Author: Ryan

Game Recaps

Watson’s Power Play Marker Leads To 5th Straight Win

(Photo Credit:  Scott Paulus)

Brendan Burke, the play-by-play man for the Peoria Rivermen, tweeted earlier today that “We could be in for another low-scoring affair tonight in Milwaukee. The 2 teams have combined for 4.4 goals-per game (lowest for Rivermen).”

That number went down a little bit.

Tied going into the third period, the Admirals took advantage of power play in the middle of the frame, and went on to beat the Rivermen 3-1 Friday night in front of 12,047 customers at the Bradley Center.

We’re going to break this recap into three sections for three different audiences.

1.  For the locals.
2.  For the Austin Watson fan club
303.  For the Preds fans who want to check on Craig Smith

Section 1:  Keep on rollin’

Mark Van Guilder opened the scoring with his 12th of the year.  He gets credit for crashing the net, but check out Michael Latta tying up two Rivermen on his own.  A lot of Rivermen just watching the play.

After Brett Sonne scored from a tough angle in the second period, a Peoria bench minor for being too manly on the ice gave the Admirals a power play at the 9:57 mark of the third.  Austin Watson deflected a Mattias Ekholm shot to snap his 16 game goal-less streak.

Great deflection, but there were some great things that led to that play too.  Josh Shalla dove to keep possession and send it over to Ekholm.  And then Ekholm was able to reset and get a great low shot on net that Watson was in a perfect position to re-direct.  Great stuff.

Read ahead to section 303 for the empty net goal….

The Admirals special teams came to play again, as they went 1-2 on the power play, and killed off all three shorthanded chances.  They’re 15-8-0-1 on the season when their power play connects.  On this current five game winning streak, the power play is a 25%, and the PK is at 90.5 percent.  Yeah, you can point to the sample size, but that’s certainly an improvement.

And Magnus Hellberg?  Another outstanding performance.  And the defense did their part too.  They only allowed four shots in the third period.  That’s the opposite of a prevent defense.  (Though, one could argue that Peoria was in prevent offence…)

And with the win…The Admirals move to 8th place in the conference.  A long time coming.

Section 2:  Elementary, Watson

Solid game from Watson all-around, taking some important shifts down the stretch while nursing the 2-1 lead, blocking shots and making plays.  And while it had been a long goal-less drought, Coach Evason says that he’s still been a very effective player — especially lately.

https://admiralsroundtable.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/coach-on-watson.mp3

And Watson himself?  While it’s nice for one to go in, he is quick to credit the hard work of his teammates.

Section 303:  Mr. Smith Goes To Wisconsin

When Matt Halischuk was sent down on his conditioning assignment, he was the best player on the ice.  By far.  He was a difference maker.  Craig Smith was not the same difference maker.  But he had a very strong play that led to the empty net goal, scored by fellow Badger Brad Winchester.

Here’s Coach Evason’s detailed evaluation, and then a video of the play.

Will he be here awhile?  Longer than the 3-in-3 this weekend?

OK Roundtable:   What did you think of the AHL debut of Craig Smith?  Are the special teams noticeably better to your eyes?  And do you want to see Hellberg again tomorrow against Toronto?

News

Odds And Ends

Three cheers for Taylor Beck and Chris Mueller….Beck made his NHL debut last night, and Mueller netted his first NHL goal in the third period.

Let’s start with Mueller’s goal.  Easy to post video evidence of it.
http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?hlg=20122013,2,432&event=CBJ607&cmpid=embed-share-video

(Hmmm, having some issues embedding…just follow the link for now…)

It’s not that different than the kind of goal we have been seeing here for awhile.  Major credit goes to Clune for winning that battle for the puck, and having the awareness to spot Mueller.  And Mueller did a great job finding some open space on that rush, and was able to finish.  Ata boy.

Taylor Beck’s night?  Two shots, one hit, 14:49 time on ice.  But not included in the highlight reels really.   And I didn’t watch the game.  So let’s get some insight from people who DID watch the game.

First, Dirk from On The Forecheck….

Outside of one shift in the third period, simply Beck didn’t stand out very much. Granted, Barry Trotz threw him right into the deep end of the pool, skating alongside Mike Fisher and Martin Erat, so we shouldn’t judge him too harshly. I would expect that once some of the forwards come back from Injured Reserve, Beck’s time in the lineup will be over, but with the NHL regular season running long this year, I imagine he’ll spend a lot of time practicing with the NHL squad once the AHL season completes. At the very least, that gives the Nashville staff a better idea of where he might fit in the fall.

Don’t rule the Admirals out of the playoffs yet!

And Jeremy from Section 303…

It was hard to tell whether or not Beck fit in because it wasn’t exactly an ideal situation for Nashville. This was a must-win game. They would be 1-4-0 on a crucial road trip if they lost and a more respectable 2-3-0 if they had won. Also, with a win, they would be on a good note entering the final stretch of the season in which they play 12 of their last 18 at Bridgestone Arena.

Some things I did notice, however: Beck has a huge frame. He’s certainly built like an NHL player. Second, Trotz gave him nearly 15:00 of ice-time in his debut, something rookies don’t usually get (Linus Klassen probably got 15:00 total over a few games with the Preds a couple years ago). So there were some positives.

That being said, I really feel we’ll get to see the true Beck on THR against the Calgary Flames. It’s a home game, the slumping Predators are trying to hit the reset button and it won’t be his 1st NHL game so the jitters and anxiety should be gone. Or, at least, be a different kind.

So Roundtable, how long do you think Beck and Mueller will be up there with the big club?  Who do you think gets sent back first?

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Defenseman Jeff Foss has been cleared to play hockey after tearing his ACL in the pre-season game against Rockford many moons ago.  He’s already been assigned to the Cyclones in the ECHL to get back in hockey shape.

So what happens when he is back in hockey shape?  Is there a spot for him to play in Milwaukee?  And if he does play, who sits?  Do you think Valentine has earned his healthy scratches lately?  Would playing time be at the expense of Bitetto?  If Bartley was sent back down, who would you like your 6 D to be?

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Dirk has a piece up about a report that Zach Boychuk has been placed on waivers.  Maybe we’ll find out that he’ll be claimed by another team tomorrow — it’d be his 4th NHL team this season.  (It’s like he’s Jesse Orosco or something…..)  Or maybe he’ll be assigned to Milwaukee, and we may get a guy who had 21 goals in 64 games for the Charlotte Checkers last year….just in time to play them three more times this season.

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Mike Commodore signed a PTO with the Texas Stars.  He chose #33.  Disappointing.  It’s not like he’s got to fight Victor Bartley for #64.  Come on.  At this point in your career, give the fans what they want!  Anyone have a favorite game from the Commodore 64?  I was a fan of Jumpman.

Game Recaps

Hellberg And Special Teams Key Admirals To Fourth Straight Win

(Photo credit:  Scott Paulus)

Magnus Hellberg’s confidence has got to be sky high right now.

Hellberg recorded his 9th win in his last 11 games, and the Admirals won a season high fourth game in a row, dropping the Grand Rapids Griffins 3-1 Saturday night.

With the win, the Admirals jump to 9th place in the conference, tied in points with 8th place Oklahoma City…who have played one less game.

Mark Van Guilder opened the scoring with his first goal since February 10th.  Taylor Beck’s shot from the right point had a huge rebound that kicked to MVG, who was skating along the left wing.  From a tough angle, Van Guilder swept a backhand shot around a sliding Chad Billins, and that shot ended up beating Petr Mrazek. (Van Guilder called a “sixth grade changeup” after the game)

The Griffins tied it up about two minutes into the second period, illustrating again why it’s important to win defensive zone face-offs.  Austin Watson lost a defensive zone face-off, and then a good low shot from the top of the left circle by Andrej Nestrasil beat Magnus Hellberg stick-side.

I know there are lots of folks that love to dump on the Milwaukee power play…but they’ve scored a power play goal in four of their last five games.  Juuso Puustinen had the honors tonight, with a shot from the point that went off of the right post and into the net at 10:19 of the second period.

About four minutes later, Triston Grant and Max Nicastro made like a scene from Benny Hill, colliding with each other and falling down.  Josh Shalla picked up the puck and went in on a breakaway.  His shot went 5-hole on Mrazek for his first career AHL goal (he previously scored the game winner in a shootout….also against Mrazek).

Michael Latta grabbed the puck for him.

And then the Admirals threw a parade.  There were floats, high school marching bands, and Admirals players following the parade route to their penalty box.  The officials (the ever popular Shaun Davis and Mark Lemelin) hadn’t called a ton of stuff to that point, but whistled the Admirals at 16:36, 18:24, and 19:18.  The Griffins had a couple of 5-on-3 chances there, but the Admirals did well to kill everything off.  Hellberg was sharp, and shots were being blocked before they made it to him.

What a momentum changer that was…after that last penalty was killed off.

Coming into tonight, the Griffins sported the 3rd best road power play in the league, and had scored a power play goal against the Admirals in all six of their previous meetings.  They went 0-5 tonight.

NOTES:

-Here’s one of Hellberg’s best saves of the game, stopping a short-handed chance in the second period.

– Admirals dressed seven defensemen again…same lineup as Wednesday night.  There’s a good chance Mike Liambas will be ready to go next weekend.

– Admirals now 14-8-0-1 when scoring a power play goal.

– Griffin’s five-game win streak is snapped.  Admirals lead season series against the division leader 4-3, with one game left in Grand Rapids on April 12th.

– Austin Watson….now 16 straight games without a goal.  Hope he snaps out of it next weekend.  Had 8 shots on goal tonight, though.  For a team that sometimes tends to pass up shots, it’s nice to see a crooked number like that from a guy.

Scoreboard watching:

The Rivermen did us a favor and shutout the IceHogs 4-0….Andre Bouvet-Morrissette netted his first AHL goal in that one.  Toronto dropped Rochester 6-1, and that helps us too.  Even though we don’t play Rochester during the regular season, we’re chasing them in the conference standings, and sit just two points behind them now.  We’re just two points out of 6th place.

Game Recaps

Hellberg Stops Them All In Milwaukee’s Third Straight Win

(Photo credit:  Scott Paulus)

(Editors note:  There will be no Uranus jokes in this recap.  There were enough at the game for our quota to be filled for awhile…but it was silly and fun.  I enjoy the over-the-top humor.  Hope you enjoyed it too.)

For the third time in his last ten appearances, Magnus Hellberg was perfect.  He stopped all 30 shots he faced tonight for his third shutout of the season, and the Admirals won their third in a row, defeating the Peoria Rivermen 2-0 on Wednesday night.

Coach Evason thought the team was getting great looks over the course of the night, but he tips his hat to Peoria goaltender Mike McKenna for keeping the game as close as it was.

“We had to make perfect shots tonight to beat him.  He was absolutely on fire tonight.  It was a big goal to get that second one.  He was in the zone for sure…we had so many chances here tonight.  It was one of those games where you thought ‘are we ever going to score that second goal?’  But we stayed the course and we didn’t deviate from what we thought we had to do to win the hockey game.”

One of the perfect shots came off of the sticks of Austin Watson and Brad Winchester at 11:45 of the first period.  After Winny had a good chance in front of the crease, the rebound was kicked out to the point, right to Watson who was coming in on a line change.  Watson’s shot was deflected by Winchester into the net.  Originally credited to Watson, they changed the scoring to Winny after the game.

Sorry Watson fans…the goal drought continues.  15 games now. But he did plenty of other things to be an effective player tonight, for sure.

Here’s the first goal.

Mattias Ekholm netted the HUGE second goal with 3:14 left in the second period, after some nice sustained pressure in the offensive zone while the teams were skating 4×4.  Taylor Beck and Watson had some good opportunities, before the puck came to Ekholm along the far boards.  Pinching down, he won the race for the puck against Sergey Andronov, and then made a great move to make Jeff Woywitka look silly, before firing a shot into the corner of the net.  Perfect shot.

I like how TJ Hensick (#7) was just watching most of that shift.  Just a spectator.  Best seat in the house.  Even if he was just KIND OF paying attention, he might have been able to at least disrupt Ekholm’s shot.

NOTES:

From the I-Bet-Don-Tanner-Knew-This File, Magnus Hellberg became the first Ads goalie to shutout the same team in back-to-back meetings since Mark Dekanich did it in 2010 against the Aeros.  On the season, Hellberg has stopped 94 of 96 Rivermen shots.

Speaking of shots….the Admirals put up 19 shots in the second period alone.  It wasn’t a season high, but that’s a nice crooked number on the scoreboard, as they say.  They only had 4 in the third period while nursing the two-goal lead.  But I don’t think Peoria’s desperation level really resulted in that many solid scoring chances down the stretch.

Questions:

It was a nice effort tonight.  How much of it do you think was the Admirals playing well, versus the Rivermen playing poorly?

Does Hellberg look like a completely different goaltender than the one that wore his jersey in the first two months of the season?

Did you notice Jani Lajunen on the ice?  Or did he continue to be the invisible man?  How about Andre Bouvet-Morrissette?

News

Clear Day Is History

Clear Day.  One of my least favorite days of the year since I started writing about the Admirals.

In the AHL, Clear Day was the day that the teams needed to send a list of 22 players to the league, and then those 22 players would be the only guys who were eligible to play the rest of the season and in the playoffs.

Then there was the fine print.  Injury rules.  ATO contracts.  NHL call-ups.  Suspensions. So guys like Ryan Maki and Kevin Henderson could be left off of the Clear Day list of their respective campaign, yet still play every single game for the rest of the season and the playoffs.

Eric Kent, of the old Short Shifts blog, coined the phrase “Voodoo Rosternomics” to describe post-Clear-Day roster and lineup management.

And today, I’m proud to share with you….that Clear Day doesn’t exist anymore.  It’s nothing but a memory.  The kind the lights the corners of my mind.  Misty water-colored memories…of the way we were…

Enjoy…from an AHL release…

The AHL’s playoff roster deadline will be Monday, Apr. 22, at 3 p.m. ET, by which time all 16 playoff teams must submit to the league a list of playoff-eligible players. Only those players on a team’s playoff eligibility list, plus signed draft choices and players signed to amateur tryout contracts, are eligible to compete in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Players from lower professional leagues can also be added if they played in at least eight games in the AHL and/or a lower league in 2012-13.

AHL Clear Day roster restrictions have been removed. Any eligible player on a club’s roster may participate at any time during the remainder of the regular season and the Calder Cup Playoffs.

And per National Hockey League rules, only those players who have been recalled from an AHL club following the NHL trade deadline (Wednesday, Apr. 3 at 3 p.m. ET) may be returned to the AHL during the remainder of the season.

I would like to clarify a thing or two with the league… From the sound of that last paragraph, it sounds like the NHL trading deadline is kind of a Partly Clear Day.  After that point, an NHL team wouldn’t be able to send their guys on two-way contracts down for the playoff run if the NHL team doesn’t graduate to the post season.  And if that’s the right interpretation, I kind of like that.  It might even out the playoff playing field a bit.  A team wouldn’t be able to stash four or five NHL guys on the clear day list as they had in the past, and then send them down as soon as the NHL season is over to kick some butt and take some names down here.

I’ll update when I get some clarification.  But no more Clear Day?  No more need for Voodoo Rosternomics?  Celebrate good times.  Come on.

News

Wheel! Of! Justice!

Ok, yeah, that’s several years old.  But it’s nice to break it out every now and then.

Mike Liambas was assaulted by Mike Sgarbossa in the game against Lake Erie Cleveland on Tuesday.  It happened like this.  (Not sure the Lake Erie Cleveland play-by-play guy really knew what was going on….)

Sgarbossa received a match penalty on the play.  And the powers that be took a spin on the wheel of justice, and it landed on…..

One game.

Like it?  Love it?  Want some more of it?  Are you okay with the one game?

News

Thoughts On Today’s Transactions

As Jason reported earlier today, defenseman Scott Ford has been reacquired, and Jani Lajunen has been sent to St. Louis/Peoria.  Just as surprising to me is that Patrick Cehlin  has been sent to Cincy in the ECHL (along with Taylor Aronson).  Not surprising in that Cehlin deserved to be sent down….I’m surprised that he actually WAS sent down.

First…Fordo and Lajunen.  Two guys that had been spending more time in suits than jerseys lately.  Lajunen had been a healthy scratch since January 26th, except for the game on Saturday when Taylor Beck was a late scratch.  Tough to look at his stats and argue that he was a victim of a numbers game.  His game just didn’t take the step forward in this sophomore season that it needed to.  He had one goal and four assists, and was -9 defensively in 40 games.

Fordo has played in just one game since January 23rd.  The -14 defensive rating kind of jumps out at you, but look at that team….Only one of their D-men is on the plus side for the season right now.  And if the D-men aren’t getting much cooperation from their forwards (Hensick -10, Nesbitt -9, Schwartz -14, McRae -11, Grachev -12), Ford’s numbers might take a dip like that.  Sure he’s a year older, but I definitely don’t think he is as bad as that -14 suggests.  Even with as many veterans as Peoria has on their roster, I was very surprised that they would bench their captain like they did.  But good on them for moving him to a place where he’ll get the chance to play.

Taylor Aronson has exceeded my expectations this season, but I still feel more comfortable with Fordo back on the blue line.  I look forward to seeing him back there.

It’s tough to say Patrick Cehlin hasn’t had chances to be an important part of the offense here.  He’s had ice time with other guys that ARE producing.  He has skated with the Mueller’s and the Beck’s.  He’s been on the power play units.  He had a three point night on November 9th, with a goal and two assists, and he’s scored just one goal since then.  One goal in 36 games.  Scoreless in the last 25.  In addition to invisibility on the scorer’s sheet, he’s been prone to errant passes, poor decisions, and the tendency to pass up shots (although, he’s not alone in that last affliction).

Andreas Thuresson had a 30 game goal-less streak back in the 10-11 season.  As a 4th year player, despite that monstrosity of a dry spell, I can imagine that a visit to the ECHL probably wasn’t an option on the table for him.  For Cehlin as a rookie, a quick trip to Cincy I think is a much easier sell.  He can go down there, try to get some confidence back, hopefully have some success, and he’ll come back with the “Dexshow Bump”. (TM)

Easier sell, sure.  But I’m still surprised they actually went through with it.

I suppose if there ever was a time to do it, now would be the time.  The team is as healthy as it has been in awhile, and new players are popping up every week it seems.  Winchester, Liambas, McGrattan….  Assuming the Predators bring McGrattan back up after the conditioning assignment is done, Cehlin may be on his way back to town at that point.  He just needs to take care of business while he’s playing with the Cyclones…or it might be Jack MacLellan instead!

The other moves:  According to the AHL website as of 3pm on Tuesday, Zoltan Hetenyi and Andre Bouvet-Morrissette were sent to Peoria as well.  Zoltan assigned to Orlando, ABM loaned to Evansville.  I have no analysis for this.  It happened.  The end.

News

Even Al Stensland Would Have Had That One

Oy.

It should be noted that I’m just going for the easy punchline with Al….but I’ve always kind of liked the guy. I know some of you have some legendary Stensland stories from over the years….but it’s tough to be down on a guy that works for a fire department for his day job.

Tweets from Bob McKenzie this evening:

“I think we can all agree the missed offside that led to COL goal today was a horrendous mistake by the linesman. No doubt about that, but…FWIW, linesman who missed call is one of NHL’s most experienced, accomplished, respected officials. Bad call, yes. Bad official? No way. Linesman obviously was aware Duchene preceded puck over blueline but mistakenly believed NSH, not COL, played puck into zone.”