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

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

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

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

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

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

~Chatterbox~

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

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

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The Milwaukee Admirals 4-1 win over the Chicago Wolves was another good step forward. It’s a four game winning streak for the Admirals now. They’ve won four-straight out of five games this season in the Amtrak Rivalry. And the Admirals have won eight from their last eleven games. Through that span I don’t think there was a better wire-to-wire performance from them than last night.

Ignore that silly delay from the Wolves and simply acknowledge the game itself for a moment. The Admirals hopped out of the gate, scored an early goal, allowed a goal seven-minutes later, and answered right back with a goal of their own fifty-four seconds later. The Admirals would never allow another goal. They continued to play a physical game that appeared to get under the skin of the Wolves and, dare I say it, would Wolves the Wolves.

With the game being as physical and chippy as it was there were some unnecessary penalties taken from both sides but look at the results. The Admirals went 2/5 on the power-play. The Wolves went 0/5 on the power-play. Not only was that Admirals penalty kill perfect on the night they barely allowed shots on goal – much less quality shots. If a lengthy bus ride from Chicago to Milwaukee that delays a hockey game isn’t enough of a mental pulverizer I have to imagine seeing chance after chance on the man-advantage, coming and going without a clear chance to score, is.

I spoke plenty late Sunday night on the Admirals turnaround from a season ago when it comes to how impressive the season-to-season difference has been for this team adapting to roster changes stretching the team to the limit. But what happens when this Admirals team, which was already on a solid run, starts getting bigger pieces back? We all got a nice look at just that when team captain Colton Sissons returned to the lineup last night. He didn’t miss a beat. The team’s leading scorer and top line center in Sissons absence, Frédérick Gaudreau, moved back out on the wing to accompany Sissons and the surging Kevin Fiala. That line combination was fantastic and also stuck together on the power-play to deliver the Admirals two power-play goals.

If the Sissons factor wasn’t enough purely on that front than I turn your head to how fun it was watching the Admirals penalty kill purely from the forward roles. Sissons and Gaudreau were paired up. Félix Girard and Joe Pendenza were paired up. And Max Reinhart and Adam Payerl were paired up. That is a lot of trust in the forwards to play responsibly on defense and also cheat, as the Admirals and their AHL best 8 shorthanded goals would suggest, to attack offensively on the penalty kill. Sissons is a great faceoff worker. Girard has been loading up on defensive zone faceoffs in the absence of Cody Bass. The depth of this team and quality of this team down the middle was given a massive boost in all aspects of the game by seeing the captain return. And the scoreline kind of sums that up a lot more concisely than I care to attempt.

Last season the early Swedish sensation appeared to be Pontus Åberg when he scored 5 goals through the month of December. There were some pretty flashy ones yet his game sort of stumbled and it’s taken him until his sophomore season right now to really elevate his game above and beyond that mark. So what of this season’s Swedish freshman, Max Görtz? If you aren’t keeping better tabs on him he has been phenomenal. He currently has a five-game point streak in which he has scored 9 points (3 goals, 6 assists). His month of December has seen him produce 12 points in 11 games. His October and November were a little on the slow side but it appears he, like Fiala, is really picking slack up as the Admirals roster has thinned out. So, basically, just what the doctor ordered.

Another individual who I feel is worthy of a ‘shout out’ is Jimmy Oligny. He was everywhere last night. It seemed as if anytime there was a scrum that needed to be dealt with or a hard-nosed defensive play to disrupt the Wolves the number #47 and a Nordic beard straight out of Skyrim was involved. Oligny’s work rate is yet another small example of the current state of the Admirals. Everyone is stepping up and playing stellar hockey. Even the guys who may have been overlooked last season are shining.

It wouldn’t be fair to hop into the post-game audio yet without tipping a cap to Admirals goaltending once again, either. In his last twelve starts Juuse Saros has earned eleven wins. He has thirteen wins and three losses this season with a 2.41 goals against average, 0.919 save percentage, and shutout. The next closest rookie netminder to Saros in AHL wins this season is Tristan Jarry of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins with eight wins. Saros only trails league leaders Peter Budaj (Ontario Reign) and Michael Leighton (Rockford IceHogs) by two wins to take a share of the league lead with fifteen wins. Saros is 13 years younger than Budaj and 14 years younger than Leighton.

After the game I joined Dave Boehler and Mario Tirabassi to speak with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. I then chatted with Sissons, Görtz, and Gaudreau. Here is what they had to say after the game.

Comments on the comments? Do you notice any stylistic changes to the Milwaukee Admirals approach to games this season as opposed to last season that has allowed for better success?

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In the last Chatterbox I stressed the importance to ignore what happened against the Rockford IceHogs in Friday night’s loss and embrace the magnitude of beating the Manitoba Moose for the first time on home ice this season. If the Admirals were to lose to the Moose? The rest of the month doesn’t set up well confidence wise barring performances that would see this depleted team rise to the occasion. Little did I know so many instances of rising to the occasion would happen last night. But time after time, one goal after another, the Admirals were able to close out a roller coaster of a game against the Moose by winning 7-5.

I feel if I were to sit back and write about all the defensive errors the Admirals had last night we’d all be here together for too long. The Admirals defense was a mess. I get that. You get that. If you don’t get that, look at the final score again, and now you’re on-board with the rest of us. It wasn’t Admirals hockey. But here is the most important thing that last night’s game provided. The puzzle pieces stuck together.

When the Admirals lost Friday night they didn’t play like a team. They were sloppy and let wave upon wave of the IceHogs either forcing or capitalizing off of errors get the better of them. Everyone in the Admirals locker room knew what they did wrong. And they responded strongly last night.

Yes, the defense was a disaster area but think about the resolve of the Admirals to ride through all the momentum swings last night’s game had. From the moment the Admirals broke the 2-2 deadlock the Moose equalized but never scored a go-ahead goal. It would trend “Admirals score, Moose score” until the 5-5 deadlock was broken when Pontus Åberg scored the game-winner with 32.8 seconds remaining in regulation and then Zac Larraza scored the empty netter off the following faceoff.

It’s probably unfair to keep bringing up last season again and again -but- allow me to do so once more. Last season the Admirals were a very streaky team. That applied to not just their overall record and how the wins and losses stacked up but you could see it within an individual game from a period to period basis. Certain games would overwhelm them and, before you knew it, they lost the plot all together. That’s not translated into this season at all. Perhaps that’s on the coaching staff and the players who went through the heat of last season’s miseries but the Admirals ability to go with the flow of a given game, shrug off momentum changes, and battle through low points in games has been a night and day difference from last season to this season.

On this exact day one-year ago the Admirals record was 14-10-0-3 (31 points, 0.574 points percentage). This season their record is 18-9-1-0 (37 points, 0.661). When you consider the amount of key players and offensive contributors that started the season with the Admirals who are no longer around – it’s nothing short of incredible to see what a difference a year makes.

~Chatterbox~

After the game, I spoke with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason as well as Max Görtz, Juuse Saros, Kristian Näkyvä, and Frédérick Gaudreau. Here is what they had to say following the thrill ride of a game that was last night’s win.

Comments on the comments? What do the Admirals need to improve from last night’s game, and the one before it, to take down the IceHogs in Rockford on Monday night?

Be sure to follow Admirals Roundtable on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and see our photos on Instagram.

Before plunging into last night’s painful 6-2 loss for the Milwaukee Admirals I have to address something because, well, look at the headline.

~Volume 100~

This is the 100th edition of Chatterbox. That’s a lot of interviews! When I took over Admirals Roundtable from the fantastic Ryan Miller back in the 2013-14 season I wanted to change things on this website in a big way. I wanted to make the Roundtable more of a news hub and go-to source for information. Something that blended the lines of casual blogging and actual hard hitting journalism. Not only that, but I wanted this to be a place where fans truly feel like they have a behind the scenes perspective that allows for an interactive experience with players. I can’t take you into the locker room with me after games. Obviously for many reasons. But I could let you listen in on the post-game chatter that takes place within that locker room and often let you be the voice that decides who you want to hear from, what questions you want answers to, and to feel as if you’ve had a hand in the post-game media scrum. That’s where Chatterbox came from for me. And it amazes me to think we’ve made it 100 volumes into this feature.

I’d like to thank everyone involved with making the Chatterbox what it is: Milwaukee Admirals VP of Communications Charlie Larson for giving me the privilege to provide behind the scenes interviews with coaches and players, Admirals head coach Dean Evason, every player I’ve had the chance to speak to or have a laugh with, and all of you phenomenal readers who continue to support Admirals Roundtable. Our fan base is one I am proud to represent and it’s all because the people associated with it are so fantastic. Thank you all for being you. And let’s see what the next 100 installments brings (hopefully more interview bombs).

~Recapping~

I was almost not even going to tap back into last night’s game. Why? Because I feel as if the scoreline says enough. It was bad. It was very much the not good. And more bad things that I could write about.

The positive to last night’s game comes in the form of today. There is a game today and a mission to be had. The Manitoba Moose have seemingly had the Admirals number this season and especially in Milwaukee. If the Admirals lose badly last night and win today? Whatever. It’s the ups and downs of a hockey season. The Admirals can shoot for payback Monday night in Rockford. If the Admirals lose again today? That’s when the real concerns start to creep in. That’s when the ugly head of doubt shows up and reminds the Admirals that they could be in-store for two-more hefty defeats at the hands of the IceHogs in the next two-games to go on a four-game skid. They can’t afford to do that. Not one bit.

So don’t stay stuck in the mud where last night’s game fell to pieces. Focus on what is directly in front of you. The Admirals need a bounce back performance. History has shown that this season, in games where they lost while allowing six or more goals, that they can and have come back strong: two wins from two opportunities. Today is chance number three to bounce back after allowing six or more goals in a losing effort. Time to bounce back.

~Chatterbox~

After the game I spoke with coach Evason. He summed up last night’s game better than I could have, really. I also chatted with Trevor Murphy, Joe Pendenza, and Félix Girard. Here is what everyone had to say after the game.

Comments on the comments? Are you at all concerned by last night’s loss or is it worth tipping the cap to a team as good as the Rockford IceHogs and moving on? Is Marek Mazanec‘s mojo against the IceHogs this season buried following his performance in net last night?

Be sure to follow Admirals Roundtable on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and see our photos on Instagram.

It hasn’t been pretty. It hasn’t been flashy. It honestly hasn’t been all that entertaining to watch unfold in-game. But, fact remains, the Milwaukee Admirals keep finding ways to get the job done.

The 2-1 win against the Chicago Wolves was yet another example of an Admirals group being able to adapt with momentum shifts and style changes in-game and do it all without shooting themselves in the foot.

The defensive effort in particular last night was the key to success. While the Wolves haven’t been at their best, make no mistake about it, the team defense of the Admirals made the Wolves look slow and dysfunctional. The style of games where the Grand Rapids Griffins were out battling the Admirals this season? Last night was the Admirals version of that script.

The offense has averaged exactly two goals per game in the last week over the course of four games. The Admirals lost the first two games of that spell but have clawed out victories from their last two games. To be producing so little but still find results as things aren’t at their best is a sign to me of the quality this group has. I still look back to the difficulties last year’s squad had when the roster really thinned out and players were having trouble getting into a groove. It’s early. It’s happening pretty darn good right now as far as a roster stretching goes. And the results and performances have still been solid.

I would like to highlight a specific moment in last night’s game that stood out to me more and more as time was expiring in regulation. Remember when the Admirals made a massive mistake on zone entry during a power-play? Jordan Caron had a shorthanded breakaway from the Admirals attacking blueline but Juuse Saros stopped him cold. Remember that?

At the time, the Admirals were leading 1-0. The Wolves -despite missing this opportunity- would go on to score a wacky power-play goal but think about their scoring opportunities away from that power-play goal. This was as good as it could possibly get and everything past it was tough sledding. Saros came up huge right at the midway point of the game to get his team off the hook for a poor mistake and the Wolves weren’t handed a gift of an opportunity like that ever again.

~Here Comes The Kid~

Speaking of solid performances, I feel as if the last few weeks has provided everyone here in Milwaukee with the Kevin Fiala we were expecting when the season started. Last night in particular was one of the first times this season when I viewed Fiala as an explosive presence on the ice. It’s the style he was playing last season when it appeared he hit the ground running after his move from HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) to North America. It appears as if his motor and wheels are fully synced again.

The amount of points he has right now offensively might not entirely be reflecting how good he’s been but in his last three games he has fired a team-leading 13 shots on goal for the Admirals. The next closest to him during the last three-games are Pontus Åberg (12 shots on goal) and Max Reinhart (11 shots on goal). If you’re going to get the offensive game going all it takes sometimes is to put that puck on net. Fiala has been battling himself between the ears I feel for the start of this season but his play is starting to really shine. It’s very encouraging to see.

~There Goes That Other Kid~

During last night’s post-game press conference with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason I was planning on asking about the upcoming 2016 IIHF World Juniors and what might happen with the likes of a Fiala or a Vladislav Kamenev. As it turns out, Kamenev is officially en route to join Team Russia in the host country of Finland today while Team Switzerland will be without the services of Fiala who’ll remain here with the Admirals.

For those in the dark about the World Junior Championships, they’ll be starting up on Boxing Day (December 26th) with the Group Stage completing New Year’s Eve (December 31st), the Playoff Rounds beginning January 2nd, and the Tournament ending with the World Junior Championship Final on January 5th.

Kamenev joins a Team Russia squad that is slotted into Group B which is comprised of: Belarus, Czech Republic, the host nation Finland, and Slovakia. It will be the second consecutive year in which Kamenev has represented his country in World Juniors. He recorded 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists) in 7 games in the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championships while claiming the silver medal as Russia fell 5-4 to Canada in the Final.

Russia’s schedule to keep an eye on will unfold as follows for the Group Stage: 12/26/15, vs. Czech Republic… 12/28/15, vs. Finland… 12/29/15, vs. Belarus… 12/31/15, vs. Slovakia.

So, why is Fiala not joining Kamenev in all the World Junior Championship fun you ask? Truthfully, I do not have the answer to that one. According to what I assume to be a projected roster for Switzerland on the official website for World Juniors – Fiala wasn’t included at all on the December 7th version of the listed roster. It’s curious why he isn’t going to take part and as to how that decision came to being. Was Fiala not up to par with the competition at forward? Was Nashville protective of him staying here in the States to keep developing with the Admirals? Not sure, really.

~Chatterbox~

After last night’s game I chatted with Evason, Åberg, Fiala, and Saros. I also spoke with Adam Payerl to get a better sense of what he’s seeing from the Admirals offense lately, Fiala’s game, and what it’ll be like seeing his linemate Kamenev heading up to the World Juniors. Here’s what they all had to say following last night’s Amtrak Rivalry win.

In the media scrum last night: Dave Boehler (JSOnline) and Mario Tirabassi (Along The Boards).

Comments on the comments? What’s your take on why Kevin Fiala wasn’t included in Team Switzerland at the World Juniors? Also, FYI, the Admirals have swapped out Zach for Zac in the wee hours of the night in a move that I’m sure will make sense at some point in time.

Be sure to follow Admirals Roundtable on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and see our photos on Instagram.

There’s plenty to like from last night’s Milwaukee Admirals 5-2 (Video Highlights) win against the Texas Stars. The offense contributed on even strength, power-play, and even shorthanded on the penalty kill. The final five minutes of regulation was a showcase for the defense not allowing a Stars goal despite so much time with empty net and extra attacker – even more so once the Admirals then were in late penalty kill mode, as well. In net, Marek Mazanec was almost a quiet hero… almost.

Above all the point of emphasis comes down to this weekend’s games really being team victories. The Admirals are playing so strong as a team and doing it while so many names are either up with the Nashville Predators or out with injury. The perfect example of how things have clicked can probably be pointed to the likes of Joe Pendenza, Vinny Saponari, Matt White, and Zach Budish all stepping in and immediately playing as if they’ve been around this whole season. It’s a credit to the players buying into what the coaching staff is preaching and quite simply the coaching staff in general making sure everyone is remaining focused throughout this number crunch with the roster being so thin.

Last season when the Admirals really started struggling it came with the loss of Miikka Salomäki for the season and Brendan Leipsic via trade. The roster started changing around and so many I think never really settled into a groove or place of comfort. The results screamed consistent inconsistency. I feel as if that’s been a point of emphasis to avoid falling into the same trap this season for both coaches and players. Don’t worry about who is and isn’t here. Know that you’re here right now, battle, compete, and contribute offensively and defensively. That’s what I’m seeing from the Admirals lately and it’s refreshing seeing no matter who is hurt, called up, reassigned, sent to Siberia and never heard from again, or scratched that a group of players take the ice for puck drop and play as a team.

Looking ahead to this coming week is slightly refreshing to find a set of road games on the horizon. The Admirals have basically played the last nine-games in their own backyard: eight-games at home and one on the road via a quick bus trip back and forth to face the Chicago Wolves on Saturday night. It’s not that the Admirals have played poorly these last nine-games. They’ve pulled in a record of 7-2-0-0 during that time. At this point in time, with the roster thinned out and lots of different players around, it almost gives them a time to get together and know one-another more off the ice. The chemistry this past weekend was good between lots of different players in lines they aren’t used to being in. Allow for some fun to be had as a team away from the rink and I have to imagine the team gets stronger as a result of more time being spent together.

The Admirals next opponent should be one that will have extra incentive to play hard against. When the Admirals last played the Grand Rapids Griffins they put an end to the franchise record ten-game winning streak with a massive thud. The Griffins won 6-0 in Milwaukee. Right now the Griffins are resurgent and playing like, well, the Griffins. After such a awful start to their season they’re currently on an eight-game winning streak. How sweet would it be to return the favor by snapping a lengthy winning streak with a road win?

Beyond that, this coming weekend will be the Admirals first games played in Manitoba since a Thursday/Saturday double-dip during the 2010-11 season. The Admirals lost that first game 3-0 but came back to win 3-2 in overtime the next time out. You know it’s been awhile when one of the goal scorers, Scott Ford, is now an assistant coach behind the bench. This season, for as terrible as the Moose have played, they’ve had the better of the Admirals in both games played in Milwaukee. This week is setting up to be a revenge tour and, if the Admirals can get past the Griffins on Wednesday, it could be quite an enjoyable time in Admirals-land by the time they get back to Milwaukee next week Tuesday.

After last night’s game I spoke with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. I also chatted with Frédérick Gaudreau, the PTO signing duo of White and Budish, as well as noted goal scorer Jimmy Oligny. Here is what they had to say following last night’s win over the Texas Stars.

Comments on the comments? Are you surprised by the Milwaukee Admirals performances lately with the roster as thin as it is? How much better can this team actually be once bodies start getting healthy throughout the Nashville Predators organization?

Be sure to follow Admirals Roundtable on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and see our photos on Instagram.

If you were to look past all the injuries and amount of bodies cycling throughout the organization right now I feel like last night’s 3-2 loss from the Milwaukee Admirals really boils down to two key turnovers in the neutral zone that lead directly to the Manitoba Moose winning that hockey game.

Turnover #1. The first goal for the Moose was a direct result of a turnover off a failed Trevor Murphy pass. He was attempting to get the offensive push rolling North but instead his pass hit neutral zone traffic and went South – very South – very fast. The puck kicked back so hard that it got behind the last line of defense, which was Murphy, and sat in the Admirals defensive zone just waiting for Matt Halischuk to pounce on it for a breakaway goal.

Turnover #2. What would go down as the game-winning goal came from another mishap in the neutral zone. Conor Allen skated up on the play and was ahead of the puck carrier Frédérick Gaudreau who was battling with Scott Kosmachuk just as he was crossing into neutral ice. As Gaudreau and Kosmachuk battle shoulder-to-shoulder Allen remained stationary and a puck stealing rush from John Albert allowed for a rapid fire two-on-one with Victor Bartley back defending and Matt Fraser out on the left wing. Bartley defended the pass across to give Marek Mazanec a clear one-on-one with Albert off the right wing. Mazanec made the initial save but Bartley wasn’t able to race in and help Mazanec recover in time and Albert was able to pop in his own rebound opportunity.

If those neutral zone mistakes are limited it’s a different game. The Admirals played somewhat sloppy in the contest but they were easily the more structured team on the ice. Even with those mistakes made the Admirals should have made more from the power-play chances that the Moose kept presenting them. The Admirals went 1/8 on the power-play last night with a goal also coming moments after a power-play ended. There should have been more damage done from all those disciplinary mistakes made from the Moose. It just never really came to be and I think it could be summed up in the first period when the Admirals let a four-on-three power-play go to waste.

It’s a shame really. You could point to the depleted roster being an issue with players having to adjust on the fly with new faces being introduced last night. But they should have won that game despite that being the case. The Admirals beat themselves in that game more than the Moose won it and that’s were frustration gets in.

The good news? If this is really the way things are going to be, with so many players banged up in Nashville, then this little gap between games for the Admirals is a huge plus to get people back on the same page. The Admirals don’t play again until Saturday night. More roster moves will probably occur with the news that Mike Fisher was hurt in last night’s Predators game as well as Jamie Devane in last night’s Admirals game. Milwaukee is stretched so thin that PTO contract signings of ECHL level talent is a must. Could Zach Budish and Gary Steffes be next in line on the familiar faces PTO signing extravaganza? Time will tell but the reality is the team that played last night has some learning up to do. It’s nothing drastic. They just need to gel back together as the roster breaks apart is all.

Before last night’s game I was able to a set of pre-game interviews with Dean Evason, Juuse Saros, Vinny Saponari, and the aforementioned Bartley. If you didn’t hear those you can listen to them right here. After the game I spoke with almost the exact same crowd but with the added bonus of Adam Payerl providing his commentary on the game. Here is what the team had to say following last night’s defeat to the Moose.

Comments on the comments? Should Nashville require yet another forward is Reinhart the best option to step into a Fisher role? If Reinhart goes up, Cody Bass remains in Nashville, and Devane isn’t fit for the weekend set of games it would leave the Admirals needing to sign two forwards in order to field a roster to play. Who do the Admirals look to sign on a PTO contract and should they stick with familiar faces or look for a more explosive offensive option that could be hiding at the ECHL level waiting to ignite the AHL?

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How long did it take to put the Admirals 6-0 thrashing at the hands of the Grand Rapids Griffins in the past? Thanks to last night’s 2-1 win against the Rockford IceHogs the correct answer to that question is 24-hours.

I want to focus on one individual that I think sums up this quick turnaround from Friday to Saturday night’s games. That man to me is Marek Mazanec. Think about what was going on in his head along the way. You go from the high of a franchise record ten-game winning streak – to a game where you were in net getting decimated – after the game you find out that your teammate is going up to the NHL instead of you – and your response to it is to be a rock for your teammates in net.

If Mazanec were to enter tonight’s game as the started only just to lay an egg I think I’d be willing to understand. Friday night’s game was rough. I’m not sure if there were many goals he allowed in the game that you could say were all his fault but rarely does a goaltender let six-goals get past him. He ends up being on the bad end of all the good that took place with the winning-streak. Smashed a few goaltending sticks by night’s end out on the ice. And then he sees what he might have felt was his role this season, the first choice goaltender in Milwaukee to be brought up in the event of an injury to either Pekka Rinne or Carter Hutton, vanish and go to Juuse Saros directly following a game when he allowed six-goals.

He could have been mentally or emotionally in bits. His focus on the IceHogs could have been non-existent with his head frozen in Friday night. That was one of two routes that Mazanec could have gone. I think the result speaks for itself but, allow me to drive the point home, he bailed the Admirals out numerous times in last night’s first period alone to give them a chance at winning that game.

When reflecting back on last night’s first period the only real saving grace was Vladislav Kamenev‘s breakaway goal. When you push that to the side and see what was left of the first period you see IceHogs domination with Mazanec stopping 14/15 shots as the Admirals offense puts only 4 shots on goal the entire period. The Kamanev goal was great. But, almost with or without it, the feeling of what happened last night was strongly creeping into the game. The difference between the Admirals going into the first intermission tied at 1-1 and not down by a goal or multiple goals was Mazanec. From the first intermission forward the Admirals confidence grew and they started looking more like themselves again. That doesn’t happen unless Mazanec gets them through the first period.

It’s also been pleasant seeing the Admirals penalty kill starting to really click no matter who is tasked with getting out to perform on it. It looked so disjointed those first few games. By the numbers… the Admirals penalty kill went 23/32 (71.9%) in the month of October over the course of seven-games… the Admirals penalty kill went 40/48 (83.3%) in the month of November over the course of twelve games.

All in all, good stuff and it doesn’t end there. For really the first time this season there were interview bombs taking place during tonight’s post-game interviews. You’ll get none during Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason‘s presser but the players were all buzzing around as they once again gave back to the fans by meeting them and signing autographs on their Stormtrooper jerseys that were put up for auction this past Friday and Saturday. In order: you’ll hear Jimmy Oligny (with Félix Girard butting in), Pontus Åberg, and Joe Pendenza (with Mazanec’s non-stop commentary in the background). Kick back and listen in to last night’s post-game interviews.

Comments on the comments? Do you feel like Mazanec and Saros might potentially get swapped soon by the Nashville Predators or do you think they are content to keep Saros up until Hutton returns? What did you think of Pendenza’s return to the Admirals lineup? Were you impressed to see the Admirals play that well with so many key names out of the squad?

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Where do we even begin when talking about last night’s Milwaukee Admirals game? What’s funny about that opening line is that I’ve said as much during the franchise best ten-game winning streak. It was being asked with a positive connotation about it. Here? After last night’s game? There is nothing positive about it. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Even the on-ice projections last night weren’t right.

For me last night was an almost alien experience in comparison to how the Admirals winning-streak played out. They were able to adjust with so many different playing styles on the go and battled to earn the result. That was nowhere to be found in last night’s game. They were thoroughly dominated from the opening puck drop all the way to the final horn sounding. The result, Grand Rapids Griffins winning a 6-0 shutout, speaks for itself. It was ugly.

I could tap into multiple points of interest/disgust that took place in the game. Why not? I pointed out so many of the positives when the Admirals were winning, right? The reality is there were so many problems that it would be like doing my mid-season or end-season Report Card having to evaluate each and every player. Because make no mistakes about it that entire team was responsible for that loss.

Sure, some Admirals players had a worse night than others but I think the root if it is a simple one. The Griffins were a team that played sound, structured, desperate, veteran style hockey. And the Admirals were none of those things. I would go as far as to say the Admirals played defeated after allowing the power-play goal that capped off the first period and coming up blank with a power-play of their own early in the second period. You couldn’t sum that up any better than Louis-Marc Aubry scoring with 0.6 seconds left in the game. One team was playing until the absolute final second to ensure they played a full sixty-minute game. The other team couldn’t be bothered. They were broken without an attempt to fix anything.

That brings me to the question that I posed to Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason and a few of the players. Do you write last night’s game off completely and look to continue winning ways against the Rockford IceHogs? Or, do you take a thrashing like that and attempt to really understand how you were so soundly defeated?

With so little time to actually chomp through all that failure sandwich I’m guessing the thought process for tonight will be to stay true to the process, get back to playing as a team, compete for every shift, and play Admirals hockey. You won’t get further than last night staying in last night’s miseries so why not remember what put yourself on a franchise record ten game-winning streak in the first place?

I don’t think I have ever been so giddy to see the IceHogs roll into town in my entire life. It has nothing to do with them, a potential bench clearing brawl, a past bench clearing brawl, or that the last game we played against them was some sort of a barn burner – because it wasn’t. This is purely excitement down to the fact that the Admirals don’t have to let last night’s game fester for an extended period of time. The Admirals can get right back to winning ways inside a twenty-four hour window. Don’t get lost in the wrongs of last night. Get prepared for what can go right tonight. That’s the attitude the Admirals need to have and the quick turn-around sure makes it easier to tap into.

~Chatterbox~

After the game I did speak with the Admirals head coach. I also chatted with Conor Allen, Félix Girard, and Max Reinhart. Here is what they had to say after last night’s game.

Comments on the comments? What stood out the most to you in last night’s defeat? Is there really a cause for concern after winning ten straight games and losing one game in that style?

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The Milwaukee Admirals setting franchise history really was the icing on the cake to last night’s 6-3 win over the San Antonio Rampage. That game really summed up the points streak as a whole pretty well, too.

The game was played in a variety of ways on a period-to-period-to-period basis and the Admirals managed to come out ahead with each style change. It was quite a sight seeing the game shift from defensively stout to a scrappy fight fest to an end-to-end track meet. With each wrinkle in the game the Admirals found ways to adjust and get the job done. That’s precisely what this winning streak has been all about.

~One Period At A Time~

In the first period of last night’s game the Admirals were held without a shot until there were less than six-minutes left in the frame. That first shot on goal was a long range toss off of Calvin Pickard‘s pads by Kristian Näkyvä that was taken from the left wing blue line in front of the Rampage’s bench. Pickard saw it the entire way. And it felt like that might be one of those sorts of nights. The Admirals were being outmuscled and forced out on the perimeter to even have a hope of a shot such as Näkyvä’s reaching Pickard.

If anything, the first period was almost summed up by an Admirals team spinning somewhere between neutral and reverse. Five minutes into the game and Näkyvä is in the penalty box for a high sticking minor. The good? The Admirals penalty kill does their dirty work and minimize quality looks against Juuse Saros. The bad? Right as the Näkyvä penalty is expiring Conor Allen takes a boarding minor to extend the power-play’s chances of finding the back of the net. That wound up costing the Admirals a power-play goal against.

There were so many times last season when the team would fall into a trap of getting into penalty trouble and then never really recovering. What I mean by that is the extended penalty kill time would sit down certain lines, forwards, or defensemen that aren’t active on the penalty kill and they would get off-kilter and never really get back into the flow of the game. That’s an issue that looks to have been corrected this season. And you’ll find no better evidence of a response shown in the closing minutes of the first period.

Kevin Fiala had his wheels going and was making some gritty plays tight to Rampage defensemen last night. With his speed he was able to force a tripping penalty and get the Admirals a four-on-three power-play. Vladislav Kamenev wins the faceoff, Taylor Aronson receives the puck off the draw, waits, knows what he’s going to do but still waits, waits, passes to Viktor Arvidsson, and ker-blammo the game gets tied. Despite all the sloppy opening minutes, rough patch with discipline, and a power-play goal allowed the Admirals leveled the playing field. They regained their footing on the first sign that there was a chance to do so.

Before the Rampage can really take a moment they’re back on a penalty kill and allowing another power-play goal to Arvidsson. From behind held without a shot for the majority of the first period while trailing to holding a 2-1 lead. That’s this year’s Admirals team. It doesn’t matter what happened a shift or two ago. It doesn’t matter if they allowed a goal. Keep playing Admirals hockey and the ship will right itself in due time.

Then this game became took a different direction. The ice appeared to open up and, before you knew it, a 2-1 Admirals lead became a 4-2 Admirals lead. Pontus Åberg and Borna Rendulic score forty-six seconds apart from one-another. Play continues to be loosening up with chances at both ends and then Cody Bass tees up Colton Sissons right as he gets up off the Admirals bench and scores.

This is when things changed for the rest of the second period. Can the Admirals play a more defensive style game? Yes, they’ve shown that they can tighten up and lean on their goaltending lately. Can they win a fast moving skilled game? Yes, and I think the forwards love that big number on the scoreboard while the coaches hate it. But what about a dirty, in the trenches, muscle-bound slugfest? The Admirals of this season haven’t fully engaged in one of those yet.

Perhaps it was that line of thinking that inspired Daniel Maggio to challenge Jamie Devane to a fight all while Max Görtz was trucked into the Admirals attacking zone. Hey, Maggio’s fighting track record against the Admirals isn’t too bad: 2/21/13 vs. Mike Liambas… 1/3/14 vs. Liambas… 1/4/14 vs. Joonas Järvinen… 10/25/14 vs. Triston Grant… 2/3/15 vs. Liambas… 2/17/15 vs. Grant… 3/4/15 vs. Jonathan Diaby…

So, with history like this, Maggio hoping to provide energy to the Rampage bench all while turning the game into a more scrappy game made sense… at the time… in his head… I’m guessing… if he remembers.

Why did the second period escalate the way that it did? This. It’s one thing to challenge an opponent to a fight in the hopes of changing the flow of the game or re-energizing your bench. It’s another thing to do that and not only lose but to get knocked out. Make no mistake about it. Maggio was knocked out cold. His legs gave out and what snapped him back to our realm of consciousness was when he smacked the ice after getting tagged with a solid uppercut right on the point of the jaw as his head was ducking lower from the abuse Devane was giving him with the right hand.

From there the bench goes from a slight high, seeing Maggio looking to change the course of the game, to an immediate low knowing their bruiser’s attempt of altering the energy and style of the game was a failure. Tempers boil. And that’s when stupid things take place on the ice.

As a puck rimmed around the boards during an Admirals attack Adam Payerl was caught chasing a puck with his head down. The puck was flying away from the net, close to the Rampage bench, and potentially ending an Admirals offensive cycle. Duncan Siemens, fresh off the bench, attempted to take advantage of Payerl while he was more focused on the puck. He squared him up and Payerl dodged the brunt of the heavy hit attempt only getting sideswiped in the process. After the replay was shown it was very clear that Siemens was leading with his right knee all the way in as Payerl was approaching and tried extending his further out as Payerl tried avoiding the check. Fully aware of that, it caused Round II to break out and may have even been a small cause of why there was a Round III thirty-eight seconds later between Bass and Sam Henley. A game that was defensively minded went from being open-ended to a grinder in moments.

What came of all those penalty minutes for the Rampage? They did score a goal with forty-two seconds remaining in the period which made it a one-goal game. So, heading into the second intermission, if you’re the Rampage you might be feeling better knowing the style match-up just went further into your own comfort zone than that of the Admirals. That feeling and what actually happened of course are two completely different things.

The game once more opened up and the Admirals played fantastically well on all three levels of the game: goaltending, defense, and offense. The goals that were scored in the third period to cement the tenth successive win were done at such a high pace – both with the primary assists and goal scoring. Devane forces a turnover, sauces up high, and Félix Girard bats a puck out of mid-air to net his first goal of the year. Max Reinhart wins a footrace down the right wing, stops, and both Allen and Fiala were wide open as the Rampage froze with Reinhart. Allen jumped up on the play, as a Nashville Predators defenseman would typically do, and finished off his chance and Pickard’s night in net from his first career goal with the Admirals.

The game was done from then on. All that was left to do was kick back and remember that franchise history was just made. Through all the momentum swings, style changes, and battles the Admirals adapted and came out on top through each and every swerve that game had. This is not the Admirals that wilted from night’s like that a season ago. This team, for being the second youngest in the AHL this season, comes across battle tested.

There will no doubt come times down the line when bad losses come or perhaps an injury bug somewhere in the organization causes a temporary shuffle but keep last night’s game to memory because it says a lot about the Admirals character. Things can change in a blink and the Admirals will change with it and compete. For so early in the season to see such an attribute really excites me.

~Chatterbox~

After the game I had the chance to speak with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. I also chatted with Girard, Allen, Sissons, and Bass. Here is what they had to say post-game.

With one more win the Admirals won’t just be extending their own history they’ll be tying the bench mark set by the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the AHL this season: an eleven-game winning streak. All that they’ll need to do is get past a resurgent Grand Rapids Griffins team to tie that mark and then follow it up with a repeat performance against an always tough Rockford IceHogs team to set the new gold standard for winning streaks in the AHL this season.

Through this run the Admirals haven’t had any cheap wins. All their opponents have matched up extremely well or better than the Admirals. Religious or not I simply advise you to read Proverbs 27:17. That’s the Admirals right now and it has been an exciting process to see going this well this early into a season.

Comments on the comments? What has impressed you the most about the Milwaukee Admirals as this winning streak has unfolded? Is this Admirals level of play sustainable throughout the course of this season? Are you regretting calling for Dean Evason and the rest of the coaching staff’s heads last season?

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