Hello and welcome to the month of March. This should be a very important month for the Milwaukee Admirals as March has a whopping 14 games attached to it including 9 road games. For as relaxing as that month of January and start of February felt this is the weights and balances of the Hockey Schedule Gods who have made the Admirals playoff push through March a grinder. The first opponent to kick things off should send that message home rather well.

~Monsters~

The Lake Erie Monsters enter tonight’s game with a record of 30-17-5-4 (69 points). Their 0.616 points percentage sees them sitting in fourth place of the Central Division and fifth place in the Western Conference standings.

As far as timing goes, the Admirals probably couldn’t have entered Cleveland for a two-game set against the Monsters at a worse time. The Monsters have been on one of their best runs of form this season and have pulled in a record of 8-1-1-1 over their last 11 games – which covers their month of February. They enter with a winning streak of 3 games and a point streak of 5 games.

What is the cause for all of this recent success? Well, that’s what should scare you the most when looking at these two games against the Monsters because they’ve been doing it each and every way possible. The Monsters have had a pair of shutouts from Brad Thiessen. They have scored 3 or more goals in 8 of these past 11 games.

In those past 11 games the Monsters have been backed by great individual performances: Michael Chaput, 13 points (3 goals, 10 assists)… Daniel Zaar, 10 points (4 goals, 6 assists)… Oliver Bjorkstrand, 9 points (6 goals, 3 assists)… Josh Anderson, 7 points (5 goals, 2 assists).

~Brick Wall Brad~

I think a lot can be made of the Monsters season by the performances in net by their goaltender Thiessen. If you all remember, Thiessen’s season all started off with the Admirals’ ECHL affiliate the Cincinnati Cyclones. He played 15 games, had a record of 8-3-1-2, a 1.86 goals against average, 0.935 save percentage, and a shutout with the Cyclones. But the veteran netminder got his due to return to the AHL as a member of the Monsters. Why? Injures to the goaltenders of the Columbus Blue Jackets that had Anton Forsberg and Joonas Korpisalo both trek up from the AHL to help out their parent club. Who was their to help keep the ship afloat as the goaltending position was in trouble for the Monsters? Thiessen.

This season Thiessen is putting together his best numbers at the AHL level since he was a member of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the 2010-11 season. In 19 games with the Monsters Thiessen has a 10-3-4-2 record with a 1.85 goals against average, 0.932 save percentage, and 3 shutouts.

When you look specifically at what Thiessen has meant for the Monsters look to the points percentage before he arrived (12/19/15) to where the Monsters are today. Prior to Thiessen’s arrival to the Monsters the team had a 15-7-1-2 record for a 0.660 points percentage. Since, the Monsters have had a 15-10-4-2 record for a 0.581 points percentage. It isn’t as great but, considering the tough spot the Monsters were in with both their main goaltenders frequently up and out of the squad, Thiessen has allowed for this team to keep their heads above water and let the players in front of the goalie do their thing and not worry about a goaltending weakness.

Expectations for these two games against the Lake Erie Monsters? With so many road games this month how do you see the Milwaukee Admirals combating fatigue as well as all these high level opponents in their playoff push?

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.

Tonight and tomorrow the Amtrak Rivalry resumes after what has left like an ice age. When the Milwaukee Admirals and Chicago Wolves last played it was the end of December. That’s right. They’ve yet to buddy up and rival it out in 2016. That almost feels crazy to say -but- the Admirals will be seeing more than their share of the Wolves from here on out. Including tonight, the Admirals see the Wolves a total of seven-times from their last twenty-four games of the season.

In short, we’re all about to get to know one-another a lot better and remember that one-and-only reason to hate “Kickstart My Heart” by Mötley Crüe. [/joke made for the not casual Admirals fan]

~The Amtrak Rivals~

The Chicago Wolves enter tonight’s game with a record of 24-24-3-2 (53 points) Their 0.500 points percentage has them sitting in sixth place of the Central Division and twelfth place in the Western Conference standings.

To say that the Wolves season has been a disaster would be an understatement. The team has so much quality on it and features many players that were part of a playoff team a season ago or the year prior. This comes down to two simple realities: (1) the injuries that the St. Louis Blues have suffered throughout the season making for an inconsistent hodge podge of a lineup for their AHL affiliate and (2) players who are clearly under-performing.

When I think of the Wolves my mind shifts to Admiral Killers in net such as Jake Allen or his Admiral Killer successor Jordan Binnington. Allen? He’s doing his thing in the NHL now. Binnington? He is playing nowhere close to the high level he displayed a season ago and the goaltending battle between himself and Pheonix Copley has Binnington’s battery-mate up in the NHL while Brian Elliott sits out with injury. The goaltending has been a hot mess for the Wolves all season. Pair that with an erratic offense and you get the goal differential that the team has on the season: -19 (143 GF, 162 GA).

Let’s focus on Binnington for a moment though because I really think he drives home the struggles of the 2015-16 Wolves season. In his career against the Admirals, from when he turned pro to his first start made in the Amtrak Rivalry this season, he made 8 appearances (all starts) 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. Perhaps it’s surprising in that stretch he actually never recorded a shutout but, hey, he did rather well outside of that didn’t he? Since, Binnington has gone 0-2-0-1 against the Admirals stopping 78/88 for a 0.886 save percentage and a 3.31 goals against average.

Last season’s AHL stats for Binnington: 45 games played, 25-15-4-1 record, 0.916 save percentage, 2.35 goals against average, and 3 shutouts.

This season’s AHL stats for Binnington through 53 games played for the Wolves: 26 games played, 11-11-3-2 record, 0.900 save percentage, 2.95 goals against average, and a single shutout.

Call it a sophomore slump if you must but the regression in Binnington has been rough and it’s not helped the Wolves this season. When you compare the stability and reliability out of the Admirals tandem of Marek Mazanec and Juuse Saros this season you understand why the Admirals are where they are in the standings. They have a foundation from which to build every game upon because there is a confidence that the men in net can hold the fort. The Wolves this season? No confidence.

As this game approaches Binnington’s month of February reads 7 starts, 2-4-1-0 record, 0.891 save percentage, and a 3.49 goals against average. He has allowed 5 goals in both of his last two-starts in net. This team is ripe for the picking.

~The 2015-16 Amtrak Rivalry So Far~

So, what of the Amtrak Rivalry this season? It’s been so long that I nearly forgotten who did what at the start of the season – to be completely honest. Fret yet not, the Admirals have done very well this season against the Wolves:

10/10/15: Admirals lose 5-1 @ Chicago
11/18/15: Admirals win 5-3 vs. Chicago
12/5/15: Admirals win 3-2 (SO) @ Chicago
12/15/15: Admirals win 2-1 vs. Chicago
12/28/15: Admirals win 4-1 vs. Chicago

That’s correct. The Admirals have won four-straight in the Amtrak Rivalry. Should this trend last the weekend the Admirals would have six of the twelve wins in the fight for the Amtrak Trophy against the Wolves this season. That trophy could get handed to the Admirals as early as March 5th in Milwaukee on Colton Sissons bobblehead night (bobble bobble).

~Who What Now?~

The Wolves leading scorer this season is veteran and team captain Pat Cannone who leads in all major offensive categories on the team with 43 points (19 goals, 24 assists). He’s followed by Danny Kristo with 36 points (18 goals, 18 assists).

As far as the top scorer in this head-to-head goes this season it falls to defenseman André Benoît who has 7 points (0 goals, 7 assists) in 5 games against the Admirals. Benoît is among the AHL’s Top 20 Scoring Defensemen this season with 27 points (5 goals, 22 assists) in 49 games.

There will be at least one bruiser out of action for the Wolves tonight and he has only himself to blame for that. Cody Beach was suspended for both games this weekend against the Admirals after being assessed a match penalty against the Grand Rapids Griffins. The specific ruling was Match 21.1. What is that you ask? This:

21.1 Match Penalty – A match penalty involves the suspension of a player for the balance of the game and the offender shall be ordered to the dressing room immediately.

A player incurring a match penalty shall incur an automatic fine of two-hundred dollars ($200) and the case shall be investigated promptly by the President who shall have full power to impose such further penalty by way of suspension or fine on the penalized player or any other player involved in the altercation.

A match penalty shall be imposed on any player who deliberately attempts to injure an opponent in any manner.

In addition to the match penalty, the player shall be automatically suspended from further competition until the President has ruled on the issue. See also Rule 28 – Supplementary Discipline.

Well, golly. That sounds fun. There isn’t any video of the incident in question that I can find but I simply take this as the Wolves taking Kevin Fiala‘s school day game antics up to the AM start time – eleven. For everything else scrappy just keep your eyes glued to #28 Jacob Doty who has amassed 127 penalty minutes in 38 games this season.

What are your expectations for the Milwaukee Admirals after coming off of that disappointing loss to the Rockford IceHogs on Wednesday? Do you think that the Admirals seeing the Wolves twice, the way the Wolves are working a three-in-three weekend, might set themselves up nicely for a return to form?

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.

After a string of not so hot performances the Milwaukee Admirals will find themselves back in the grinder that is the Rockford IceHogs rivalry. Perhaps this year better than any other might be showcasing the best of what it has to offer. These games are playoff style hockey games. With both deadlocked on top of the Central Division standings again it only adds to that desperation factor. This is the last IceHogs game this season in Milwaukee. The next two games of this season series will be played in Rockford. I would say to expect for an intense one but, regardless of standings or playoff implications, these two bring enough of that out in each other. This season it’s just taken on a different level.

~Rivals~

Right now the Admirals record is 32-16-3-0 (67 points, 0.657 points percentage while the IceHogs record is at 29-13-5-4 (67 points, 0.657 points percentage). The two are tied on points percentage for the lead of the Central Division and trail only the Ontario Reign (0.667 points percentage) in the Western Conference standings.

This season the Admirals have the head-to-head match-up against the IceHogs with a record of 6-2-1-0. For those of you with weak constitutions here is a fair bit of warning for tonight’s game: six-games out of the nine-games played have been decided by one goal… five-games have gone to overtime… two-games have required a shootout… and the last three-games played have required overtime.

That’s not to say we couldn’t be in for a thrill ride or a clunker, though. Those three other games that weren’t separated by a solitary goal ended in finals the likes of: 4-2, Rockford… 6-2, Rockford… 6-2, Milwaukee.

As far as tensions go the Admirals and IceHogs have combined for a total of 227 penalty minutes which includes six fighting majors and twenty-one roughing minors. They’re averaging a combined 25.2 penalty minutes per game this season. So, lads in the penalty box: exercise before this one because that door will be opening and closing a bit.

~Who What Now?~

The first point of interest when looking at the IceHogs roster, versus the way it looked when the Admirals last played against them, is that they’ve added a player that is actually older than 34-year old goaltender Michael Leighton with 37-year old, and two-time Stanley Cup winner, defenseman Rob Scuderi.

There is a reason why Scuderi is where he is right now. His age has finally crept into his game. The prototypical stay-at-home defenseman now has some really slow wheels and his play with the Pittsburgh Penguins this year saw him get shipped to the Chicago Blackhawks for defenseman Trevor Daley. After 17 games this season with the Blackhawks Scuderi was placed on and cleared waivers before being assigned to the IceHogs. He’s played a pair of games since arriving to the AHL outfit one week ago.

A great way to reinforce a point on how versatile the IceHogs offense comes can be found by looking at their individual scoring list. The top five scorers on their active roster are separated by 2 points: Mark McNeill, 28 points (13 goals, 15 assists)… Ryan Hartman, 28 points (12 goals, 16 assists)… Jake Dowell, 28 points (8 goals, 20 assists)… Vinnie Hinostroza, 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists)… Ville Pokka, 26 points (6 goals, 20 assists).

Not to be ignored, the IceHogs also have three players with very comparable points per game numbers as those top scorers such as Bryan Bickell, Marko Dano, and Tanner Kero.

In net, the main man remains to be Leighton and the chance for AHL history to be made remains. Leighton is still tied with Johnny Bower at 45 career AHL shutouts for the most in league history. Bower has held the record since 1957. This season Leighton has made 39 appearances for a record of 25-6-7-3 with a 2.33 goals against average, 0.921 save percentage, and 4 shutouts.

What are your expectations for the Milwaukee Admirals tonight? Will the offense come back to life or are they setup for a rough outing against these IceHogs?

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 Bad News? Last night’s game wasn’t pretty. The Good News? The Milwaukee Admirals can instantly forget all about it because they play this afternoon. Huzzah!

Yes, there isn’t much that the Admirals can take from last night with pride into today’s game. Yes, they did lose to a team with a bad record in the Manitoba Moose and they face another one of those bad eggs today. But hockey is an odd sport at times and, in a long season, even the lowest of the low teams in the standings have their day. The Moose are currently having far more than just a day as they’re now on a four-game winning streak and six-game point streak. The team today… not so much.

~These Blokes Again?~

The Iowa Wild enter this afternoon’s game with a record of 16-30-3-3 (38 points). Their 0.365 points percentage has them last place of the Central Division and Western Conference standings. They have the worst record in the AHL.

It was only one week ago to the day when the Admirals and Wild last played. That game had a fair bit of scramble attached to it from the Wild side of things due to a coaching change within the organization. Last week’s game was the first for the Wild under the guidance of interim head coach David Cunniff. The Wild were on the receiving end of a twenty-three save shutout by Marek Mazanec in a 2-0 loss. After that they’ve only played one other game and were able to beat the Chicago Wolves in overtime 3-2.

Similar to the game played against the Admirals – the Wild did a solid job limiting damage to themselves when they beat the Wolves on the road. They allowed two goals inside the game’s opening ten-minutes but nothing after that. They scored forty-four seconds after the Wolves second goal and proceeded to play a tight defensive game that limited the Wolves to 25 shots on goal. It’s not pretty but it worked. Outside of the goal for Kevin Fiala in last week’s game they actually played that style of a game even better because they limited the Admirals to 23 shots on goal.

The Wild lack firepower so they need to rely on smart defense, making limited mistakes and trips to the penalty box, and being able to take advantage of their opponent’s mistakes with counter attacks or power-play chances. With a quick turn-around for the Admirals taking place today, and the Wild not having played since Thursday night, I have to believe the Wild stick to their defending and look to leap on the Admirals later in the contest when they should have just a little more explosiveness in their step.

~Who What Now?~

In the scoring department the Wild do have three players above 30 points this season: Zack Mitchell, 32 points (19 goals, 13 assists) in 52 games… Grayson Downing, 31 points (15 goals, 16 assists) in 35 games… Jordan Schroeder, 30 points (11 goals, 19 assists) in 33 games.

The Wild have Leland Irving and Steve Michaelek as options in net with Irving being the go-to option. In 27 games this season Irving has a record of 8-15-3-2, a 2.68 goals against average, 0.914 save percentage, and a shutout. Michalek has only played in 4 games since arriving from the Quad City Mallards of the ECHL and has provided a record of 3-1-0-0 for the Wild with a 2.02 goals against average and 0.945 save percentage.

What are your expectations for this afternoon’s game? Is today the day the Milwaukee Admirals offense gets back on track? What do the Admirals need to do to avoid another defensively trapped game against the Iowa Wild?

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 had two days to rest up following their 4-1 loss on the road to the Grand Rapids Griffins. During that time they’ve managed to get sole possession of first place in the Central Division. How did they do that? With a little help from tonight’s guest at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

~Moose Plural Should Be Meese~

The Manitoba Moose enter tonight’s game with a record of 15-27-4-5 (39 points). Their 0.382 points percentage sees them currently sitting in seventh place of the Central Division and fourteenth in the Western Conference standings.

At the moment the Moose are actually on a bit of a good run. They are on a five-game point streak in which they’ve gone 3-0-1-1 with a three-game winning streak. Of note, that win streak includes a 3-2 regulation victory on the road last night against the Rockford IceHogs. That defeat helped see the Admirals take full claim to the Central Division throne. Not to mention, the run that the Moose have gone on has helped them jump the Iowa Wild in the standings to get out of the cellar as the team with the worst record in the AHL this season.

During this five-game stretch the Moose have: scored 21 goals, their power-play has gone an impressive 26.7% (4/15), their penalty kill has gone 95.7% (22/23), and they’ve been heavily outshot 185-147. That’s an average of allowing 37 shots on goal per game over this five-game point streak.

What leaps out to me is their special teams. They’ve made the most of their opportunities with an extra man and that penalty kill of their’s has been quite impressive. The Moose had killed 22 penalties consecutively until finally conceding a power-play goal from Cameron Schilling with 22-seconds remaining in regulation. If the Admirals power-play is hoping to snap out of a bad run of four straight games without a power-play goal, going twelve power-plays without a goal, they will be pushed to earn it. Speaking of which…

~Curse These Meese!~

The Admirals over the past few seasons have had some battles against teams with some of the lower standings in the AHL. I’m not sure why that is but, this season, both bottom-dwellers of the Central Division have had a fair go against them – especially Manitoba.

This season the Moose are 3-1-0-1 against the Admirals. They won the first two-games they played in Milwaukee this season but did drop a 7-5 goal fest upon their last visit. It really wasn’t until that last game between these two where the Moose actually cracked. They have absorbed so much of the damage the Admirals had been dishing out. The Admirals have averaged 34.8 shots on goal in five-games against the Moose. The Admirals have only averaged 27.4 shots on goal over their last five-games leading up to tonight. Perhaps some R&R time for two-days and this Moose team are just what the Admirals need to get the offense back and roaring, eh? The Admirals have only scored 4 goals as a team, not counting the empty netters, in their last three-games. That needs to change otherwise the pressure of results fall squarely on the shoulders of Marek Mazanec and Juuse Saros night after night. As good as they’ve been they could use some help up front.

~Who What Now?~

The leading scorer for the Moose is first-year pro Chase De Leo who has produced 29 points (14 goals, 15 assists) in 51 games this season. In the head-to-head with the Admirals this season De Leo is the leading scorer for the Moose with 5 points (4 goals, 1 assist) in 5 games. That includes scoring a hat trick these two sides met up in late-December. The Admirals top scorer in this match-up is Kevin Fiala with 6 points (1 goal, 5 assists) in 5 games.

The Moose currently pack a proper one-two punch in net as Connor Hellebuyck rejoins Eric Comrie and his pals at the AHL level after having played for the Winnipeg Jets since late-November. Since returning, Hellebuyck has split the work load by playing two of four games in net and has won both games in impressive fashion by stopping 69/73 shots on goal for a 0.945 save percentage and a 2.01 goals against average. This isn’t to say Comrie hasn’t been the lesser of the two goaltenders and shouldn’t be counted out for the start tonight. But, it is worth noting that Comrie played last night for the Moose to earn his eleventh win of the season as he stopped 37/39 against the IceHogs. I could see the Moose keeping with Comrie as a hot hand off of that performance or going with the fresher of the two options – Hellebuyck.

What are your expectations for tonight’s game? Do you think the two-day break will give the Milwaukee Admirals a bit of a boost after some slowly paced games for the offense?

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

The Milwaukee Admirals 3-0 shutout of the Charlotte Checkers was their second consecutive shutout. The shutout streak for the Admirals, which features both Marek Mazanec and Juuse Saros, currently stands at 146:59 of ice time. Considering how hot Mazanec has been, limiting his young Finnish battery-mate’s appearances in net lately, it was an impressive game by Saros to play as calmly as he did in what was only his sixth start of the 2016 calendar year. Mazanec made that many starts in January. Saros has been playing the role of good teammate as the hot hand was being played, was given the opportunity on the front of a two-in-two to shine, and did. Brilliantly done.

The Admirals win made them the first team in the Western Conference to reach 31 wins this season. And, factoring in however the tiebreaks work in the AHL these days, the Admirals should now be on top of both the Central Division and Western Conference standings as they are in a grueling three-way tie with the Rockford IceHogs and Ontario Reign – who all have a 0.677 points percentage. The Admirals have more regulation wins. The Admirals have the head-to-head advantage over the IceHogs. The Reign play eight-less games than the rest of the AHL because they’re evil. It all makes sense to me.

~Not So Grand Griffins~

The Grand Rapids Griffins enter tonight’s game with a record of 27-19-1-1 56 points). Their 0.583 points percentage sees them sitting in fourth place in the Central Division standings and sixth place in the Western Conference standings.

Over their last ten-games the Griffins have gone 3-7-0-0 (6 points). The team has fluctuated pretty harshly in that time so it is always hard to gauge what sort of Griffins team will enter and exit. They started off this ten-game span with two straight shutout losses but are fully capable of a game such as a 9-1 thrashing of the Rockford IceHogs as the road team. Up. Down. Everywhere up but mostly down. Weird times.

What the Griffins are probably banking on is tonight’s match-up, at home against the Admirals, where they have won all three-games played while outscoring the Admirals 11-3. If the head-to-head in that building isn’t enough the Griffins also get a tired Admirals team that have traveled a long bus trip from Milwaukee to Grand Rapids after having shutout the Checkers last night. This will be the Admirals third-game in four-days and fourth-game in six-days. The Admirals are setup for a slight bit of a gas tank issue tonight if the Griffins, who last played on Sunday to finish off a three-in-three, play their cards right.

That being said, the last time these two teams met might have been one of the better performances of the season from the Admirals. They beatdown the Griffins 7-3 and finally put a solid dent to the Admiral Killer status of goaltender Jared Coreau who stopped 19/23 shots on goal before being pulled from the net in favor of Tom McCollum. Let this be a silver lining that despite the wear of recent games – the Griffins current stumbling form and Admirals last match-up might see the Ads take their first win in Grand Rapids this season.

~Who What Now?~

The Griffins leading scorer right now is Andy Miele with 35 points (9 goals, 26 assists) in 48 games. He is closely followed by the team’s top two goal scorers: Eric Tangradi with 33 points (17 goals, 16 assists) and Martin Frk with 29 points (19 goals, 10 assists).

When looking at the head-to-head numbers this season the name Louis-Marc Aubry comes up as the Griffins top scorer against the Admirals. That’s a slight eyebrow raiser when you consider his season to date has him at a modest 18 points (9 goals, 9 assists) through 47 games. Yet, when he has played against the Admirals, Aubry has scored 7 points (6 goals, 1 assist) in 6 games. Quite impressive to see that 2/3 of his goals on the season have come against the Admirals.

Expectations for tonight’s game? Are you concerned that fatigue will get the better of the Admirals in this game? How important is it for the Admirals to win their first game of the season in Grand Rapids tonight?

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Yesterday in Chatterbox I made mention of the Charlotte Checkers dipping as opposed to the consistency of the Milwaukee Admirals. The Checkers were on an astonishingly good run from December 9th to January 23rd where they went 14-1-1-2 (31 points, 0.861 points percentage) over the course of 18 games. That’s lethal. But it isn’t the team that is rolling into Milwaukee tonight.

The Checkers have a record of 25-19-3-2 (55 points). Their 0.561 points percentage sees them in fifth place of the Central Division and seventh in the Western Conference standings. Since their win on January 23rd the Checkers have gone a dead cold 0-8-1-0 (1 point, 0.111 points percentage) over a span of 9 games. That includes four games against lower tier opposition such as the Iowa Wild and San Antonio Rampage. It’s bizarre but just another friendly reminder to not take the Admirals consistency for granted.

So what is the real issue that has plagued the Checkers lately? My eyes wander off to the net where inconsistency has been perhaps the biggest issue. In this winless streak for the Checkers their goaltending duo of Daniel Altshuller and Drew MacIntyre have stopped 231/263 of shots on goal for a 0.878 combined save percentage. In addition, the Checkers have pulled their starting goaltender three times over this span. How many times have the Admirals pull their starting goaltender this entire season? Not even once.

I feel where things all fell apart comes on the shoulders of the first-year pro, Altshuller. The 21-year old has already run the gauntlet of starting in the ECHL, blew up his name at the AHL level during that incredibly successful stretch for the Checkers, and had a quick cup of coffee getting an NHL recall -but not seeing action- with the Carolina Hurricanes.

When Altshuller arrived to the Checkers he started 11 games, won 9 games, had a 1.70 goals against average, 0.941 save percentage, and a shutout. No wonder the Checkers were so hot before, right? But what happens when that young netminder starts to hit a wall? He scrambles. What happens when a goaltender scrambles? Unless you’re name is Dominik Hasek usually nothing ever good. And that’s what has been going on.

The Checkers have continued to lean on a mightily struggling Altshuller hoping to see him regain his form when he hit the AHL scene. That hasn’t been working out for anyone. Since his last win he has lost seven-straight starts in net and has a 4.87 goals against average and 0.838 save percentage over his last eight games in net. Long story short, this whole “let the kid play through it” mentality isn’t working and it’s costing them games.

In front of their goaltenders the Checkers do offer plenty of attacking options and match-up nicely with the Admirals. The Checkers have nine players with 20+ points of offense including two at the 30+ point mark: Derek Ryan with 37 points (14 goals, 23 assists) and Trevor Carrick with 30 points (9 goals, 21 assists). Compare that to the Admirals who have eight players at the 20+ points mark and only one player at the 30+ points plateau: Frédérick Gaudreau with 31 points (12 goals, 19 assists).

If the Admirals last two games are anything to go by then they should be up to the task handling the offense of the Checkers. What will be a question mark is how the Checkers defensive game will play out and if they’ll be looking to avoid getting into a track meet with the speed of the Admirals. This game could be a goal fest for the Admirals if the Checkers aren’t careful but, just as easily, it could be a goal fest for everyone if the Admirals get trigger happy in a up-tempo paced game where their defensemen will look to hop up into the rush. As long as the Admirals stay smart, like they were against Iowa, the should avoid major mistakes and allow themselves the opportunities the Checkers will present them – because those chances will and should be presented tonight with a team spiraling out of control like the Checkers are right now.

UPDATE: As a means of hilarity the Carolina Hurricanes decided to negate my pre-game scout and recall goaltender Daniel Altshuller from the Charlotte Checkers. This meant the Checkers recalling Anthony Peters from their ECHL affiliate the Florida Everblades. And, no doubt, this should mean Drew MacIntyre starts in net tonight for the Checkers.

Expectations for tonight’s game? Will the Milwaukee Admirals find themselves in yet another defensive game?

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Yesterday there was some news that hit through the Minnesota Wild organization that rumbled through their farm system. Wild head coach Mike Yeo was fired following the team’s 4-2 loss against the Boston Bruins. It was the Wild’s eighth-consecutive loss had gone 3-12-4 over his final 19 games in charge. The Wild opted to look within their system and promoted Iowa Wild head coach John Torchetti as interim head coach of the NHL outfit.

Minnesota had already fired Yeo before puck drop in Iowa last night. As you might expect – that game wasn’t an easy one to coach for Torchetti. Yet, the Wild have been making really positive strides under Torchetti’s watch in the past month or so. Last night wasn’t any exception to that, either. The Wild squared off against the Grand Rapids Griffins and held them to a 3-3 scoreline until a late Joël Chouinard goal with 2:59 remaining in regulation gave the Griffins the 4-3 win in Iowa. Literally two-minutes after the game went final the Minnosta Wild announced Torchetti as the interim head coach. So, make that a regulation loss and loss of a head coach in that window.

Now that all has been cleared up top-side the focus comes right here this evening in Milwaukee. Who takes the reigns behind the bench for Iowa now that their head coach has been promoted less than twenty-four hours before a game? The man tasked with the interim coaching duties for Iowa will be David Cunniff – who has been promoted from his associate coaching duties with the team.

What is very interesting to note with this coaching scramble on Iowa’s side of things is that this isn’t the first time this has happened in recent memory. Just last season Kurt Kleinendorst was fired as the head coach of the Iowa Wild which prompted the arrival of Torchetti to the Wild organization. What was Torchetti’s first contest as newly appointed head coach of the Iowa Wild? A road game against the Milwaukee Admirals. The result? The Wild won 3-2.

Simply put: There is a chance for history to be replicated in another one of those win one for “The Gipper” type performances from Iowa. Let’s not do that.

~Oh, Yeah, The Rest of the Team~

The Iowa Wild enter tonight’s game with a record of 15-29-3-3 (36 points). Their 0.360 points percentage has then sitting in seventh place of the Central Division standings and fourteenth in the Western Conference standings. Who is that I spy underneath the Wild in both of those standings? The Manitoba Moose… state of your team, mate.

When looking at the Wild since Christmas they’ve actually strung together a not so bad record – for their norm anyways. Since Christmas they’ve gone 10-7-1-0 (21 points) over a spell of 18 games for a 0.583 points percentage. Now, that might seem shrug inducing to us Admirals folks but prior to Christmas the Wild were an appalling 5-22-2-3 (15 points) over the opening 32 games of the season for a 0.234 points percentage. So, when you see that the Wild have actually managed to leapfrog ANYONE in ANY standings it is a borderline miracle that the Wild have gone on the run that they have since Christmas.

~Who What Now?~

The Wild currently have five players at the 20+ points plateau with two deadlocked at 30 points: Zack Mitchell, 30 points (18 goals, 12 assists)… Grayson Downing, 30 points (14 goals, 16 assists)… Jordan Schroeder, 29 points (10 goals, 19 assists)… Christoph Bertschy, 28 points (10 goals, 18 assists)… Michael Keränen, 22 points (8 goals, 14 assists).

In goal for the Wild you will no longer see former Admirals netminder Jeremy Smith. “Why’s that,” you ask. Well, he was loaned to the Wild from the Boston Bruins organization at the start of the season. It looked as if Smith was going to be stationed in Iowa for the 2015-16 season the way things were going. At the start of the season in Milwaukee? He had a full range of Bruins goaltending gear including the mask. Last time we saw him in Milwaukee? He had paid up to get customized Wild goaltending pads, stick, and a mask. That all changed though after a scary situation for Providence Bruins goaltender Malcolm Subban that saw him fracture his larynx during warm-ups on February 6th. The younger brother of P.K. Subban is expected to miss up to two-months following successful surgery to repair his fractured larynx. That means a goaltending vacancy is open in Providence. That means Smith’s loan with Iowa is over as it is unclear how the recovery process for Subban will play out for the remaining 2015-16 season.

Smith’s stay with the Wild had to be an absolute joy or misery depending on how you look at it. On one hand, he went from being in the Boston Bruins organization to a dysfunctional and sloppily defending Iowa Wild team that was sure to keep him on his toes game after game. On the other hand, basically the exact same sentence that I just wrote.

The man that takes the net from Smith will come down to two options: the veteran Leland Irving or the first year pro Steven Michalek.

Irving has factored into more games in net than anyone for the Wild this season with 25 appearances. He has a record of 7-14-3-2, a 2.78 goals against average, 0.912 save percentage, and a shutout to his name.

Michalek, obligatory movie reference, has played in 4 games for the Wild this season and has excelled out of his stint with the Quad City Mallards of the ECHL where he started his debut season of professional hockey. Michalek has a 3-1-0-0 record, 2.02 goals against average, 0.945 save percentage, and a fight on his AHL debut no less! Hey, when Zach Boychuk is the one uploading your fight videos you know you made it in the game of hockey.

Of note, it was Michalek that started in net for the Wild in their loss last night to the Griffins. If you task a goalie with that high pressure of a game with that long of a bus ride and little sleep to play against an Admirals team that is coming off of a big comeback win with a 100% healthy roster… you’re either bonkers or hoping to bank on some brilliance. I expect to see Irving get the nod tonight. He’s only made one appearance, which was a start, against the Admirals so far this season. That was an overtime loss in which he stopped 32/35 shots on goal.

Expectations for this evening’s game? Do the Iowa Wild in a state of new voice behind the bench panic or thrive? Will the Milwaukee Admirals learn from Friday night and deliver a 60-minute hockey game?

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After what has felt like a month’s worth of sleep inducing “wait a week, play two games, wait a week, play two games” cycle the Milwaukee Admirals schedule is about to pick up. In the next ten days the team will play six-games including five on home ice. That outta wake people, such as myself, up after a winter’s slumber of a slow last few weeks.

Yesterday I attended practice to get another look into what the Admirals were up to leading into this game. Good things that I did as well because Max Reinhart, who has been away from the team for nearly two solid weeks due to personal reasons, returned to the ice. His inclusion made for a quite stacked looking forward group as everyone right now is healthy.

Fiala-Hodgson-Åberg
Reinhart-Sissons-Gaudreau
White-Kamenev-Görtz
Devane-Girard-Payerl (Pendenza)

The fourth line paring had Adam Payerl and Joe Pendenza rotating a bit but it would be a safe bet to assume Payerl gets the nod. What’s pretty incredible is that group that Reinhart now joins which has two other centers. I suppose that’s what you’re going to get when the depth down the middle is this healthy.

On defense the Admirals are probably keeping things as they have been lately which would mean: Oligny-Elliott, Näkyvä-Mullen, Alm-Aronson. Trevor Murphy was rotating in groups with Stefan Elliott and Patrick Mullen so it will be interesting to see who ends up being the odd-lefty out of the defensive group tonight. The pairing of Johan Alm and Taylor Aronson was the only one at yesterday’s practice that never changed.

~Oink Oink~

The Rockford IceHogs enter tonight’s game with a record of 27-11-4-4 (62 points). Their 0.674 points percentage has them sitting on top of the Central Division and in second place of the Western Conference standings.

When comparing these two teams they are really well matched. The IceHogs have played a game more than the Admirals but their goal differential is nearly identical: Admirals, +14 (133 GF, 119 GA)… IceHogs, +13 (133 GF, 120 GA). Their penalty kills are closely matched: Admirals, 84.6%… IceHogs, 83.3%… and both have scored 8 goals while shorthanded.

Where things differ might be the difference in tonight’s game. The IceHogs have 146 more penalty minutes on the season than the Admirals. Should their inability to stay out of the box be a factor the Admirals fourth best home power-play in the AHL (22.8%) gets to match-up against the IceHogs twenty-second ranked AHL road penalty kill (78.5%).

~Them Again~

The IceHogs leading scorer is first-year pro Vinnie Hinostroza who has produced 26 points (10 goals, 16 assists) in 40 games. The bulk of Hinostroza’s points total came from the IceHogs month of January where he tallied 12 points (7 goals, 5 assists) in 12 games.

Hinostroza is followed in scoring by AHL All-Star Ryan Hartman who has 25 points (11 goals, 14 assists) in 41 games. Hartman also appears to be inventing a really cool game called “penalty minutes versus shots on goal” and is currently up +21 shots on goal (114 SOG, 93 PIM).

Both Hinostroza and Hartman are part of a group on the IceHogs active roster in the 20+ points club which includes: Jake Dowell, 25 points (7 goals, 18 assists)… Ville Pokka, 24 points (6 goals, 18 assists)… Mark McNeill, 23 points (10 goals, 13 assists)… Pierre-Cédric Labrie, 21 points (13 goals, 8 assists)… Bryan Bickell, 20 points (8 goals, 12 assists)… Marko Dano, 20 points (4 goals, 16 assists).

Former Admiral Mike Liambas finally picked up his first point as a member of the IceHogs. He scored a shorthanded goal against the Grand Rapids Griffins… who then proceeded to score nine unanswered goals in a 9-1 throttling. IceHogs fans had about 3:31 of joy followed by 56:02 of sheer horror. [pause] How delightful!

~On The Brink Of History~

In net for the IceHogs should be Michael Leighton. That should also mean there is a chance that AHL history could be made if he happens to shutout the Admirals tonight. The veteran goaltender is currently sitting tied at 45 career AHL shutouts with Johnny Bower for the most ever in league history. Bower set and has held the record since 1957. The AHL already saw one record fall this week. Another could go down tonight (preferably not).

Leighton has shouldered darn near all of the load in net for the IceHogs this season – playing in 76.1% of their games played. That workload hasn’t fatigued the 34-year old quite yet as he has a record of 23-5-6-3, a 2.22 goals against average, 0.926 save percentage, and a total of four shutouts this season.

With Mark Visentin banged up once again, making Mac Carruth the back-up, it’s likely Leighton will get the start. Against the Admirals this season he has made five appearances, four starts, 3-0-0-1 record, a 1.99 goals against average, 0.925 save percentage, and has yet to record a shutout.

Expectations for tonight’s game? Will the Milwaukee Admirals and their 100% healthy lineup be able to run through the Rockford IceHogs?

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Before even approaching the enemy tonight I feel as if some Milwaukee Admirals recapping is in order. The team is currently on quite the run these last six-games going a cool 5-0-1-0 in that window. That span started after the team received a well needed rest after a marathon run of the December schedule spilling into January had them on a winless skid of four-games. They’re rested now. And I believe the offense has reflected a team that has its batteries recharged.

During the Admirals last six games they have outscored their opponents 25-11, outshot their opponents 179-137, they’ve gone 6/27 on the power-play (22.2%), and a ridiculous 18/19 on the penalty kill (94.7%) – which includes an active run of twelve straight successful kills.

~Joe Piskula & Friends~

The San Diego Gulls enter tonight’s game with a record of 20-18-1-1 (42 points). Their 0.525 points percentage has them in fourth place of the Pacific Division and tenth in the Western Conference standings. In their last ten-games they have rattled off a not so hot record of 3-6-1-0 which includes a 4-2 win over the Stockton Heat last night on home ice.

~Recapping~

This will be the second and final meeting between these two teams this season. The first came in Milwaukee back in late-November when the Admirals won 3-1. That night saw Kevin Fiala finally get to drop his shoulders and squeeze that stick a little less tight thanks to scoring his first goal of the season after having gone eleven straight games without one. Frédérick Gaudreau had the game-winner with what still might be the best goal scored this season. The game would be sealed by an Adam Payerl empty netter. Also of note, Nicolas Kerdiles of the Gulls was just an awful human being – dogging Vladislav Kamenev and Trevor Murphy most of the night – and shooting on net after whistles. He earned seven penalty minutes that night including a fight attempt, that earned a roughing minor, and a tilt with Conor Allen – who now plays his trade with the Binghamton Senators.

~Special Teams~

If you’re looking for a high intensity match-up between these two teams tonight it will come on special teams. The Gulls have the third best home power-play in the AHL going 19/73 with the man-advantage (26.0%) while the Admirals road penalty kill is the second best in the AHL killing 66/75 (88.0%). The Gulls are a team that heavily lean on their power-play to do the damage as 33.98% of their goals scored this season have come on the power-play.

~The Old Guard~

The Gulls have a few familiar names floating around on their roster. It starts with their captain and former captain of the Milwaukee Admirals, Joe Piskula. He played 163 career games for the Admirals. Then there is Chris Mueller who played 262 career games for the Admirals and is the team’s third all-time scorer in the AHL history of the team with 173 points (87 goals, 86 assists). Then there are two former members of the Nashville Predators on the squad. Shane O’Brien played with the Predators during the 2010-11 season. Brian McGrattan was part of the Predators organization from 2011-13 and did play six-games for the Admirals before being traded to the Calgary Flames in exchange for Piskula.

~Who What Now?~

The Gulls leading scorer is defenseman Brandon Montour who has 32 points (6 goals, 26 assists) in 40 games. His assists total is the third most among AHL defensemen this season.

Montour is followed in team scoring with a tie between two forwards. Nick Ritchie leads the Gulls in goals and has 27 points (15 goals, 12 assists) in 31 games. He’s tied with former-Admirals center Mueller who has 27 points (7 goals, 20 assists) in 39 games.

Sometimes it takes looking at a team like the Gulls to realize you might be taking things for granted. The Admirals have only utilized two goalies this entire season. The Gulls have used six different goaltenders throughout their 2015-16 season and we’ve just entered February. That’s plenty of time to add another name on the goaltending yule log going on in San Diego.

In camp right now are three “once upon a time” NHL’ers: Matt Hackett, Anton Khudobin, and Dustin Tokarski. It’s unclear which one is inactive but, in order of their last appearance, the list goes: Khudobin (2/5/16), Hackett (1/29/16), and Tokarski (1/19/16). The latter of the names, Tokarski, was actually part of a trade in January that saw him arrive from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for left winger Max Friberg.

Expectations for tonight’s game? Can the Milwaukee Admirals once again use their speed to beat an opponent’s size? Would it be smart for Juuse Saros to finally break Marek Mazanec‘s string of four-consecutive starts despite Mazanec having been the goalie of record against these Gulls earlier this season?

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