I found myself blown away by his progression from last season to this season and his ability to have stepped up into such a massive role for the Admirals when it was desperately needed. That man is one of the French Fries. That man is Gaudreau.

When you think back to last season about Gaudreau I have to imagine you, like myself, have a very foggy memory about the type of player that he was. He could rotate from center to the wing. Tended to play more on the wing. But was often a rotation player in a different sense as in the fact that he wasn’t a guy playing every single game for the Admirals. He ended up playing 43 games for the Admirals last season and 14 for the Cyclones in the ECHL. That’s a lot of healthy scratch action. And, gasp, on the season opener for 2015-16 in Chicago he was a healthy scratch again. It would be the last time he’d be healthy scratched so far this season.

Gaudreau eventually got going as the Admirals fourth line winger paired with fellow member of the French Fries, and penalty killing partner, Girard. Jump to the month of December and seeing the name “Gaudreau” penciled in as the first choice center night after night as well as being a key part and contributor to the Admirals top power-play group. This is where your jaw was supposed to have dropped.

In December, Gaudreau scored 12 points (4 goals, 8 assists) while effectively assuming the role that Sissons had vacated here in Milwaukee when the team captain had been recalled to Nashville. It’s one thing to be presented an opportunity to succeed in an expansive role. It’s another thing entirely to actually go out and do it. Gaudreau went out in December, with a battered and stretched thin Admirals roster, and played his way to the top of the Admirals team scoring list this season all while working multiple roles exceptionally well.

Gaudreau always been a solid penalty killer. But to see his work rate and vision on the power-play has shown what a dynamic player he really can be. This past month he scored 8 points (3 goals, 5 assists) on the power play alone. 3/5 of those power-play assists were primary assists. And, for a laugh with more special teams stats, he also had a primary assist on a shorthanded goal for Girard. He was everywhere. He was sharp. He was the heart and soul of the Admirals forward group at a time when they needed a boost. And that’s why, above so many other great performers, Gaudreau is my Admiral of the Month for December.

~Admiral of the Month Award~

October: Félix Girard
November: Viktor Arvidsson
December: Frédérick Gaudreau

Who do you feel was the Milwaukee Admirals top performer during the month of December? Was it Frédérick Gaudreau, Marek Mazanec, Max Görtz, Kevin Fiala, Juuse Saros, Félix Girard, Jimmy Oligny, or someone else? Answer in the comment section below.

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Game Recaps December 31, 2015December 31, 2015

Blanked; Admirals End 2015 With A 3-0 Shutout Defeat

The Milwaukee Admirals were shutout 3-0 on the road against the Grand Rapids Griffins Thursday night at the Van Andel Arena. The loss for the Admirals ends what was a five-game winning streak and the shutout ends Max Görtz six-game points streak.

Jared Coreau’s dominance of the Admirals continued once again tonight in Grand Rapids. If not before then this is officially the night he has earned Admirals Killer status. In his career against the Admirals Coreau has made eight appearances, seven starts, gone 6-1-0-0 stopping 172/179 shots for a 0.961 save percentage and 0.87 goals against average. Tonight was the third time in his career that he has shutout the Admirals.

This sloppy choppy game wouldn’t see a breakthrough in the goal scoring department until midway through the second period. Anthony Mantha was fighting through Victor Bartley for position off the right wing pocket as the Griffins forward threw a puck up into the slot. Mark Zengerle received the pass from Mantha and was able to spin off a backhand pass for the on-rushing Eric Tangradi who took the feed first-time to beat Marek Mazanec for his fourteenth goal of the season. Tangradi has scored points in nine of his last ten games for the Griffins.

In the third period, the Griffins caught the Admirals defensemen over-committing to the same spot on the ice and capitalized from the confusion to pick up a two-goal cushion. Jimmy Oligny left the front of the net to get the puck carrier Louis-Marc Aubry before he could wrap-around a shot or get a pass centered into the slot. The problem is that Conor Allen was already chasing him so if Oligny doesn’t stop the puck from getting past him the front of the net was wide open. Oligny didn’t get there. Colton Sissons could make the recovery read as Jeff Hoggan went into the wide open goal mouth area and scored from Aubry’s pass for his fourth goal of the season.

The game spiraled down to the final four minutes of regulation when the Admirals were given a power-play chance to create a miraculous comeback. The net was emptied but the Admirals theme of shooting pucks over the top of the net kept persisting. In the end, Aubry would score an empty net goal with what would literally be a walk off tally as the goal was counted but no-one opted to see how much clock was left for a follow-up faceoff. Aubry’s fourth goal of the season made this one end in a 3-0 final.

Give a small tip of the cap to Mazanec in net for the Admirals tonight. Once again, he played outstanding and –in these last two games against the Griffins– has stopped 63/65 shots on goal. The only thing missing for Mazanec tonight was the goal support. Sadly, the defense of the Griffins made for Admirals puck movement to be a tough enough task alone – much less shooting on Coreau down at the opposite end from Mazanec.

Ramblings: Once again, there were no roster moves made within the Nashville Predators organization since the last time the Milwaukee Admirals took to the ice. Tonight’s line combinations were: Fiala-Sissons-Gaudreau, White-Reinhard-Payerl, Larraza-Girard-Görtz, Devane-Pendenza-Saponari, Näkyvä-Alm, Allen-Oligny, Noonan-Bartley. Tonight’s scratches were: Pontus Åberg (undisclosed injury), Cody Bass (upper-body), Trevor Murphy (upper-body), and Taylor Aronson (lower-body). Vladislav Kamenev didn’t score a point today but Russia won 2-1 over Slovakia to remain unbeaten at 2016 IIHF World Junior Championships. Five minutes into the first period, Frédérick Gaudreau took a solid open ice check from Eric Tangradi in neutral ice. He wouldn’t return in the game until midway through the second period. Later in the second period Félix Girard, set up in front of Marek Mazanec defending, took a wrist shot to the mouth. He did not return to the game.

Thoughts on tonight’s game? Is this the sort of effort that brings the Milwaukee Admirals back down to Earth to expose weaknesses in the team or can the Griffins defense simply be given credit for dictating the game?

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Chatterbox December 30, 2015

Chatterbox, Vol. 103

When I woke up yesterday and gave a good thought about the Milwaukee Admirals clashing with the Grand Rapids Griffins the only thing I wanted to see was a win. It didn’t matter how ugly. It didn’t matter if they blew a lead and won in overtime or a shootout. It just mattered that the Admirals find a way to beat the Griffins for both confidence sake and to send a message back towards Grand Rapids that this isn’t a free pass of a head-to-head this season.

Monday night, the Admirals -as I put it- out Wolves’d the Wolves. They played a very physically demanding game, weren’t shy to get under players skin, but played a veteran type of performance that kept a reliable and steady hand on the scoreline to get a regulation win.

Last night, who would have called the Admirals to have out Griffins’d the Griffins?

The Griffins in the first two meetings this season should have skated off the ice, both times, with shutout wins. They throttled the Admirals and left them with next to no hope of scoring chances. The Griffins defense was tight. They blocked shots. The forced bad shots that were either too far away or allowed for easy access of puck sight-lines for Jared Coreau to read the shot or set up passes. Through all of that, their defensive work rate is what established offensive counters, dominant puck control deep in attacking territory to grind out the defense and create penalties and power-play chances, and scored timely goals to earn a lead – cushion a lead – and seal a win. Does that sound familiar? Because that’s exactly the game the Admirals threw back in the Griffins face last night.

For the first time in three chances the Admirals played with confidence against a team that should really have all the confidence in the world. The Griffins lost one game that ended a winning streak, sure. But that winning streak lasted for fifteen-games. That’s still the same team on the ice and, if anything, you’d have expected a hard push back on their part. The Admirals played smart, they played controlling, and they excelled at all aspects of the game last night against a team that couldn’t be solved for over a month’s worth of hockey. The Admirals pushed aside their current winning streak and firmly focused one proving to themselves they can beat the Griffins – and they did. They beat them at even strength. They beat them on the power-play. And, probably the best of all from last night’s action, they beat them on the penalty kill.

In a season nearing its halfway point this was a masterclass of a performance by the Admirals. It really was a solid and complete game from top to bottom. Now, here is the catch. The Admirals face the Griffins in Grand Rapids tomorrow night. As much of a high as last night’s performance feels like it can all get quickly lost if the Admirals fall back into the same pitfall that they did previously in Grand Rapids. To use my “keep it simple, stupid” philosophy: approach that game as they did the one prior. It’s a challenge. An important point that needs to be proved within a tight and competitive division. If the Admirals really want to send a powerful message back at the Griffins they not only win on home ice they earn that first road win in Grand Rapids this season. The last time the Admirals won in Grand Rapids was five-attempts ago back on 1/31/15. That will be exactly eleven months to the day tomorrow when the Admirals and Griffins square off in Grand Rapids. That needs to change. And I believe the Admirals have their sights set on accomplishing just that.

~Chatterbox~

After the conclusion of last night’s game, myself and Dave Boehler spoke with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. I then chatted with Marek Mazanec, Kevin Fiala, and Max Görtz to hear their perspective on the game and much more. Here is what they had to say after the Admirals 3-0 shutout performance over the Griffins last night.

Comments on the comments? What are you taking away from the Milwaukee Admirals current five-game winning streak? With the 2015 side of the calendar coming to a close on Thursday night: what are some of your positives and negatives on the season to date?

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