The Milwaukee Admirals, back in your life! It seems like these last few weeks in particular have been a bit of a blur with all the down time between games. This past week though that can be said league-wide because of the AHL All-Star break taking place. That break is over, now. It’s time to get back and rolling.

~California Love~

This will be the first and only California road trip of the season for the Admirals. First up are the Bakersfield Condors followed by Joe Piskula and his San Diego Gulls tomorrow night.

“Who are these Bakersfield Condors,” you ask. Well they are the new AHL affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers which makes them none other than last year’s Oklahoma City Barons. The Barons are dead and the Condors are alive and well – as they should be as they play eight less games than the rest of the AHL.

The Condors enter tonight’s contest with a record of 18-17-2-2 (40 points). Their 0.513 points percentage has them in fifth place of the Pacific Division and eleventh in the Western Conference standings. Keep in mind, with points percentage being the standard of the AHL this season, the Condors are really a string of positive results away from getting back into the playoff discussion.

~Who What Now?~

When looking at the Condors things are very average. The team has an overall goal differential on the season of -2 (117 goals forced, 119 goals against). Their points percentage is hovering just above the 0.500 mark. And their last last ten-games have seen them rattle off a run of 5-5-0-0.

The Condors have three players with 20 points or more of offense on their active roster. Leading the team in scoring is winger Matthew Ford who has produced 30 points (17 goals, 13 assists) from 35 games this season. Ford’s 17 goals leads the Condors roster and sees only six other players in the entire AHL this season with more goals scored on the season. He is followed in team scoring by: Andrew Miller, 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists)… and Brad Hunt, 27 points (7 goals, 20 assists).

In net the Condors are led by AHL All-Star Laurent Brossoit. This season he has played in 24 games, has a record of 13-8-3-2, a 2.61 goals against average, 0.924 save percentage, and has 3 shutouts. In Brossoit’s career against the Admirals he has played in 5 games, made 5 starts, has a record of 3-2-0-0 while stopping 133/145 for a 0.914 save percentage and a 3.42 goals against average.

Expectations for tonight’s game? How do you feel the Milwaukee Admirals will come off all of this off and vacation time?

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The Milwaukee Admirals last game was played a solid week ago on the road against the Lake Erie Monsters. Their last home game was three weeks ago against the Iowa Wild. This will be the last game of an incredibly relaxing January that saw the Admirals only play 10 games throughout the month. The start was rough thanks to the marathon that December presented. The last four-game road swing allowed for a more rested and practice sharpened team to tighten up the details and pick up three-wins and two-shutouts.

Perhaps the timing of the schedule will work to the Admirals favor tonight when the Grand Rapids Griffins roll into town. The Griffins are coming off of a four-game homestand that saw them get swept clean in regulation by the Rochester Americans and Toronto Marlies. They were shutout on back-to-back games by the Americans and Marlies in that span. And, to add the fatigue factor to the mix, lost 4-2 to the Marlies last night before getting on the bus and reaching the Cream City.

During this four-game losing streak for the Griffins they have been outscored 15-5. It hasn’t been for a lack of trying, though. They’ve outshot their opponents 165-129. That’s an average of 41.3 shots per game.

Perhaps they’ve fallen into the slight trap that the Admirals have every now and then when they’ve relied too much on their power-play to get the job done. In those four defeats the Griffins went 1/17 (5.9%) on the power-play and are currently on a power-play drought of twelve straight chances without of power-play goal.

The flip-side to the Griffins special teams during this run has been perfect. Their penalty kill against the Americans and red hot Marlies was 10/10… Tye Dillinger reference here.

What I’m sure the Griffins will be thinking about heading into this game is burying those past four losses and focusing in on an opponent they’ve pretty much owned this season, the Admirals. The Griffins have a 4-1-0-0 record against the Admirals this season and Jared Coreau has officially achieved Admirals Killer status.

In net against the Admirals Coreau has played in nine-games, made eight starts, holds a record of 7-1-0-0, has three career shutouts, and stopped 203/212 shots on goal for a career save percentage of 0.958 to go along with a 0.99 career goals against average.

If there was ever a reason as to why the Griffins should be feeling confident despite coming off of a four game homestand where they were swept clean in regulation it is this match up tonight with that man between the pipes.

Expectations for tonight’s game? How do you think Kevin Fiala will play fresh off of logging some solid NHL time for the Nashville Predators? The last time Juuse Saros made a start was two weeks ago. Is it time to get him back in net or should Marek Mazanec remain the go-to following his brilliant outings against Lake Erie last weekend?

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Happy Days, everyone. The Milwaukee Admirals are back in your life. Note the schedule tweak that sees this game tonight starting at 6:00 PM CST and tomorrow afternoon’s game at 12:00 PM CST. Why such an early game on Saturday? Because, like the Admirals, the Lake Erie Monsters share a venue with an NBA team that gets priority. Call me crazy but I’m far more excited to see Vladislav Kamenev play hockey than LeBron James play regular season sportsketball.

~Recapping~

With such extended breaks I feel some recapping would be a good thing. The Admirals have been standing at 40 games played with a record of 25-13-2-0 (52 points) and a 0.650 points percentage. To get an idea of why they’ve been stationary you should consider how jam packed the Admirals schedule has been. In the AHL’s Western Conference the Admirals, Monsters, Iowa Wild, Texas Stars, and San Antonio Rampage are the lone teams over 40 games played – five teams out of fifteen.

What have the others been up to during the Admirals rest period? The Rockford IceHogs and Grand Rapids Griffins continue to be brilliant. I spoke about it briefly in my Then & Now Report that the Charlotte Checkers have been on a huge tear alongside 21-year old goalie Daniel Altshuller. Those three teams current sit in front of the Admirals in the Central Division standings with the IceHogs leaping up and over the Pacific Division leading Ontario Reign for the best record in the Western Conference.

The Chicago Wolves, unlike the Griffins earlier this season, have kept on sputtering and are tip-toeing around a 0.500 record with their struggles projecting them down past even if they can’t find stability soon. The Manitoba Moose have been painfully bad and the currently not-as-bad Iowa Wild might be getting out of the Central Division basement if the two sides keep playing the way they have been lately.

~The Cleveland Show~

The Lake Erie Monsters enter this weekend’s set of games with a record of 20-14-4-3 (47 points). Their 0.573 points percentage has them right behind the Admirals in the Central Division standings, fifth place, and behind the San Jose Corporate Sellouts in the Western Conference standings at seventh place.

There is a sigh of relief in Lake Erie land. Why? Because they’re finally home. The Monsters endured a ridiculous ten-game road trip that lasted from 12/31/15 to 1/18/16. They didn’t play their first home game of 2016 until two-days ago when the Griffins beat them 3-2 in overtime.

How did the Monsters do on that epic marathon of a road trip? They went 3-5-1-1 which includes two meetings in Milwaukee and two shutout losses in back-to-back games against the Moose and Griffins.

I feel it is safe in saying the last time these two teams met was about as sloppy, exhausted, and uneventful of a hockey game you’ll have watched this season when it is all said and done. Heck, it says a lot when Marek Mazanec out and out referred to the game as boring. It shouldn’t have been surprising that the game played out as it did though. The Admirals were gassed having played seven games in eleven days. The Monsters were in the middle of that mammoth ten-game road trip. And the Monsters had just enough in them to polish off a 4-0 shutout win with Cincinnati Cyclones product Brad Thiessen in net.

I am going out on a limb and saying there is no chance that same game will be played this weekend. The Admirals are twelve games clear since they last played at home and have only two-games to show for it. In those games they smoked the San Antonio Rampage in their own barn 3-0 and 6-3. With all that rest and new introductions to the roster the Admirals played with an amazing amount of speed that overwhelmed the Rampage. It’s been a week since those games. The Admirals were rested and ready then. They’ll be even more rested and the new pieces will have had more time to practice and get used to the setup of the team.

That’s the Admirals side of heading into this weekend’s games. The same sense of relief can almost be said of the Monsters. Their road marathon is complete and they’re back home in Cleveland for the rest of the month. That acts as a great boost for them and, hey, they almost beat the Griffins their first night back on home ice – forced them to overtime – and, as we know, that’s not an easy task at all. This side should be fired up. Their fans were 4,024 strong on a Wednesday night to welcome them back and I suspect a louder rowdier crowd to form in The Q to give a further boost to the Monsters drive and fire.

~Who What Now~

When these two met last time a major talking point was between the pipes for the Monsters. Both of their AHL goaltenders were recalled by the Columbus Blue Jackets which left the duties to PTO contract signings to weather the storm. Thiessen did well and remains on the roster but is joined by the returning face of Anton Forsberg.

The Swedish goaltender returned to the AHL last Friday after a four-game spell in the NHL. In the four games since Forsberg’s return to the Monsters he has played three games, lost two, and has a 2.30 goals against average and 0.933 save percentage. Last time out he stopped 43/46 shots on goal against the Griffins in a tough luck overtime loss.

The Monsters current leading scorer is T.J. Tynan who has 25 points (3 goals, 22 assists) in 41 games. He’s followed by two other forwards at the 20+ points plateau with one of them on the roster and another one who currently finds himself playing for the Blue Jackets. Michael Chaput has 22 points (8 goals, 14 assists) in 38 games. Kerby Rychel has 20 points (5 goals, 15 assists) in 21 games but is up in the NHL where he recently notched his first career NHL goal.

Expectations for this weekend’s games? Will the down time help make the Milwaukee Admirals perform as well as last weekend or do you hesitate to say so considering the San Antonio Rampage haven’t won on home ice since mid-November? Can Kamenev continue scoring a goal per game since his return from the 2016 IIHF World Juniors?

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It feels like a long time since the Milwaukee Admirals last played. That’s both a great and potentially bad thing. Whenever there are long layoffs such as this the bodies get to rest up and, consequently, rust up. The Admirals should start tonight’s game with a little bit of lag but I have to believe many players desperately needed time to physically and mentally recover some energy. This recent down time has allowed for that and, hopefully, it means a more electric performance than what has been put together these last six games.

~Fiala Fiala Fiala~

In last night’s Nashville Predators game Kevin Fiala scored his first career goal and it came from his first shift of the 2015-16 season at the NHL level. Talk about showing everyone instantly why you were recalled and what you can do, eh? He logged 17:48 of ice time and was taking part on the Predators top line with Ryan Johansen and James Neal. On a fun side note, the first career NHL goal for Fiala came just one-day ahead of his one-year anniversary of being assigned to the Admirals to kick start his North American professional playing career.

Unfortunately, the Predators are going through perhaps an even more rough slump than the Admirals lately and they would fall 5-4 (OT) on the road to the Winnipeg Jets despite a massive rally to force the overtime period. It just seems to be tough sledding system wide right now. Something to take our minds off of that? THIS.

~San Anton’ Ya’ll~

The San Antonio Rampage enter this two-game set against the Admirals with a record of 16-15-7-0 (39 points). Their 0.513 points percentage has them currently in sixth place of the Pacific Division and eleventh in the Western Conference standings.

If the recent spell for the Admirals has you down – suck it up. The Rampage have had a far worse run of form. Dating back to the start of December the Rampage have gone 5-12-1-0 which spans their last 18 games. In a division where quite a few teams above the Rampage will be playing 8 less games, CALIFORNIA, that’s a borderline playoff killing run already. This is a team that should be playing desperate because they need to get back on course now before things become less borderline and more a matter of fact.

~So Far This Season~

The Admirals and Rampage have only played once so far this season. That first exchange took place here in Milwaukee and ended with a 6-3 Admirals win. You might recall that contest as the night Jamie Devane made Daniel Maggio rethink fighting against the Admirals ever again.

It’s also worth noting that in that game a guy by the name of Viktor Arvidsson played for the Admirals. He scored twice from the power-play in that game. He makes his return to the Admirals lineup tonight for the first time since 11/27/15. Also of note from that game was Vladislav Kamenev producing a pair of assists. He will be back for the Admirals tonight for the first time since 12/15/15 when he left to participate as team captain of Russia in the 2016 IIHF World Juniors.

One person who did score a goal for the Admirals in that game will not be taking part of course. Conor Allen‘s lone goal scored this season came against the Rampage and he was traded for Patrick Mullen yesterday in one of those weird NHL clubs trading AHL players trades. It’s possible that both Mullen and the recently cleared from waivers Cody Hodgson could make the Admirals debut as part of this San Antonio road swing that takes place tonight and tomorrow night.

~What About The Other Guys?~

The Rampage have four players with 20+ points of offense: Colin Smith, 29 points (11 goals, 17 assists)… Mikko Rantanen, 26 points (10 goals, 16 assists)… Joey Hishon, 25 points (10 goals, 15 assists)… Maxim Noreau, 20 points (5 goals, 15 assists).

That list is followed by six other players all closely matched to the 20 points produced plateau so the Rampage aren’t exactly lacking for offense. What can be noted though is scoring isn’t everything. The Rampage have produced 110 goals this season but allowed 118 goals. Only the Texas Stars (136), Binghamton Senators (121), Rochester Americans (120), St. John’s IceCaps (120), and Iowa Wild (118) have allowed more or as many goals as a team in the entire AHL this season.

In net the Rampage have gone to Calvin Pickard (Chet‘s brother) more than any other goaltender this season. Good news, he isn’t an issue tonight as he is currently up with the Colorado Avalance where he picked up his first career NHL shutout last night. That means leaning on the likes of Roman Will and Spencer Martin. Both have played 10 games evenly with varying results. Will: 4-2-2-0 record, 478:21 minutes in net, 3.89 goals against average, and a 0.883 save percentage… Martin: 3-5-1-0, 555:25 minutes in net, 2.92 goals against average, 0.910 save percentage, and has earned a shutout once this season.

Expectations for this two-in-two in San Antonio? Can the current skid of losing five of the last six games get put to bed? Will the time off help or hurt the Milwaukee Admirals? Will it be a giant boost to get so many players back?

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The Grand Rapids Griffins have the Milwaukee Admirals number. That’s troubling. No doubt about it. But ignore them for now because they won’t be a problem again until the last game of this month.

What concerns me a little bit is this current run the Admirals have been on. They have lost four out of their last five games. They are no longer in first place of the Western Conference. They are no longer in first place of the Central Division.

In these last five games the Admirals have been shutout twice. They have scored seven goals and it wasn’t until last night when they scored at even strength – they did that twice. Around that they’ve scored twice on the power-play, once at four-on-four, on a penalty shot, and with an empty netter. What’s concerning should be that the Admirals can’t handle the Griffins defensive pressure and tightness as much as it is everyone right now. The Admirals are losing losing the five-on-five battles which is simply uncharacteristic to say the least. That absolutely needs to change.

~The Iowa Mild~

Perhaps some relief from recent games can be found in the form of the Iowa Wild. This will be their first journey to Milwaukee of four games for the Wild this season. The Admirals have already trekked down to Iowa and have taken at least a point from all games played: 10/20/15, Admirals win 3-2 (OT)… 10/31/15, Admirals lose 3-2 (OT)… 11/5/15, Admirals win 3-0.

The Wild enter tonight’s game with the worst record in the entire league: 8-23-2-3 (21 points) for a 0.292 points percentage. It feels like I always say something along the lines of “worst” or “last place” with Iowa but they generally always match up well against the Admirals and play tight games. I don’t understand why that is. And the Wild have gone, for their standards, an extremely outstanding 3-1-0-0 in their last four games. Perhaps I should use the term “relief” lightly.

~Who What Now~

The first place I feel worth looking at for the Wild is in goal. You might think former Admirals goaltender Jeremy Smith has been their go-to workhorse this season but he’s actually been outplayed by Leland Irving.

Irving has played more games in net this season than Smith with 5-12-3-2 record from 21 appearances, 2.69 goals against average, 0.915 save percentage, and a shutout. Smith has appeared in 17 games and has a rough record of 3-11-2-1 to go along with a 3.10 goals against average and 0.909 save percentage. Though, it is worth noting that Smith did take home CCM/AHL Player of the Week honors to cap off December.

As far as team scoring goes, the Wild are the second lowest goal scoring team in the AHL with only 73 goals scored all season. The team with the lowest amount scored are the Manitoba Moose with 65 goals scored. So, you would imagine the individual statistics from a team like the Wild differ from a team like the Admirals – and you’d be right! The Admirals have thirteen players with double-digit points totals with two into the 20+ points figure. The Wild have seven players with double digit points and the closest man to the 20 point plateau for them is Switzerland native Christoph Bertschy who has a team best 19 points (4 goals, 15 assists).

Can the Milwaukee Admirals get out of their current three-game skid tonight? What would a loss to the Iowa Wild mean to you? How important would it be for the Admirals to get back Vladislav Kamenev?

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If there is any opponent that has made me slightly cringe up heading into an Admirals game this season it would be the Grand Rapids Griffins. They are, and have been for numerous years, a well balanced and polished product of an AHL hockey team. The Detroit Red Wings and Nashville Predators organizations both scout, draft, and develop well. That’s kind of why these head-to-head battles over the years have always been so tight and playoff-like. That same mentality remains to be the case in 2015-16.

~The Grand Griffins~

It feels like ages ago but the Griffins start to the season might be one of the greatest oddities that has happened in the AHL to this point. In their opening eleven games of the season the Griffins only had two wins. Read that again: In their opening eleven games of the season the Griffins only had two wins. They started the season off losing four-straight games and losing four of six games at home.

But then, for whatever reason, reality must has set back in and in a massive way. When the Griffins finally clicked back into place they exploded for a franchise record fifteen-game winning streak. That streak was the third longest in the AHL since 1992.

“What has happened since that streak was snapped by the Lake Erie Monsters,” you asked. Good question! The Griffins have played a total of four-games and have split the deck with two wins and two regulation losses.

Their last game is something I’d refer to as a head-turner. The Moose took down the Griffins in Manitoba by a score of 2-1. I don’t know whether you simply tip the cap to Eric Comrie in net but the Griffins outshot the Moose 38-26 in that game. Just two days prior the Griffins blew the Moose away with a 4-1 win, Comrie in the net for Manitoba, and outshooting them by a very similar 37-26 total. So, for how that last game ended, I imagine a long trip back to Grand Rapids was to be had. They needed one goal to at least take a point from the lowly Moose. They had two power-plays chances late in the third period that could have sent them through to overtime, get that point, and possibly take one more with the win. That didn’t happen. And the Griffins are a modest 0.500 since their lengthy winning streak snapped.

Entering tonight’s game the Griffins hold a record of 19-11-0-1 (39 points). Their 0.629 points percentage sees them currently sitting in third place of the Central Division and fourth place within the Western Conference standings.

Of note, it’s fun to see how an AHL schedule breaks down differently for every team. The Admirals will be playing Game #37 tonight. The Griffins will be playing Game #32. Considering neither get the fancy California treatment from the league where they can laugh at others for playing eight extra games – this means the Griffins schedule is backloaded unlike the Admirals. Ignoring the bookmarker months of October and April you get this: the Admirals maximum for games played in a month this season was 14 games in December – which they get to do again in March. Their a low is what we see this month as the Admirals will only be playing 10 games in January. The Griffins max comes this month when they play 14 games in January. They played a season low of 10 games in November. The Griffins schedule is more routine, and more balanced in terms of numbers displacement, but now is the time for the Admirals to tack on some hurt to them. This is about to be as taxing of a stretch as the Griffins will face all season. The Admirals would be smart to make them feel it early.

~The Snubs~

It’s not often when I see something such as an All-Star roster and think, “Well, he shouldn’t be here. This guy should,” without thinking purely on my team or fandom’s perspective. When I saw that both Andy Miele and Eric Tangradi weren’t All-Stars yesterday but players such as Ryan Hartman and Griffins captain Jeff Hoggan were – I was stumped. It made no sense to me. And will continue to make no sense to me.

Miele has been an outstanding AHL level player ever since he arrived to the league. While I can’t speak much for his time with the Portland Pirates I’ve watched him up close as a member of the Griffins and I feel as if every game he is one of the best players on the ice. This season he is currently second on the team in scoring with 24 points (6 goals, 18 assists) and has featured in all 31 games played for the Griffins. Hoggan? He is the Griffins captain. I heard great things about him from Triston Grant last season. But, All-Star based on good guy status? It doesn’t make sense unless you’re the host team needing a fan spark. It’s not in Grand Rapids. It’s in Syracuse. And Hoggan has 4 points (4 goals, 0 assists) in 31 games with a -2 plus/minus. Miele has a +16 plus/minus rating. It doesn’t add up.

Which brings me to that one and only player with more points of offense on the Griffins this season, Tangradi. He has amassed 26 points (15 goals, 11 assists) in 27 games this season. He has been outstanding as a member of the Griffins in his first season under their banner. His numbers in the AHL have always been good but this year he has almost bettered his previous efforts at the halfway point of the season. Hartman of the IceHogs has more minor penalties taken this season, 24, than points of offense: 18 points (10 goals, 8 assists) in 29 games. If I’m not mistaken that has to be the most minor penalties taken in the AHL this season and could be an All-Star game first this side of John Scott for a guy going to a prestigious event like that with more harm than flash.

~Admiral Killer~

In my time covering Milwaukee Admirals hockey up close, since 2012-13, there have been a few goalies that have achieved what I like to refer to as “Admiral Killer” status. Jake Allen, Petr Mrázek, and Jordan Binnington come to mind right off the bat. The last time the Admirals and Griffins met it was officially time to add Jared Coreau to that list. Because he has owned the Admirals – pure and simple.

In his career against the Admirals Coreau has made eight appearances, seven starts, gone 6-1-0-0 stopping 172/179 shots for a 0.961 save percentage and 0.87 goals against average. In the last meeting he recorded his third career shutout of the Admirals – from seven career starts. The time before that when the Admirals went into Grand Rapids he should have picked up another shutout but made a bonehead play leaving his net trying to win a puck against Félix Girard‘s shorthanded rush for a loose puck.

What you get here is a combination of a Griffins defense that plays expertly well, forces a team like the Admirals to take long range shots from the perimeter that get blocked down, and a goaltender who answers the bell whenever he is required to step up. The Admirals absolutely have to find more ways to get pucks on Coreau and to test him. What’s happened in the past hasn’t been good enough and this game presents a hurdle the Admirals need to clear by season’s end.

Expectations for tonight’s game? What do the Milwaukee Admirals need to do in order to crack the Grand Rapids Griffins defense? Are the Griffins the top threat to the Admirals out of their own division this season?

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If you haven’t taken a look at the AHL’s Conference standings lately you might have raised an eyebrow when coming across the Milwaukee Admirals name sitting on top of the Western Conference. That isn’t some botched numerology, either. That’s how it is. The Admirals, for all the injuries and roster turn-over, haven’t just grabbed the Central Division’s top spot but moved out in front of the entire Western Conference.

The Ontario Reign’s hot start and limited schedule made them and their points percentage something of a stalwart concrete item that seemed to not be changing anytime soon. They won the Calder Cup last season whilst titled the Manchester Monarchs before packing up and setting out Californee way. That success carried over into their new home and they have been leading the Western Conference for what feels like the majority, if not all, of this season.

As so happens, the Reign’s hot run has been cooling off in their last few weeks of hockey. In the Reign’s last seven games they’ve only managed to pick up 5 points out of a possible 14 points available to them while the Admirals have taken 13 points from a possible 16 points from that same span (dated, 12/19/15). The Reign have lost their last three-games straight. The Admirals keep finding ways to make it work. Despite losing their last game in Rockford the Admirals were still able to fetch a point out of a contest they probably had no right to do so. That results in padding the points percentage. It also results in the IceHogs win not exactly having the gravity it should have for how strong of a game they played. I believe the old Admirals term to use here is pesky – because it really has been like that lately.

~Monsters or Paper Tigers?~

The Lake Erie Monsters enter tonight’s game with a record of 17-12-2-2 (38 points). Their 0.576 points percentage has them sitting in fifth place of the Central Division and seventh in the Western Conference standings.

If the IceHogs were a team backed into a corner needing to play desperate and earn a result these Monsters should pose a similar threat. They have gone 3-6-1-0 in their last ten games and have lost three-straight games in regulation including a 3-1 loss in Milwaukee on Saturday.

In the Monsters last three games they’ve been outscored 11-5 despite outshooting their opponents 96-81. Their power-play has gone 14.3% (2/14) and penalty kill 76.5% (13/17). Bizarrely, in each individual game there has been a standout performer on offense when it comes to generating shots on goal… but there is a catch…they lead the team in shots but also ended the game without a goal: 12/31/15 @ Toronto, Kerby Rychel (team best 4 shots on goal – no goals, no assists)… 1/2/16 @ Milwaukee, T.J. Tynan (game high 6 shots on goal – no goals, 1 assist)… 1/3/16 @ Chicago, Oliver Bjorkstrand (game high 8 shots on goal – no goals, no assists).

~Tendy Problems~

I feel the biggest storyline heading into tonight’s game comes at the goaltending position for Lake Erie because, well, look who they have: Brad Thiessen and Mark Owuya. That’s not necessarily a knock against those two individuals ability. Those are just two goaltenders that weren’t on the Monsters roster at all until December.

Both names were PTO signings that needed to be brought on-board due to the injuries up top for the Monsters NHL affiliate the Columbus Blue Jackets. Sergei Bobrovski has a groin injury and is out until later this month. Curtis McElhinney is out indefinitely due to an ankle injury. This meant both goaltenders for the Monsters, Anton Forsberg and Joonas Korpisalo, were brought up. Thiessen was added as a PTO signing for the Monsters a little past a week into December, released back to the Admirals ECHL affiliate the Cincinnati Cyclones, recorded an 18-save shutout in a 4-0 win for the Cyclones over the Toledo Walleye, and then brought back into the fold this past weekend with Owuya’s PTO signing following shortly after him.

If that read hectic just imagine how the Monsters feel. The good news for them is that Thiessen is a polished professional. He has 203 games of AHL experience including 41 games of Calder Cup Playoffs experience. He has played 2 games for the Monsters this season and both occasions came as relief appearances of Forsberg in net. Thiessen has stopped 17/20 shots on goal for a 0.850 save percentage and 2.60 goals against average in 69:14 of ice time. I have to believe he’s the man getting the start tonight having been part of the Monsters setup longer than Owuya.

Expectations for tonight’s game? How do the Milwaukee Admirals bounce back from last game when they were really outworked for the majority of the contest?

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“Oh dear, it’s those dastardly Rockford IceHogs again. And they’re looking to spoil all the Milwaukee Admirals fun from last night. What ever shall we do?”

Fret ye not, fictitious  Admirals fan that I just made up using a quote without an author attached. The Admirals and IceHogs are about to meet for the eighth time this season and it is the Admirals leading the season series with a record of 5-2-0-0 to this point.

Of note, three of the seven games played in this season series has gone past regulation and two of those three overtime games have required a shootout. The Admirals have come out on top in all of those circumstances including an overtime and shootout win on the road in Rockford.

Perhaps another note worth mentioning, considering this game is in Rockford, is that the Admirals have won all three games played in Rockford so far this season. For the IceHogs this game might be less to do with beating the Admirals to close the gap in the Central Division standings and more to do with just showing that the IceHogs can win on home ice against the Admirals. It’s an important game for them in both respects. With so few games left in the season series, five including today’s contest, the IceHogs are slowly putting themselves in a place where they will be needed outside help to slow the Admirals down should they let this head-to-head go bust. I’m expecting a playoff level intensity level from the IceHogs. The Admirals, coming off of a stressful third period survival style win last night, need to match that intensity and be smart with their details.

~Short & Sweet~

The IceHogs will be entering this game with a record of 19-9-2-3 (43 points) which sees them in second place of the Central Division. They trail the Admirals for the divisional lead by 0.039 percentage points.

In the last ten games the IceHogs have gone a very average 4-4-1-1 and are coming off of a 2-0 shutout loss on the road last night to the Chicago Wolves. Jordan Binnington stopped all 28 shots the IceHogs labeled at him and the IceHogs power-play went 0/5 on the night.

~Oh, Him. Great.~

Ryan Hartman served and completed his three-game suspension for his illegal check to the head of Trevor Murphy when these two teams last locked horns. I’m going out on a limb and saying that unlike last night’s Kevin Fiala versus Lake Erie Monsters scenario has a little more bad blood because someone impacted is still injured. The Admirals haven’t really shown a bad side about them in regards to proactively targeting individuals in-game. Perhaps the real thing to watch out for will be Hartman playing up the role he is known for and continuing his hard hitting in your face brand of hockey. Combine that with his history and that might let things boil over a touch.

~Leading The Oinking Oink Way~

The IceHogs currently have two players tied for the team lead in scoring, Jeremy Morin and Jake Dowell. Morin has scored 22 points (9 goals, 13 assists) in 28 games. Dowell has scored 22 points (7 goals, 15 assists) in 31 games.

Trailing those two, and actually leading the IceHogs in the goal scoring department is Mr. Hartman himself with 18 points (10 goals, 8 assists) in 28 games this season.

In net, the go-to choice is Michael Leighton for the IceHogs. He is fifth in the AHL for minutes played (1320:41) and has won 15 games from 23 appearances. Amusingly enough, it feels as if the preferred started for the IceHogs against the Admirals is his battery-mate Mark Visentin who has started four out of the seven games played in the match-up this season.

~Maz-tronomically Good~

While Juuse Saros was brilliant last night it should be Marek Mazanec getting the start later this afternoon. He has been unbelievable against the IceHogs this season: six starts, five wins, stopping 184/196 for a 0.939 save percentage and a 1.96 goals against average. That’s unreal when you remember the Admirals dropped a stinker on Mazanec’s doorstep which saw him concede 5 goals in a game. He’s been that good around that lone defeat to the IceHogs this season.

Expectations for this evening’s game? For how last night’s game ended with a rocky third period and how this one sets up with an IceHogs team looking to right some wrongs, are you concerned?

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It has been quite some time since the Milwaukee Admirals and Lake Erie Monsters have clashed. The two met for the first two meetings of the season in early November, both games taking place in Milwaukee, and they’ve not met up again until tonight.

Want a perfect teaser as to what we’ll be getting to see tonight? Let’s venture back to when we last left off in the season series back on 11/11/15. It was the Admirals Inaugural School Day Game, with a 10:30 AM start time, and ended with a 6-3 Admirals win and Kevin Fiala taking a late game misconduct major for flipping off the Monsters bench. …and that shall set the tone for the evening.

Of note, the Monsters entered the last game against the Admirals as the second best team in the Central Division. They now find themselves in fourth place with a record of 17-10-2-2 (38 points) with a 0.613 points percentage. The two teams to have zipped past them during that time are the Grand Rapids Griffins and the Admirals. Though, small measure of revenge, the Monsters were the team to end the Griffins franchise record fifteen game winning streak. The only other team to have taken down the Griffins in their last eighteen games just so happens to be the Admirals.

Extra Recapping: the Admirals have won both games against the Monsters in regulation… the Admirals have outscored the Monsters, 9-4… the leading point getters in the head-to-head haven’t even scored goals as both Vladislav Kamenev and Adam Payerl have 3 assists… the Admirals power-play is 20.0% (2/10) against the Monsters and, while that sounds bad, that’s only because of the 1/8 that occurred during the AM game… the Admirals penalty kill has gone 66.7% (6/9) against the Monsters… both Max Reinhart and Pontus Åberg have 2 goals in the season match-up… Juuse Saros has started in net for both games against the Monsters and stopped 55/59 shots on goal for a 0.932 save percentage and 2.00 goals against average.

Random Fact: the Lake Erie Monsters are the only team in the AHL with a points percentage of 0.600 or better and to not have more goals forced than goals against. They are currently an even split with 83 goals forced and 83 goals against.

The Monsters leading scorer this season is currently center T.J. Tynan who has produced 21 points (2 goals, 19 assists) in 31 games. Mind you, they do have Kerby Rychel in camp and he has a better points per game average (0.94) than Tynan (0.68). The main goal scoring threats come from wingers Daniel Zaar (9 goals) and Josh Anderson (8 goals) who are first and second for the Monsters in that category.

In net, we might get a chance to see the Admirals and their ECHL affiliate, the Cincinnati Cyclones, have a clashing of the heads so to speak. The Monsters have once again signed goaltender Brad Thiessen to a PTO contract as it appears Joonas Korpisalo is either out due to injury or out due to form lately. The urge for me to bring Thiessen on Chatterbox will be up there just so I can ask about my favorite photo to come out of Cincinnati this season. …I digress.

It’s more than likely that the Admirals will be facing Anton Forsberg in net for the Monsters. This season he has made 21 appearances in net for a 12-6-2-0 record which has garnered a 2.60 goals against average and 0.900 save percentage. Against the Admirals, Forsberg has started both games while stopping 28/33 shots on goal for a 3.78 goals against average and 0.848 save percentage. He was pulled from the net after allowing three goals in the first period in the last game against the Admirals.

Expectations for tonight’s game? Do you feel there will be any attempts by the Lake Erie Monsters to target Kevin Fiala after what transpired in the previous game? Could the Admirals be planning on dressing seven defensemen and using yesterday’s recall, Jonathan Diaby, as a deterrent against such proceedings by Lake Erie against Fiala?

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In Chatterbox, I made mention of ignoring the silly delay that pushed yesterday’s start-time all the way back to 7:35 PM. Let’s not ignore that for a moment and have a little bit of fun at the Chicago Wolves expense.

The Wolves, knowing the Winter Storm was in play for all of yesterday, opted to leave a full thirty-minutes early from Chicago. They arrived in Milwaukee well past 6 PM and the delays were then taken into account. Pre-Game Skate: half hour delay. Opening Puck Drop: thirty-five minute delay.

Now, here is the funny part. The entire time the Wolves were slowly creeping down I-94 in the snow storm the Grand Rapids Griffins were already here in Milwaukee. Today’s opponent was here on time for last night’s game before yesterday’s opponent was. Perhaps it’s that sort of forward thinking and game-planning that is why the Griffins went on a franchise record fifteen game winning streak.

~The Surging Rapids, The Grand Griffins~

The Admirals and Griffins are about to clash twice in a three-day span. Tonight in Milwaukee. Thursday night in Grand Rapids. The Griffins will enter with a record of 17-9-0-1 (35 points). Their 0.648 points percentage has them in third place of the Central Division and fourth place in the Western Conference standings.

Going back into the Griffins fifteen-game winning streak. It was a franchise record for the Griffins. Not only that but it was the third longest winning streak in the AHL since 1992: 2011-12, Norfolk Admirals (28 games)… 2004-05, Philadelphia Phantoms (17 games)… 2015-16, Grand Rapids Griffins (15 games)… 2007-08, Syracuse Crunch (15 games)… 1995-96, Albany River Rats (15 games).

It’s amazing to see how the Griffins record looks at the moment. Because, before that winning streak of their’s started, they were 2-8-0-1 on the season with a 0.136 points percentage. Now, sixteen games later, they’ve upped their points percentage by 0.512. In short, they more than righted their ship after a rough start.

I pose the following question to you that Dave Boehler threw out to Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason last night:

Would you have preferred to play the Grand Rapids Griffins on a sixteen-game winning streak or coming off of a loss as the Admirals are about to?

It’s an interesting question because, with the Griffins finally losing, you wonder how that next game goes after such a long run gets stopped. Will the Griffins rebound right back or is that loss the start of a trend back down to the level of play they started their season off with? Good or bad news for us all. The Admirals are the AHL’s guinea pig tonight and Thursday to find that answer out. Aren’t we lucky? …no? …yeah, I hear you.

~Recapping~

Despite how often the Admirals have seen divisional foes such as Rockford, Chicago, or even Manitoba this season Grand Rapids is a different story. These upcoming games will be the third and fourth tilts of the season between the Admirals and Griffins. So far, it has been all Griffins by a clear margin.

Game 1. Remember when the Admirals had a franchise record winning streak of ten-games? That was awesome! Then some Griffins team showed up in Milwaukee for the first meeting between the two sides this season and clobbered the Admirals 6-0. … It was bad.

Game 2. This was also another game in which the Admirals legitimately could do nothing offensively. If not for an out of body experience for Jared Coreau, thinking he was a defenseman who was going to play a puck away from Félix Girard while his Griffins teammates were on the power-play, it would have been yet another shutout. Instead, the Griffins took claim to a 4-1 win on their home ice. … Again, no bueno mi amigos.

~Who What Now?~

The Griffins leading scorer is Andy Miele who has scored 24 points (6 goals, 18 assists) in 27 games. Against the Admirals this season, Miele is the leading point getter with 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) in 2 games.

It’s perhaps the smallest of silver linings that the Griffins will be without their top goal scorer Eric Tangradi who was recalled by the Detroit Red Wings yesterday. He had produced 22 points (13 goals, 9 assists) in 24 games for the Griffins prior to being called up.

I say that is a small silver lining because it isn’t as if the Griffins are short for scorers. Their team boasts ten other players outside of Tangradi with double-digit points of offense this season. Taking injuries into account, the Admirals counter that by only having seven players with double-digit points entering these games against the Griffins. Grand Rapids has outscored opponents 87-68 on the season.

In net it is probably a safe bet that Mr. “Out Of Body Experience” himself, Coreau, will get the start. As mentioned, he really should have picked up two shutouts from two games against the Admirals. If you take away his blunder that allowed for Girard’s shorthanded goal Coreau has stopped 45/45 shots against the Admirals this season. That’s not too shabby. Coreau’s overall record in net this season is 13-3-1-1 with a 2.30 goals against average and 0.928 save percentage.

Should the Griffins feel the need to throw a curveball at the Admirals they could play Tom McCollum in net. His numbers aren’t exactly bad, 2.53 goals against average and 0.924 save percentage from 10 games, but his record of 4-6-0-0 is eyebrow raising. Perhaps it is just one of those cases of a team playing more confidently in front of one goalie and not the other.

Expectations for tonight’s game? Can the Admirals finally get through the Griffins? What will be the key for the Admirals tonight to keep their own winning streak going?

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