A running theme of late for the Milwaukee Admirals has been that of inconsistency. There have been some high-highs and low-lows that all seem to come in waves of results that never see them get on a positive run. The Admirals 5-1 win on Wednesday night over the San Antonio Rampage ended on a third period where everything finally seemed to snap into place.

All that’s needed now is for this up-and-down pattern to shatter and for the Admirals to sustain a solid run of form while they have plenty of home games en route to the finish line of the 2016-17 season.

The Charlotte Checkers are going to be the ones tasked with bringing that first paragraph into turmoil this weekend. They enter tonight and Sunday afternoon’s contest with a record of 22-23-3-0 (47 points, 0.490 points percentage) which has them in sixth place of the Central Division and thirteenth in the Western Conference standings.

The Checkers are entering tonight on a good run of their own. They have won three straight games and have a record of 9-3-1-0 from their last 13 games overall. The game that started that run came back on 1/10/17 which saw them earn a 5-1 win of their own… against the Milwaukee Admirals… at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.

That little teaser aside, the Admirals during that same run traveled to Charlotte’s Bojangles’ Coliseum and earned wins of 3-0 and an overtime win of 4-3. In those games Marek Mazanec, Kevin Fiala, and Anthony Richard all looked phenomenal. As for that last home meeting between the two teams? That was -to me- the worst loss of the season given how lifeless the Admirals actually played. And don’t think that that’s not in the memory bank of the Admirals tonight.

Leading the Checkers in scoring this season are a pair of rookies. Andrew Poturalski has the team lead with 31 points (9 goals, 22 assists). He is followed closely by Lucas Wallmark who has contributed 28 points (16 goals, 12 assists). Wallmark leads the team in goals. The next closest to him in that respect is  Valentin Zykov who has 11 goals this season.

In net the Checkers have the all-time AHL shutout king, Michael Leighton. He has a record of 11-7-3-0 from 22 appearances this season with a 2.17 goals against average, 0.921 save percentage, and 3 shutouts. Against the Admirals this season he has gone 0-1-2-0 with a 3.34 goals against average and 0.884 save percentage. His battery-mate in net this weekend is 21-year old Alex Nedeljkovic.

What are your expectations for this weekend’s games against the Charlotte Checkers? Did the Milwaukee Admirals find an identity for themselves on Wednesday night? With two games against the same opponent this weekend will we be seeing our fair share of rough stuff tonight to set a tone? 

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It’s been an up-and-down kind of time for the Milwaukee Admirals. There is plenty of reason to be optimistic for tonight’s contest though because not only does the Nashville Predators break mean affording the services of Juuse Saros and Pontus Åberg but the match-up itself has gone really well this season.

The Admirals have had some very seriously tight games against the San Antonio Rampage this season, including back-to-back 2-1 scorelines to start the season, but they have won all three games played so far. They’ve all been one-goal contests but the Admirals have kept their heads above water. The last go round was here in Milwaukee and ended as a 5-4 win. The Admirals lost a three-goal lead only to have Jimmy Oligny score a game-winning tally 1:19 of ice-time after the Rampage had tied it.

So, while the games have been extremely tight, the best of the Admirals character seems to be brought out against the Rampage. And that character will be given a gut check tonight when Félix Girard makes his return to Milwaukee for the first time since being traded away in January.

Girard was very much a heart and soul type of person and player for the Admirals. His on and off-ice work were always tireless. His return will be an emotional one for Admirals plays and Girard himself. But it might be a return that helps the Admirals rise to the challenge that stands in their way now: Girard the opponent.

In his career as a member of the Admirals Girard played 172 games and produced 38 points (12 goals, 26 assists) and was the top penalty killer and face-off man from pretty much the day he arrived from Baie-Comeau of the QMJHL. He had already matched his points total that he had with the Admirals in 35 games work this season in just 8 games as part of the Rampage. Since joining San Antonio he has produced 11 points (2 goals, 9 assists) in 13 games and taken a more higher ranking spot atop their forward group.

Nostalgia all aside, the Rampage are a team sitting in a lowly spot among the AHL standings. They have a record of 21-24-4-1 (47 points, 0.470 points percentage) which has them last in the Pacific Division and only ahead of the Manitoba Moose (0.458) and Rockford IceHogs (0.441) for the worst record in the Western Conference.

That said. The Admirals just earned a single point from a pair of games against the IceHogs this past weekend. It’s high time they start capitalizing off of these lower tier opponents as they should be doing.

The leading scorer at the moment for the Rampage is Rocco Grimaldi who has produced 37 points (20 goals, 17 assists) in 49 games this season. He is followed closely by rookie A.J. Greer who has 34 points (13 goals, 21 assists) in 47 games.

In net the Rampage feature Spencer Martin and Kent Simpson. They will be without former Admiral goaltender Jeremy Smith who last night made his NHL debut as a member of the Colorado Avalanche.

Martin has played the most games in net for the Rampage this season: 15-12-2-0 from 30 appearances with a 2.85 goals against average, 0.908 save percentage, and a lone shutout. He has failed to earn a win from his last 6 appearances in net and has a 4.59 goals against average and 0.811 save percentage in that winless skid.

What are your expectations for tonight’s game? Will the Milwaukee Admirals fall flat as they go up against their old friend Félix Girard? How big of a boost will it be for the Admirals to have both Pontus Åberg and Juuse Saros in tonight’s game?

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

When looking at who the Milwaukee Admirals face during this weekend’s three-in-three set it is worth noting that every team is in the same boat. The Rockford IceHogs are in action tonight. And the Chicago Wolves who arrive this evening are sandwiching this Admirals game with two home games against the San Antonio Rampage.

The Wolves absolutely throttled the daylights out of the Rampage last night. They earned a 7-3 win in Chicago and pulled that performance off without AHL league leading scorer Kenny Agostino who is currently up with the St. Louis Blues. Chris Butler scored 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists), Brett Sterling scored 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists), and Wade Megan scored 2 goals.

Agostino or not the Wolves offense is lethal. They have the most potent offense in the Western Conference by scoring 168 goals this season. The next closest to them are the Grand Rapids Griffins who are standing at 156 goals. The Admirals have 128 goals this season in three less games work compared to the Wolves.

The Griffins still lead the Central Division but the Wolves are in the hunt in second place with a record of 28-16-3-3 (62 points, 0.620 points percentage). They have won three straight games entering tonight’s contest. The Admirals (0.606) are in third place and have gone 4-5-0-1 this season against the Wolves. The Amtrak Trophy already belongs to the Wolves this season.

Pheonix Copley has really emerged as the Wolves go-to option over the likes of Jordan Binnington and Ville Husso. Copley has now logged the most games and minutes in net and his play is justifying it: 12-5-1-2 record from 21 games played with a 2.37 goals against average, 0.918 save percentage, and he has earned a lone shutout this season. Against the Admirals this year Copley has made 7 appearances and has gone 5-1-1-0 with a 2.25 goals against average and 0.924 save percentage.

Expectations for tonight’s Amtrak Rivalry game? Are you concerned that some of the hiccups in the Milwaukee Admirals defensive game lately could get exploited with the explosive Chicago Wolves offense tonight? Should Jonas Gunnarsson, who hasn’t seen a start in six games – nineteen days, finally get rotated into the Admirals net?

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Tuesday’s game was a bit of a let down given last weekend’s results. The Milwaukee Admirals dropped a 4-1 game on home ice to the Cleveland Monsters with a rough first period being a major tipping point. What you liked out of the game was the finish. The Admirals outshot the Monsters 31-13 in the final two periods of play. If the Admirals can get a complete game? It should do them well. A solid focus on a quality first period will go a long way to seeing that through.

That should be the thought process for this entire weekend. The Admirals play three games in three days with two contests against tonight’s opponent, the Rockford IceHogs, sandwiching an Amtrak Rivalry game against the Chicago Wolves.

The IceHogs enter tonight’s game with a record of 14-23-8-3 (39 points, 0.406 points percentage). They are winless in their last 8 games going on a run of 0-3-5-0 during that skid. They hold the worst record in the Central Division, Western Conference, and entire AHL.

I had asked the last time I did a Scouting the Enemy on the IceHogs just how are they this bad? Well, the game that followed showed plenty of why they are. They did force overtime late before losing 4-3 in overtime. The result alone wasn’t the story. I saw an IceHogs team that lacked any sort of composure, often times structure, and seemed far more engaged in post-whistle behavior than in-game success.

I suppose then the IceHogs struggles go into a little belief of mine that most teams are a reflection of their head coach. Last game the IceHogs head coach, Ted Dent, ended up getting an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that forced his team into a full two-minute five-on-three penalty killing situation that the Admirals cashed in from. He then went postal after the first period and earned himself a game misconduct.

If the head coach doesn’t have the ability to lead by example and direct order – why should that team be anything other than what it is? And do you know what the definition of insanity is? It’s doing the exact same thing over and over again expecting things to change. In Rockford it has been that way for a very, very, very, very long time.

This season the IceHogs have allowed the second most goals in the entire league. They have allowed 3.39 goals against per game and are only popping in 2.31 goals per game. Their power-play is ranked twenty-sixth in the AHL (14.8% overall). And their penalty kill is the second worst in the AHL (77.5%).

The IceHogs do rank highly in an overall AHL category. They are third in the entire league when it comes to fighting majors with 26 which trails the Albany Devils (35) and Ontario Reign (27). Michael Latta is already two fighting majors away from becoming the first player to face AHL disciplinary measures under the new fighting policy.

Spencer Abbott leads the IceHogs currently in scoring with 27 points (11 goals, 16 assists). He is followed closely by Mark McNeill with 26 points (6 goals, 20 assists) and Sam Carrick with 21 points (9 goals, 12 assists). Their top scoring defenseman this season his Ville Pokka who has contributed 19 points (2 goals, 17 assists). Despite all that offensive output these four players have a combined plus/minus rating of -62.

In net the IceHogs have three options: Mac Carruth, Jeff Glass, and Lars Johansson. It has been tough sledding for all three as not one of the IceHogs goaltenders feature a save percentage at or above 0.900. Johansson is statistically the best of the group and nearly has that last sentence wrong: 8-11-4-0 from 26 appearances with a 2.85 goals against average, 0.899 save percentage, and a shutout. In his last three starts he has suffered overtime losses.

Expectations for tonight’s game as well as this whole weekend? How vital is it for the Milwaukee Admirals to set the right tone for this three-in-three weekend immediately in tonight’s first period? Will there be a continuation of nasty behavior between the Admirals and IceHogs tonight and Sunday?

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.

One of my favorite soundbites from yesterday’s practice was from Pontus Åberg. He was highlighted tonight’s game against the Cleveland Monsters by saying, “We owe them.” And he is absolutely right.

The last time these two teams met the Admirals lost 5-2 to the Monsters on home ice. It was that game that triggered a punishing practice and demand for the Admirals to get back to a “defense first” mentality and to play as a team rather than as individuals. Don’t think for a second that the previous meeting between the two teams won’t add extra motivation for the Admirals tonight.

The Monsters enter tonight’s game with a record of 20-18-2-3 (45 points, 0.523 points percentage). They are in fifth place of the Central Division and eleventh place in the Western Conference standings. They have gone 3-5-1-1 from their last 10 games. They have also been shutout 3 times in their last 6 games including a goalless drought of 145:21 of ice time that is active upon puck drop tonight.

Needless to say, the Monsters offense has been a big problem. What is odd about it though is the team has stayed in tact throughout the process. The Monsters have plenty of players that can deliver the goods. They just haven’t.

Offensively, the Monsters do have 5 players with 20 points or more this season: T.J. Tynan, 25 points (5 goals, 20 assists)… Sonny Milano, 22 points (9 goals, 13 assists)… Alex Broadhurst, 22 points (9 goals, 13 assists)… Oliver Bjorkstrand, 21 points (12 goals, 9 assists)… Daniel Zaar, 20 points (8 goals, 12 assists)…

Out of those names the Monsters have produced just 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists) since they play last played against the Admirals – all of which came during a 4 game homestand.

In net the Monsters currently have Anton Forsberg and Brad Thiessen. The Swede has the edge over the Canadian in terms of games played in the AHL this season but their numbers are really close. Forsberg has a record of 13-10-0-2 in 27 appearances for the Monsters this season with a 2.28 goals against average, 0.925 save percentage, and a shutout to his name. Thiessen has a 1-3-1-0 record from 5 appearances as a member of the Monsters this season where he has put up 2.21 goals against average, 0.926 save percentage, and also has a lone shutout.

Expectations for tonight’s game? How do you feel Mike Ribeiro will play for the Milwaukee Admirals? Given the weekend results how important is this week for the Admirals to take advantage of a solid homestand?

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.

If there were ever a team that truly resonated with the title for our pre-game story feature it would be the Grand Rapids Griffins. They are, and have been, the enemy for years upon years now. It isn’t red mist level hatred with a history of bad blood or brawls. It is simply a rivalry bred of competitive superiority.

That’s what is ahead for the Milwaukee Admirals today. They are currently back in second place in the Central Division standings thanks in part to a win last night paired with a regulation loss from the Chicago Wolves. Who beat the Wolves? The Griffins did and did so 5-2 on the road in Chicago last night.

For the Admirals to really start to knuckle down en route for a strong playoff push they need to start making headway on the Griffins and get this awful mentality of “we can’t win in the Van Andel Arena” out of the system. The Admirals last win in Grand Rapids came over two years ago back on January 31st in a 4-0 shutout with Magnus Hellberg between the pipes. If you include last season’s playoffs the Admirals have lost ten straight games in the Van Andel Arena. It’s about time that skid stops.

The Griffins enter this game with a record of 29-12-1-2 (61 points, 0.693 points percentage). That has them not only atop the Central Division but the entire Western Conference. Only the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (0.750) and Lehigh Valley Phantoms (0.705) have better records in the entire league.

While it would be nice to see the Admirals break this run of misery playing inside the Van Andel Arena -if it is done- it won’t come easy. The Griffins have a home record of 16-6-0-2 (0.708 points percentage) which is fourth best in the AHL this season. At home the Griffins average 3.42 goals per game while allowing 2.33 goals against per game as well as only taking 6.79 penalty minutes per game. Their power-play at home is the third best in the AHL (26.7%). Their penalty kill at home ranks eighth best in the AHL (86.2%). They are a highly detailed, composed, and explosive team in their own barn.

A major storyline coming into tonight could come in the form of the Griffins goaltender of choice. Tonight’s projected starter appears set to be Jimmy Howard who is in on a conditioning assignment from the Detroit Red Wings. Howard last played on 12/20/16 on the road against the Tampa Bay Lightning and has been out due to a lower-body injury. Should Howard get the start it would be his first taste of AHL hockey since the 2008-09 season. His last AHL game was in the 2009 Calder Cup Playoffs on 5/9/09 against the Manitoba Moose. His last game against the Admirals was on 2/10/09 and saw him stop 24/28 shots on goal in a road loss.

Comparing these Griffins and Admirals offensively you will quickly find some distance separating the two. The Griffins have three players with 30 points or more (Ben Street, Matt Lorito, and Tomas Nosek). The Admirals have… none. The Griffins have seven players who have scored double digit goals so far this season. The Admirals have… Pontus Åberg and Trevor Smith.

I do take solace in this tidbit of news that happened on Thursday. Louis-Marc Aubrey was released of his AHL contract with the Griffins and signed with Eisbären Berlin. Aubrey was a really well-rounded forward who always appeared to play his best hockey against the Admirals. Last season he scored a head-to-head best 7 points (6 goals, 1 assist) from 8 games. Auf Wiedersehen, Aubrey.

Expectations for tonight’s game against the Grand Rapids Griffins? What do the Milwaukee Admirals need to do in order to buck the trend of bad games and results inside the Van Andel Arena? And, serious question, would tonight of all night’s be a good time to finally rotate Jonas Gunnarsson between the pipes?

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 Rockford IceHogs have only played the Milwaukee Admirals four times this season and tonight marks just their second trip to the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. It feels bizarre to say that considering it is already February but all that means is that they’ll be a near constant in the upcoming schedule just as the Chicago Wolves had been the previous two months.

It is a welcome sight for an Admirals group looking to get on a run. The Admirals are 3-0-0-1 against the IceHogs this season with the lone loss coming the night of the “Food Poisoning” game for the Nashville Predators that saw several key figures go up from the Admirals with random plugs into the roster including Mark Visentin in net – who was great that night.

Of the Admirals wins over the IceHogs this season only one came from a narrow margin. That was a shootout win in Rockford that featured goals from Frédérick Gaudreau and Vladislav Kamenev in the final five-minutes of regulation to force overtime. The other games saw wins of 7-3 and 5-2. That last scoreline came at the top of the 2017 side of the calendar in the first match-up in Milwaukee. The leading scorer in the season series is Matt White who has 7 points (3 goals, 4 assists) in 4 games.

The IceHogs enter this game with a record of 14-23-5-3 (36 points, 0.400 points percentage). They aren’t just dead last in the Central Division. They aren’t just dead last in the Western Conference. They are the worst team in the entire AHL based on points percentage, points earned, and fewest wins. Only the Rochester Americans (24) and Hartford Wolf Pack (24) have more regulation losses in the league this season than the IceHogs (23) and that can change tonight.

In discussions I’ve had with Chicago Blackhawks fans, because we have those around Southeastern Wisconsin, I get the sense that the reason for the sheer -bad, bad, awful- effort of the IceHogs this season comes in not so much who is there as much as it is who isn’t there anymore: Ryan Hartman, Vinnie Hinostroza, Tanner Kero, and Nick Schmaltz. That is a lot of NHL/AHL fringe talent that is up with the Blackhawks out of necessity right now. Add to the fact that last year’s security blanket in net Michael Leighton signed elsewhere in the off-season and you have a hodgepodge group that deliver plenty of disappointment.

I feel very much that this year’s IceHogs are last year’s Chicago Wolves. When you see the roster it is still capable of being really good. There just has to be something between the ears not firing right. They have quality veteran leadership players: Jake Dowell, Spencer Abbott, Brandon Mashinter, and Pierre-Cédric Labrie. They still have some youngsters that are exciting: Tyler Motte, Mark McNeill, Ville Pokka, and Carl Dahlström. And depth style players to fill in gaps: Sam Carrick, Christopher DeSousa, and Jeremy Langlois. I can see a stumble here and there, like the Admirals the last two months, but how are the IceHogs as bad as this? It  begs questioning.

Perhaps a spark plug is needed for the IceHogs to get things firing right. Enter former-Admiral forward Michael Latta who was recently acquired from the Los Angeles Kings organization in exchange for defenseman Cameron Schilling.

Latta logged 122 career games as a member of the Admirals while producing 63 points (23 goals, 40 assists) and 286 penalty minutes. He infamously came out of the penalty box without wearing a jersey during the bench clearing brawl that took place on April Fools’ Day 2012. He was traded the next season in a deal that saw Filip Forsberg acquired from the Washington Capitals. He was in their organization up until this season when he signed a two-way deal with the Kings where he had been in the AHL as a member of the Ontario Reign for the whole of this season until the mid-season trade made him a member of the IceHogs. He has played 3 games and produced an assist since joining the IceHogs. He had 6 points (2 goals, 4 assists) in 29 games with the Reign this season with a plus/minus rating of +4 and 67 penalty minutes. Expect to see him chatting at neutral ice during pre-game skate with former best pal with the Admirals Mike Liambas.

Expectations for tonight’s game? How will the All-Star break play with tonight’s game: slow and sloppy or refreshed and fast? Considering how often these two teams will be playing for the rest of the season do you feel some message sending across both sides could happen in tonight’s game? What are the odds of a Liambas vs. Latta fight?

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If yesterday was meant to be one of the more important moments of the Milwaukee Admirals season and it was met with a 3-0 shutout over the Stockton Heat – think of today’s obstacle. Yes, earning that win and that win being well structured and a shutout is great. The problem is what if that is followed up with more of the same that proceeded that shutout? What if the Admirals fall flat on their face again today and are their own worst enemies?

What the Admirals did yesterday was an outstanding result. What stands in front of them is the true test: consistency. The Admirals brought “defense first” play back into their game, structure, and high attention to detail last night. Doing that on a regular basis is the real key that the team needs for it to be among the true top teams in the AHL. No, they don’t need a shutout every single night – but the philosophy and mentality of that high level performance is what needs to be on the ice, from everyone, on a regular basis. They were great last night. Can they be great -again- tonight?

Standing in front of the Admirals are the San Jose Barracuda who are coming in after a lengthy bus ride after defeating the Grand Rapids Griffins on the road 4-1 last night. If you’re reading this you probably already know that winning in Grand Rapids isn’t exactly easy. Winning in that manner boarders on the absurd. The Barracuda conceded a single goal while allowing 44 shots. That tells me they’re playing high level defense to force chances that their goaltender is seeing clearly and from a good margin out of danger. That, or, Troy Grosenick played out of his mind good in net – something he is completely capable of.

Grosenick is a Brookfield, Wisconsin native who this season leads the AHL with 6 shutouts. He has a record of 11-8-1-1 in 24 appearances with a 2.10 goals against average and 0.929 save percentage. Prior to this season he had just 3 shutouts from 99 games in his AHL career. He has already matched the amount of wins he secured last season for the Barracuda and did it in 4 games less to do it with still half a season to be played.

You would think by looking a Grosenick’s numbers and then his win-loss record and assume the Barracuda simply aren’t providing enough goals this season. That isn’t the case. The Barracuda are averaging 3.42 goals per game compared to the Admirals 2.72 goals per game average.

Leading the charge in that department for the Barracuda is 22-year old first-year pro Danny O’Regan who has produced 37 points (13 goals, 24 assists) in 33 games. He is followed closely by the third highest scoring defenseman in the AHL this season, Tim Heed, who has 35 points (10 goals, 25 assists) in 32 games.

In the familiar face department the San Jose Sharks acquired a former Admiral by the name of Zack Stortini from the Ottawa Senators organization. Stortini had been playing for the Binghamton Senators where he was the team captain the past two seasons. He joins the Barracuda just in time to play the Griffins last night as a precursor to his ol’ stomping grounds tonight. Stortini played in the Nashville Predators organization during the 2011-12 season and played a game for the Predators but mainly stuck around the Admirals in the AHL: 15 points (9 goals, 6 assists) in 74 games with 146 penalty minutes and a plus/minus rating of +4.

What are your expectations for tonight’s game? Will the Milwaukee Admirals be able to sustain the form and attention to detail as they did last night? How important is it to win this game to head off into the AHL All-Star break on a very positive note?

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’s game might be one of the more important moments in the Milwaukee Admirals 2016-17 season. They are coming off of two losses that were largely of their own fault and had a punishment driven practice on Wednesday that pushed them until the message got through. The Admirals need to start playing as a team again. They need to start simplifying their game and being far more defensively responsible. And all that stands in their way is a Stockton Heat team that are quite possibly looking to do the exact same thing for the exact same reasons.

The Heat enter this game with a record of 19-14-3-1 (42 points, 0.568 points percentage) which has them fifth in the Pacific Division and eighth in Western Conference standings. They have gone on a run of 3-8-2-0 in their last 13 games and have conceded 4 goals or more in 9 of those games. That included being outscored 11-3 in their last 2 games – both which were played on home ice.

For the Heat, much like the Admirals, that last game played is the one that stings the most. They were beaten 5-0 against the Barracuda in Stockton and composure went out the window early. For a game that ended with such a lopsided scoreline it could have been far worse if the Heat’s penalty kill didn’t go 5/6 on the night. The team had 67 penalty minutes in that game. And, like the Admirals again, they swapped out goaltenders in search of a spark that didn’t really turn into a fire.

They very much need a high level response from their group, as well. And they did match up well enough against the Admirals when the two met in Stockton earlier this month by earning a 4-0 shutout. David Rittich was the goaltender picking up the 35-save shutout that evening but he also happened to be the man yanked after the first period in the Heat’s last game after allowing 3 goals from 10 shots. Even that area of the last meeting has a dark cloud above it.

Rittich is still the better performing of the three goaltenders that the Heat have on offer. He has a 7-6-1-0 record from 15 appearances with a 2.21 goals against average and 0.923 save percentage. He is also second in the AHL this season with 4 shutouts trailing only the Barracuda’s Troy Grosenick with 6 shutouts. Rittich’s fellow goaltenders with the Heat are Jon Gillies and Tom McCollum. Gillies has made the most appearances for the Heat this season with 24 while McCollum has only logged a single start that saw him exit after two periods of work.

The leading scorer for the Heat this season is rookie Mark Jankowski who has 29 points (13 goals, 16 assists) in 34 games. The Heat have one less player than the Admirals do with 20 points or more in scoring this season.

That said, because they are a Californian AHL team and therefore play less games because of reasons, that also means their top scorers are raking in points at a better “per game” clip than the Admirals. The likes of Hunter Shinkaruk (0.81 points per game), Linden Vey (0.81 points per game), and Morgan Klimchuk (0.72 points per game) have all done real well in their AHL time provided this season.

I’m walking into tonight’s game with no idea what to expect. I just know that the Admirals group that was pushed so hard in practice on Wednesday are likely going to need a first period that reflects the point that should have been learned. Should things stay sloppy, yes there is tomorrow and the San Jose Barracuda, but the idea is that the bad habits end now. This game and the opening period is a real key stage of this Admirals’ season.

How do you see tonight’s game unfolding? How crucial is it for the Milwaukee Admirals to have a strong start and to get the opening goal?

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.

As this day in the AHL begins the Milwaukee Admirals have played the most road games (25 games) and the fewest home games (15 games) in the entire league. Needless to say that is rather crazy. That poignantly being said, there is always a healthy balance to the way the schedule shakes out and all that really means is that the Admirals are going to be ending this season with a serious dose of hockey on home ice.

You’d assume then that the Admirals road hefty start has set them back. Right now, even with all the roster activity that occurred over the last two months or so, that actually isn’t the case. The Admirals have a record of 23-13-2-2 (50 points, 0.625 points percentage) and are second in the Central Division and fourth in the Western Conference standings. The Admirals, who’ve played more road games than anyone, have the third best road record (0.640) in the Western Conference.

It’s high time then that the home games start to finally surface on the schedule. And that is where the following few weeks will help out. The Admirals will be playing 10 of their next 12 games at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. Not only are they doing that but their roster is starting to finally strengthen back up. It’s all a bit of a perfect storm to see the team get on a run.

Standing in their way tonight are the defending Calder Cup champions the Cleveland Monsters. This season isn’t exactly going to plan. They are a streaky team and find themselves with a record of 18-16-1-3 (40 points, 0.526 points percentage). That sees them sitting in fourth place in the Central Division and tenth place in the Western Conference standings.

What then troubles the Monsters? Well, while the Admirals are road warriors this season, the Monsters have managed a 0.444 points percentage from 18 road games. Their road power-play is 12.1% which is twenty-sixth in the AHL. Their road penalty kill is 81.1% which is around the middle of the pack – twelfth in the AHL. The are allowing 3.56 goals against per game while only scoring 2.83 goals per game on the road.

Scoring has been one of the more erratic qualities to the Monsters. No one player truly stands out on their team scoring list and goal scoring very much seems to be by committee – which often times can be a good and a bad thing. For the Monsters – it has been a bad thing. 36-year old defenseman Marc-André Bergeron is the lone player on the team with a points per game average above 0.70 – yet he has only played 6 games this season. The Admirals feature four players above that clip with the least amount of games played of those achieving that being Kevin Fiala at 11 games.

The Monsters leading scorer this season T.J. Tynan who has 24 points (4 goals, 20 assists) in 38 games. He is followed by: Alex Broadhurst, 21 points (8 goals, 13 assists)… Sonny Milano, 20 points (9 goals, 11 assists)… Daniel Zaar, 20 points (8 goals, 12 assists)… and Oliver Bjorkstrand, 17 points (11 goals, 6 assists).

In net the Monsters will be without the services of Joonas Korpisalo. He has been up with the Columbus Blue Jackets since being recalled two weeks ago. That means the Monsters first game of the season in Milwaukee will have either Anton Forsberg or Brad Thiessen between the pipes.

Forsberg has been having a good season with the Monsters: 12-8-0-2 record from 24 games, 2.22 goals against average, 0.928 save percentage, and a shutout. After winning six straight games in net he has since lost three straight starts.

Thiessen has been a bit of a mystery man in the organization this season. He has been healthy but hardly used. He has made a pair of appearances with the Admirals ECHL affiliate the Cincinnati Cyclones and just four with the Monsters in the AHL with a single win to show for it. That win did come on Friday though and was a 32-save shutout over the Rockford IceHogs.

Expectations for tonight’s game? How good is it for the Milwaukee Admirals to finally get a solid chunk of home games for a change? With all the struggles of the past two months will getting home games allow the team to start settling back down and get a run going? Will the Admirals offense find its feet again at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena?

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