Last night’s game was -way- more like it for the Milwaukee Admirals. The scoreline became tight and the result finished at 2-1 with a good threat to the final horn by the Rockford IceHogs but the Admirals looked solid in defense and that needs to be their building block in the push into the playoffs.

It’s not too often where I get drawn into purely watching a player for their defensive qualities but last night Justin Florek did that and he really helped sum up the team game for the Admirals. He was everywhere on the ice taking away time and space. His stickwork to get in the way of passing lanes and help negate shooting lanes was great. And he was quick to step from defense to offense.

That of course isn’t to say the Admirals went through the game cleanly. They still desperately need to figure out how to play in the second period during the long change because that’s where last night’s game could have gotten ugly if not for the work of Marek Mazanec. The Admirals were outshot 10-3 in last night’s second period. Since the start of March the Admirals have been outshot 196-170. In that same span the Admirals have only outshot their opponent in the second period six times from nineteen games. I don’t get why this has become such an issue for the team but their inability to get pucks deep and tilt the ice to make line changes easier tends to keep the pinned and they can’t quite fight out of it.

Something that dawned on me last night was the beauty of the late scheduling for the Admirals with their young players trickling in from juniors and college getting to find a groove while playing an opponent such as the IceHogs so often before the regular season ends. Yakov Trenin’s first game of the 2016-17 season with the Admirals was against the IceHogs last Saturday and he looked so much better tonight. It is a crying shame if video highlights are not produced of the goal he scored in Rockford because it was phenomenal and the first scored in his pro career. Samuel Girard’s second game of his pro playing career came on the weekend against the IceHogs – and he looked much more relaxed and played a great game alongside Jack Dougherty in Rockford. Tyler Moy made his pro debut last night against the IceHogs, looked to be slowly going through the motions but improved as the game developed, and he gets to see the IceHogs again on Friday night to get an even better feel for the pro game – all three of these youngsters will. It’s a great way for them to adjust and feel their way into the pro game by playing an opponent like the IceHogs two or three times before picking up the pace into the 2017 AHL Calder Cup Playoffs.

After the game wrapped up I had the chance to speak with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason as well as Florek, Trenin, and Moy. These were last night’s post-game interviews.

Comments on the comments? Where are you at right now with the Milwaukee Admirals as Calder Cup contenders this season? Is this current team capable of making a big run or will the opening round series define whether or not they can?

Be sure to keep updated with Admirals Roundtable through social media platform of your choice: follow along Twitter, like us on Facebook, get photo updates on Instagram, and listen along on SoundCloud.

Today feels like a rather special day here at Admirals Roundtable. It might just be a rather round number but Chatterbox reaching Volume 200 feels rather special. It has been a fun column to dissect games, plays, situations within the Nashville Predators prospect pool, and so much more. At the heart of it though is being able to provide readers an inside access to the Milwaukee Admirals locker room and hear from the coaching staff and players.

Cheers for seeing this column through to 200 and, with the occasion being what it is, I thought it would be fun to try and make the most of it at today’s practice. This isn’t quite a podcast where I’m networking a Chatterbox greatest hits collection with Magnus Hellberg, Austin Watson, or Anthony Bitetto cropping up. Instead, I threw the option out to all of you as to who you wanted to hear from and added in a special treat while giving Dean Evason a day off. Here was a quick jog through today’s practice.

Richard-Ribeiro-Gaudreau
White-Smith-Moy
Kirkland-Kamenev-Payerl
Florek-Trenin (Army)-Liambas

Pardy-Carrier
Murphy-Granberg
Girard-Dougherty
(Pinkston)

Mazanec
Gunnarsson

Firstly, Tyler Moy was added by the Admirals on an ATO Contract and was on-hand for this morning practice. He fills in right where Pontus Åberg left off alongside Trevor Smith and Matt White. Moy will wear #24 with the Admirals and is likely going to be making his pro debut tomorrow night in Rockford.

The next development that took place was a fantastic sight to see. Cody Bass was on the ice skating ahead of practice and then took part in limited drills with the team. I had -wrongly- stated on Twitter earlier that he had ACL surgery but, as you’ll hear him say himself, he actually didn’t have anything structurally damaged with his knee but did require surgery that looked to have his season in doubt. There certainly isn’t any timeline you can slap to this or an ETA of getting Bass back for the playoffs. What I can say is that him being back around the team is a huge life for himself and that his well known off-ice leadership is hanging around the Admirals once again. Whether he does play or not – it’s another welcome boost ahead of the playoffs.

Someone who did not participate in today’s practice was defenseman Andrew O’Brien. He suffered an injury his first game back from a lower-body injury that had him out for two games. It’s not clear as to when he will return to the Admirals lineup at the moment. He was joined by Tyler Kelleher who also was absent today after having suffered an injury during Sunday’s game in Iowa.

After practice I caught up with Milwaukee Admirals assistant coach Scott Ford as well as Cody Bass, Anthony Richard, Derek Army, Tyler Moy, Yakov Trenin, and Adam Payerl.

Comments on the comments? Has tomorrow night’s game in Rockford gone from something of a tuneup into more of a game that needs to demand an impactful result for the Milwaukee Admirals after a woeful three-in-three weekend?

Be sure to keep updated with Admirals Roundtable through social media platform of your choice: follow along Twitter, like us on Facebook, get photo updates on Instagram, and listen along on SoundCloud.

To call last night’s 4-2 loss for the Milwaukee Admirals to the Rockford IceHogs at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena a disappointment might not do the word justice. In this weekend’s three-in-three there were two teams playing for their playoff lives. The IceHogs were not one of them. For the Admirals to lose in regulation on home ice to that team in that manner shouldn’t happen.

On Friday night, the major talking point of the contest was seeing the Cleveland Monsters really stick it to the Admirals throughout the second period and end the frame with the game’s -would be- only goal and outshoot them by an astonishing 16-3. Last night, it felt like that was the case from the word “GO” and the only thing that kept that from getting away fast was Marek Mazanec. The IceHogs outshot the Admirals 17-7 in last night’s first period and 15-12 in the second period. They were far more direct in approach and it forced the Admirals to keep having to fight back in transition from defense to offense -by which time- the IceHogs were already set to deal with them at the attacking blueline and have bodies deep to defend the dump and chase.

Today there isn’t going to be a typical “Scouting the Enemy” here on Admirals Roundtable because, much like the team, I want you fans and readers to focus on the Admirals and Admirals alone today. What the Iowa Wild will be doing should be secondary to all that the Admirals need to be correcting from these last two games. The Wild should be pushing as hard as the Monsters and IceHogs. The crowd will be against the Admirals. It’s up to the Admirals and themselves alone to keep that crowd silent and go back to work. Defense First. Get Pucks Deep. Less Is More. It all sounds far more easier said than done but the more simplified the game gets for the Admirals the better the results always seem to be for them.

After last night’s game I did speak with Admirals head coach Dean Evason as well as Adam Payerl prior to both getting setup on the bus readied for Iowa. These were their comments after the loss to Rockford.

Comments on the comments? Can the Milwaukee Admirals get back to winning ways tonight in Iowa? Has this weekend’s three-in-three already been a letdown following this team locking themselves into the playoffs earlier in the week? What must change for the Admirals moving forward from these last two regulation defeats on home ice?

Be sure to keep updated with Admirals Roundtable through social media platform of your choice: follow along Twitter, like us on Facebook, get photo updates on Instagram, and listen along on SoundCloud.

Well, that happened. At the first least that opening sentence was my game recap for most of the night as the Milwaukee Admirals were shutout 1-0 by the Cleveland Monsters. Oddly, it is amazing to think how marginal of a scoreline that is and how big of a difference things feel if the result goes one way versus the other. If it was an Admirals shutout? We’d be thinking the defense was phenomenal. It wasn’t. And that really shouldn’t detract from what was still a very nice effort. The Monsters just won by an odd bounce that made its way to the tape of Zac Dalpe.

What I want to feel more than anything is that the Admirals still played a playoff style hockey game and, regardless of the result, that creates challenges and obstacles that need to be learned from immediately. It is very positive for the Admirals to have these sorts of games right now and have an ability to correct or learn to adjust through problems that are coming up in these regular season games as opposed to being bounced out of the first round of the playoffs – once again.

The Admirals haven’t made it past the opening round of the playoffs since the 2011 AHL Calder Cup Playoffs. In their last four appearances – they have only one a single playoff game. That needs to change. And the process to learn how to change it in playoff style atmosphere is being presented by games like that which the Monsters threw at the Admirals. The examples are there. Things just need to be cleaned up, simplified, and improved moving forward. There isn’t an awful lot of time left before the playoffs begin and mistakes can’t be corrected.

After the game I spoke with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason as well as Marek Mazanec, Anthony Richard, Samuel Girard, and Justin Kirkland. These were the post-game comments after the Admirals shutout loss to the Monsters.

Comments on the comments? Despite the loss, do you rather the Milwaukee Admirals go through games such as this now rather than run into a buzzsaw such as this in the first round of the playoffs once again?

Be sure to keep updated with Admirals Roundtable through social media platform of your choice: follow along Twitter, like us on Facebook, get photo updates on Instagram, and listen along on SoundCloud.

I had already planned on trekking into practice this morning at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. Yet, this morning news broke that I had been expecting for a little bit as the junior playing seasons are starting to end. Samuel Girard was officially assigned to the Milwaukee Admirals by the Nashville Predators from the Shawinigan Cataractes of the QMJHL. That added a bit more excitement to take in today’s practice. And this is how things looked.

Richard-Ribeiro-Gaudreau
White-Smith-Åberg
Kirkland-Kamenev-Payerl
Florek-Army-Liambas (Kelleher)

Pardy-Carrier
Murphy-Granberg
Girard-Dougherty
(O’Brien-Pinkston)

Mazanec
Gunnarsson

The lone inactives for today’s practice did sit back and watch from the bench-side area today. Jimmy Oligny and Cody Bass were on-hand but just spectators. Andrew O’Brien returned to the ice after suffering a lower-body injury. He was stationed in a flex-pairing with Rick Pinkston.

The injuries to Oligny and O’Brien open the door for Girard to hop right into things ASAP and could fast track him to make his pro debut on Friday night when the Admirals face the Cleveland Monsters at home. Should that happen it will likely be done with him paired to the left of Jack Dougherty. The two did lots of work together at this morning’s practice.

As for the forwards? That has been pretty much the general run of things for a good while now and Tyler Kelleher I believe is working in and out with the Mike Liambas spot in the off-chance Liambas picks up that tenth fighting major which would get him suspended for one-game under the AHL’s Fighting Major Policy. Beyond that, things have settled into this group for a decent amount of time and likely won’t change until a certain Yakov Trenin shows up in the not too distant future.

After practice concluded I had the chance to chat with the “new” Girard here in Milwaukee. I then spoke with both Alex Carrier and Anthony Richard who have played against Girard in the QMJHL in recent years. These were today’s interviews after practice.

Comments on the comments? If the Admirals are down Oligny for the rest of the season – how do you feel about Girard stepping in? Who would Girard be replacing at this point or will he sit for a small portion at the end of this season to process some games from a distance?

Be sure to keep updated with Admirals Roundtable through social media platform of your choice: follow along Twitter, like us on Facebook, get photo updates on Instagram, and listen along on SoundCloud.

Given how Saturday night’s game finished I was expecting the Milwaukee Admirals to play rather fired up on Sunday. That did happen but, blink blink, they went down 2-0 in a matter of moments in the first period. It could have become a “here we go again” moment but the Admirals didn’t just comeback over the course of the game. They came back in that period and proceeded to make a statement.

The Admirals 7-2 win was a solid performance from all levels of the team. I believe the offense needs no precise explanation other than the scoreline but lost in that is how well the defense played. The penalty kill was a perfect six-for-six and was confident enough to fetch a shorthanded goal. Outside of the two goals scored for the Stars, one of which was an Admirals error, the Stars had no real threatening chances to speak of once they had their 2-0 lead after seven-minutes of work. That’s a massive credit to the Admirals defense and that same aspect helps a great deal in the offense being able to contribute as it did.

Now, about that Pontus Åberg kid. What has been doing for a touch over a year now has been pretty special. It was March of last season when things really started to explode for him. Conveniently, the amount of games played from the start of March through to the end of the 2015-16 regular season and everything Åberg has done for the Admirals in the 2016-17 season comes out to the amount of a full AHL regular season. Since March of last season Åberg has scored 74 points (42 goals, 32 assists) in 76 AHL regular season games. That includes 20 power-play goals. He has been the Admirals most explosive player.

Åberg really has all of the tools to translate to the NHL right now. The only reason why he isn’t comes down to the amount of numbers currently playing up top for the Nashville Predators. They have plenty of names sitting out as healthy scratches right now. Yet, the time given to Åberg is being used very well and he has found an identity for himself. That fire he had at the end of last season has been burning all of this season. He said it himself after yesterday’s game that he is playing for a contract next season. It would be wise for the Predators to make sure he stays under their banner.

Another player who stepped up nicely last night was Vladislav Kamenev. Who knows if the second period would have opened up so much for the Admirals if Kamenev didn’t level things at 2-2 in the first period? What I appreciated so much of both Kamenev’s goals was his patience. The opening goal for the Admirals by Kamenev came during a delayed penalty and Kamenev waited to find a lane through traffic, hesitated on a slap shot, and then found a perfect placement for a wrister. The equalizer for him wasn’t traffic oriented so much but he stopped right at the top of the circle and must have been right in his wheelhouse. The wrister he produced was inch perfect to the far post. After that performance for himself he is now tied with Frédérick Gaudreau and Trevor Smith for the second most points on the Admirals.

Justin Kirkland made his return to game action yesterday after missing the Admirals last eight. There were a few nagging issues for him but him being back was a very welcome sight. I’m sure that return back on ice, which resulted in the Stars opening goal, was a harsh “welcome back” to game pace. That said, he seemed to settle back down and was the beneficiary of a highlight reel assist from Åberg.

I found the final goals of last night’s game to be amusing because, hey. the Stars head coach Derek Laxdal was angry about the Admirals in December running up the score with their top guys still on the ice. The Admirals did run the score up a bit at the end of that game but they did it with their perceived fourth line at even strength and on the power-play. That power-play had Mike Liambas setting up Justin Florek for his second goal of the night to see the Admirals power-play go three-of-three and complete a perfect night for Admirals special teams.

The contest did end on a sour note. Adam Payerl really had no need to clock Darren Dietz as he did. The game was in its final minute, the Admirals had the game soundly won, and Payerl was rightfully assessed a boarding major and a game misconduct. The AHL always reviews game misconducts for potentially further supplemental discipline. I wouldn’t be surprised if Payerl misses a game out of this coming weekend’s three-in-three.

After the game, I did get to speak with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason as well as Åberg, Florek, and Kirkland. There were the comments after the Admirals dominant win Sunday at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.

Comments on the comments? The Milwaukee Admirals are starting to get better as the season is ending. They will now get a good bit of rest time along with significantly reduced travel compared to those around them in the playoff picture. Is this current stretch for the Admirals what they need to really start a run before the playoffs start?

Be sure to keep updated with Admirals Roundtable through social media platform of your choice: follow along Twitter, like us on Facebook, get photo updates on Instagram, and listen along on SoundCloud.

I’m not sure you can define last night’s 5-2 loss for the Milwaukee Admirals to the Texas Stars on home ice as anything more than disappointing. The first period effort for the Admirals was outstanding. Everything away from that ended up becoming rattled, unorganized, discombobulated, and forgetful of defensive responsibility. In other words, the script of that first period turned and stayed turned for the rest of regulation.

What can be lost in all of our own disappointment of a match-up that seemed primed to get the Admirals a playoff berth this weekend is that the Stars exited the first intermission and layered together a very complete and effective game. The Stars looked caught in a spin-cycle at times in the first period. And it almost felt like it was their first game together as a team. The Admirals used that to their advantage to get a 2-0 lead in the first period but that was all the Stars allowed from that point forward. Their defense made passing and shooting tricky. And it created some counter attacks that led directly to goals – that was exactly how they made it a 2-2 game.

So, yes. That one stings a bit. And, it is no free pass, but around the AHL’s Central Division last night there were other wacky scores that played out. The Rockford IceHogs defeated the Grand Rapids Griffins 4-1 at the BMO Harris Bank Center. The Cleveland Monsters defeated the Chicago Wolves 5-2 at the Allstate Arena.

Unlike the aforementioned teams above the Admirals get a chance at redemption to the lowly team that banged them up last night. And I feel that’s the benefit to what the Admirals have ahead of them this afternoon. They know where they made mistakes. They -should- know how and why they made those mistakes. And they get to correct them instantly against the team they made them against and lost out to. The Stars are on the last of a three-in-three weekend. The Admirals do not play again until Friday after today’s game. They should play the game extremely hard today and suffocate the Stars with brute force and puck pressure. The less chasing the Admirals need to do – the better it will be for them.

After the game I caught up with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. I also had the chance to speak with defensemen Petter Granberg and Trevor Murphy. Here were last night’s post-game interviews.

Comments on the comments? How will the Milwaukee Admirals respond to a performance such as last night? Do you feel there is a benefit to be gained being exposed now rather than in the playoffs? Will the Admirals manage to clinch a playoff spot today or will it end up happening will they sit this coming week?

Be sure to keep updated with Admirals Roundtable through social media platform of your choice: follow along Twitter, like us on Facebook, get photo updates on Instagram, and listen along on SoundCloud.

This morning I ventured on in for morning practice at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. The Milwaukee Admirals will be starting the first of a four-game homestand tomorrow night. The Texas Stars will be their opponent this weekend and it will be the first time since a 9-1 victory in Texas back on 12/17/16 that the two teams last saw one another.

White-Smith-Åberg
Richard-Ribeiro-Gaudreau
(Kelleher) Kirkland-Kamenev-Payerl
Florek-(Perfetto-Army)-Liambas

Pardy-Carrier (Pinkston)
O’Brien-Granberg
Murphy-Dougherty

Mazanec
Gunnarsson

These were the line combinations rolling out for the Admirals today. Everyone except for Jimmy Oligny participated. He remains out due to injury and will likely be unavailable for the weekend. He was joined on the bench as a spectator this morning by Cody Bass who is here in Milwaukee continuing his rehab from knee surgery.

As far as the line combinations go, it must be said, flexibility is very much in play. The Admirals very well could keep Tyler Kelleher in the lineup as a way to make sure Justin Kirkland returns at 100%. That said, if Kirkland is back, it is a nice boost as that line with himself, Vladislav Kamenev, and Adam Payerl was really good together.

The same can be said of the fourth line which could mix and match Stephen Perfetto and Derek Army at center this weekend. In fact, though not practiced today, if the Admirals really wanted to they could keep Kelleher on the third line and work in Kirkland as the fourth line center if needed.

There are lots of options for the Admirals to tinker around with. And that can continue to grow with junior and college seasons coming to an end. We’ve yet to see a proper ATO signing by the Admirals just yet. Kelleher was signed through to the 2017-18 season on an AHL Contract. Should results pan out there is the chance Yakov Trenin or Samuel Girard could be heading to the Admirals in the very near future from their respective QMJHL teams.

After practice wrapped up I was able to chat with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. I then spoke with yesterday’s award winners. The Admirals’ IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year, Jack Dougherty. Admirals Roundtable’s Admiral of the Month for March, Pontus Åberg. These were today’s interviews.

Comments from the comments? What are you anticipating for this weekend’s games against the Texas Stars? How good is it that the Milwaukee Admirals really get to settle in on home ice right now as the playoff crunch starts to hit hard? Is this team still capable of stealing the Central Division title?

Be sure to keep updated with Admirals Roundtable through social media platform of your choice: follow along Twitter, like us on Facebook, get photo updates on Instagram, and listen along on SoundCloud.

Chatterbox, Vol. 192 will go down as the Chatterbox that never was. For those unaware of why the short and sweet of it is that my main hub for work, laptop, suffered a catastrophic failure and cleaned out all files. I’m in the process of seeing if there is a way to recover the guts I need of that hard drive but I am also in the process of writing to you now on a brand new laptop. You’re never shy some serious speed bumps in the AHL and that extends to the individuals around the rink as well as the players.

As far as the game on Sunday went. I’ve had a load of time to process it and the more I sit and think of it the better I feel of the Milwaukee Admirals effort against the Grand Rapids Griffins. Yes, the lost 3-2. But, what they were able to accomplish against a team as good as the Griffins without the likes of a Jimmy Oligny or Justin Kirkland and really digging down deep as the game progressed was extremely nice to see.

That game was a playoff caliber game. Both sides were very fatigued. The Griffins were in on another three-in-three weekend. The Admirals may as well have been on the last of a four-in-four weekend considering the travel from Manitoba to Milwaukee on Saturday. Yet, the fatigue factor really only sapped the Admirals in that first period and they looked better as the game developed. The result may have eluded them but having a playoff atmosphere contest now ahead of the actual playoffs, and losing, does shed light on a bigger picture and the lessons needed to be learned from – today. It will be fascinating to see tomorrow, in Grand Rapids when fatigue won’t be an issue for either side, how both the Admirals and Griffins handle business.

Richard-Ribeiro-Gaudreau
White-Smith-Aberg
Kelleher-Kamenev-Payerl
(Pinkston) Florek-(Army) Perfetto-Liambas

Pardy-Carrier
O’Brien-Granberg
Murphy-Dougherty

Mazanec
Gunnarsson

At today’s practice these were the line combinations. It was certainly a hodgepodge on that fourth line as far as who is where. It looks like Stephen Perfetto could play his natural position at center at the expense of Derek Army tomorrow night – but time will tell. Rick Pinkston did rushes as a winger on that line as well as doing some defensive work but was likely just keeping active.

Speaking of Perfetto and Pinkston, the two lined up alongside Kirkland for a series of rush drills as sort of a fifth line for the Admirals today. It seems likely that Kirkland is still in the comeback trail and is a touch out of the picture for tomorrow night with Kelleher moving into his line with Vladislav Kamenev and Adam Payerl while Perfetto and Army are looking to center the fourth line.

The biggest news of the day would be the return to full-practice and potentially game action for Adam Pardy. The veteran defenseman has missed the last twenty-nine games after suffering a compound fracture to his left arm in a collision into the boards back on 1/18/17 on the road against the Charlotte Checkers. He should hopefully be rejoining the team in action tomorrow night and do so alongside his ol’ defensive partner Alex Carrier. Those two worked tremendously well together at the start of the season. It would be a great boost having that tandem back.

Oligny was a noticeable absentee from today’s practice. He suffered an injury late in the third period in the Admirals game on Friday night on the road against the Manitoba Moose. There isn’t a time table as of yet but the return of Pardy could help see that he get fully fit without the Admirals getting as hurt as they would have been in the process. Pinkston did alright on Sunday night in his place but you’d certainly prefer an Oligny or Pardy in action.

After today’s practice concluded I caught up with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason as well as the wingers of the “ET LE BUT” line Frédérick Gaudreau and Anthony Richard. These were today’s comments before the team geared up for a bus ride to Grand Rapids.

Comments on the comments? How do you feel that the Milwaukee Admirals are stacking up ahead of the playoffs? How big will the return of Adam Pardy be for this Admirals defense?

Be sure to keep updated with Admirals Roundtable through social media platform of your choice: follow along Twitter, like us on Facebook, get photo updates on Instagram, and listen along on SoundCloud.