How about a pre-game treat? Prior to tonight’s game I spoke with the newbie from Dartmouth Eric Robinson and the relie from Fort St. John Scott Ford. Rather than wait through tonight’s game and tag them ahead of the post-game audio I say instant satisfaction! Here is what both had to say prior to tonight’s game.
As an eternal optimist I always like to grab positives out of rough, rough, rough results such as the Admirals 5-1 defeat at the hands of the Oklahoma City Barons. As you’ll hear reciprocated by the team, there certainly were things to take from that game and carry into Tuesday’s rematch with the Barons. Once again the team produced pucks to the net at a high rate. The problem of that game just became mounting mistakes, lost composure, and an inability to finish off many of the great looks that were generated on the offensive end.
I would like to think of that game as a wake up call sort of result for the Admirals. They are about to embark on a season long six-game road trip and are going to be tested hard all the way to the finish line. Mistakes get punished. Being handed five chances on the power-play should produce some sort of a result on the scoreboard. Getting a first goal just to allow one right back seconds later. It’s simple stuff but it was the little things that alluded the Admirals in that game. Even in a bit of a rut, the Barons are too good of a team to have allowed that many breaks to and it ended up biting back pretty hard by the end of the game.
Following the defeat, I had the chance to speak with Dean Evason, Joe Piskula, Triston Grant, and *drum roll bonus guest* the General Manager of the Nashville Predators David Poile. Here is what they had to say following the Admirals loss Sunday night.
I must confess, when the Grand Rapids Griffins took the lead in the third period I felt as if that was it. The combination of Petr Mrázek and Teemu Pulkkinen had done it again. And, for all the good work that was done, the Admirals were going to fall yet again to the white hot Griffins.
As you’ll hear, I wasn’t alone in that line of thinking. Dean Evason had started to walk off the Admirals bench with the seconds winding down in regulation assuming that things were over. Triston Grant had also started making the move down the bench towards the locker room.
Then something happened. Kevin Fiala happened. With 15.3 seconds remaining the puck wasn’t even in the attacking zone. The Griffins had cleared the puck to neutral ice. Taylor Aronson quickly threw the puck ahead to Fiala who caught and whirled a pass back ahead for Viktor Arvidsson to break into the zone. 10.8 seconds remaining. Arvidsson’s rush ahead is stalled by Nathan Paetsch. He passes all the way across towards the on-rushing Fiala back at the right point who quickly one-times a shot towards the net. The rebound off Mrázek kicked back to Fiala who one touch passed back to the point for Joe Piskula who teed up a one-timer for Arvidsson. No dice.
And then with 1.3 seconds remaining, with people moving towards the locker room and time effectively done as far as scoring chances should be concerned, it happens. Fiala hammers a shot pass square to the stick tape of Viktor Stålberg. The pass flew past a slide attempt of Kevin Porter and, from how it appears on the replay, a goaltender that just as well assumed there was no chance there would be a goal scored from where Fiala was firing from and firing to with 1.3 seconds remaining. There was. And the Admirals polished that opportunity off with 0.4 seconds to spare.
By the time the ice had been properly dry scraped and people had calmed down as best they could for the overtime period it had already been done. The Griffins were rocked just as hard, if not harder, than the Admirals were two weeks prior. Colton Sissons won the opening faceoff in overtime. Anthony Bitetto stalled as Piskula and Stålberg got in motion. Bitetto to Piskula. Piskula bank pass off the wall for Stålberg. The Swede raced ahead and battled for body positioning with Nick Jensen. Stålberg’s drive and drive alone on net put that puck past a flustered Mrázek. There was no real shot taken from Stålberg on the hat trick goal. It was simply working hard to the net and that pucked hobbled on through to the back of the net. 0:15.4 seconds of ice time between a regulation loss and an overtime win against the AHL’s hottest team right now.
After the game I did catch up with Evason. I also managed to grab the heroic duo of Fiala and Stålberg. Plus, we’ve not heard from Johan Alm in ages so I brought him into the Chatterbox for good measure. Here is what they had to say following the Admirals 3-2 (OT) win over the Griffins.
What can you say? The Grand Rapids Griffins storm rolled the Milwaukee Admirals last night in a 4-0 shutout. It felt like the Griffins had the game on cruise control for the better majority of the contest. There was about a ten minute or less spell for the Admirals to close the second period. The game was 1-0 at that time. Instead of carrying their first whisper of momentum into the third the Griffins took hold of the game and never let go.
At the start of the season the Admirals played a speed and stretch pass game which had them beating teams almost on skill alone. When the rest of the league wised up in December it hit them hard. What followed was January’s “play the right way” campaign and things really appeared to not only be trending upwards for the Admirals but looked as if that’s the type team balance that should be expected moving forward.
February’s slate of games ended with the shutout loss to Grand Rapids last night. The final mark established in the month for the Admirals was 4-4-2-1. They’ve recorded only a single win from their last seven games and of those losses four came in regulation including the last two straight on home ice.
It’s hard to determine what the problem is but it’s easy enough to through darts at the idea board. For example, having the amount of injuries, call ups, PTO signings, etc can’t be the most ideal scenario for a team to get on or maintain any sort of groove. That being said, those moves and injury problems were really targeted at the defense. It’s the offense that has had its share of hot and cold performances in February. At the start of this month there was a three-game winning streak where the Admirals posted a grand total of seventeen goals. This current four-game losing streak that the Admirals are on? Twelve goals.
You certainly prefer to go through stretches such as this now rather than playoff time. My line of thinking is that, with so many banged up parts getting back into the lineup, the Admirals are better suited to rebounding and getting back to their good vibes of “playing the right way” soon enough rather than sputtering again and again. If you look at what the month of March brings it’s a hefty chunk of games – specifically road games. The Admirals will be playing fifteen games – as opposed to the eleven games they had this month – and nine games of that grouping are all on the road – including a massive six game road trip.
After the game I was able to speak with Dean Evason and Triston Grant before Billy Currington exploded the stage with loud noises. Here is what both had to say following the shutout loss to Grand Rapids.
Last night’s 4-2 loss meant that the Midwest Division currently stands with three teams locked in first place of the division with 66 points. As far as tie-breaks go: With more overall wins the Grand Rapids Griffins are out in front for the first time all season. The Milwaukee Admirals sit second. And the Rockford IceHogs, having played a game more than both the Griffins and Admirals, are third.
I don’t even think there is much to say at this point when it comes to Admirals performances against the Iowa Wild. It is mind cripplingly savage to understand the question of how the AHL’s worst team, consistently all season, is so successful against the Admirals – a top four Western Conference team. The Wild have won 18 games all season and have won 5 games against the Admirals… that’s 27.7% of their overall win total coming at the expense of the Admirals.
If we get to playoff time sitting second, third, or -heaven forbid- lower in the Midwest Division you’ll end up gawking back at the should haves on the season. Every single defeat to the Iowa Wild has been a should have. There’s really no excuse as to coming up empty and doing the better majority of it on home ice, to boot.
January was the rebound month for the Admirals. Things got back on track after a horrific month of December. Right now the Admirals have won just one game in their last six while pulling back four points from a possible twelve. It’s actually quite fortunate that the IceHogs have been hit and miss along with us. It’s allowed the Griffins, who are hot, to jump into the mix.
What the Admirals may need more than anything is their “want to get away” time off from playing. That’s precisely what the schedule will allow for this next week. The Admirals don’t play again until Friday. The bodies will get a good rest. The minds can check out for a little bit. And the team can get back to it with their sights firmly planted on the newly first placed Griffins in front of a big time concert night crowd.
After the game I spoke with Dean Evason, Austin Watson, and Zach Budish. Here is what they had to say following the game.
Prior to tonight’s game I stopped off for practice at the MSOE Kern Center. When I found out that only Johan Alm, Jimmy Oligny, and Magnus Hellberg were there (it was an optional practice) I decided it be best to turn back to the locker room and hear from the rest of the team.
First things first there are some small notes: Ian White will not be with the team again today as he remains with family following the passing of his grandmother. Anthony Bitetto was a scratch in today’s Nashville Predators game and will therefore not be with the Admirals tonight either.
I caught up with Dean Evason, Rich Clune, Mike Liambas, and Kevin Fiala. Here is what they had to say ahead of tonight’s game against the Iowa Wild.
As always following an Admirals game, my drive home from the BMO Harris Bradley Center to Racine allows for some reflection time on the game and what all happened. The more I thought on tonight’s 3-2 loss to the Lake Erie Monsters the more I just feel the need to tip my cap to Calvin Pickard and prepare for tomorrow’s road game against the Grand Rapids Griffins.
Pickard has long been dominant against the Admirals but his 35-save effort tonight has to rank among his best that I’ve seen him put up against the team. There were outright highlight reel saves but more importantly plenty of saves where he wasn’t allowing second or third chance opportunities. It took a Colton Sissons mini-break and a Mark Van Guilder rebound tally with an extra attacker on the ice for the Admirals to solve him. Outside of that he was a wall in net.
Chet’s brother has played the Admirals ten times in his career. Calvin has a record of 7-1-0-1 against the Admirals with a 2.28 goals against average and 0.909 save percentage. If not for the beating he took in net last season when he allowed six goals to the Admirals. It would be even better.
After the game I spoke with Dean Evason, Pontus Åberg, Jonathan Diaby, and Marek Mazanec. Here is what they had to say following the loss Tuesday night.
When the Milwaukee Admirals are playing at their absolute best is when their game is at its absolute basics. Chip, chase, be disruptive of passing and shooting lanes, put pucks to the net, and crash for rebounds. Often times the skill level of the forward group breaks out of that mold to explore how much they can get away with and, in doing so, can disrupt the flow of the Admirals complete game. It’s the difference between an incomplete offensive effort on Friday night versus an all-zones controlled type of feel that was laid down Sunday evening.
If there is a quote that gets repeated more on this year’s Chatterbox more than “play the right way” I would be shocked. It’s been the identity of the Admirals since December came to a close and the right way is to play straight forward, controlled, smart hockey. Friday night, the Admirals were outshot by the Rockford IceHogs 33-24. Sunday, they out shot the Lake Erie Monsters 29-27. The work rate was better, the overall team play looked smoother, and as it would happen it resulted in a win. Simplicity works.
After the game I spoke with Dean Evason and then did some waiting around for the players. The purple jersey auction had plenty scrambling around after the game. From the sounds of it I think Rich Clune had the jersey with the highest bidding. I was hearing it went for somewhere in the $4,000 range. Not too shabby. Especially with that Swedish netminder of our’s always topping out those jersey auctions! Fortunately enough Kevin Fiala, Magnus Hellberg, and Anthony Bitetto (flu symptoms and all) caught up with me. Here is what they all had to say after the game.
I took awhile to even get started on this edition of Chatterbox just to sit, think, and evaluate the Admirals 2-1 loss to the Rockford IceHogs. My first impression of the game was that it felt like an all-around stinker for both teams. The Admirals and IceHogs are capable of far better performances than what both displayed. The other thought? Both wanted to avoid the chaotic happenings in last weekend’s 7-5 goal fest and it resulted in a more structured defensive chess match.
Reality is that the game was a little of each of those two thoughts. Yes, it could have been much better from both. Yes, it was a defensive game. And that’s where I find myself actually thinking that, despite the result going against the Admirals, it was actually a pretty good performance.
Jared Nightingale and Jaynen Rissling were in game number two with the Admirals and they looked like they had been playing on the same defensive line all season. They both play a very simple and straight forward defensive game and they complement each other well on the ice. It should be the weak spot on the defense that is currently down two entire lines from where they started the season. No Johan Alm. No Jimmy Oligny. No. Joe Piskula. And Anthony Bitetto is current up in the NHL with the Nashville Predators.
Considering the level of talent and quality that the IceHogs possess this season I thought the defense and team put in a pretty good night of work in the books last night from a defensive perspective. Marek Mazanec only allowed a net front redirect off a miscue that allowed a shorthanded goal and then allowed another from a power-play. He made thirty-one saves otherwise and the better majority of those were nothing special.
The offensive side of the puck? To borrow a PC term from Stone Cold Steve Austin, it was a clustermuck. There are too many occasions this season when I notice the Admirals getting into spurts where they pass out of shooting opportunities. Probably more often than not, when this is the case, they lose. What worked so well in January was the “keep it simple” mentality. Put pucks to the net and then grind out those second and third chance opportunities.
Again, bit of good and bad to take out of that game. The good news is that, despite the loss, the Admirals remain in first place of the Midwest Division over the IceHogs. That gap was build in the week leading up to the game and it helps mask what was only the Admirals fourth regulation loss in twenty-one games.
Before going into the audio I thought I would shed some light as to what went on with the roster moves the previous two days. Taylor Aronson was called up to Nashville and Viktor Stålberg was sent down to the Admirals. Then, flip that around because that’s what happened early Friday morning. For Stålberg it was basically a paper transaction due to the Predators roster numbers meaning someone had to be sent down. He never left Nashville knowing he was going to be there the next day. And all that for Shea Weber to play through a stomach bug anyways. Aronson participated in the pre-game skate and was a healthy scratch. …hockey sometimes.
After the game I spoke with Dean Evason, Rich Clune, and Triston Grant. Here is what they had to say following Friday night’s game against the IceHogs.
I would say that the last two games for the Admirals haven’t been the prototypical games we saw in January. That “play the right way, do the right things” gimmick has taken a backseat to some run and gun style “see goal, score goal” hockey. Not good for the Admirals goalies and defense. Thankfully, the offense has been up to the challenge and delivered.
In the last three-in-three of the Admirals 2014-15 season the went on and swept the entire weekend set. They outscored their opponents 17-11, went 37.5% (6/16) on the power-play, and had a 90.0% (9/10) on the penalty kill.
The offense has been good. No question. The defense and goaltending in the last two games has had some serious bad luck. Marek Mazanec had a puck flick up and in off of him in Rockford. Worst of the worst by a long shot though. Magnus Hellberg allowed three goals as a direct result of pucks deflecting off of his own teammates in front of him in net against Rochester.
It might not be too surprising then that head coach Dean Evason said, after the game, that they deleted the game footage immediately following Sunday’s game. I don’t see him joking about that one bit. And I can’t blame him if he did. It was a hot mess of a game that the Admirals were able to snag the win in overtime from.
After a lengthy post-game presser with Evason, I also had the chance to catch up with Austin Watson and Brendan Leipsic to hear their post-game reactions. Here is what everyone had to say after the Admirals 6-5 overtime win.
Admirals Roundtable 