There was a chance for the Milwaukee Admirals to clinch a playoff spot all while relaxing last night. The Admirals needed the Texas Stars to defeat the Charlotte Checkers on the road in regulation. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen as the Checkers won by a final score of 6-3. That leaves the business end of things to the Admirals tonight as well as the variety of games that are going to take place. Easiest thing to do though? For the Admirals to just take care of who is in front of them and not worry about what the Grand Rapids Griffins, Rockford IceHogs, or Lake Erie Monsters are up to.

With that thought in mind let’s look at some in-house news. I attended practice yesterday and got a good look at possible lines for today’s game:

Reinhart-Gaudreau-Åberg
A.J.-Kamenev-Payerl
White-Girard-Görtz
(Fiala) Devane-Bass-Pendenza

Just so you folks don’t get confuse because there are now two players with the last name White, Matt White and A.J. White, I have made things easier for all of us to come to grips with. I’ll further that in answering the other question you probably asked when looking at the lines, “why is Kevin Fiala bracketed out of his normal line with Vladislav Kamenev and Adam Payerl? Well, that is because Fiala was skating on his own yesterday with the newbie from UMass-Lowell taking his place.

So, there is a slight chance that what you see up top are the lines for tonight’s game with Fiala missing a second straight game after violating team orders. Do I know what he did? No, and it isn’t something that the team publicizes as it happens. In due time the reality of the situation may come to light but that’s not the case for what happened to Fiala right now. This was his first instance of a team violation this season. Stevie Moses, Pontus Åberg, and Max Görtz have all been slapped on the hands with a violation of team rules and those came down to being late to or missing a practice or team meeting.

What of the newest White in town then? Well, lucky for us, I stopped by to get to know a bit more about the newest member of the Admirals yesterday as well as had a conversation with the CCM/AHL Goaltender of the Month Juuse Saros.

~The Other Guys~

The San Antonio Rampage enter tonight’s game with a record of 29-33-8-0 (66 points). Their 0.471 points percentage has them in last place of the Pacific Division and thirteenth in the Western Conference ahead of only the Manitoba Moose (0.393) and Iowa Wild (0.377).

The Rampage might be a lowly team but right now they are on a five-game winning streak having collected wins at home over the Grand Rapids, Bakersfield, Texas, and last night on the road in Rockford. They have outscored teams during this five-game streak 15-5 with two shutouts from Spencer Martin who has since seen himself be rewarded with a swift demotion to the Fort Wayne Komets (ECHL).

Now, the winning streak is no joke. They’re on a roll. But this also happens to be a Rampage team that lost eight-games straight prior to this current winning streak. All of those losses came in regulation and in that time they had been outscored 28-16. Of note, that span included five straight losses on home ice. The Rampage fair much better on the road (0.542) than they do at home (0.397). But, in saying that, their road goal differential is still -16 (101 GF, 117 GA). That is the ninth most goals allowed by an AHL on the road this season. For comparison’s sake the Admirals have only allowed 82 goals on the road this season having played one less road contest than the Rampage.

~Season Series~

If you’re like me you probably feel like it has been ages since the Rampage last visited Milwaukee. And you’d be right. The first game between these two came back on 11/24/15 in Milwaukee and ended with a 6-3 Admirals win. The two then met up in San Antonio when the new look Admirals defense, with Patrick Mullen and Stefan Elliott, formed and made their debuts to the team. On 1/15/16, Mullen made his debut and the Marek Mazanec recorded a shutout for a clean 3-0 win. 1/16/16 saw Elliott make his debut and the offense explode early for what would be a cruise controlled, and yet another, 6-3 Admirals win. Dating back to last season, when the Colorado Avalanche’s AHL affiliate was Lake Erie, the Admirals hold a four-game winning streak against this outfit.

~Who What Now?~

The Rampage have high end prospect Mikko Rantanen leading the charge of their offense. The 19-year old from Finland, who beat Kamenev’s Team Russia in the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championships Gold Medal Game back in January, currently has 55 points (22 goals, 33 assists) in 46 games with a plus/minus rating of +21 and 40 penalty minutes. He is the top scoring rookie in the AHL this season. The next closest to him is Austin Czarnik of the Providence Bruins who has 52 points (15 goals, 37 assists) in 60 games. It might be worth noting Czarnik’s rookie teammate on the Bruins Frank Vatrano who has a ridiculous 49 points (33 goals, 16 assists) in 33 games.

Rantanen is followed in team scoring for the Rampage by Maxim Noreau who has 41 points (12 goals, 29 assists) in 58 games. He is currently tied for fifth place among the highest scoring defensemen in the AHL.

In net, the Rampage currently have a tandem of Reto Berra and Roman Will. Berra has spent most of his time this season in the NHL with the Avalanche where he logged 14 games, earned 5 wins, and commanded a very respectable 2.41 goals against average with a 0.922 save percentage with 2 shutouts. In the AHL, Berra has played in 10 games and not found entirely the same individual success:  3.36 goals against average and 0.905 save percentage. He was the goalie of record in the Rampage’s win in Rockford last night stopping 26/28 shots on goal. Should they see fit to ride him again it would make sense. His battery-mate Will has a 3.42 goals against average and 0.896 save percentage from 29 games of AHL work this season.

What are your expectations for the Milwaukee Admirals tonight against these currently streaking San Antonio Rampage? Not to be out-done themselves – the Admirals do currently have a seven-game point streak. Will that streak continue on and see the Admirals get their playoff spot clinched this weekend?

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

This past weekend in the AHL featured the first team from the Western Conference clinch a playoff spot. The Ontario Reign, who are part of the Californian contingent set to play eight-less games than the rest of the league, locked up their spot in the playoffs and have a 0.692 points percentage. Right behind them are the two sides locking horns tonight in Milwaukee.

~Central Division Showdown~

The Grand Rapids Griffins enter tonight’s game with a record of 41-23-1-1 (84 points). Their 0.636 points percentage is 0.013 less than the Central Division leading Milwaukee Admirals. If you’re wondering about how things can play out tonight they go as follows:

A Griffins regulation win tonight would push them into first place via points percentage over the Admirals by 0.002. A Griffins win in overtime would keep the Admirals in first place via points percentage by 0.005. An Admirals win in overtime stretches their lead over the Griffins via points percentage by 0.020. And an Admirals regulation win pushes their lead up via points percentage by 0.030.

In any version of this narrative these two teams can’t fall further than second place as the stationary Rockford IceHogs hold a points percentage of 0.621 at the moment and the lowest possible scenario would be the Griffins losing in regulation and falling to a 0.627 points percentage. …once again, I wish this year’s AHL standings could have been sponsored by Texas Instruments.

Effectively, this game marks a quality chance for the Admirals to get some legitimate breathing space for themselves by taking down the second placed Griffins in their last meeting of the regular season. After this game the Admirals have eight-games left in the 2015-16 season and three-games at home. The Griffins will have nine-games remaining following this game and also have three-games left at home.

Let’s look at the, as I’ll casually call it, strength of schedule using the combined points percentage of the opponents both will be facing en route to the finish line (points percentage based on this morning’s totals). The Admirals opponents in their final eight-games have a combined points percentage of 0.509. The Griffins opponents in their final nine-games have a combined points percentage of 0.555, If the added road games for the Griffins won’t be tricky enough, where they have a far lesser record of 17-13-0-1 on road games this season, the opponents they get along that path are going to make things even harder. Which, again, is something that makes tonight’s game for the Admirals all the more important to get further breathing space for themselves against the Griffins.

~Streakers~

If there is anything to best describe the Griffins 2015-16 season it would simply be to call them streakers. You kids in the back of the classroom can giggle all you want but it’s just how they’ve been.

Their season started with a four-game losing streak. In fact, the start to their season in general was a misery. In their first eleven-games they went 2-8-0-1 before exploding for a franchise record fifteen-game winning streak. After that things seemed to be balanced until stumbling for a spell of seven straight losses to end the month of January. That balanced back out and then the Griffins went back on a massive tear from February 20th up until March 19th where they won thirteen straight games to become the second AHL team in the last twenty-five years to record two winning streaks of ten-games or more. The other team to accomplish that feat was the 2009-10 Hershey Bears. During the Griffins most recent thirteen-game winning streak they outscored opponents 55-17 and posted a total of four shutouts.

What have the Griffins done since that streak came to an end? Well, amusingly and perhaps ironically, they ran into the San Antonio Rampage buzz-saw (that was sarcasm) and then lost to the Lake Erie Monsters. That’s right. The Griffins are now on a three-game losing streak. They lost all three-games in regulation. And, going back to the sarcasm, were clean swept by the Rampage in the season series having lost all four-games to them in regulation and had a shutout streak held against them in that series that lasted 171:56 of ice time over the course of three-games.

So what went wrong in those last three-games for the Griffins? Well, I think it’s a simple one. The opposition was able to actually match the Griffins offensive push while the Griffins were simply unable to finish more of their shots to the net. The Griffins posted 33.3 shots on goal per game while allowing 33.7 shots on goal per game. Compare that to their season series against the Admirals where they have averaged 31.0 shots on goal per game, allowed 27.7 shots on goal per game, and have a record of 5-2-0-0 as a result. When the Griffins are at their best they are forcing teams wide on offense, blocking long range perimeter shots, and keeping the ice tilted. That’s not been happening out of their latest massive winning streak which has them on a bit of a lull.

~Who What Now?~

When these two teams last met Anthony Mantha was the main man in the spotlight. The Griffins won 4-1 with Mantha recording the first hat trick of his professional playing career and added an assist for good measure. Good news? He’s currently playing at the NHL level with the Detroit Red Wings so that hammer shot won’t be available for the Griffins tonight. Bad news? They have plenty of other options.

The Griffins goal differential this season is +51 (211 goals forced, 160 goals allowed). That is the second best in the AHL this season behind the Toronto Marlies +89 (262 goals forced, 173 goals allowed).

The Admirals top two scorers this season are: Kevin Fiala, 43 points (16 goals, 27 assists… and Max Görtz, 42 points (16 goals, 26 assists). Those are the only two Admirals at the 40 point plateau. The Griffins, with Mantha included, have five players at or above the 40 point plateau.

The Grffins leading scorer right now is Andy Miele who has 52 points (14 goals, 38 assists) in 66 games. He is followed closely by Eric Tangradi who has 50 points (25 goals, 25 assists) in 60 games.  Tangradi’s play within the Red Wings organization this season recently earned him a two-year contract extension. Behind them is the team’s leading goal scorer Martin Frk – who has 40 points (26 goals, 14 assists) in 57 games – and the Griffins second best assist getter on the team Mark Zengerle – who has 40 points (6 goals, 34 assists) in 63 games.

In net the Griffins main man has been Jared Coreau who has had an incredible season: 43 appearances, 29-11-2-1 record, 2.23 goals against average, 0.929 save percentage, and 6 shutouts. Coreau is tied with Yann Danis of the Albany Devils for the second most shutouts in the AHL this season. Both trail Peter Budaj of the Ontario Reign by a pair of shutouts. Coreau also stacks up very high across the league leaders in the AHL this season in other categories: second most wins, the third best goals against average and save percentage, and the fifth most saves made and minutes logged in net.

~Ending with Reflection and Perspective~

This season’s head-to-head between the Admirals and Griffins happened to have featured one of the more frightening moments of the hockey season. On 1/8/16 in Grand Rapids, forward Alden Hirschfeld suffered a seizure on the Griffins bench. The game was delayed for a good while as medics attended to him and the 28-year old was stretchered off the ice.

For those wondering what has happened to Hirschfeld since that incident he has opted for and underwent brain surgery on 3/14/16 to correct a malformation. He has since tweeted out a message, along with a particularly gruesome photo of the surgery, in which he stated he was finally feeling a little better.

With this being the final game against the Griffins this season I feel the need to extend my best well wishes to Hirschfeld. I hope that this surgery was a success and that he is able to continue on participating in the game that he loves. I encourage you all to send him a lovely “Get Well Soon” tweet to him on Twitter: @AldenHirschfeld.

Expectations for tonight’s game? How will this game play out? How crucial do you feel tonight’s game is for the Milwaukee Admirals to win if they are to claim their first division title since the 2010-11 season?

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

Normally, I don’t feel the need to re-hash Scouting the Enemy when the Milwaukee Admirals play the same opponent in back-to-back games. I’m going to make an exception here for two reasons: (1) a lot of great things are happening right now for the Admirals that deserves mentioning and (2) yet another great member of the Texas Stars media battalion has taken the time to chat with Admirals Roundtable!

~Cleaning Up With Consistency~

Let’s start with some talk specifically aimed at the Admirals because things have been on the up-and-up as of late. After their 2-0 shutout on Wednesday night the Admirals moved into first place of the Central Division and are only trailing the Ontario Reign for the best record in the Western Conference.

If you look around in the Central Division you start to appreciate the level of consistency that the Admirals have been playing with of late. While the games haven’t always been the prettiest they’re still finding ways to haul points in. The same can’t be said with the Rockford IceHogs. Ever since my visit to watch the Admirals play in Rockford, where they lost 5-2, the IceHogs have gone a very cold 2-5-1-0 from their last eight-games. In that span they are averaging just 1.6 goals per game. For comparison’s sake the Admirals have averaged 3.0 goals per game from their last eight-games.

The Griffins, who went on yet another ten-plus game winning streak, have proceeded to drop two straight road games to the San Antonio Rampage. You know how the Admirals seem to struggle against those lower tier teams such as the Iowa Wild and Manitoba Moose? The Griffins, for all their might, lost all four-games against the Rampage in regulation this season. The Rampage are in the basement of the Pacific Division and are the fourth worst team based on points percentage in the AHL. Yet, the Griffins haven’t taken a single point from them this season and were shutout by the Rampage for 171:56 of ice time during the season series. That’s almost beyond belief.

In the Admirals last eleven-games they have gone 8-2-0-1. They are on a three-game winning streak and have a five-game point streak. As we near the end of the month of March the Admirals Roundtable Admiral of the Month award awaits with several candidates. Let’s review shall we:

Kevin Fiala, 13 points (6 goals, 7 assists)… Pontus Åberg, 11 points (4 goals, 7 assists)… Max Görtz, 9 points (5 goals, 4 assists)… Matt White, 7 points (2 goals, 5 assists)… Taylor Aronson, 7 points (0 goals, 7 assists)… Stefan Elliott, 6 points (1 goals, 5 assists)… Juuse Saros, 7 starts (0-0-0-0 record, 1.69 goals against average, 0.931 save percentage, 2 shutouts)… Marek Mazanec, 5 starts (2-2-0-1 record, 1.78 goals against average, 0.931 save percentage).

Impressive list isn’t it? That’s all said and done by numbers without giving the serious pat on the back of performances from the likes of Cody Bass, Corey Potter, Jimmy Oligny, Félix Girard, Frédérick Gaudreau, Vladislav Kamenev, Adam Payerl, and Max Reinhart who have all been doing incredible jobs. Bass has been every part the leader on and off the ice you’d hope for. Potter arrived from his trade out of the Arizona Coyotes organization and immediately fit in as a solid two-way defenseman. Girard’s work, will it doesn’t show up in individual statistics, goes a long way to place the Admirals penalty kill team in the upper echelon of the AHL’s best this season.

The Admirals run of twelve straight playoff seasons ended last year when the Admirals had a record of 33-28-8-7 (81 points, 0.533 points percentage) to finish in dead last of the then Midwest Division and eleventh on the Western Conference standings. The Admirals current record is 41-21-3-1 (86 points, 0.652 points percentage). That point total is only one-point shy of last season’s cutoff from the Chicago Wolves who ended the season with 87 points. The turn-around from last season to this season has been outstanding.

~Texas Stars~

The Texas Stars enter tonight’s game with a record of 35-23-6-3 (79 points). Their 0.590 points percentage has them sitting in third place of the Pacific Division where they trail the Ontario Reign (0.698) and San Diego Gulls (0.603).

With the crucial fourth place in the Pacific Division being a flex point for the fifth place in the Central Division possibly able to supersede a lower points percentage seed in the Pacific the current placement of the Stars is where they would hope to fall no lower than. The San Jose Barracuda’s current 0.552 points percentage wouldn’t be good enough to surpass the Charlotte Checkers current position… and the difference, if the season ended today, would be decided by 0.001.

~Q&A with Sean Shapiro~

As noted, the Stars have some of my favorite media members in the AHL. We spoke with Stephen Meserve of 100 Degree Hockey to preview Wednesday’s game. Now we get another good bloke to preview tonight’s game. Sean Shapiro is a freelance journalist whose work can be found in many great places such as Austin American-Statesman, Hockey’s Future, The Hockey News, and Wrong Side of the Red Line. If the name sounds familiar that’s thanks to a lot of the amazing photographs that you see out of Admirals road games against the Stars because he is married to the talented Christina Shapiro. Before this becomes a new column called Scouting the Friends let’s hear from Sean about what’s what in Texas.

Admirals Roundtable: Wednesday’s game was not your typical Texas Stars home game. It was only the second time all season the Stars were shutout at home. What did you make of the contest and what was it the Admirals did so well to stifle that hot Stars offense?

Sean Shapiro: Wednesday’s game was a weird one. Neither team really had a good rhythm and both teams looked sluggish. Milwaukee, however, figured it out and played a nice, gritty road game. They went hard to the net and won the battles in key areas (the corners, the slot, etc.).

I wouldn’t say it was anything special. Rather, I would say it was smart. Milwaukee took away Texas speed at the blue line and the Stars didn’t adjust.

AR: It’s certainly not helpful having someone like Travis Morin out with injury at the moment. How big of a loss has that been for the Stars and how have some of the depth players filled in during his absence?

SS: It’s been a huge loss for Texas, particularly on the power play. For those who aren’t aware, Travis Morin is arguably the top player in the AHL and multiple coaches have pointed out he runs a power play better than any other forward in the league.

For Texas, the bigger disappointment has been the lack of younger players seizing opportunities. While Jason Dickinson has done a nice job filling in as the top defensive center, others haven’t filled his old roles. This has created a ton of inconsistency for the Stars. Some days they’re a deep, fast team that rolls four lines — that’s when they’re at their best. Other times, like the past three games, Texas has been a one or two line team and you can’t win games that way.

AR: Jack Campbell had such a large amount of hype surrounding him due to his performances at World Juniors and in junior hockey. Why hasn’t he been able to match his eleventh overall selection in the 2010 NHL Draft and is his time with the Stars organization potentially over after this season?

SS: Jack Campbell’s time with the Dallas Stars will likely come to an end, and it all comes down to his mental game. The former first-round pick has all the talent in the world and he’s a world-class human being, but he just hasn’t been able to put it together or stay healthy in his professional career.

The biggest indicator for me is body language. When Campbell is on his game and he’s not going to be beat, you can tell by looking at him. On the flip side, when Campbell has been beaten you can tell from the stands. That sends the wrong message to his team and those are the times he tends to struggle. He also let’s up bad goals at bad times, which you never want with a goalie.

AR: How have Julius Honka and Esa Lindell progressed this season and do you see them as NHL regulars next season?

SS: Lindell has made better strides and is closer to NHL ready than Honka at the moment. He munches big minutes and he played well earlier this season in four NHL games. Honka still looks young at times and needs to mature before making the next step.

Honka likes to push the offense and he can. But he needs to learn when to make the simple play and not make a risky decision. I think last week a 6-5 loss to the Grand Rapids Griffins was a perfect example of Honka’s season. There were 11 goals scored and Honka was on the ice for eight of them — four for, four against.

AR: What have been some of the surprising storylines that have taken place for the Stars this season?

SS: By far the biggest story line and most surprising has been Maxime Lagacé‘s ascension to the top of the goalie depth chart. After last season Lagacé was a complete after thought and was expected to serve as the back-up in the ECHL with the Idaho Steelheads. But, here we are in late March and he’s one of the top rookie goalies in the AHL (Juuse Saros being the other).

In addition to Lagacé, I think the other surprising story line is what could have been with Devin Shore. The rookie forward lit up the AHL and was the player of the month in October before his season was cut short thanks to a shoulder injury. He still leads the AHL in shooting percentage, I would have loved to see what a full year of his progress would look like.

AR: The playoff picture is miles away before it becomes clear. That almost comes thanks to that Pacific Division of your’s with those California teams and their limited schedule. Do the Stars stay afloat in the hunt for a playoff spot or do they fall into the diabolical fourth seed in the Pacific where the fifth placed team in the Central can succeed them?

SS: I think they stay in the playoff hunt and finish third in the Pacific and play the San Diego Gulls in the first round. I then see Charlotte taking the crossover spot from either San Jose or Bakersfield (forcing Ontario to open the season on the other coast in a 2-3 format).

AR: Last and most important question. Which incarnation of the Doctor is your favorite and why? (Hint. The correct answer is David Tennant because he’s David Tennant.)

SS: David Tennant and Matt Smith are a close first and second in my book, with Tennant taking top spot. I don’t really have a good reason why, it just comes down to a feel and Tennant was the Doctor when I really started to find my groove with the show when it was introduced to me by my wife — my wife refuses to pick a favorite “she likes them all.”

(Peter Capaldi has grown on me. I personally like the bit about sonic sunglasses.)

I’ll leave you with this parting thought. Have you ever seen David Tennant and Dallas Eakins in the same place at the same time? How do we know the Doctor isn’t coaching the San Diego Gulls? Traveling through time and space would explain why they have less games…

~Le Fin~

Alright, I have one thing to add to that interview. I never thought someone could put me off the Tenth Doctor but a Dallas Eakins separated at birth comparison just did it. Christopher Eccleston. I’m a Ninth Doctor fan now. Nine was fantastic.

Expectations for tonight’s game? How important will it be for the Milwaukee Admirals to not get caught out by looking a game ahead, with a big showdown against the Grand Rapids Griffins looming for Tuesday night in Milwaukee, and focus on the job at hand tonight? This is still the same Stars team that can rifle in upwards of four-goals a game on home ice. Can the defense continue to hold the Stars offense down?

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

The Milwaukee Admirals have descended to the lovely land of Texas for a pair of games against the Texas Stars. It’s been awhile since the Admirals have played in Texas. They took two games in two nights from the San Antonio Rampage back on 1/15/16 and 1/16/16. It’s also been a good while since the Admirals last played the Stars. These two have played twice this season with both games taking place in Milwaukee and the Admirals getting the edge each outing: 10/27/15 and 12/6/15.

What’s always fun about playing against the Stars is they have one of the best AHL media communities that I get to chat with throughout the season. Stephen Meserve is the man behind 100 Degree Hockey. To get the what’s what on the Texas Stars heading into tonight’s game he was kind enough to to a little Q&A to give us all some insight prior to puck drop.

~Q&A with Stephen Meserve~

Admirals Roundtable: Heading into the last time these two teams met the Texas Stars had a 0.591 points percentage. Coming into Wednesday’s game the Stars will be a smidge better than that at a 0.598 points percentage. How have things been going for the Stars since the turn into the 2016 calendar?

Stephen Meserve. Texas has solidified its standings with pretty great play since the turn of 2016. Unfortunately, Dallas and Texas have both suffered injuries that have diminished the AHL side’s scoring capacity. Travis Morin and Greg Rallo are both out with concussions with no timetable for return. Radek Faksa and Brett Ritchie were recalled to Dallas, and Stephen Johns is there as well, presumably for good now. That crop of players is worth 4 points a game to the Stars. They’ve been relying on depth scoring more than they did earlier in the year. The line of Gemel Smith, Cole Ully, and Matt Mangene has had success in this regard. Ully has been pretty impressive in his rookie season. Despite limited time, he’s made the most of his ice, scoring 16 points in 38 games. He’s a smaller player but makes the most of his size with a wicked shot.

AR: I don’t know if there is anything that makes me laugh more when looking at the current standings than when I spy that the Stars have scored 241 goals as a team this season but also allowed 212 goals as well. You guys certainly don’t lack for entertainment do you?

SM: Well, certainly not! Texas has mostly retired its crazy track meet ways late in the season. Part of the craziness that was the early season was the inconsistency in net. Maxime Lagacé has emerged as the clear starter, and it’s likely he will start every game from here until the end of the playoffs. The penalty kill is an area that has dogged the Stars all year. Any team facing off against Texas has to make the most of those opportunities. Texas is the least penalized teams in the league. Therefore, it really is unfortunate that the PK is such a glaring issue.

AR: Speaking of entertaining, how has life in the Pacific Division treated this Stars team throughout the 2015-16 season?

SM: The Pacific is interesting to say the least. I would say I didn’t start to notice big differences in schedule until about December or so. That’s when games played started to diverge. Texas is in a battle for home-ice with the second seed but can’t catch Ontario for #1. At this point, it honestly looks like the Reign will take the division and battle whoever emerges from the unholy slugfest that will be the Central Division playoffs. All for the privilege of losing to Toronto in the final.

AR: The Stars have two names in the AHL’s Top 20 for Rookie Scoring this season: Jason Dickinson and Esa Lindell. How have your first year players progressed as this season has gone on?

SM: Lindell has made great strides. He is coming from a league of men in Finland, so the adjustment was pretty smooth for him. He’s got a knack for scoring and probably won’t be back on this squad next season. Dickinson was the last pick of the first round his draft year, acquired with the pick that came over in the Stars’ trade with Boston for Jaromír Jágr. Dickinson was a fine return, a defensively-sound center who has an amazing quickness and deft moves with the puck. He scored the prettiest goal all season in November with a beautiful individual effort to pop the puck over SA goalie Roman Will, who had come out to play the puck, catch it himself, drop it and tap it into the empty net. Kid has hands and finish. Dangerous combo. With other centers out or recalled, Dickinson is collecting top 6 minutes along with PP time.

AR: Your leading scorer at the moment is Brendan Ranford who has already eclipsed his AHL points total from a season ago. What have you liked from his game in his third professional playing season with the Stars?

SM: Ranford is still working on the defensive side of his game. He’s had a taste of the NHL and definitely wants more. Ranford, like so many players in his position, needs to ensure he is not a defensive liability at the NHL level in order to ensure a call-up. Of course, you do that by proving yourself in tough situations in the A. He will probably get a ‘prove it’ RFA deal this summer and the key will be what he does with that one season.

AR: Julius Honka is one of the top prospects for the Dallas Stars organization and he’s living up to that billing in the AHL this season. How has his sophomore season been going in your eyes and is this probably the last season of AHL hockey he partakes in?

SM: Ah, Julius Honka. Everyone loves to put him at the top of the heap and he’s certain got potential to end up there, but today is not that day. Remember that Honka only just turned 20 this season. He still has a tendency to put the world on his shoulders, skate when he should pass, or try to force a play a little too much. He is a brilliantly talented player and there is absolutely a reason why he was coveted by nearly everyone that talked with Dallas GM Jim Nill at the trade deadline. He’s just not 100% there yet. When you compare his consistency to that of Lindell, Johns, or Mattias Bäckman, it’s clear he needs more time. However, I absolutely think he’s a top callup starting next year.

AR: The last ten-games for the Stars have seen the team at a 4-3-3-0 record with some real grinding games going down. What should fans expect from the Stars for these games against the Admirals in Texas?

SM: It depends how much Coach Laxdal‘s message sinks in. The past two games against Grand Rapids, Texas was trying to get too pretty according to their coach. He wanted the club to play a more playoff style shooting game, pucks to the net, sticks and skates in close to generate traffic and bounces. It was what GRG did to the Stars. Watch to see not just the quantity of shots but the types of shots that go toward the Ads’ net. That will help tell a little bit more about how Texas is going about their game.

~Le Fin~

Thanks very much, Stephen. You can follow along with him on Twitter. You can, and should, also bookmark 100 Degree Hockey. It’s a great all-around AHL website to check in on.

Expectations for tonight’s game? After a relatively relaxed schedule these last few weeks do you think it will be nice for the Admirals to get a long bit of time on the road to rejuvenate the minds a bit? The Texas Stars score a ton of goals but also allow a boat load as well. Are we in for a track meet these two games in Texas?

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

You know in infomercials when they’re getting towards the finish and state: but wait – that’s not all. After the wild news week for the Milwaukee Admirals securing a venue to call home for the next ten-years the fact that we now approach a three-in-three weekend has that exact same feeling. The focus immediately shifts from the future to the here and now. And that should also be plenty exciting.

~Checking Out The Checkers~

The Charlotte Checkers enter tonight’s game with a record of 31-25-3-3 (68 points). Their 0.548 points percentage has them in fifth place of the Central Division and eighth place in the Western Conference standings.

Prior to meeting the Admirals twice this weekend in Milwaukee the Checkers just about played a mini-playoff series against the Rockford IceHogs and came up big. They had beaten the Chicago Wolves twice and proceeded to beat the IceHogs rather soundly on home ice by scores of 6-3 and 4-1. That was followed with a tight contest in Rockford Tuesday night when the lone goal of the game came in the third period for the IceHogs to squeak out a 1-0 shutout.

Of note, the man behind that shutout for the IceHogs just so happens to be a news-worthy subject in connection to these two-games in Milwaukee with the Checkers. Drew MacIntyre was in net for the IceHogs delivering the 30-save shutout against his old team since being traded for defenseman Dennis Robertson. In place of MacIntyre the Checkers received a familiar face to their blueline as Robertson played with the Checkers out of Brown University and for the entire 2014-15 season.

That wasn’t the only returning name to the Checkers, either. John Muse, the goaltender who Magnus Hellberg beat up (video highlight), also returned to the Checkers. Muse fills the void that MacIntyre left and has played in 6 games for the Checkers since his return and has a 1.63 goals against average and 0.929 save percentage.

You might also notice there is a familiar name for the Checkers no longer on the roster. Zach Boychuk, a noted fan of Admirals Roundtable, was swapped out with Andrew Miller of the Bakersfield Condors. While both are technically considered loans back-and-fourth it is very much like an AHL trade. Remember when Kevin Henderson and Francis Wathier were flipped between the Admirals and Stars? Same thing, really.

What the Checkers lose in Boychuk they certainly gain with the form that Miller has shown this season. While Boychuk is the Checkers all-time leading scorer it is Miller who has 16 points more of offense in 2015-16. Miller has produced 41 points (17 goals, 24 assists) in 49 games between the Condors and Checkers this season. That makes him second on the Checkers roster in scoring this season behind team captain Derek Ryan who has 43 points (18 goals, 25 assists) in 60 games. Miller has scored 2 goals in his first 5 games as a member of the Checkers.

This Checkers team is fairly different from when the Admirals last played them. What are you expecting out of these games Friday and Saturday? Gabriel Bourque and Eric Nystrom are both active participants for the Admirals this weekend. Who do you feel ends up being the odd-men out of the lineup should Cody Hodgson and Jamie Devane remain banged up?

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

It may not have had the start they wanted but the Milwaukee Admirals did bounce back quickly last night against the Iowa Wild. Perhaps most importantly was their finish. The Admirals were smart and precise with the puck and took what was a 4-2 first period lead and made it the final scoreline. That’s one game out of the way. Now for the next rodeo of this three-in-three weekend.

~The Amtrak Rivals~

The Chicago Wolves enter tonight’s game with a record of 25-27-5-3 (58 points). Their 0.483 points percentage has them in sixth place of the Central Division and twelfth place in the Western Conference standings.

It has been a dog rough season for the Wolves, pun entirely intended, but who could have ever thought they would be below 0.500 this late into the season? They’re entering this game with a 0-2-2-1 record from their last five-games and only have two-wins from their last twelve-games.

It’s astonishing how poor the Wolves have been this season and that trend lent itself to the Admirals claiming their first Amtrak Trophy since the 2012-13 season. The Wolves were the AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks that season. As an AHL affiliate of the St. Louis Blues this was the first season in which they came up short against the Admirals – and short is right. The Admirals are 7-2-0-0 against the Wolves this season.

If there is a glimmer of hope to this poor run of form for the Wolves they do have this little nugget. The Wolves have played the Admirals four times in Chicago this season and have won twice. That might sound so-so but, hey, it’s 0.500 hockey. That’s better than they’ve been doing this entire season much less the last five-games.

~Who What Now?~

The Wolves top scorer this season is their captain Pat Cannone who has 45 points (20 goals, 25 assists) in 58 games. He is followed by linemate Danny Kristo who has 39 points (18 goals, 21 assists) in 55 games.

In third place on the Wolves scoring list this season is the man with the most points scored against the Admirals in this match-up. André Benoît has 8 points (all assists) in 9 games against the Admirals. He has 30 points (7 goals, 23 assists) in 56 games for the Wolves this season.

In net the Wolves still have a tandem of Jordan Binnington and Pheonix Copley. Last time out in the Amtrak Rivalry it was Copley who turned up huge in net. His efforts last week probably helped earn the Wolves a point. He stopped 38/39 shots on goal, including all 21 shots the Admirals threw at him in the third period, before taking the tough luck overtime loss in a 1-0 game. Copley was tasked with the follow up game the next day and fared much less as he’d stop 20/25 shots on goal as the Admirals won 5-2 in Chicago to clinch the Amtrak Trophy.

Expectations for tonight’s game? How vital will it be for the Milwaukee Admirals to have a good start after last night? With this being a three-in-three weekend is tonight the opportune time to rotate the goaltenders?

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

Right now the Milwaukee Admirals schedule is setting up for a fun ol’ time. This weekend will be a three-in-three weekend starting with tonight’s game at home against the Iowa Wild, tomorrow night on the road against the Chicago Wolves, and then finishing with the Wild on Sunday in Iowa. Look ahead one-week and the Admirals get yet another three-in-three weekend. That will feature two home games against the Charlotte Checkers before ending with a Sunday road game in Chicago. It’s about to get a tad cramped. Yet, this weekend especially, is a great chance to claw back some points and climb up in the standings.

The Admirals current record is 36-19-3-0 (75 points). With a win Tuesday night against the Rockford IceHogs the Admirals could have jumped into sole possession of first place in the Central Division. Instead, their regulation loss put them behind the surging Grand Rapids Griffins. It’s a stacked division which is precisely why taking as many points from this weekend will be key. The Admirals own a 11-3-1-0 record against the Wild and Wolves this season. That can do plenty to salvage Tuesday night’s loss in Rockford.

~The Enemy~

The Wild enter tonight’s game with a record of 21-33-3-4 (49 points). Their 0.402 points percentage has them in seventh place of the Central Division and fourteenth in the Western Conference standings. If not for the Manitoba Moose they would be the worst team, across the board, in the AHL this season.

Oddly, for as rough as that all sounds, the Wild are coming into this weekend on a bit of a run. Since their head coach to start the season, John Torchetti, was promoted to the Minnesota Wild’s head coaching position they’ve gone 6-4-0-1 under the guidance of interim head coach David Cunniff. That includes a three-game winning streak that will be coming into Milwaukee tonight.

~Who What Now?~

The Wild’s roster activity since the end of February has been a blur of movement. Of note, you’ll find a very familiar face in tonight’s game: Conor Allen. That’s right. The Admirals alternate captain at the start of the season, who was traded to the Ottawa Senators organization to acquire Patrick Mullen, is now with the Wild after some NHL Trade Deadline Day hijinx.

Allen didn’t quite have the greatest of times with the Admirals this season. He played in 31 games and scored just 6 points (1 goal, 5 assists). As a member of the Binghamton Senators he produced 5 points (1 goal, 4 assists) in 17 games. He has played 4 games since joining the Wild and has failed to produce a point of offense yet. In total, Allen has scored 11 points (2 goals, 9 assists) in 52 AHL games this season between three different teams. To think he had 34 points (11 goals, 23 assists) in 72 games for the Hartford Wold Pack last season. It hasn’t been a fun season for the guy.

When looking at the Wild’s top scorers they are headlined by four players at the 30 points plateau: Zack Mitchell, 36 points (20 goals, 16 assists)… Grayson Downing, 34 points (16 goals, 18 assists)… Jordan Schroeder, 34 points (14 goals, 20 assists)… Christoph Bertschy, 30 points (9 goals, 21 assists).

In net for the Wild they have a problem (subject to change). The Minnesota Wild recalled goaltender Steve Michalek yesterday and, at this moment, the lone goalie in Iowa is Leland Irving. Michalek was recalled with Devan Dubnyk missing last night’s game due to illness. It was a home game in Minnesota, the Wild next play on the road against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, so it’s possible Michalek returns to the mix tonight – but it depends on Dubnyk’s health. Perhaps bring a pair of goalie pads tonight – you might get a game!

UPDATE: You can keep your tendy gear at home, folks. Michaelek has been reassigned to the Iowa Wild from parent club Minnesota. Of note though – that wasn’t the only roster move made. Iowa will be without one of their top scorers this season, Schroeder, as he has been recalled to join the NHL outfit ahead of their game tomorrow night in Montreal.

Expectations for tonight’s game? How vital is this weekend for the Milwaukee Admirals to get points against lower quality teams to push back up towards the top of the division?

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

Here we are once again. The Milwaukee Admirals and the Rockford IceHogs in a battle between the top two teams of the Central Division. Both have been in this position for quite some time now but they do have a surging Grand Rapids Griffins waiting in tow with a current eight-game winning streak. The Admirals enter Rockford tonight on a three-game winning streak while the IceHogs have a four-game point streak.

This should have all the makings of a playoff atmosphere as well as set the stage for when this same fixture takes place next time. When the Admirals and IceHogs next play, after tonight’s contest, it will be the regular season finale. The Central Division or the best record in the Western Conference might be on the line that night. Don’t think that isn’t a talking point for both teams entering tonight’s contest. This is the second to last meeting of the season and an incredibly important pair of points are on the line.

~Oink Oink~

The IceHogs enter tonight’s game with a record of 32-14-7-4 (75 points). Their 0.658 points percentage has them ahead of the Admirals (0.647) for first place in the Central Division and they trail only the Ontario Reign (0.686) for the best record in the Western Conference standings.

Considering the Admirals locked up the Amtrak Trophy last time out against the Chicago Wolves you’re probably wondering just where they stand against the IceHogs. From 10 games played this season the Admirals have the edge over the IceHogs by going 6-3-1-0 against them. That includes a 3-0-1-0 mark in Rockford this season with three of those games pushing into overtime or longer.

One thing that the Admirals will not need to worry to much about is being a footnote in the AHL history books because that role went to the Lake Erie Monsters on Saturday night. Michael Leighton officially broke Johnny Bower‘s near 59-year long AHL record for career shutouts by stopping all 35 shots on goal that the Monsters threw at him to earn his 46th career shutout in the AHL.

While the Admirals won’t be on the wrong end of history tonight they still have every reason to fear the form that Leighton has possessed this entire season. He has played in 43 of the IceHogs 57 games played and garnered a record of 27-6-8-3 in net. He has a 2.38 goals against average, 0.920 save percentage, and 5 shutouts this season.

Specifically when looking at Leighton’s efforts against the Admirals this season he has been good – but not as great as his overall season numbers. He has made seven appearances (six starts) for a record of 4-0-1-1 while stopping 160/177 for a 0.904 save percentage with a 2.80 goals against average. In his last two starts he has allowed 4 goals to the Admirals both times out.

~Those Other Little Piggies~

One of the more surprising moves that didn’t happen at the NHL Trade Deadline was seeing the Chicago Blackhawks off-load Bryan Bickell to anyone willing to eat some of his salary. That didn’t happen. And the IceHogs will now stand to benefit from that. Bickell has the best points per game average on the IceHogs roster (0.94) by having produced 29 points (13 goals, 16 assists) in 31 games.

Speaking of trades, the Blackhawks were still active in the trade market and did have moves that impacted the IceHogs lineup. Marko Dano was packaged to the Winnipeg Jets in the Andrew Ladd trade which also saw the likes of Matt Fraser and Jay Harrison move from the Manitoba Moose to the IceHogs. It didn’t stop there, either. They acquired former Admirals goaltender Drew MacIntyre from the Carolina Hurricanes organization in exchange for defenseman Dennis Robertson.

At the moment the IceHogs have four players with 30 points or more of offense on the season: Mark McNeill, 35 points (17 goals, 18 assists)… Vinnie Hinostroza, 33 points (13 goals, 20 assists)… Ryan Hartman, 32 points (14 goals, 18 assists)… Ville Pokka, 32 points (6 goals, 26 assists).

~Roundtable on the Road~

I will be making my first road trip since starting my tenure on Admirals Roundtable for tonight’s game. Idea being, if the Admirals and IceHogs have the regular season finale in Rockford with the division or conference at stake – it might be nice to be there. I’ll be adventuring on down and trying to get to know the building a bit ahead of the game. From there you’ll be getting home style coverage from myself including a Chatterbox that should be ready by tomorrow morning. If any of you Admirals fans will also be making the trip be sure to give a wave!

Expectations for tonight’s game? The Milwaukee Admirals have managed to win their last two games without Colton Sissons or Cody Hodgson. Are you confident they could keep that momentum going?

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

When the regular season comes to an end that incredible individual effort goal by Kevin Fiala to equalize late against the Lake Erie Monsters might be a moment worth remembering should the Milwaukee Admirals respond big off of that result. The Admirals offense hasn’t been playing up to its capabilities lately and those struggles caught up with them in Lake Erie on Tuesday when they were shutout 2-0. The Admirals were floundering again Thursday but Fiala’s goal forced overtime and the Admirals went on to win 4-3 in a shootout. This weekend’s slate of games against the Chicago Wolves will go a long way in showing just what that comeback performance meant for the Admirals. Did it snap them out of the recent funk or will they revert to regularly scheduled programming?

~Amtrak Rivals~

The Chicago Wolves enter tonight’s game with a record of 25-25-4-2 (56 points). Their 0.500 points percentage has them in sixth place of the Central Division and twelfth place of the Western Conference standings.

The Wolves are 3-5-2-0 in their last 10 games. After beating the Admirals 2-1 a week ago the Wolves have only played one game since and that was a 4-3 overtime loss to the Grand Rapids Griffins. Unlike the Admirals who clawed back late to force overtime and win – the Wolves allowed a 3-1 third period lead to crumble and let the Griffins score three unanswered goals to snag the win. That result has been hanging over their head since Sunday. They have had the whole week to let that game stew on the mind.

~The Amtrak Rivalry~

This season the Admirals lead the head-to-head against the Wolves with a record of 5-2-0-0. Coming into this weekend there are still five-games to be played in the Amtrak Rivalry. Should the Admirals sweep the weekend it would clinch the team’s first Amtrak Trophy since the 2012-13 season. That season the Admirals won the season series 10-2-0-0. They have yet to claim an Amtrak Trophy since the Wolves became the AHL affiliate of the St. Louis Blues.

~Who What Now?~

The scoring leaders for the Wolves hasn’t changed much since these two last played but there will be an important returning face that wasn’t on-hand a week ago. Ty Rattie makes his return to the Wolves lineup after a two-week spell with the Blues. Rattie has now played 13 games in the NHL this season and has scored 6 points (4 goals, 2 assists). At the AHL level, Rattie has played 42 games and had produced 26 points (10 goals, 16 assists).

There is a slight eyebrow raise when you look at Rattie’s AHL numbers tapering off the last three-seasons. As a rookie Rattie scored 31 goals. As a sophomore he scored 21 goals. And, right now, he is sitting on 10 goals. The game is of course far more than just one individual out on the ice being able to hammer darts into narrow pockets of space for goals – but Rattie’s numbers have dropped off hard in particular this season. His individual production level, from his rookie season to this season, might well be enough to have turned the Wolves goal differential around. The Wolves are -22 as a team this season (149 GF, 171 GA).

In net the Wolves do have both of their top gun options available: Pheonix Copley and Jordan Binnington. That might be important with the game tonight in Milwaukee and the follow-up tomorrow night in Chicago. There is a good chance the Admirals face both and both have reason to be confident coming into the weekend.

Copley has been up, down, and around at the NHL/AHL level the past month. Despite only having a record of 1-1-0-1 in February for the Wolves his numbers were sharp: 2.58 goals against average and a 0.920 save percentage. It all culminated on 2/27/16 when he made his NHL debut as a member of the Blues. It was a relief appearance that saw him enter for Jake Allen and match up against none other than the Nashville Predators. He faced 6 shots on goal and allowed a goal to Colin Wilson.

Binnington was an Admiral Killer leading into this season, hit a wall, but came back last time out. When including the first game played of the 2015-16 season – he had made 8 career appearances in the Amtrak Rivalry for a perfect 8-0-0-0 record while stopping 202/217 of the Admirals shots on goal for a 0.931 save percentage to go along with a 1.82 goals against average. That was followed by a stretch of 0-3-0-1 against the Admirals where he stopped 115/129 for a 0.891 save percentage and a 3.66 goals against average.

That changed for Binnington last time out though. In fact, it even changed the game prior despite being a losing effort. Last weekend Binnington started both games against the Admirals and stopped 63/68 for a much more respectable 0.926 save percentage. He picked up the win in Chicago last Saturday where he only allowed a Colton Sissons goal from 27 shots. He performed so well last weekend that the Wolves opted to ride him through the entirety of their three-in-three and he stopped 39/43 shots on goal against the Griffins in an overtime loss.

What are you expectations for this weekend’s spin on the Amtrak Rivalry? Could these games play out precisely as they did one week ago?

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