Three was a magic number for the Admirals against San Antonio Saturday night.

The Ads scored three goals to win 3-1 over the Rampage for the third time this season and most importantly win their third consecutive game on this road trip.

For the third straight game, Milwaukee got on the board first, as Ryan Flynn snuck the puck through the legs of Jacob Markstrom 3:40 into the game. Kevin Henderson and Teemu Laakso assisted.

Kyle Wilson gave the Ads a 2-0 lead about eight minutes later, redirecting a Scott Ford slapper past Markstrom. Wilson has now scored at least a point in all three games since returning from an undisclosed injury, and four straight games overall.

Milwaukee had some trouble clearing the puck in the second period, leading to a Bracken Kearns goal cutting the lead to 2-1 with 1:24 left before intermission.

The Admiral defense stepped up in the third period, forcing the Rampage to pull Markstrom in the final moments. After a centering feed from Chris Mueller, Flynn picked up an empty-netter, his third goal in three games, to ice the win with 27 seconds left.

Notes:

-With the win, the Ads move to 10-6-0-2 in their last 18 and move up to ninth place.  They could have moved up more had the other teams in the conference cooperated a little bit more.  They go to sleep tonight two points out of 5th place, with games in hand over almost everybody.

-Milwaukee still controls its playoff destiny, and with the offense flowing the Admirals appear to be sailing closer and closer to a postseason berth.

-Jeremy Smith picked up his 30th victory of the season, keeping him in second place behind Norfolk’s Dustin Tokarski in the AHL wins column.  Anders Lindback left the Preds game prematurely due to injury, for the record.  Don’t know how serious it is, but hope they won’t need to call up Smitty to open the bench door this week.

Questions:

-Coach Herbers talked before the game about Ford-o’s veteran leadership and its importance to the team in its fight for the playoffs. What has stood out to you about Scott recently?

-Who else have you seen step their game up with the season on the line?

-Think we’ll see Matt Hackett in net tomorrow, playing his third game in three days?

This trip to Charlotte was a whole lot more pleasant than the last one.

Back at the end of November, the Admirals lost a pair of games and had their head coach poached.

This time, it was two solid wins against a very good Charlotte Checkers team.

Atte Engren recorded his first victory since February 29th, and the Admirals finally gave him some offensive support, as they dropped the Checkers 4-2 Thursday night.

Coming into tonight’s game, Engren had made 12 starts in calendar year 2012 (and relieved Smitty in Flickgate last week).  The Admirals had scored more than two goals in just two of those games.  So this was a nice change of pace for him.

Even with the offensive support, Engren needed to be sharp, and he turned aside 33 of 35 shots.

Brodie Dupont opened the scoring with a power play goal.  A Victor Bartley shot went off the glove of goaltender Justin Peters, and when the puck hit the ice, Dupont was there to put it home.

The Checkers answered back with a power play goal of their own, breaking the Ads’ streak of 31 straight successful penalty kills (they hadn’t allowed one since March 17th against Toronto!).  A Joe Sova shot was tipped by Zach Boychuk past Engren.

In the second period, Teemu Laakso scored his third of the year, and first since the day after Christmas.  After some good puck movement, Laakso’s shot from the top of the right circle beat Peters.

The Admirals extended their lead about five minutes later, when Chris Mueller finished a great offensive rush that featured some more good passing.  Jon Blum passed to Ryan Thang in the right circle, who fed Chris Mueller in the slot for his 29th of the season.

52 seconds later, the Checkers halved the lead, as Engren couldn’t cover a loose puck and Drayson Bowman buried it.

Taylor Beck scored an insurance goal at 17:14 of the second, jamming the puck under the left pad of Peters.

In the scoreless third period, the Checkers outshot the Ads 13-3, but Engren was good when he needed to be, the skaters did their best to minimize the chances on each Checkers rush.  As Aaron Sims said on the broadcast…there were “a lot of ones-and-dones”.

——————

– Jeremy Smith served his suspension tonight, and Chet Pickard got to open an AHL bench door watch the game from the corner because there isn’t room for the backup on the bench.

– So at press time….we’re waiting for the Texas Stars-Peoria Rivermen game to end.  If the Rivermen lose in regulation, the Admirals will go to sleep tonight in 8th place in the Western Conference.  The Rivermen scored a pair in the third period to break a 1-1 tie and ultimately win 3-2, and with the win they jump up to 6th place in the conference, and leave the Admirals in 9th.  If it had been the Stars that won, the Admirals would have been in 8th, and the Rivermen in 9th.  What a crazy finish this is going to be…

So a nice few days in Charlotte.  On to Texas now.

Kyle Wilson suited up for Milwaukee Tuesday night after a two-game absence and the time off looked like it certainly did him some good.

Wilson scored two goals in the second period to help the Ads Checkmate Charlotte 4-0, a crucial victory to kick off a seven-game road trip.

After Taylor Beck Furied the Fury to open the scoring for Milwaukee 2:56 into the second period, Wilson gave the Ads a 2-0 lead 52 seconds later. Thang blasted a shot above the right circle that deflected off Checkers’ goalie Mike Murphy then took a wild bounce off Wilson’s chest into the net.

Wilson’s second goal of the period involved less luck and more skill as Kyle feigned a look to center as he approached the net, only to wrist one right over Murphy’s left shoulder at the 13:55 mark. Assist went to newcomer Matthew Aubin, who made his first start for the Ads this season after getting the call-up from Cincy Sunday.

Ryan Flynn made it 4-0 when MVG found him in front of the net off a wraparound try, and after three solid whacks the puck finally squeaked through.

As if playing seven of their last eight on the road wasn’t a daunting enough task, the Ads are dealing with the suspensions of Michael Latta and Jeremy Smith after Sunday’s bench-clearing brawl.

Smith made the start, opting to serve his suspension Thursday, and was solid between the pipes recording his fifth shutout of the year.

Notes: 

-Jon Blum was a late scratch for Tuesday leaving the Ads with another hole in their roster for an unknown amount of time as of yet.

-With a Rochester regulation loss tonight, Milwaukee would climb to 10th place, just two points out of the playoffs.

Questions:

How big is it to have Wilson’s presence around the net back in the lineup as the Ads make a final press for the playoffs?

Do you think Sunday’s fight will be looked back upon as a rallying point come late April making the suspensions worth the price?

In the grand scheme of things, the news is the Admirals lost in a shootout to the Rockford IceHogs for the second straight Sunday.  The Admirals got a point in the standings, which is certainly better than none…but certainly is stunting their playoff run.

What the 5,838 in attendance today will all remember will be what happened at 10:08 of the 2nd period.

2 – RFD Served By , 10:08 – Game misconduct – Coach, (75.5(iii)) 10 min

2 – RFD Flick, 10:08 – Unsportsmanlike conduct, 2 min (PP)

2 – RFD Flick, 10:08 – Fighting, 5 min

2 – RFD Flick, 10:08 – Game misconduct, 10 min

2 – RFD Hutton, 10:08 – Fighting, 5 min

2 – RFD Hutton, 10:08 – Game misconduct, 10 min

2 – RFD Lalonde, 10:08 – Fighting, 5 min

2 – RFD Lalonde, 10:08 – Game misconduct – Leaving penalty bench, (70.4) 10 min

2 – RFD Stanton, 10:08 – Fighting, 5 min

2 – RFD Stanton, 10:08 – Game misconduct, 10 min

2 – MIL Served By , 10:08 – Game misconduct – Coach, (75.5(iii)) 10 min

2 – MIL Foss, 10:08 – Fighting, 5 min

2 – MIL Foss, 10:08 – Game misconduct, 10 min

2 – MIL Latta, 10:08 – Fighting, 5 min

2 – MIL Latta, 10:08 – Game misconduct – Leaving penalty bench, (70.4) 10 min

2 – MIL Smith, 10:08 – Fighting, 5 min

2 – MIL Smith, 10:08 – Game misconduct, 10 min

2 – MIL Stortini, 10:08 – Fighting, 5 min

2 – MIL Stortini, 10:08 – Game misconduct, 10 min

(Video courtesy of Ted Gruber.  Many thanks to you, sir!)

Maybe everyone had been watching the Pens/Flyers game earlier?

Michael Latta and Shawn Lalonde had a bout and went to the box.  Then there was a TV timeout (where it was Mark Van Guilder who was at Toner Sales and Service with Roscoe), and the faceoff was going to be at the Rockford blue line.  And all four officials somehow didn’t notice that Rob Flick was skating towards the Admiral goaltender.

What was Rob Flick doing there?  Great question.

But Flick engaged Smitty and then the benches cleared.  Even Latta and Lalonde left the penalty boxes to join the fray.

Here’s Coach Herbers on the incident.  We’ll string a few of his quotes together here…

The coaches even yelled at each other from the edge of their benches.  Rockford Coach Ted Dent may talk a tough game, but I’m pretty sure he’d regret it if he actually confronted Herbie face to face.  5’11 Dent vs 6’4 Herbers. That might not end well for him….

So the officials elected to send everyone off to their locker rooms to cool their heads, and so they could decide what on earth they were going to do.  Players joining altercations from all different directions…from the bench, from the crease, from the penalty box…

So after our mid-period break, the teams returned to hear what the penalties were going to be.  The net effect was that the Admirals got a two minute power play, as the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Flick was the only thing that wasn’t evened up on both sides.

Teams played nice….and tired the rest of the way.  The IceHogs were playing their third game in three days, and in the third period, it started to show.  After some sustained offensive pressure, Mark Van Guilder got the home team on the board with a nice shot after a nice pass from Ryan Flynn.  We’ve seen this goal a couple of times before, with Flynn passing the puck from behind the goal-line to Van Guilder in the slot for the bang-bang goal.

The one the Smith did allow earlier in the game before doing his best (insert your favorite Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out character here) impression seemed like a harmless shot from near the right wing boards by Kyle Beach.  That’s a save that Smitty needs to make.

Smith did speak with reporters after the game.  Truth be told, I’m a big Smitty fan.  He usually gives honest, thoughtful, and candid answers when he talks to the media.  But I kind of get the feeling he may have been ‘prepped’ a bit before this one.  Listen for yourself.

Suspensions?  I think Latta may get one for leaving the penalty box to join the fray.  Smith?  Tough to say.  Depends on how badly the league wants to make an example out of the incident.  From a roster management standpoint, suspensions would kind of be a big deal.  If Kyle Wilson is not ready to go, they may have to sign someone to a PTO….or maybe the Preds can loan us Bourque for a game or two.

But it’s road trip time now.  Two huge games in Charlotte during the week.  Would be great to sweep them both.  Here’s the coach once more.

0 for 10.

That’s really the only stat you need to know about this game.

The Admirals went 0-10 with the man-advantage, had a four minute power play and a two-man advantage for a whole two minutes late in the third period, but couldn’t get anything past Barons’ goaltender Yann Danis. Danis led OKC between the pipes to a 3-2 victory over the Ads stopping 36 of the 38 shots he faced.

It’s easy for an opposing coach to heap praise on the bad guy’s goalie after a loss, as coach Herbers gave Danis a lot of credit.

The shots wide of the net, the whiffs and mishandled pucks and the ringing of the goal posts throughout the night were all a little harder to explain.

Oklahoma city struck first when Anton Lander centered to Antti Tyrvainen who beat Smith top right shelf 13:46 into the first period.

Tanner House extended the Barons’ lead with 8:02 into the second, collecting a near Lander turnover and snapping it past Smitty.

The Ads showed some signs of life 23 seconds into the third period, with a Kevin Henderson goal that cut the deficit to one goal. Van Guilder started a 2 on 1 rush and fed Kevin who put it right over Danis’ left shoulder.

The Barons sucked the energy out of the Bradley Center less than a minute later when Mark Arcobello slipped the puck right through the defense to Tyler Pitlick. The puck was in the back of the net before Smith could even turn his head.

Ryan Flynn made it a one-goal game again at 12:29, tapping home a Henderson assist shortly after an Alex Plante penalty expired.

Plante then went back to the box for a four minute high sticking penalty, and Hunter Tremblay followed up with a hooking penalty to give the Admirals a golden opportunity to get the equalizer. But Danis and the OKC PK stood tall, while the Ads flailed and nearly missed any shot they had.

——————

NOTES:

– Kyle Wilson was scratched, and boy, could we have used him on the power play.  Sloan left the game with an injury and Kevin Henderson left the game after being the four-minute high-stickee.

-Coach Herbers didn’t give us many specifics on any of the injuries, but noted that Sloan and Wilson were day-to-day.

-The Western Conference-leading Barons finished the season series with the Ads in a 2-2 tie after dropping their first two matchups against Milwaukee.

Questions:

Do you still have hair on your head after the Ads’ imperfect 0-10 power play effort?

With Wilson day-to-day, do you think the team has enough firepower minus his recent scoring boost?

Do you think the Baron’s PK was just that good, or were the Ads just that unlucky and disorganized?

With the loss, how big in your eyes is a win in Sunday’s matchup with Rockford, before the Ads play 7 of their last 8 on the road?

It took them 64 minutes and 56 seconds to do it, but the Ads finally put away the Aeros in a game with major playoff implications.

Like a March Madness buzzer beater, Kyle Wilson corralled a rebound off the boards behind the goal-line and fired it past Matt Hackett to put the Ads up 3-2 with 3.1 seconds left in overtime, securing the pivotal second point.

Here’s coach Herbers’ overview of the big win and what it means for the Ads’ playoff plans.

The Ads took a timeout right after they were granted an OT powerplay that would remain for the rest of the extra period.

Here’s Herbers on the TO.

The Ads looked awfully lethargic for a team fighting for a playoff berth in the first two periods of play. The Aeros looked like their namesake, flying down the ice setting up break after break, while the Ads looked like they needed some postgame Herb Brooks-style gassers.

The special teams weren’t all that special, as the Ads looked sluggish, sloppy and predictable on the Fury, going 0-for-3 in the first two periods.

Even with a man advantage, the Ads had little hurry to their Fury, evidenced by the first goal they surrendered. Houston’s David McIntyre fired a shortie, beating Smitty top right shelf to give the Aeros a 1-0 lead halfway through the first period.

Here’s Herbers again on the breakdown that led to the early goal against.

Chris Mueller was Johnny-on-the-spot with the answer for the Ads, putting in a fat rebound off a Brodie Dupont shot attempt that went over the head of a flailing Hackett with 1:07 left before the first break.

The Aeros retook the lead a few minutes into the second period with a Chay Genoway goal. McIntyre picked up his second point of the night, feeding Genoway from behind the net to beat a screened Smith.

Dupont tied the game 5:22 into the third and picked up some much needed momentum for the Ads with his first goal and second point of the night. Mueller crashed down the boards and found Jon Blum, who centered a hard pass that Dupont redirected past Hackett. Mueller made a great read to find Blum, who held onto the puck and somehow mustered a pass that banked off Brodie’s stick into the net.  Good on Blum.

It was enough to force overtime, despite Houston outshooting the Ads 9-4 in the third period.  And then Kyle Wilson finally Furied The Fury to send the pickles into a frenzy.

Here’s Wilson’s postgame Q&A:

Notes:

-The game almost started with a Roscoe faceplant, but his handler warned the Ads mascot before he hit the ice with his skateguards still on.

-The Ads made a big statement with a win over a playoff-caliber team tonight after falling yet again to cellar-dwelling Rockford Sunday. This was a huge confidence boost with conference-leading Oklahoma City coming in Friday.

-Coach had good things to say about Dupont after his two points that kept the Ads in it.

Questions:

Have the past weekend and tonight’s win convinced you that the Ads have a real shot at the postseason?

What do you think of Blum lately? He’s still at -14, but was involved in two big Admirals goals tonight?

Will you ever look at a pickle the same way after tonight’s bad puns and over-the-top promotions?

If Milwaukee does not make the AHL playoff this season, it will be easy to point to one reason why–the Admirals’ abysmal record against Rockford.

On the sixth annual Pedigree Dog Day Sunday afternoon at the Bradley Center, the Ice Hogs made it seven in row over Milwaukee with a 3-2 shootout victory. With the win Rockford now owns a stunning 8-1-0-1 against the Admirals this season and the two points gained ties the Ice Hogs with Milwaukee at 71 in the Western Conference. Both squads stand four points behind the four-way log jam at 75, represented by the sixth through ninth place spots of Charlotte, Rochester, San Antonio and Peoria, respectively.

However, it wasn’t all negative for the Admirals as Brodie Dupont’s goal in the final minute of regulation earned Milwaukee five points out of a possible six on the weekend, making a return to the playoffs a much more feasible proposition than it was three days prior.

Here is Admirals coach Ian Herbers thoughts on the game:

Coming off the bus from Peoria the previous night Milwaukee (65 Games Played, 33-27-2-3–75 points) played desperate, but sluggish at the same time, allowing several odd man rushes against in the first few minutes. That pressure resulted in Rockford (68 GP, 32-29-2-5–71 points) scoring the game’s opening goal eight minutes in as former Admiral and Nashville Predator Wade Brookbank out-muscled his defender and goaltender Atte Engren to put away a loose rebound for his first goal of the season. Former Wisconsin Badger Brian Fahey appeared to make it 2-0 later in the period, but the goal was waved off as Engren was interfered with by a crashing Ice Hogs forward.

Regrouping from that point Milwaukee dominated the rest of the period, and got rewarded for it when Ryan Thang tied the game with 53 seconds left in the first period. It was Mark Van Guilder’s dogged effort that setup the gorgeous play, working his way out from behind the net to hit Thang on the back door with a backhand pass. All the former Golden Domer had to do find the empty net from down on one leg.

Despite a 10-8 deficit in shots during the second period the Ice Hogs were the better team, and a result Rockford restored their one goal lead at 2-1. Three minutes into the middle frame former 2008 11th overall draft pick Kyle Beach was the receiving end of text book setup of their own from Brandon Svendsen and newly minted Rockford forward Terry Broadhurst (recently of Nebraska-Omaha). Both the Admirals defense and Engren over committed to the Ice Hogs forwards in the corner, allowing Beach plenty of room for a one-timed blast.

From that point the Admirals showed plenty of desperation looking for the tying marker. Yet once again Rockford goaltender Carter Hutton foiled just about everything Milwaukee threw at him. As the Admirals took chances Engren made a few key saves of odd man rushes on the other end.

After both teams took timeouts Milwaukee finally got into Rockford’s zone with pressure in the final 40 seconds. The result was Jonathan Blum’s best play of the season in Milwaukee, as he made a seeing eye slap shot pass toward Dupont, which the red hot Admiral deflected into the gaping space of net on the right side of Hutton. Dupont’s equalizer with 31.4 seconds left earned Milwaukee its much needed point.

After a quiet overtime Rockford closed things out in the shootout as both Philippe Paradis and Rostislav Olesz made Engren look like a chew toy with slick moves.

It was certainly an eventful night for Milwaukee’s Finnish netminder:

Milwaukee’s second shooter Kyle Wilson scored on a smooth backhand fake to get the Admirals on the board, but Chris Mueller, Ryan Thang and Taylor Beck all failed to force extra shooters.

So Roundtable . . . Another start for Carter Hutton, and another win against Milwaukee (8-1-0 against the Admirals), but could Dupont’s last minute goal turn the corner for the Admirals confidence against Hutton?

How satisfied are you with five of six points this weekend?

Have your thoughts changed on Milwaukee’s chances for making the playoffs?

The Admirals got five out of a possible six points this weekend.  They forced overtime in the last minute this afternoon, but came up short in the shootout.  Another win in the season series for Rockford, this one was 3-2.

Jason Karnosky will be back a little later tonight with the full-gamer…  And if you were excited for the Trey Killian debut this weekend….it’s being pushed back to Wednesday.  We’ll make it worth your wait.

(No pressure, Trey…)

Remember that huge paddle save Jeremy Smith made last night against Ian Schultz?

Call it a momentum starter.

Jeremy Smith played VERY well and gave Jonathan Cheechoo nightmares all night long, as the Admirals handed the Peoria Rivermen their first shutout of the season.  2-0 was the final.

Aaron Sims tweeted that Cheechoo should have had five goals tonight.

Michael Latta recorded his first goal since coming back from his injury, and it turned out to be all the offense the Admirals needed.  His backhand of a rebound on the power play gave Milwaukee the lead they wouldn’t give up.

Something about the Admirals power play lately….they score quickly.  Took just 20 seconds last night.  They’ve had a few go in recently with shots from the point right off the faceoff.  Latta’s took just seven seconds tonight.

Joel Champagne had a wrister that went over Jake Allen’s glove with 8:03 left in the third period.  But Mark Van Guilder was the guy who made the play, as he pick-pocketed Mark Cundari.

Peoria’s power play has been good against the Admirals all season, but went 0-5 tonight.

Milwaukee wins the season series with a 7-5 record.  The Admirals won the first five, lost the next five, and then won the last two.

—————-

Scoreboard watching….

Rochester won in a shootout, and Lake Erie lost in a shootout.

Hershey did us a favor and came from behind to beat Charlotte in regulation.

Rockford did us another favor…winning their second game against Houston in as many days.  Carter Hutton was in net for both games…..so he might not be the guy we see tomorrow.  Or he might be.  We’ll see.  Just like Jeremy Smith might not be the guy we see tomorrow.  Or he might be.  We’ll see.  (Wow, what great hard-hitting analysis there….)

See you tomorrow for the matinee.  Anyone bringing their dog?

The Admirals kicked off their 3-in-3 with a much needed two points, as they held on to beat the Hamilton Bulldogs 3-2 Friday night at the Bradley Center.

Ian Herbers Google Maps High Level Overview:

Leading by a pair after two periods, the Admirals gave up a shortie, and almost gave up the game-tying goal while the Bulldogs had an extra attacker out there in the final minute.  Ian Schultz had the puck in the slot, but couldn’t get the shot off on his forehand.  So he spun around to try a backhand, and Smith made the stick-save of the year.

We asked Smitty about it…because you know…he was there when it happened.

The Admirals were able to FURY THE FURY early, as it took them just 20 seconds of their first power play to convert.  From the goal line at the near boards, Kyle Wilson fed a pass to Ryan Thang at the top of the near circle.  Thang had a good shooting lane, and his shot beat Bulldog goaltender Robert Mayer.

After going goal-less in his last 12 games, it was good to see Thanger contribute again.  His last goal was February 17th against Oklahoma City.

Chris Mueller made it a 2-0 lead with his 27th goal of the season, but Brodie Dupont did all the work.  Dupont got position on the defender and made a strong move to the net…but he fanned on his shot..or pass…of whatever he was trying to do.  But the puck bounced right to Mueller, who was crashing the net.

Mark Van Guilder made it a 3-0 lead int he second period, as a Victor Bartley shot from the bounced off Kevin Henderson in front of the net, and kicked right to Van Guilder at the left doorstep.

Coach Herbers talks about how important it is for guys like Thang and Van Guilder to contribute offensively.

But the Bulldogs got on the board with just under a minute left in the second period.  Ian Schultz finished a bang-bang play after a quick feed from Alain Berger from behind the net, seconds after a Scott Valentine penalty expired.

Then came the shorty 14:08 into the third.  Former Admiral Alex Henry was in the box, but the Bulldogs went on a 3-on-2 rush.  Mark Mitera tangled up and took down Jon Blum, and Blum either made contact with Smith or made him flinch or stumble for a moment.  Before Smith knew it, Brian Willsie had an open look in the slot, and scored the shorty.

But Smitty did make the big save in the final minute, and the Admirals got two huge points.

NOTES:

– So…..do you think Goal Monkey got an earful from the blimp folks after getting the blimp stuck in the netting above the glass on the south end?

– Also, we need to take a moment to make fun of our friend Scott Dorman.  Great guy.  Big fan.  He’s the guy that updates the info at theahl.com .  And we received our box score during the intermission, and it looked like this.  Your job — find the goof. (We got his permission first….he’s pretty amused by the whole thing too)

Oops.  But hilarious.

– I thought Blum was very good tonight.  Yeah, he was involved in the shortie, and on the ice for the other goal too…but I think this was one of his best overall games of the season.  Good with the puck, good at the offensive blue line, and good on the power play.  Bartley and Ford were pretty solid too, I thought

– Really physical game…and I think the Admirals held their own pretty well in that style.

– Big win…Rockford did the Admirals a favor by beating Houston.  Rochester lost in overtime.  And the other main teams ahead of them in the standings were idle.  So this was one of those games-in-hand wins that the Admirals NEEDED to get.

So Roundtable… Thoughts on the game?  Who would your three stars have been?  Who stood out in a good way?  Anyone stand out in a bad way?  Would you rather have Smitty in net tomorrow in Peoria or Sunday against Rockford?  If you thought the Ads were obviously the better team….was it because they played really well or because Hamilton didn’t?  Are you bummed that you didn’t get to see Blake Geoffrion in a Bulldog uniform? (incidentally….Blake has one goal in eight games for the Habs, but has been a healthy scratch in their last four games.)