It is probably safe to say that the Milwaukee Admirals will be flying from Winnipeg, Manitoba to Cedar Park, Texas with a massive chip on their shoulder. If it’s not that when they first played the Texas Stars back at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena that they played a very flat game and were shutout 1-0. If it’s not that they lost that last game against the Manitoba Moose 6-3. It’s that explosion that came after the last game that was the culmination of many months of repressed frustration that only needed an initiator named Brendan Lemieux to cause the rage to burst loose.

What the Admirals will be off of that moment will be fascinating to watch. Is that the sign of unraveling or the moment the team gets together and really shows a fighting spirit from now until the end of the season? What I think back to is the 2011-12 season when the Rockford IceHogs triggered a bench clearing brawl on 4/1/12. The Admirals would finish the season on a run of 6-1-0-1 and make it into the Calder Cup Playoffs as the fifth seed. The playoffs are worked far differently now and the rallying point for the Admirals is to push through the gauntlet and start moving their way up into the Central Division standings. The time to channel those frustrations and emotions the right way begins this weekend against in Texas.

Continue reading “Stars: Scouting the Enemy” →

Happy Family Day – in Canada. The Milwaukee Admirals begin the first of two games on the road against the Manitoba Moose this afternoon at 2:00 PM CST. The Admirals had their five-game point streak come to an end on Saturday afternoon with a 1-0 shutout loss at the hands of the Texas Stars. What the Admirals now actually have is a two-game winless skid that rolls into the Bell MTS Place against a team that has been dominating the Western Conference almost from the start of the 2017-18 season. This will be a slugfest brought to you by the Moose. The Admirals desperately need to answer the bell from start to finish today and Wednesday if they are to manage points out of the first of this four-game road trip.

Continue reading “Moose: Scouting the Enemy” →

The Milwaukee Admirals first game matched-up against the Texas Stars comes with a Saturday afternoon tilt. What’s amusing is that the first real interaction between the two didn’t come on the ice but off of it when Mark McNeill came to the Admirals while Andrew O’Brien and Tyler Kelleher went to the Stars in a mid-season trade.

To get us up to speed on the Texas Stars season I always greatly enjoy reaching out to our friend Stephen Meserve of 100 Degree Hockey to help us get a good feel for what we’re in for. Yet, he gave us a line change in our usual Q&A with staff writer Ryan Pennington to give us his insight on the Stars who will be playing against our Admirals for three of the next five games.

Continue reading “Stars: Scouting the Enemy with the Enemy” →

These guys again? That’s right. The San Antonio Rampage are back once again at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. They played the Milwaukee Admirals on Saturday night and lost 5-4 in overtime. The Admirals continued on to sweep the weekend three-in-three and are arriving to tonight on a four-game winning streak. The Rampage are heading in the opposite direction and are now on a five-game winless stretch (0-3-2-0). If Saturday’s game felt feisty you can expect more fireworks as both sides should be playing with desperation.

Continue reading “Rampage: Scouting the Enemy” →

The Milwaukee Admirals are on a three-game winning streak and have scored 10 goals in the first two-legs of this weekend’s three-in-three. And, hey, that is 10 goals produced all without their leading scorer Bobby Butler. The depth of the Admirals needed to start coming to the forefront and being a reason for the Admirals winning games. That has happened of late and has seen great progressions for the defense after a six-game losing streak. The Admirals have an opportunity to sweep a three-in-three set for the first time since the start of the 2015-16 season this evening. What stands in front of them from that and a four-game winning streak are a Stockton Heat squad on a winning streak of their own.

Continue reading “Heat: Scouting the Enemy” →

The Milwaukee Admirals are beginning the trend upwards after a six-game losing streak. Last night’s 5-3 win on the road against the Rockford IceHogs might have carried this season’s tradition of scoring 5 goals per game at the BMO Harris Bank Center but it was also the first time since 12/23/17 on the road against the Cleveland Monsters that they produced 5 goals inside regulation. The Admirals need to start stringing together positive results at this stage of the season and they have managed that in their last two outings. What follows next are two home games to complete a three-in-three weekend against non-divisional oppositions. That puts further emphasis on the Admirals focusing on their own game and improving it.

Continue reading “Rampage: Scouting the Enemy” →

For the first time in three weeks the Milwaukee Admirals are rolling into a game on the back of a win. Sustaining momentum is the next great mystery for the Admirals to solve. They have a record of 8-10-3-0 this season after coming off of a win. That all came while Bobby Butler was in the lineup. This will be the Admirals first game without their top scorer as he competes in the Winter Olympics. Their opponent is a Rockford IceHogs team who are directly in front of the Admirals in the standings. The time to claw back is now in the first of a three-in-three weekend.

Continue reading “IceHogs: Scouting the Enemy” →

About last night: that didn’t go to plan. The Milwaukee Admirals lost 4-1 to the Chicago Wolves on the road. While the Wolves winning at the Allstate Arena is nothing new, now having won eleven straight games on home ice, the method in which the Admirals was also depressingly nothing new. The Admirals continue to shoot themselves in the foot  during games which stunts positive momentum swings and forces them to rally from behind. The Admirals can’t afford to do that at all these next two games. The Manitoba Moose are dangerous enough on their own without any added help.

Continue reading “Moose: Scouting the Enemy” →

The Milwaukee Admirals first game out of the AHL All-Star break is a road clash against the Chicago Wolves. Things soured for the Admirals in the month of January. They went from a season best four-game winning streak but ended the month on a season worst four-game losing streak. That losing streak is active and all defeats came inside regulation. The Admirals appeared to greatly need the break in order to physically and mentally recharge. With the Wolves tonight and one of the best teams in the AHL, the Manitoba Moose, awaiting for them in Milwaukee the next two games: this is the time for the Admirals to start waking up and playing to their full potential.

Continue reading “Wolves: Scouting the Enemy” →

Milwaukee Admirals. Ontario Reign. This is the match-up that I so badly wanted in the 2015-16 season when the two had the best records in the Western Conference. The Reign would finishing with the best record based on points percentage (0.684) but the contentious matter of the Pacific Division featuring teams that played 8 games less than the rest of the league factored in.

The Admirals that season had more wins (48) and more points (101) than the Reign did wins (44) and points (93). It would have been a nice feather in the cap or possibly even a banner worthy moment -but- the Admirals settled with the Central Division -and- neither team eventually made it to a Calder Cup triumph anyways. Still, this is the series that would have been so much fun to see. We finally get a taste of it tonight.

Continue reading “Reign: Scouting the Enemy” →