“It’s always something else,” is the go-to line for me lately with the Milwaukee Admirals. When really taking in their effort yesterday on the road against the Rockford IceHogs I think I found far more to like than dislike. The defensive quality from both sides in that game is what stood out the most. And that has been a slight issue of late for the Admirals. But looking how that game ended? It was a good heads up play by Sam Carrick and then two awful calls that were made by the officials that put a stamp to the result.

I don’t like harshly criticizing officials. They make just as unfortunate of mistakes as players can which impact a game. But by the end of a game you should have a very clear sense of the rights and wrongs of how the game is being called.

When Michael Latta and Vladislav Kamenev are having a small dust up around neutral ice and near the IceHogs bench -if a whistle need be blown and a penalty assessed- it isn’t a one person dispute is it? So, why was Kamenev given the lone roughing penalty? They should have been matched up.

Instead they singled out Kamenev, took the wind out of the Admirals already tattered sails, and ruined their late bid at an empty net and extra attacker bid just twelve seconds after the Admirals used their timeout and got ready for their final push.

Kamenev was simply livid at the situation. And it is hard to blame him for it. On top of the officiating crew singling him out in that minor shoving match the officials decided they couldn’t be bothered with having him go to the box and sent him off with a misconduct. I’m sure he said one of the magic words or probably just the one that is easily translatable across all languages. But he had a point. Why was he the lone man singled out? Why did the initiator of the situation get away with nothing?

If that wasn’t bad enough, the IceHogs taking down Kevin Fiala with a borderline football tackle while he was trying to skate up ice with the puck takes the cake. The IceHogs would score on the empty net just seconds after that happened. Worse, that turned out to be the game-winning goal because Trevor Murphy scored with 9.6 seconds remaining.

Kamenev and Latta should have been in the box. It should have gone to four-on-four hockey. The Admirals would have had the extra attacker on and net emptied and it would have had the semblance of an Admirals power-play in a push to win the game. Say that same lunacy happens where Fiala gets tackled and you’re looking at what should be an Admirals five-on-three attack to win the game in the final minute of play. The officials are human. I get that. But some humans can be brainless. The group last night picked the worst possible time in a sixty-minute game to abandon controls from brain to body.

What quite clearly stings the most is the result itself. It stinks to go from a low to such a high to another low all in the space of a three-in-three weekend. Yet, there is progress being made throughout it. The defense that had been looking sloppy, turning pucks over, allowing breakaways, and making poor passes up ice that got turned over instantly – you didn’t have that last night. The defense, while put into a bend don’t break area for most of the night, did its job and did it real well.

What you scream out for now is for that offense to do what we, and they, know it is capable of doing: scoring. It hasn’t come with any consistency since that banzai 9-1 win over the Texas Stars in December. What the lack of offense speaks about more than anything is the sheer lack of balance for the Admirals at the moment. They either have offense and no defense, defense and no offense, or not enough of either to do much but fall apart. Consistency has been lacking for what feels to be nearly two and a half months. The last time the Admirals won three straight games was near the end of January – prior to that it happened in the middle of December. It has to start getting better.

I’m curious then if Wednesday might provide the cure for the Admirals. Félix Girard will make his return to Milwaukee for the first time since being traded to the Colorado Avalanche organization in exchange for Cody McLeod. Girard was a heart and soul player for the Admirals on and especially off the ice. Perhaps like any harsh break-up what the Admirals need to see is their old ex with their new partner – the San Antonio Rampage. Let it out of the system. And get on with it. At the very least the Admirals will have some reinforcements to assist on the night, too.

After last night’s game was completed I spoke with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. I also heard from Jonas Gunnarsson and Anthony Richard. These were last night’s post-game interviews.

Comments on the comments? Could the Nashville Predators work out a trade to help out the Milwaukee Admirals much like they did three-times last season when bringing in Stephan Elliott, Patrick Mullen, and Corey Potter? Is that the sort of element to the Admirals that they need help with the most? Is Adam Pardy missed on the ice that badly or is there bigger issues at work?

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.

Often times games such as last night deserve some time to simmer in the mind before really doing it justice. As time has gone down, and as you read this in the morning, I can honestly say I don’t think the Milwaukee Admirals had any right winning that game last night. The Chicago Wolves from the second period to the end really were the better team. Whether the credit go purely to them or the Admirals making some costly mistakes – the Wolves should have won that game. But they didn’t. The Admirals won 4-3 in regulation and in the process have jumped ahead of the Wolves in the standings.

Hockey can be such a weird game. There were elements to last night that felt all too similar to some of the recent scripts we’ve seen on home ice between the Cleveland Monsters and Rockford IceHogs. There were poor turnovers and some awful mistakes that were punished -if not immediately- not too long after the fact.

Yet, the Admirals did knuckle down against one of the best offensive teams in the AHL and were provided a chance late on the power-play. What happened after that power-play goal from Vladislav Kamenev is a mistake on the part of the Wolves. They paused. They were thrown off momentarily as the building erupted and the Admirals tied things up. And twelves seconds later the Admirals had the game won.

What you hope for the most right now is that the mistakes made recently get minimized and more of the direct play at the end of the game becomes more of a standard to the Admirals style of play. It has been an up and down period for the group from December until now. The roster that the Admirals have at the moment is about as strong as it has been all season. The right pieces and there for them to have continual success. A night and result such as last night’s late comeback over the Wolves should be a strong push towards that path.

All of that being the case it could go for naught should the IceHogs do some bad, bad things in Rockford tonight. The IceHogs snapped an eight game losing streak when they defeated the Admirals on Friday night in overtime. They continued the good vibes with a shootout win last night against the San Antonio Rampage. The IceHogs are trying to find their own way and slowly getting the pieces together for that. It can cause the Admiralsa massive headache and render last night’s thrilling win meaningless with another flat performance. The Admirals biggest test is what is next in front of them: today.What today presents is the IceHogs on the road. If Friday night is anything to go by? The Admirals owe them one.

As far as last night’s post-game interviews are concerned I did speak with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. I also chatted with Adam Payerl, Kevin Fiala, and Anthony Richard. These were last night’s post-game comments.

Comments on the comments? What do the Milwaukee Admirals need to do this evening in order to secure a win over the Rockford IceHogs? How important will it be for the Admirals to actually avoid post-whistle mayhem that the IceHogs like to engage in?

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.

The Milwaukee Admirals 3-2 overtime loss to the Rockford IceHogs is the sort of game that leaves a weird taste in the mouth. There were some missed opportunities that could have been capitalized on and misplays that allowed the IceHogs to produce. Despite that, the Admirals didn’t play a poor game by any stretch of the imagination. The “defense first” mentality was on display. I suppose it was just on display a bit too much.

Perhaps the best news of all here is that the Admirals don’t have to rest on that game for too long. The weekend’s three-in-three may have gotten off on a wrong step but that doesn’t mean it needs to turn into a stumble and fall. The Admirals have the Chicago Wolves in tomorrow night on home ice and can pay the IceHogs back in their own barn on Sunday. Bits and pieces of what the Admirals didn’t against the IceHogs last night worked well. They just need it on a consistent basis from start to finish – with a high emphasis being on how they start.

The Admirals record now rests at 26-16-3-2 (57 points, 0.606 points percentage). The Wolves won last night by a ludicrous 7-3 scoreline over the San Antonio Rampage. For the Admirals to start making ground on the the Wolves and Grand Rapids Griffins they do need to get things rolling sooner rather than later. If it means starting it with wins in the head-to-head department? Tomorrow would be a good time to start.

After the game I spoke with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. I also had the chance to hear from Kevin Fiala and Matt White. Here were their post-game comments.

Comments on the comments? Are you at all worried seeing the Milwaukee Admirals get results as tight as this against a team that has been rough all season such as the Rockford IceHogs? What changes need to be made to swing the last two-games of this weekend’s three-in-three?

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.

Firstly, apologies to those who typically expect Chatterbox up in the morning the day after a home game. I feel like it was just circumstantial enough last night where it could be pushed back because: the Milwaukee Admirals lost 4-1 at home the the Cleveland Monsters, all players would be going on the ice right after the loss to participate in Camera Night where they would be interacting with fans, and practice was scheduled for today.

Rather than nudge fans aside to do an interview with players on the ice, or do them before or after, I just assume let the players be and get the full scoop today. Which – I did. As I’m seeing from all the fan photos being sent my way on Twitter that I’m sharing back throughout the day. I must say, Camera Night looked to be a nice success for all fans who attended. As you’ll hear in interviews you fans also gave your favorite players a welcome boost following a tough night.

About last night’s game then. It was bad to start with but did pick up near the end of the night. The problem of course with that is that it is far too little far too late and that effort was needed from opening puck drop if they were really going to trouble Anton Forsberg in net for the Monsters. The Admirals struggled connecting passes and were out of sorts defensively. It was all at its peak worst in the opening twenty minutes and that’s where the game saw a 3-0 Monsters lead with a lead in shots on goal by a margin of 18-8. You can’t really expect to do that poorly so early and get back… in hockey, anyways.

What I did start appreciating more and more as I let that game sit in my head since it was played was the finish. The Admirals showed great fight and push back. In the final 40-minutes of hockey the Admirals outshot the Monsters 31-13 and the game rested on a scoreline of 1-1 in that span. What that again shows is how rough the first period ended up being for the overall picture. While the result stands, and is tough to swallow, the ending at least showed what you would want. The Admirals a few weeks back perhaps may have hung their heads after the first period and sputtered in place even longer. The scoreline could have been even worse if that were the case. But it wasn’t. The Admirals regrouped, battled hard, kept their approach far more simple and direct, and were just coming up empty on a nice night for Forsberg who stopped 38/39 shots. I’d hope the reminder then goes without much saying: play a complete 60-minute game.

The lone issue that may have raised a few red flags in the finish last night was Kevin Fiala taking a spearing major. I can’t say I saw enough of what really happened when it went down live. And, as there really won’t be a replay to show what happened, that’s all I have to go on. What I can say of the matter is that Fiala versus the Monsters has been brewing long enough that it spans an affiliate move through their organization. When he scored in overtime back on 4/1/15 he skated right up to Andrew Agozzino (now of the Chicago Wolves) and celebrated right in his face. That was when they were affiliated with the Colorado Avalanche. Last season they became the AHL affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets which they remain today. The bad blood exists and persists following the Admirals Inaugural School Day Game on 11/11/15 where Fiala ran over Joonas Korpisalo, earned a charging and unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the play, and proceeded to be targeted the rest of the game ending with Brett Gallant checking him to the head and Fiala promptly flipping off the Monsters bench prior to skating off the ice to the locker room.

That’s the history between Fiala and the Monsters. It’s not pretty and you can understand why both sides get after one another. What I see of the matter is that Fiala is an immensely competitive player. You want that. And you need that type of attitude at times to really excel. The problem is allowing it to be channeled in the wrong ways. Against the Monsters? It just comes out badly for Fiala. He winds them up. They wind him up. And no one really wins.

Perhaps it would have been forgotten about should Fiala have fought someone on the Monsters roster last season but he also doesn’t need to do that. It’s not part of his game. If someone else answers the bell for him you’d hope that would be enough. The Monsters just don’t seem to have forgotten.

Fiala has shown great strides in maturity this season. Last night was a case of seeing him allow emotions and his competitive attitude get the better of him. The incident, as so happens with all game misconducts, will be reviewed by the league for potentially further disciplinary actions. Should that be the case it will have been the second time Fiala was suspended by the AHL after a fracas with the Monsters. The Admirals see that team two more times before the season ends. Both of those games will be in Milwaukee – the location where Fiala has lashed back out twice now. It would do him well to focus less on the opponent and more of his own team. No talking. No reaction. Just allow his work rate to do all the chirping for him.

Oh, and then there is Mike Ribeiro. It really is hard for me to truly assess his Admirals debut given how everyone had a rather sloppy night. I would say though that he looked better and more comfortable as the game progressed. It should be far better for him moving forward as the Admirals have a three-in-three weekend in front of them. He should be much sharper with the extra games under his belt.

Today’s practice was all about skill drills as the team broke out the props and segmented into three groups while rotating through various set pieces. I feel like that was the perfect way to get back to basic mechanics while also keeping things light for the group. Ribeiro was once again extremely active in chatting with everyone and seems to have quickly taken up a leadership role when it comes to communicating with the youngsters of the Admirals.

As far as the, “how is he going to handle clearing waivers and going to the AHL,” question is concerned.. mind you, I had my concerns too.. I’m really impressed by all I’ve seen. He is doing the right things as a veteran player down in the AHL would be expected to. As games pick up, I’m optimistic that his performance in-game action will also speak to the ability that he does have. Ribeiro could be a big benefit to the Admirals down the stretch.

After practice was completed I did get tons of interviews collected. Derek Army was a big time fan request with his following that has shifted from Wheeling to Milwaukee. I also had the opportunity to speak with Nashville Predators Director of Player Development Scott Nichol who was leading today’s practice. I then spoke with Ribeiro as well as Andrew O’Brien. Busy day of talking. Let’s get to listening:

Comments on the comments? How do you expect this weekend’s three-in-three to shake out? Given how the last game against the Rockford IceHogs was are you anticipating even more fireworks Friday and Sunday?

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’s practice from the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena was an exciting one. Mike Ribeiro was on-hand for his first day of work as a member of the Milwaukee Admirals after having cleared waivers and being reassigned to the AHL by the Nashville Predators. Marek Mazanec was also a participant after being reassigned late last night.

The overwhelming focus for several people will be Ribeiro. Was he going to report? How would he handle the situation if he did? And, all of the various other questions, leaned towards  negative headspace aspect of what Ribeiro could be like having the last few days that he has had.

I was kicked back in the seats for practice and saw Ribeiro’s first moments in the rink. I can honestly say my worries were lifted instantly because seeing his face light up with a huge smile as he viewed the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena said enough for me. He looked genuinely happy to be at the rink and that translated into his first practice with the team. He was very active in communicating with players and looked to be nothing but positive in the way he was conducting himself.

Fiala-Smith-Åberg
Florek-Ribeiro-Gaudreau
White-Kamenev-Richard
Army-Kirkland-Payerl

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

Mazanec
Gunnarsson

Ribeiro was paired with Justin Florek and the newly named CCM/AHL Player of the Week Frédérick Gaudreau. It is worth noting that Mike Liambas was an absentee from practice today. I did not find out as to why the was the case but Derek Army filled into his place.

After practice I was able to get several interviews conducted. I had the joy of getting to do them alongside the great Tim Van Vooren of FOX 6 as well. Here were all of today’s interviews following Monday practice.

Comments on the comments? What is your general reaction and feeling of Mike Ribeiro as a member of the Milwaukee Admirals? Do you feel like his presence could be a huge boost to the group?

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.

The Milwaukee Admirals 4-3 overtime win last night over the Rockford IceHogs was a hot mess. In truth, there was far more bad than there actually was good. Here is the catch and the most gleaming aspect of last night’s game. The really good teams win despite the fact they didn’t play their best hockey. The Admirals did that last night and never found themselves trailing in the process. It wasn’t a great game, for many reasons, but the Admirals stuck together and found a way to get the result.

There are numerous topics that I could plunge into after a game such as that. Allow me to tackle the one that rattled my head the most though which was the officiating. Normally I step back and don’t want to step on toes as far as finger wagging the men in stripes in concerned -but- last night was astronomically bad.

The game took two hours and forty-one minutes to play. The Admirals have played two shootout games shootouts this season that took as long or less to play. They even had a shootout that went a full three rounds that ended just a minute longer. I get that there were some tempers and post-whistle scrums here and there. It is a rivalry. I get that. But the amount of putzing about to figure out what is happening over who gets penalized for what and for how long and under what circumstance was mind numbingly aggravating last night. Yes, IceHogs head coach Ted Dent is a known knucklehead who probably said one or all seven of George Carlin’s favorite words to get himself a game misconduct, but even I can get an idea as to why he’d have called over the officials -twice in the first period- to make sense of what’s going on.

If all that took place last night happened under the context of a three man officiating crew having to put a stopper on an ever building powder keg? I’d get it a little bit. There were some scrums here and there that better needed containing and shutting up sooner. But it was a four man officiating crew. As much as I loved the Trevor Murphy vs. Ville Pokka fight do yourself a favor, watch it again, and tell me how the officials handled that situation. It looked like aliens who had just descended upon the Earth and weren’t sure how to introduce themselves to the natives.

Funnily enough, as so happened, Murphy and Pokka were assessed game misconducts under the “secondary altercation” guideline of the AHL rule book (46.7). That rule dictates that: “a game misconduct penalty shall be imposed on any player who is assessed a major penalty for fighting after the original altercation has started.” Considering it happened rather organically with the pile up and was, not just geographically, the more central scrap taking place I don’t know how justified that implementation of the rule was or if it was the officials way of dismissing players rather than having a legitimate secondary altercation with either or the two players later in the game resulting in a second fighting major and a game misconduct for doing such – an unlikely circumstance as for Murphy that was his second pro fight and first of the season and it was Pokka’s first ever recorded fighting major in his career via Hockey Fights.

That, by a long shot, was hanging over my head as the game went on. If the play on the ice for either the Admirals or IceHogs felt directionless I suppose it would be fitting because there was hardly ever a chance for the two sides to get consistent runs of play without a whistle. Stop. Start. Stop. Stop. Wait, was that penalty correct or not? Start again.

While there are notes to be had of the Admirals more poor efforts on the night, passing – passing out of shots, it is hard to not admire four things that went right.

Frédérick Gaudreau goes right to the net – scores a goal. Gaudreau goes right to the net on the Admirals extended five-on-three power-play – collects a rebound and scores a second goal. Gaudreau swoops down the right wing and, failed pass or not, he puts a puck towards the front of the net – and scores a goal off the leg of the defending Carl Dahlström and records a hat trick. And, let’s not let one Québec native have all the fun, Alex Carrier goes to the net in overtime – and scores the game-winning goal off of a rebound from a Pontus Åberg shot. The Admirals do have plenty of skill. But when this team is at its best it is when they are playing a simple game that sees pucks cleared out their defensive zone, playing with pace North-South, and going right to the net. All that skill is useless when wild one against three dekes are attempted through traffic and the puck gets turned over. Where the Admirals were at their worst last night was puck possession and retention. They didn’t have that puck often or long. Fortunately, in a few moments when they were rolling forward, they were rewarded when the simple and direct approach to the net was applied. For the Admirals less often seems to yield so much more with their skill set.

So, for as scrappy or sloppy as last night’s game was, the Admirals did find recipe enough for success tonight when the face the Grand Rapids Griffins: defense first, keep it simple, and get pucks and bodies to the net. It doesn’t need to be more complicated than that.

After last night’s game I caught up with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. I also chatted with Gaudreau and Carrier just prior to the duo getting packed up and ready for an overnight bus ride to Grand Rapids. These were last night’s post-game interviews with a bonus in the form of a pre-game chat that I had with former Admiral turned IceHog Michael Latta.

Comments on the comments? What did you think of all of last night’s stoppages and penalty calls? Was the game pacing unnecessarily flubbed up or did the officials manage the forest fire that is the Admirals/IceHogs rivalry well?

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.

The AHL All-Star break is officially over. This afternoon the Milwaukee Admirals were back practicing and did so today at the MSOE Kern Center. They will be returning to game action this weekend with the Rockford IceHogs tomorrow night at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and then on the road against the Grand Rapids Griffins on Saturday.

As bodies took to the ice there was a noticeable absentee. Jonathan Diaby was officially reassigned to the Cincinnati Cyclones. He has played 5 games at the ECHL level this season and has 3 assists with a plus/minus rating of +2 and 6 penalty minutes. For the Admirals in the AHL Diaby has 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) in 21 games with a plus/minus rating of +1 and 30 penalty minutes.

Diaby’s absence likely comes due to the return of Petter Granberg to the Admirals defensive ranks. The line combinations with the big Swede returning looked as follows:

Fiala-Smith-Åberg
Florek-Kamenev-Gaudreau
Richard-Kirkland-White
Liambas-Army-Payerl

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

Mazanec
Gunnarsson

Rick Pinkston was rotating here and there alongside Jack Dougherty. It is most likely he will be a healthy scratch in the current roster structure. As far as line rushes went today, I must say, the group of Anthony Richard–Justin Kirkland–Matt White looked really good. And, in general, practice today looked much looser and the players much more relaxed.

If you followed me chatting about practice on Twitter you will have wondered what was up with Alex Carrier starting practice off in a clunker red helmet and having to do push-ups. Was it All-Star hazing? Nope, he simply forgot his helmet and they grabbed on from the MSOE staff around the rink until his bucket could be retrieved.

In net, Marek Mazanec and Jonas Gunnarsson shared time in net during the mix of various drills. It is becoming all that more impressive seeing Mazanec looking very sharp and composed to shooters. It feels like the times of him being jumpy or in a scramble is pretty much gone. He stays really square to shooters. For the team to be looking to get back on a run he’ll be central to doing that if he can continue to stay as locked in as he has since returning to Milwaukee full-time.

Injury Update. I’ve noticed him around the team lately but Adam Pardy is still considered out long-term due to an upper-body injury. He is healing up well and has been contributing with the Admirals as a borderline coach as he continues to make strides for a return by the end of the season. He also had a fantastic interview with Aaron Sims this morning that is well worth watching via Facebook. Pardy might be one of the best interviews I think we’ve had here in Milwaukee. I could listen to that guy talk hockey and tell stories all day. He is a good one.

After practice I had the opportunity to speak with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. I also spoke with Pinkston, Carrier, and Mazanec per fan requests. Here were today’s interviews.

Comments on the comments? Do you feel that the All-Star break came at the right time for the Milwaukee Admirals? How good will it be for the schedule to shake back out with more home games as the Admirals look ahead for the second half of the regular season?

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.

Disappointing is the word that comes to mind the most when I think back to last night’s 4-2 loss against the San Jose Barracuda at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. The Milwaukee Admirals had looked so good on Friday night when they earned a 3-0 shutout over the Stockton Heat that it seemed that the ship had been righted. The next test was seeing it set sail for a few games. I’m still not entirely sure if the Admirals crashed the ship of if the Barracuda sank it. Either way, it was a deflating feeling going from one day into the next.

What stood out to me the most was a Barracuda team that really threw their weight around against the Admirals and dictated the action. I never feel the Admirals are at their best when they are the ones left to chase the game. I don’t purely mean that as them being down on the scoreboard. I mean that as the Admirals are best suited as the team managing the puck and directing a North-South game that puts the opponent on their back heels a bit. That didn’t happen near enough last night. And what seemed to happen more often then not was the Barracuda making it a gritty and dirty style game where they were out-muscling the Admirals to the puck.

There were areas of last night’s game where you can see some great strides being made among both individuals and the team. There were also some spotty moments that act as reminders as to why the group was drilled so hard at Wednesday’s practice just to get a message of “defense first” across. It was a mixed bag game of the Admirals being good – but when they weren’t the Barracuda made full advantage of the bad.

I do hope like crazy that when the AHL reviews the “elbowing major” against Admirals captain Trevor Smith that there isn’t any further action taken. In the moment, much like how the officials see it, I was raising my eyebrows thinking it didn’t look good. When you start seeing replays? Adam Helewka was receiving a pass, had his head down the entire way, and Smith caught him clean with a right shoulder check through the chest and partially Helewka’s left shoulder. It was a clean play upon one replay – and for others with good angles in attendance it may have been squeaky clean as it happened live. But to call it an elbowing major when the elbow isn’t being used? A game misconduct? To quote someone you’ll hear say it in post-game interviews in a moment – I just don’t get it.

Ideally, after games like last night, a team wants to jump right back at it and redeem themselves or get the bad taste out of their mouth. That won’t be happening though. If the Admirals played the Barracuda game on Friday and the Heat game on Saturday – we might all be feeling way better going into the AHL All-Star break. Instead, it played out as it did and now there is a small lingering feeling of “still struggling” clouding over the group.

What I would say is that this All-Star break does come at an opportune time for the Admirals. They are struggling a bit. They’ve had some fatigued bodies – every team does. I think more than most teams though the mental exhaustion of all the road games combined with the roster fluctuations has made it hard for consistency to be a thing when the team’s constant is being on the road with bodies going up and down out of the lineup. Of their final 33 games of the 2016-17 regular season the Admirals will be playing 20 home games including homestands of 3 games or more 4 times. This current break will be about R&R. The rest of the season they have a chance to settle down like most other AHL teams in the league won’t have the chance to en route to the playoffs. The Admirals will need to make the time moving forward count. They can get on a serious run with the way the schedule is set in front of them.

After last night’s game I had the chance to speak with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. I spoke with Alex Carrier before he takes part in this evening’s AHL All-Star festivities. I also chatted with Anthony Richard and Frédérick Gaudreau. There were their comments after the game.

Comments on the comments? The Milwaukee Admirals end the season with a vast majority of home games still to play. Do you feel that getting the group healthy and logging time in Milwaukee is the best cure for this team to start playing consistently well?

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I flagged last night’s game as one of the most important moments in the Milwaukee Admirals season after I took in Wednesday’s practice. The team had lost two straight games and it was the manner in which they lost that was the most devastating element: the Admirals were their own worst enemies time and time again.

That Wednesday practice was a combination of punishment and tough love. A message of “defend first” and “play as a team and not as individuals” was worked into each and every player until it sank in deep. But just because that practice was hard and physically, mentally, and even emotionally draining didn’t mean the Admirals were simply going to come out and be cured of their ailments. They were facing a Stockton Heat team that were very much in a similar position and needed to rebound.

To further emphasize the lesson at hand I find what the Admirals coaching staff decided to do next was a rather interesting one. I was fully aware that Thursday was meant to be a day of reflection and soul searching. What I wasn’t aware of was that the team scrapped morning skate and that the first time that the players and coaches really interacted since Wednesday’s practice was at pre-game skate at 6:30 PM CST. The coaches left systems meant for the game plan on the board and gave the locker room over to the men who wear the letters on the front of their jerseys. And the Admirals went out and took care of business from there.

For all that took place after the loss Tuesday night I find the Admirals earning a 3-0 shutout over the Heat to be an outstanding result. It needed to be good. It ended up being darn near perfect. There were still moments of heart in mouth for the Admirals that could have been cleaner defensively or less “flashy” on one-on-one skill plays moving the puck forward. It still was never allowed to truly hurt them. Every time there was a mistake someone was covering or quick to assist and create pressure once again.

What is now as equally as important as last night’s game is what sits in front of the Admirals today. Getting back on the right side of the win column is one thing through a performance like that but it can all be squashed if the Admirals fall back into bad habits and get thrashed 5-1. Last night’s game would become an oversight to a larger issue. It isn’t about getting one game under the belt. The first one of that was the key. It is getting a sustained run back in the form in which the team knows they can play when they’re all on the same page. They did it last night. They need to do it again tonight against a San Jose Barracuda team that did something the Admirals haven’t done in years: win on the road in Grand Rapids.

It won’t be an easy test, again. The Admirals must stay contained and focus on what they’re doing to achieve what they did last night. The message was sent on Wednesday. It was received on Friday. Now the real path that the team needs to be following begins.

After last night’s game I caught up with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason – who I accidentally got to drop an f-bomb. I then chatted with Trevor Smith, Marek Mazanec, and Jimmy Oligny just as the concert was beginning. So, apologies if there is a lot of background noise. These were all of last night’s post-game interviews.

Comments on the comments? How is everyone feeling about Marek Mazanec as the Milwaukee Admirals goaltender for the rest of the season? It hasn’t been too long but what are your initial impressions of Andrew O’Brien?

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Today’s practice was going to be an intense one following last night’s game and subsequent interview with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. And was it ever. I’m not sure I can do justice do all that I saw but the image that sticks out to me is when the group was given its first water break. Everyone’s face was red. Everyone was breathing hard. Everyone was sweating buckets. They all looked like they had just completed a triathlon.

This practice may have been a long time coming. The message of the practice also may have been a long time coming. It wasn’t trying to single certain individuals out for mistakes but the collective group that keeps falling into bad habits and has for the last few weeks.

The Admirals at their official halfway point of this season had played the most road games and fewest home games in the AHL. Lost in that statement is the way that practices can really fluctuate and be diverted away in the form of travel days. From December to now the Admirals have played 24 games. Out of that stretch the Admirals have logged 16 road games and travel that spans Texas, Charlotte, San Jose, and Stockton.

Forget about the injuries that the Nashville Predators have had and the recalls up, down, and around. Forget about in-house injuries. Think of the mental strain from travel alone that the Admirals have battled the past seven weeks. When things aren’t going right in-game there isn’t much more left to do other than try and correct it in the next road game after a day’s worth of travel to get to it. Bad habits form. Bad habits of one individual can disperse into the rest of the group like a cold. No seriously devoted practice time? No serious solution other than miraculously curing it in the moment – in the game – where it manifested in the first place.

Watching today’s practice wasn’t fun. It wasn’t fun to spectate and -general consensus from everyone involved on the ice- it wasn’t fun to do. It was work. It was both a reality and gut check. Without naming names – it pushed sheer physical strain into mentally breaking down some individuals. Today was hard. It was very hard. But it was a necessary measure to get everyone on the same page.

I tried taking notes on what little of Evason’s pre-practice discussion with the team that I could hear. I feel it is probably a speech that is best left kept for the team. All I know is what I did hear was from the heart, it was from a place of being a team, and of reflection. This practice was intense and such that there will not be one held tomorrow. Instead, Evason asked the group to focus and reflect on themselves ahead of this weekend’s games.

The way that I saw all of today’s grinding practice was that the first period of Friday night’s game might be among one of the more crucial moments of the 2016-17 season for the Admirals. The message was sent today and it was sent in the most brutal of ways to get people to focus on what is most important: being a team. After the first few shifts we should all have a better idea of not -if- that message has been received but -how- it was received. It clearly was received today. How will the team respond to it? That’s my question that won’t have an answer until Friday night.

Following practice I had the chance to catch up with Evason to get his thought process for today and the look ahead for the weekend. I also chatted with several players courtesy of fan requests on Twitter. The players I spoke with were: Kevin Fiala, Matt White, Anthony Richard, Adam Payerl, Jimmy Oligny, and Marek Mazanec. Here is what everyone had to say following Wednesday practice at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.

Comments on the comments? How do you feel the Milwaukee Admirals will respond Friday night? Was this approach from Dean Evason the right one to take? If the team plays how it did Tuesday night this weekend – what becomes the next step?

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