Still buzzing over the 6-3 win in the Admirals season opener? Great news! We get to do it all over again tonight. This time it’s a road tilt against the diabolical divisional rivals, the Rockford IceHogs.

What’s funny to think of when looking at the IceHogs this season is that I feel they may not have the laughable madness in them anymore. Instead, I think they mirror similarly to the Admirals in age and talent. And if I had to hazard a guess, today, who I think could win the Midwest Division this season… it would be the Rockford IceHogs. Why? All you need to do is look at their roster and it will tell you they may have their most talented team in years.

~The Teuvo~

When you think of how thick the Nashville Predators glass ceiling is this season, in terms of leaping from Milwaukee to the NHL, you can’t help but see a team like the Chicago Blackhawks and their AHL affiliate and laugh. There are so many talented young players that could well be NHL talents were they in any other organization. The one that tops the scales for me in that department is 20-year old Teuvo Teräväinen.

Teravainen was selected by the Blackhawks with the 18th overall selection in the 2012 NHL Draft. He made his professional debut in North America last season for both the Blackhawks and IceHogs after a solid career in Finland with Jokerit. He suited up for 3 games in the NHL and 5 games for the IceHogs in the AHL. It gave him just enough of a look at the game style here in North America for his head to be fastened firmly come this season.

He might be young. He might have his own learning curve at the North American adjustment. But I’m not sure any of that matters with the mind he has for the game. If Colton Sissons is the man with expectations to shoulder a load here in Milwaukee – his equivalent is Teravainen. The difference between the two for me is that the Teuvo has better instincts for attacking. In 133 games of professional hockey in Finland he produced 93 points (33 goals, 60 assists). I think he can hit the ground running at the AHL level this season.

~Fear the Beard~

One of the better stories from last season was the rise of Scott Darling. He started off as the Admirals guy down in Cincinnati. Played a fair amount of games in the ECHL. And then the hectic cycle of injuries at the goaltending position started for the Nashville Predators and Milwaukee Admirals. In stepped Darling. And it felt like he was right at home. His strong season with the Admirals put him on plenty of teams radars and he eventually landed with his hometown Blackhawks on a two-way contract.

~Him Too?~

T.J. Brennan ran rough-shot on the AHL as a member of the Toronto Marlies last season: 72 points (25 goals, 47 assists) in 76 games. He wound up earning something the Maple Leafs didn’t give him last year, an NHL look. He signed a one-way deal with the New York Islanders in the off-season. Then came a trade. The Islanders acquired Nick Leddy in exchange for Brennan and Ville Pokka and Anders Nilsson. After clearing waivers, Mr. Brennan became an IceHog.

There no doubt that Brennan can handle himself at the AHL level: 199 points (76 goals, 123 assists) in 301 career games. With chances to get into the NHL with Chicago just as difficult as it is for our Admirals to get up to Nashville – Brennan should be here the majority of this season. That’s bad for him. And good for the IceHogs.

Thoughts on the Admirals game tonight? Are the IceHogs the top team in our division this season? Scoreline prediction?

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The Milwaukee Admirals 2014-15 season starts tonight on home ice with the Charlotte Checkers. We’ve already given a bit of a preview as to what we should expect out of the Ads this season. So let’s hop right into the fire and figure out the enemy.

~Et Tu, Mac?~

The first thing that leaps out at me when looking at the Checkers this season is a former Admiral goaltender who comes in at a boastful 6’0″ tall. Last season he absolutely cleaned the floor with the Admirals in the playoffs whilst playing for the Toronto Marlies. Yes. I am of course talking about Drew MacIntyre.

In the playoffs MacIntyre was fantastic for the Marlies. He held a 2.08 GAA with a 0.941 SV% through 14 games of the Calder Cup Playoffs. He earned himself a one-year, two-way contract with the Carolina Hurricanes in the off-season. With Cam Ward and Anton Khudobin up with the Canes in the NHL – MacIntyre finds himself back in the AHL paired with 26-year old goaltender John Muse.

Anticipate the familiar face being the man in net for the Checkers. And if you thought we had goalie injury woes in the system last year – think about this Charlotte team. In 2013-14 the Checkers played ten different goaltenders. Believe me when I say this is a team that hopes they’ll be able to rely on MacIntyre, Muse, and hopefully no one else.

~Defense~

The oldest man on the Checkers defense is 24-year old Michal Jordan (no relation). He has 267 games of AHL experience under his belt – as well as 5 games in the NHL. Behind him: Rasmus Rissanen, 188 games played at the AHL level. Beau Schmitz, who has fluctuated between the AHL and ECHL over his first two-seasons. Dennis Robertson, who had a one-game cameo after his career at Brown University came to an end. Danny Biega and Keegan Lowe, who are both entering their second full-season of pro hockey. Austin Levi, who played his first pro season at the ECHL level and has yet to play in the AHL. And lastly, 20-year old Trevor Carrick who is a bonafide rookie.

Long story short. I thought our defense was pretty young and lacking professional playing experience. They could and should be just as vulnerable as our defense – if not more so.

~Prospect Watch List~

Taking a gander at the fall rankings for the Hurricanes on Hockey’s Future – the Checkers boast 6 prospects from the Canes Top 20. The top of that crop is 20-year old winger Brock McGinn. He spent last year doing amazing things for the highly successful Guelph Storm and, previously, had the opportunity to play 4 games in the AHL during the 2012-13 season. He should be the one worth looking out for in red tomorrow night. He scored 85 points (43 goals, 42 assists) in 58 games in the OHL last year. Can he translate that to professional success in Charlotte?

~That Boychuk Kid Again~

Zach Boychuk is somewhat of an enigma. He’s the sort to light up the AHL, get called up to the NHL, not do much, get sent back down, and continue producing offense in the AHL. He averages 0.89 PPG through 296 career AHL games. At the NHL level he currently sits with a 0.25 PPG in 96 career games.

He ended last season with the second most points scored in the AHL: 74 points (36 goals, 38 assists) in 69 games. No one last year scored more goals in the AHL than him. Is he going to replicate that success? This isn’t an NHL fixture so my guess is a firm yes.

What are your expectations from tonight’s season opener? Who would you start in net for the Milwaukee Admirals? Scoreline prediction?

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The Milwaukee Admirals backs are against the wall tonight in Toronto. They face a 2-0 deficit in the opening round best-of-five series against the Marlies and, having dropped the first two in Milwaukee, are left to rally on the road from here on out.

It’s bleak. It’s tough. BUT, it is only game three of five. Watch those Los Angeles Kings win last night’s opening round match-up against the San Jose Sharks? The Kings overcame the mountain. They trailed 3-0 in a best of seven and won it – becoming the fourth team ever to do it.

The Toronto Marlies finished the regular season with the exact same winning percentage at home as the Admirals: 0.697 percent. They have a +27 goal differential at home (119 goals forced, 92 goals allowed). And the Ads were actually better in that department: +35 goal differential (128 goals forced, 93 goals allowed).

We saw what the Marlies did in the first two games played in Milwaukee. So, simple question, why can’t the Admirals repeat the exact same feat in Toronto?

The Admirals road numbers during the regular season were so-so. They had a 0.500 winning percentage and a -19 goal differential (87 goals forced, 106 goals allowed). Yep, the Marlies were better in that respect – but, I’ll ask it again, why not?

At the start of the season the Admirals won three straight road games: 10/12/13 @ Abbotsford… 10/18/13 @ Grand Rapids… 11/3/13 @ Iowa. They have won two-in-a-row on the road on three separate occasions this season – two of which came from the final six road games of the campaign. Why not claim game three, four, and see what happens? Why not this team?

In my book the biggest task the Milwaukee Admirals are going to need to tackle is doubt. The first period tonight will speak so many volumes of how the night is going to go. If I see more of the same with the Marlies chewing out the Admirals and making life hard on the offense – the “here we go again” thought trickles into the mind. Should the Admirals play on the same page or come out firing on all cylinders, picking up a nice first period lead, they will finally have something to build on.

It is that opening twenty-minutes of game three that will decide whether the Admirals push back or come back home on Friday. If the Admirals can score that first goal – it could make all the difference in them tilting the ice in the same fashion the Marlies have the first two games.

What are you expecting from Game Three tonight? Will the Marlies sweep the Admirals? What do the Admirals need to do in order to rally on the road?

The Milwaukee Admirals open up playoff hockey tonight for their twelfth straight season tonight. They finished the regular season with a record of 39-24-6-7 (91 points). That placed them third in the Midwest Division and netted the sixth seed in the Western Conference.

Their opponent is the Toronto Marlies who finished the season with a record of 45-25-2-4 (96 points). They won the North Division by a comfortable 11 points over the Rochester Americans but were lesser off than fellow division winners the Texas Stars (106 points) and the Chicago Wolves (100 points). That’s what put them on a collision course for the three versus six match-up that we have. And, with the choice of the first two at home or the last three at home, the puck drops for games one and two here in Milwaukee.

Toronto only played against the Admirals twice this a season and lost both games. If you look back on recent history the head-to-head history really favors Milwaukee. In the last five seasons the Admirals are 8-2-1-1 (18 points) from twelve games.

Jan. 21, 2014 vs. Toronto: W, 3-2
Mar. 22, 2014 @ Toronto: W, 5-1

Feb. 23, 2013 @ Toronto: W, 3-1
Mar. 23, 2013 vs. Toronto: L, 3-2 (OT)

Dec. 16, 2011 vs. Toronto: W, 2-0
Mar. 17, 2012 @Toronto: L, 3-2

Jan. 8, 2011 vs. Toronto: W, 1-0 (SO)
Mar. 1, 2011 @ Toronto: W, 3-1

Dec. 14, 2009  @ Toronto: W, 4-3 (OT)
Jan. 2, 2010 @ Toronto: L, 3-2 (SO)
Jan. 9, 2010 vs. Toronto: W, 3-1
Mar. 13, 2010 vs. Toronto: L, 3-2

While that history might be plenty of seasons ago – Scott Ford and Mark Van Guilder both participated as far back as the 2009-10 season: Ford, eleven games, 2 points (1 goal, 1 assist), a plus/minus rating of +1, and 15 penalty minutes… Van Guilder, nine games, 4 points (3 goals, 1 assist), a plus/minus rating of +3, and no penalty minutes.

The veterans are certainly there for the Admirals. You have the names above as well as Francis Wathier, Joe Piskula, and Bryan Rodney. Between those five players they have a combined 189 games of AHL playoff experience between them.

The most seasoned of the Admirals veteran core would be Wathier who has logged 51 AHL playoff games. That includes a deep run with the Texas Stars in the 2009-10 season when he made it all the way to the Calder Cup Final. The Hershey Bears would get the best of Wathier and the Stars that season – beating them in six games.

In Marlies camp they have a quality group of veteran experience as well. In fact, they have two senior members on the team who have played playoff hockey in Milwaukee.  Jerred Smithson has played 23 AHL playoff games and 31 NHL playoff games in his career. Drew MacIntyre has played a whopping 62 AHL playoff games in seven career playoff runs. Smithson played with the Admirals in the 2004-05 season and briefly in 2005-06. MacIntyre appeared in 55 games with the Admirals during the 2008-09 season – including 11 playoff games.

Then you have the young-guns. The Admirals will have Calle Jarnkrok, Colton Sissons, Filip Forsberg, and Miikka Salomaki. The Marlies will have Greg McKegg, Josh Leivo, and Sam Carrick. For the Admirals group – they lack playoff experience at the AHL level. That group from the Marlies all managed to get their crack at it last season. It is going to be an interesting watch to see how the youth of Admirals performs in the playoff spot light – especially given how much should be expected out of them to produce offensively for the team.

Another interesting comparison from the two teams are young forwards with plenty of playoff experience underneath them. One of them is 22-years old. The other just turned 23-years old. Each are entering their fourth AHL Calder Cup playoffs tonight. Those two would be Taylor Beck and Carter Ashton. The two play a fairly similar game and can generate offense. Expect both to be igniters in this series.

If you’re looking at the biggest factor in this series it has to be the goaltending battle. MacIntyre’s experience and track record speak for itself. He is not going to be phased by the moment. Meanwhile, Marek Mazanec is in his first full North American playing season – has played twice as many games as his previous career high for games in a season – and is expected to be the number one for the Admirals in the playoffs. He enters the playoffs on perhaps his hottest run of the entire season: winning four straight games, 1.00 goals against average, and a 0.965 save percentage. The pressure will be on each to be brilliant. One has been there. One hasn’t.

What are your expectations for tonight’s game one? Who will be the major players in this series? How confident are you in Marek Mazanec leading the Admirals into the playoffs?

The Charlotte Checkers enter tonight’s game with a record of 37-34-1-2 (77 points). They are fourth in the high powered West Division and are ninth in the Western Conference standings.

The Checkers currently trail the final playoff seed, the Oklahoma City Barons, by 2 points. Including tonight’s game they have only have two games remaining. Both of those games are on the road. The Barons have two games left as well – but have the advantage of home ice for each of those contests to finish their regular season.

Depending on how the results shape out – the Admirals could well wrap up the playoff contenders from the Western Conference tonight with a win over the Checkers and a win by the Barons over the Iowa Wild (who they will see in both games).

The Ads and Checkers have played each other three-times this season. It’s been a long time since those games – so let’s look back.

Nov. 30 @ Charlotte: L, 4-1
Dec. 1 @ Charlotte: W, 2-1
Dec. 27 vs. Charlotte: L, 3-2

It’s a small package of games but the Checkers have the advantage from them. Mind you, it has been such a long time since those three games and both teams have really changed.

If you’re wondering about fighting majors, incidents, or long memory type situations that could find themselves turning up out of the blue out of the match up: Game 1, Mike Liambas charging and then fighting with Matt Marquardt with an addition of Nicolas Blanchard taking a third-man-in penalty… Game 2, Liambas and Blanchard settled the score from the first game with a bout… Game 3, nope nope nope.

Their top scorer this season is Zach Boychuk with 72 points (36 goals, 36 assists), a plus/minus rating of -8, and 55 penalty minutes. Boychuk has a crazy insane 18 goals scored on the power-play this season. That is the most in the AHL this season. The next closest to him in PPGs is Luke Adam of the Rochester Americans with 16.

A player who has always done rather well against the Milwaukee Admirals is left winger Chris Terry. This season he has 68 points (28 goals, 40 assists), 14 goals scored from the power-play, a plus/minus rating of -11, and 60 penalty minutes.

Nine. The Charlotte Checkers have played nine goalies during the 2013-14 season. Makes you feel pretty good about how the Admirals and Predators handled injury struggles this season right?

Out of the crop of goalies the Checkers have used – John Muse has been their top man between the pipes: 45 games played, 27 wins, 2.58 goals against average, 0.920 save percentage, and 5 shutouts this season.

Also, Rick DiPietro played 5 games for them this season. … That was the punchline.

The Milwaukee Admirals have a record of 38-23-6-7 (89 points). They are third in the Midwest Division and, after their 3-0 shutout victory in Iowa on Sunday, are fifth in the Western Conference standings.

Milwaukee has two remaining regular season games: the regular season home finale tonight – and the regular season finale on the road against the Chicago Wolves tomorrow night.

The team is completely loaded with talent right now. Colton Sissons returned to the Admirals. Simon Moser returned from injury. Calle Jarnkrok returned from Nashville. And, as I’ve witnessed during practice this week, everyone is healthy and skating.

The lone exception could be Liambas, who hasn’t played since setting the Admirals record for penalty minutes in a season on 4/8/14, but he is skating on his own (no contact). Mark Van Guilder is also back after a lower-body injury that has sidelined him since 4/1/14 – and he has participated in full practice sessions. The team is simply at its strongest form at the perfect time of the season.

Another thing that has been getting sharper and sharper as the season comes to a close is the Admirals goaltending. In the month of April – Marek Mazanec and Scott Darling have combined to stop 185 of 191 shots on goal from 7 games: 0.969 save percentage. A part of me likes the idea of having a “number one” for the playoffs. I’m starting to agree with head coach Dean Evason who told me not too long ago, “if both are playing extremely well – what’s the difference?”

What shall we expect from tonight’s game against the Charlotte Checkers? Do the Admirals start rolling out their big guns to get them rolling into the playoffs or should they still look to rest guys?

The Chicago Wolves enter tonight’s game with a record of 41-20-5-5 (92 points). They are second in the Midwest Division and are fourth in the Western Conference. They trail the Grand Rapids Griffins by 4 points in the division but have two games in hand over last season’s Calder Cup champions.

When we last saw the Amtrak Rivals they won 4-1 in Chicago and cliched a playoff spot. It was the first game between the Admirals and Wolves this season that wasn’t decided by one-goal.

Oct. 19 vs. Chicago: L, 3-2 (OT)
Nov. 15 vs. Chicago: L, 4-3
Nov. 22 vs. Chicago: W, 3-2 (SO)
Dec. 22 @ Chicago: L, 2-1 (OT)
Jan. 11 vs. Chicago: L, 2-1
Feb. 9 vs. Chicago: L, 4-3 (SO)
Feb. 15 @ Chicago: W, 3-2 (OT)
Feb. 16 @ Chicago: L, 3-2
Apr. 1 @ Chicago: W, 1-0 (SO)
Apr. 5 @ Chicago: L, 4-1

The Wolves have taken a point from every single meeting against the Admirals this season: 7-0-1-2 (17 points) from ten games. Their goaltender Jake Allen has been stunningly good this season – but seems to bring out his “A” game against the Admirals: eight games, six wins, 1.69 GAA, 0.933 SV%, and a shutout.

With the Admirals having clinched their spot in the playoffs last night I think one thing must be in their minds when it comes to an opponent like Chicago: beat them in regulation.

The Admirals have won back-to-back games. In their last ten games they have gone 7-2-0-1 (15 points). The Wolves are on a point streak of four-games. In their last ten games they have gone 6-1-0-3 (15 points). These two are on a collision course tonight.

This still has the potential to be an opening round playoff series. I expect both teams to treat it exactly like that scenario tonight. I don’t anticipate the Admirals taking their foot of the throttle tonight by sitting guys out and allowing situations such as the professional debuts for Mikko Vainonen or Kirill Gotovets to take place. Rather, I expect the opposite.

Part of the excitement last night.. aside from The Teuvo.. was the return of Simon Moser, Scott Ford, and Scott Valentine from injury.

Back when Moser was injured against the Rockford IceHogs nearly a month ago – there were fears that it was a long term injury. He missed one month of hockey. He brings back his two-way game that shined in the Olympics and NHL this season.

While Moser picked up an assist in last night’s victory he still needs to get back up to game speed. A game with a playoff intensity tonight should be a great test for him in his second game back from his left shoulder injury. His return to form for the Ads might be a major bright spot as the playoffs begin.

Should the Milwaukee Admirals come out guns blazing tonight or play some of the youngsters instead? Is it important for the Admirals to defeat the Wolves at least once in regulation during the regular season? How is tonight’s game going to go?

I was thinking for awhile there wouldn’t quite be a need for a “Scouting the Enemy” today considering (A) we scouted the Rockford IceHogs on Tuesday (B) had the game recap later that night from the Admirals 3-1 and (C) also had post-game interviews to gear you all up for the conclusion of Admirals/IceHogs in the 2013-14 season tonight.

Then, late yesterday afternoon, the Chicago Blackhawks decided to spice up tonight’s game by officially reassigning Teuvo Teravainen to the Rockford IceHogs.

Teravainen was the Blackhawks first round, eighteenth overall, selection in the 2012 NHL Draft. He is a product of Jokerit Helsinki of the SM-Liiga in Finland where he played for three seasons, played 133 games, scored 93 points (33 goals, 60 assists), had a total of 24 penalty minutes, and an overal plus/minus rating of -5.

The 19-year old Finn was captained his country in the 2014 World Juniors held in Sweden. He produced 15 points (2 goals, 13 assists) – edging out Filip Forsberg‘s 12 points (4 goals, 8 assists) for the tournament’s top scorer. He would then meet Mr. Forsberg in the Gold Medal game where he would score an assist on all three Team Finland goals en route to their defeat of the host nation Sweden, 3-2 in overtime.

In his 2013-14 season with Jokerit he played forty-nine games, scored 44 points (9 goals, 35 assists), had 12 penalty minutes, and a plus/minus of -2. When his season in Finland ended with a playoff loss – he made his NHL debut for the Blackhawks on 3/25/14 in against against the Dallas Stars. He played two more games for the Blackhawks, actually logging some decent ice time in each game following his debut, but has since been on the out looking in prior to his reassignment yesterday.

While he doesn’t have many other offensive outlets with the IceHogs forward group – Alex Broadhurst, Mark McNeill, Garret Ross, and Pierre-Marc Bouchard – what makes a player like Teravainen so special is that he raises the playing level of those around him. I see a fair bit of similarities between him and Calle Jarnkrok in that regard: speed, vision, stickhandling, and creativity.

There will be a massive spotlight on the young Finn for the IceHogs tonight. This can be the sort of jolt that a team like Rockford needs in their desperate hopes to salvage the eighth seed in the Western Conference playoffs. They would need lots of things to go their way for that to happen – but it could all start with Teuvo Time tonight.

What should we expect from tonight’s game? Does Teuvo Teravainen add the same spark for the IceHogs as Calle Jarnkrok did for the Admirals?

The Rockford IceHogs enter tonight’s game with an overall record of 33-28-5-4 (75 points). They trail the Milwaukee Admirals by six points for third place in the Midwest Division. With their recent run of 3-6-0-1 (7 points) in their last ten games – the IceHogs have fallen to ninth in the Western Conference. They are on the outside of the playoffs looking in.

When you think back to where this downward trend begins for the IceHogs you can look back to exactly ten games ago: 3/7/14, in Milwaukee, losing 8-3. The very next night: 3/8/14, in Rockford against Milwaukee, losing 6-2. They then had six full days to rest up and prepare for another clash against the Admirals. The result: 3/14/14, in Milwaukee, losing 6-5 in a shootout.

In the last ten games the IceHogs have a goal differential of -19 (29 GF, 48 GA) from open play. They have also allowed 16 goals purely from the power-play – out of 43 kill opportunities.

So… an IceHogs team that is in a rut, angry, and desperate. What’s the worse that could happen?

Yeah…

Coming into tonight’s contest the IceHogs leading scorer is defenseman Adam Clendening. The 21-year old New York native has the second most points scored by a d-man in the AHL this season: 56 points (12 goals, 44 assists). The top scoring defenseman in the AHL remains to be T.J. Brennan of the Toronto Marlies with 66 points (22 goals, 44 assists).

Clendening is tied for the team lead in points when it comes to the head-to-head against the Admirals. He has 8 points (1 goal, 7 assists) in nine games. The bloke he is tied with is Jeremy Morin who has 8 points (5 goals, 3 assists) in nine games.

That name provides a crucial point when it comes to tonight’s game: Morin is currently up with the Chicago Blackhawks. To me, he has been the most lethal player in the season match up. He just seemed to generate confidence and downhill skating for the IceHogs whenever he was on the ice. With him out, Mark McNeill (3 goals, 4 assists) and Garret Ross (1 goal, 6 assists) are the top forward scorers against the Admirals this season.

The other forwards to keep watch of in tonight’s game are Alex Broadhurst and Pierre-Marc Bouchard. Both bring great pace and creativity to the IceHogs roster. The two have a combined 56 assists this season. Without Morin – they could be the real spark plugs to lookout for.

The goalies for the IceHogs are Kent Simpson and Jason LaBarbera. Both are having rough stretches since the month of March – especially Simpson.

In the month of March: Simpson played four games, allowed 20 goals, won one game, had a 5.71 GAA, and a 0.841 SV%. In April he has played in two games (one in relief, one getting yanked from a start), no decisions, a 6.09 GAA, and a ludicrous 0.556 SV% (4 goals from 9 shots).

LaBarbera, as hinted by getting pulled in his last start, isn’t having it that easy either. I would say though – it’s still better than the stretch for Simpson. LaBarbera played seven games in March, won three and lost four, had a 3.49 GAA, and a 0.889 SV%. In April he has played twice, lost both games (extending his current run to three-straight defeats), has a 3.90 GAA, and a 0.815 SV%.

The Milwaukee Admirals enter this game with a record of 34-23-6-7 (81 points). They are third in the Midwest Division and sixth in the Western Conference.

While the Amtrak Rivalry against the Chicago Wolves has been a bit of a mess this season for the Admirals, 3-4-2-1 (9 points from ten games), the series against the IceHogs has looked much much better.

Nov. 1 vs. Rockford: W, 4-2
Nov. 27 @ Rockford: L, 2-1 (OT)
Dec. 21 @ Rockford: W, 3-1
Jan. 24 vs. Rockford: W, 3-2
Jan. 25 @ Rockford: L, 2-1
Jan. 26 vs. Rockford: L, 4-3 (OT)
Feb. 22 @ Rockford: L, 4-1
Mar. 7 vs. Rockford: W, 8-3
Mar. 8 @ Rockford: W, 6-2
Mar. 14 vs. Rockford: W, 6-5 (SO)

The Admirals are 6-2-2-0 (14 points) against the IceHogs in ten games this season. These next two games for them, tonight at home and Friday in Rockford, are the final meetings between the two this season.

I had the opportunity yesterday to trek into morning practice and talk with the likes of Dean Evason, Joe Piskula, Mikko Vainonen, and Francis Wathier. You can listen and read up on all that happened then right here: Chatterbox, Vol. 29.

The big news that followed all of the fun at practice came in the return of Colton Sissons to the Admirals following a month long stay in Nashville. In his latest stint he recorded his first career NHL goal and played thirteen games. He may have been a healthy scratch in the Predators last game – but I expect him to hit the ground running tonight.

Though Sissons has missed out on AHL playing time, and therefore the team lead in scoring, it is worth pointing out his points per game is tied for the team best in that respect: 0.73 Pt/G. The man he is tied with, Taylor Beck, has played in four more games than him. In fifty-six games, the 20-year old first year pro has 41 points (24 goals, 17 assists) – including 8 points (5 goals, 3 assists) in nine games against the IceHogs.

Scott Darling has started in net for the Admirals in their last three games. In those games he has won twice, has a 0.98 GAA, 0.964 SV%, and a shutout. The last time Darling made three consecutive starts for the Admirals: 12/29/13, @ Iowa: W, 4-0… 1/3/13, @ Lake Erie: L, 4-2… 1/4/14, Jan. 4 @ Lake Erie: L, 6-1.

Should we see Marek Mazanec – it will be his first game played since a 3-1 defeat to the Grand Rapids Griffins in the Ads final game of March. In the month he played in eight games, won five, had a 2.87 GAA, and a less than ideal 0.886 SV%. However, he did break his run of allowing 2 goals or more on 3/26/14 @ Rochester when the Admirals won 3-1.

What shall we expect tonight for the Admirals? What sort of IceHogs team will the Ads be playing against tonight? How do you think Colton Sissons will fair in his return to the Ads lineup? Should Scott Darling make his fourth consecutive start or should Marek Mazanec get a game ahead of this weekend’s three-in-three?