Game Recaps March 11, 2015March 11, 2015

Good, But Not Good Enough; Ads lose 3-2 in OT

Tonight Mark Van Guilder set the Milwaukee Admirals AHL record for most games played. He scored a goal in the milestone night but, sadly, was on the wrong end of a 3-2 overtime defeat to the San Antonio Rampage. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)

The Admirals lost 3-2 in overtime on the road against the San Antonio Rampage Wednesday night. Despite generating plenty of offensive chances the Admirals were forced to comeback twice in this game before losing in overtime. It is the Admirals first point gained after losing 5-1 to the Oklahoma City Barons the previous two outings yet there is a feeling that the Ads could just have easily taken the full haul tonight in San Antonio.

After a very tightly defended game the scoring broke open 14:58 into the second period from yet another shorthanded goal allowed by the Admirals. Brett Olson somehow wired a long range wrist shot from the far right wing wall against the grain of Marek Mazanec and up and over his glove side to tally his eleventh goal of the season. It’s the ninth shorthanded goal allowed by the Admirals this season.

The Admirals power-play pressure picked up following the shorthanded goal and, with Jonathan Racine fresh out of the box, the Ads answered right back. Johan Alm was able to secure a keep in on the left point and threw a low shot in on Michael Houser. The puck kicked out right to Mark Van Guilder who scored his eighth goal of the season on his milestone night as he became the Milwaukee Admirals most tenured player in the AHL era of the franchise in tonight’s game.

San Antonio went back out in front with a goal from Dany Heatley in the third period. A great rush through the neutral zone by Jesse Blacker led to a drop off for Heatley who dropped off for the trailing Corban Knight who went forehand to backhand as he passed right back to the net front drive of Heatley. The shot attempt from the veteran sniper was fanned on but the puck went in off of his skate for his first goal since joining the Rampage.

Less than three minutes later the Admirals were able to equalize through Austin Watson’s twentieth goal of the season. Viktor Arvidsson had a slap shot attempt from the left wing faceoff dot but his stick exploded. As the puck rolled down behind the net Watson took a quick swipe on net and managed to bank a shot off of Houser and in. It is Watson’s third consecutive season of scoring twenty or more goals with the Admirals.

It took overtime to decide this game and, sadly, the lone point was all that the Admirals managed to earn tonight. Just eighteen seconds into the overtime period and a great series in attack for the Rampage teed up Blacker for a rifled shot in tight to Mazanec from the left wing and he buried his sixth goal of the season to end this game at 3-2.

There were certainly far more positives than negatives on this night for the Admirals. They mustered up thirty-five shots on Houser and held the Rampage to only twenty four shots on goal. Defensively things were far better than they were as early as last night’s game and it gives them something to build on for this weekend’s games against the Texas Stars.

Ramblings: Tonight’s scratches for the Admirals included Mike Liambas (right-leg laceration), Miikka Salomaki (upper-body), and Jonathan Diaby (healthy).

Thoughts on tonight’s performance? Loss aside, was this a much improved effort by the Admirals than last night? Can you credit this as a solid game by Michael Houser that stifled the Admirals shooters? Why are the Admirals allowing so many shorthanded goals?

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News March 11, 2015March 12, 2015

Mark Van Guilder Sets Admirals AHL Record

With his inclusion in tonight’s game, Mark Van Guilder has officially become the most tenured player in the AHL era of the Milwaukee Admirals. He has now played in 367 career games with the Admirals which surpasses the previous record holder Scott Ford for that mark.

Van Guilder now sits above Ford’s 366, Kelsey Wilson‘s 294, Darren Haydar‘s 293, Nolan Yonkman‘s 283, Andreas Thuresson‘s 277, Chris Mueller‘s 262, and Cal O’Reilly‘s 262 games played in the Admirals AHL era of the team. In his milestone game tonight he scored his eighth goal of the season and his fifty-eighth goal as a member of the Admirals.

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Scouting March 11, 2015

Rampage: Scouting the Enemy

Dany Heatley, yes that Dany Heatley, is with the San Antonio Rampage. (Photo Credit: Charlotte Checkers // flickr)

Let’s all pretend these last two games never happened. There have been some really good things done by the Admirals against the Oklahoma City Barons but darn near every mistake made against them seemed to be promptly and swiftly punished. They’re a good team. That should be expected if errors are made. The lesson is simply to learn and push on for the next game. Carrying that bad form or mindset into the next contest helps no one. Well, except for the rest of the Western Conference competitors looking to gain ground that is.

~San Antonio Rampage~

The San Antonio Rampage enter tonight’s game with a record of 33-19-5-1 (72 points). They are second in the West Division and trail the Barons by 6 points for the divisional lead. Their record slots them in fifth place in the current Western Conference standings which is the spot ahead of the Admirals in sixth. They are separated by 2 points but the Admirals have played an additional game that the Rampage have.

In their last ten games the Rampage are 5-3-1-1 (12 points) and are currently riding a three-game point streak. They have a +13 goal differential (189 GF, 176 GA), the sixth ranked power-play (overall) 19.1%, fourteenth ranked power-play (home) 16.3%, nineteenth ranked penalty kill (overall) 82.3%, and twenty-third ranked penalty (home) 82.0%.

~Who What Now~

There are quite a few quality scorers on the Rampage that are all well worth listing: Bobby Butler, 50 points (24 goals, 26 assists)… Mark Mancari, 40 points (11 goals, 29 assists)… Connor Brickley, 34 points (19 goals, 15 assists)… Garrett Wilson, 30 points (19 goals, 11 assists).

Also, you may notice some bloke by the name of Dany Heatley on San Antonio’s roster. This is no joke. This is that Dany Heatley. His wild up, down, and around season has led to him playing AHL hockey with the Rampage. He’s only played 3 games for them so far without a point of offense but it would be foolish to think that will remain the case as their season continues.

Outside of the guns up top there is a delightfully familiar name in San Antonio for us Admirals fans, Greg Zanon. This season he has played in 57 games for the Rampage with a total of 22 points (3 goals, 19 assists), a plus/minus of +11, and 36 penalty minutes.

Another familiar name within our system is Wade Megan. For those who have followed along with the Cincinnati Cyclones in the ECHL you’ll have tracked his work which has led to a decent AHL stint with the Rampage this year. He has managed to play 42 games while scoring 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists).

~Goaltending~

With the Florida Panthers recent fun goaltending situation, it means that the Admirals will be facing the Rampages without the man who has had the better majority of games in net this season for them – Dan Ellis.

Instead, another former-Cyclones product, Michael Houser, has stepped up into the main role. This season Houser has played in 25 games, has a record of 11-8-3-1, 2.93 goals against average, 0.899 save percentage, and a shutout.

What are you thinking about the Admirals as the stroll into this game? Will their heads be on straight for tonight’s game or will last night’s third period spill into tonight?

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Game Recaps March 10, 2015March 10, 2015

Third Period House of Horrors; Ads lose 5-1

Laurent Brossoit may have played his part these last two games but the team in front of him posting ten goals in two games has to be a nice plus. (Photo Credit: Jeff Hanisch)

The Admirals lost 5-1 on the road against the Oklahoma City Barons Tuesday night. Despite things being level after two period of play everything fell apart for the Admirals in the third period. There was a fluke bounce, a goal scored fifty-three seconds after that, miscommunication, and -lastly- a empty netter of the shorthanded variety to finish off a repeat scoreline from Sunday night.

With the first power-play chance of the night, the Barons allowed two odd-man breaks to the Admirals with the final of those chances getting converted by Austin Watson. Both Watson and Joe Pendenza were darting up ice. Watson had the puck from neutral ice all the way in on goal, didn’t pass over to Pendenza, but ripped a shot by Laurent Brossoit to score his nineteenth goal of the season. It’s the Admirals third shorthander of the season and the third allowed by the Barons on their campaign.

In the second period the Barons leveled things up at 1-1. There was a delayed penalty against Pontus Aberg coming but the Barons brought on the extra attacker and continued their attack. Jason Williams hard shot hit off of Magnus Hellberg and over to his left where Matthew Ford was waiting for the rebound tally for his fifteenth goal of the season. It was the first time that Hellberg had ever allowed a goal to the Barons in his career which snapped a personal shutout streak of 101:45 of ice time against Oklahoma City.

It was the third period where this game was blown to smithereens for the Admirals. The Barons had twenty-eight shots on goal through two period of play but the scoreline was even with the Admirals playing tight and composed defense. That all went out the window the moment the Barons took their first lead of the game.

When C.J. Ludwig unloaded a shot from the far left point the puck whistled clean over Hellberg and the net itself. However, the puck took a very awful bounce off the end boards and glass while managing to bank up and over the net and trickle down the back of Hellberg. Andrew Miller was on hand to get the final glancing touch to it to claim his twenty-second goal of the season.

It only took the Barons fifty-three seconds before scoring yet again. Chase Schaber managed to spin off a wrister off the top of the right wing faceoff circle and beat Hellberg to his glove side to make it a quick two-goal lead for the Barons on Schaber’s first goal in the AHL this season.

Things continued to go from bad to worse when the Barons netted their fourth goal of the night after a misplayed puck between Joe Piskula and Kevin Fiala. It appeared as though Piskula was just trying to clear pressure in the defensive zone of the Admirals by putting a pass off to neutral ice where Fiala was gliding from center to the right wing. As the pass came to him the puck kicked right off Fiala’s skate on the blueline and over to Travis Ewanyk who remained onsides. He powered a slap shot by Hellberg for his third goal of the season.

In desperation mode, the Admirals emptied their net with 2:21 remaining in regulation to bring on an extra attacker with an abbreviated power-play falling shortly to them afterwards. The final nail in the coffin was a long range empty net shorthanded goal scored by Ford for his second of the night and sixteenth goal of the season.

The best news that I can think up for the Admirals after tonight’s game is that they play tomorrow night. That third period display was about as shattered and flustered as the Admirals looked all season and I’d go as far as to say they shutdown after allowing those two goals in the space of fifty-three seconds. The Barons have put up five goals in all three of their games against the Ads this season. Tonight they also pounded the Ads in shots 41-24. This was a painful one. There’s only tomorrow’s road game against the San Antonio Rampage that can be thought of at the moment.

Ramblings: Prior to tonight’s game the AHL suspended Triston Grant for one-game as consequence for his actions the last time these two teams met on Sunday. Grant picked up an instigator in the final five minutes of the third period which resulted in an automatic one-game suspension under the provisions of AHL Rule 46.22. Rather than call up Josh Shalla from the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL it was Ian White filling in at right wing for the Admirals as Grant served his suspension tonight with a thinly stretched forward group. Tonight’s scratches included Mike Liambas (right-leg laceration), Miikka Salomaki (upper-body), and Triston Grant (serving one-game suspension). Jonathan Diaby returned after missing the previous two games after being injured in a fight with Daniel Maggio in Lake Erie. Mark Van Guilder played in his 366th game as an Admiral tonight which tied him with Scott Ford for the most games played by an Admiral in the AHL history of the team.

What happened to the Admirals tonight? What went so wrong in the third period? Could this be a bad sign that this road trip could be a continued rough patch for the team?

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News March 10, 2015March 10, 2015

Triston Grant Suspended For Tonight

Tonight’s game just took a slight swerve. The AHL has announced that Triston Grant has been suspended one-game as consequence for his actions against the Oklahoma City Barons Sunday evening. Grant picked up an instigator in the final five minutes of the third period which results in an automatic one-game suspension under the provisions of AHL Rule 46.22.

Without Grant, the Admirals numbers on the forwards group just became an interesting storyline for tonight’s game. Sunday’s game was the Admirals forward corps stretched as far as they could go without calling up Josh Shalla from the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL after Viktor Stålberg was recalled just prior to game time. If Shalla isn’t brought up with Grant being suspended for tonight they will either need to (1) hope that Mike Liambas has had his lacerated lower right leg heal up (2) likewise with Miikka Salomäki‘s upper-body injury that has had him on the shelf since mid-February (3) go the classic Scott Valentine route and dress a defenseman up as a forward for the night.

Interestingly enough, that final option also hinges on one of two things. The first option is that Jonathan Diaby returns to the lineup after missing the previous two games. He did participate in Sunday’s pre-game warm ups, mind you, so it’s certainly possible he’s back tonight. The latter option is that Garrett Noonan, the human yo-yo, returns for tonight after his third reassignment to Cincinnati only a few days ago.

My guess, barring a Shalla recall, is that Diaby returns tonight and that the Admirals for one game only “LIVE ON PAY PER VIEW” will play a defensemen up top with the fourth line against the Barons. Who would be the most likely candidate to step up into that capacity is the $64,000 question. Part of me would think that it would be someone like Anthony Bitetto as a player that is a bit rangy from the blueline as it is. I’d keep a small eye on the AHL Transactions‘ page just in case of a Shalla recall though.

~UPDATE~

Looks like you won’t need to do as much digging around as I did pure speculation. Aaron Sims reports that Ian White will in fact be the Admirals defenseman stepping up into a forward role tonight. Sims goes on to mention that White will play right wing and has actually played in that capacity for a short time as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs back in 2008-09.

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News, Numbers March 10, 2015

By The Numbers: Admirals Road Rage

Not exactly a need for a “Scouting the Enemy” as far as tonight’s game is concerned. We played the Oklahoma City Barons on Sunday so there is a good grouping of pre-game material for you to reflect on: the prior Scouting, Game Recap, and Chatterbox.

With that in mind I feel it would be fun taking a looksie at what’s what with the Milwaukee Admirals as far as their work on the road is concerned. The month of March features ten road games in total. The Ads have already worked through a pair of those to start the month off but are about to embark on a season-long six game road trip. Let’s see how things have gone so far away from Milwaukee.

~Road Warriors Theme Song Because Reasons~

The Admirals overall record this season is 31-19-4-4 (70 points). On the road they are 15-6-3-2 which means that they actually have a better winning percentage on the road (0.673) than they do at home (0.547).

When looking at the special teams numbers things actually manage to improve away from the Bradley Center: PP (overall), ranked 18th in the AHL with a 16.4% (38/232) success rate… PP (road), ranked 2nd in the AHL with a 22.3% (23/103) success rate… PK (overall), ranked 12th in the AHL with an 84.8% (184/217) kill rate… PK (road), ranked 8th in the AHL with an 87.0% (87/100) kill rate.

~Road Scoring~

Immediate apologies because this is going to be a slight bit of a chain. But, for those wondering which players play better on the road than they do at home, than hang with me through it. I’m listing the players in the order that they appear in the Admirals team scoring ranking from top to bottom:

Viktor Arvidsson, (overall): 47 points (18 goals, 29 assists) in 58 games
Arvidsson, (road): 23 points (9 goals, 14 assists) in 26 games

Austin Watson, (overall): 31 points (18 goals, 13 assists) in 58 games
Watson, (road): 16 points (11 goals, 5 assists) in 26 games

Colton Sissons, (overall): 30 points (20 goals, 10 assists) in 58 games
Sissons, (road): 16 points (10 goals, 6 assists) in 26 games

Taylor Aronson, (overall): 29 points (3 goals, 26 assists) in 55 games
Aronson, (road): 18 points (3 goals, 15 assists) in 23 games

Anthony Bitetto, (overall): 26 points (2 goals, 24 assists) in 52 games
Bitetto, (road): 13 points (1 goal, 12 assists) in 23 games

Pontus Åberg, (overall): 25 points (15 goals, 10 assists) in 52 games
Åberg, (road): 14 points (8 goals, 6 assists) in 24 games

Ian White, (overall): 19 points (3 goals, 16 assists) in 31 games
White, (road): 11 points (2 goals, 9 assists) in 14 games

Triston Grant, (overall): 18 points (10 goals, 8 assists) in 56 games
Grant, (road): 8 points (4 goals, 4 assists) in 25 games

Miikka Salomäki, (overall): 18 points (7 goals, 11 assists) in 38 games
Salomäki, (road): 11 points (3 goals, 8 assists) in 17 games

Mark Van Guilder, (overall): 18 points (7 goals, 11 assists) in 58 games
Van Guilder, (road): 7 points (4 goals, 3 assists) in 26 games

Joe Piskula, (overall): 14 points (1 goal, 13 assists) in 49 games
Piskula, (road): 5 points (0 goals, 5 assists) in 22 games

Kevin Fiala, (overall): 13 points (6 goals, 7 assists) in 19 games
Fiala, (road): 1 point (1 goal, 0 assists) in 6 games

Rich Clune, (overall): 12 points (5 goals, 7 assists) in 44 games
Clune, (road): 5 points (3 goals, 2 assists) in 19 games

Joe Pendenza, (overall): 11 points (7 goals, 4 assists) in 34 games
Pendenza, (road): 5 points (4 goals, 1 assist) in 16 games

Zach Budish, (overall): 10 points (5 goals, 5 assists) in 27 games
Budish, (road): 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists) in 13 games

Frédérick Gaudreau, (overall): 9 points (4 goals, 5 assists) in 29 games
Gaudreau, (road): 2 points (0 goals, 2 assists) in 16 games

Félix Girard, (overall): 9 points (4 goals, 5 assists) in 58 games
Girard, (road): 3 points (2 goals, 1 assist) in 26 games

Johan Alm, (overall): 7 points (0 goals, 7 assists) in 26 games
Alm, (road): 2 points (0 goals, 2 assists) in 12 games

Mike Liambas, (overall): 6 points (4 goals, 2 assists) in 38 games
Liambas, (road): 2 points (0 goals, 2 assists) in 18 games

Jimmy Oligny, (overall): 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists) in 41 games
Oligny, (road): 3 points (0 goals, 3 assists) in 17 games

Marek Mazanec, (overall): 4 points (0 goals, 4 assists) in 36 games
Mazanec, (road): 1 point (0 goals, 1 assist) in 17 games

Magnus Hellberg, (overall): 2 points (0 goals, 2 assists) in 27 games
Hellberg, (road): 1 point (0 goals, 1 assist) in 11 games

Jonathan Diaby, (overall): 2 points (0 goals, 2 assists) in 43 games
Diaby, (road): 1 point (0 goals, 1 assist) in 21 games

Firstly, yes… Diaby is still not clear of our goaltenders in scoring on the season. Secondly, White’s statistical breakdown is done purely with his time with the Admirals in both his overall and road numbers.

~Road Goaltending~

Mazanec (overall): 17-13-4-1 record, 2.48 GAA, 0.908 SV%, 4 SO, 36 appearances
Mazanec (road): 9-4-2-1, 2.75 GAA, 0.922 SV%, 4 SO, 17 appearances

Hellberg (overall): 14-6-4-3 record, 2.13 GAA, 0.921 SV%, 3 SO, 27 appearances
Hellberg (road): 6-2-1-1, 2.28 GAA, 0.922 SV%, 1 SO, 11 appearances

Expectations for tonight’s game? Can the Admirals continue their road success? What are your hopes for this long road trip?

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News March 9, 2015March 9, 2015

Cyclones Report: Grinding Towards Playoff Season

Josh Shalla has been doing Josh Shalla things like producing at a high rate in the ECHL. Will he ever be able to bottle that success and carry it into the AHL one of these days? (Photo Credit: Tony Bailey)

The last update we did on our ECHL pals the Cincinnati Cyclones was back at the start of December. Especially to some of you new readers to the Roundtable, you might think that this Cyclones team and ECHL business are something of an Island of Misfit Toys considering how often you would only see news updates of players coming and going from Cincinnati. That of course isn’t the case at all. So, let’s take a glimpse into how our ECHL affiliate has been trucking along through the 2014-15 season.

~Short & Sweet~

The Cyclones currently hold a record of 26-23-1-5 (58 points) this season. That record slots them in fourth place of the North Division and in tenth place of the Eastern Conference.

When looking at the various team figures you can see some of the struggles for Cincinnati this season. They have a goal differential of -9 (151 goals forced, 160 goals allowed). They have the twenty-fifth ranked power-play in the ECHL with a 14.6% conversion rate (29/199) while allowing three shorthanded goals against. Their penalty kill ranks twentieth in the league with an 81.9% kill rate (141/172) while scoring seven shorthanded goals on the season.

~The Moving Pieces~

We’ve already witnessed a few players come and go through Cincinnati this season. By that I literally mean go. They’re gone. Both Patrick Cehlin and Mikko Vainonen were with the Cyclones earlier this season but both have since been loaned out to European clubs in their native countries. Cehlin joined Leksands IF in Sweden while Vainonen was sent to SaiPa of the SM-Liiga in Finland.

The story of Cehlin is fairly well documented on our end this season. He had off-season surgery to repair three loose bone fragments in his hip. As he traveled back home for the summer a blood clot developed in his leg following the flight to Sweden. He subsequently missed the start of the 2014-15 season, began in Cincinnati, played four games with the Admirals, was sent back to the ECHL, and then was loaned back home in late-January. With his contract up at season’s end it effectively means the end of his time within the organization.

Vainonen was a far more curious case than Cehlin’s. This was to be the Finn’s first full-season of pro hockey in North America after finishing up his junior playing career with the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL. He joined the Admirals at the end of last season, made it into two games, and started this season with the Cyclones. He played in 31 games in the ECHL picking up 5 assists with a plus/minus rating of -8 and 16 penalty minutes before finding himself packing up for Finland with SaiPa in mid-January. Since returning home, he has played in 14 games, has an assist, is a +1 player, and also has 12 penalty minutes.

~Familiar Names~

There have been quite a few names that we’ve seen up with the Admirals for, honestly, the better majority of this season who have spent some time with the Cyclones. That list includes the likes of Jonathan Diaby, Joe Pendenza, Zach Budish, Frédérick Gaudreau, and Garrett Noonan (who is currently with the Cyclones right now).

With all the names mentioned above, I feel as if their ECHL playing time comes not from poor AHL performance but purely based on the overall depth and numbers game working against them this season. If you really think about it, the Admirals have been pretty fortunate as far as injuries are concerned this season and we’ve seen far more additions (Rich Clune, Viktor Stålberg, Ian White, and Kevin Fiala) than could have been anticipated at the start of the season. As a result it has meant some rather talented young players getting ECHL playing time as opposed to sitting on the outside looking in for playing time at the AHL level here in Milwaukee.

When looking at those who have split time between Cincinnati and Milwaukee this season I think that there is no denying the upside to being able to play, work, contribute, and get the wheels going upon the next AHL stint takes place. Diaby’s small spell with Cincinnati really speaks volumes to this because the before and after of the player he was prior to his time with the Cyclones was a night and day difference. It really helped him get back on track from a slow start with the Admirals and has since looked every bit the part of an AHL caliber defenseman in his first pro-playing season.

Budish was another player that has really benefited from his work rate in Cincinnati this season. He looked good at the start of the season with the Admirals but was given the plane ticket down. His response from his time with the Cyclones has been massive: 23 points (8 goals, 15 assists), plus/minus rating of +11, 1 PPG, 1 SHG, and that call comes with 30 games of work.

Players like Pendenza and Gaudreau have also benefited from the exact same experience. Rather than be healthy scratched in Milwaukee both have been able to log minutes and contribute to Cincinnati in their time down this season. Pendenza has 7 points (3 goals, 4 assists) in 13 games. Gaudreau has 7 points (5 goals, 2 assists) in 14 games.

~The Other Guys~

There are then some of the ECHL regulars that we’ve not seen too much of this season in Milwaukee. That list includes Jaynen Rissling, Josh Shalla, and Rob Madore. We did get a brief look at both Rissling and Madore this season. Rissling managed to play 5 games for the Admirals during the injury bug time of February for defensemen in Nashville and Milwaukee. I felt he looked quite good all things considered. As for Madore, his brief time in Milwaukee has been all spent serving as a back up. Shame too. I may have the best tendy gear in the entire organization this season.

The name that does stand out here is Shalla. I hate to say it but I feel like it is just the same ol’ same ol’ from him. By that I mean, he is producing at a really fantastic rate. He has a team best 42 points (17 goals, 25 assists) in 55 games. The next closest to him on the Cyclones in the scoring department is David Pacan with 28 points (9 goals, 19 assists). The age old problem here is that this is ECHL scoring that we’re talking about and not AHL production for Shalla. In his career his points per game at the ECHL level is a highly respectable 0.82 Pt/G. With Milwaukee? It falls off a cliff and drops down to 0.28 Pt/G. I’m sure he would like to be given the opportunity to prove otherwise but the talent pool above him mounted swiftly. That window to do so may have already come and gone.

Madore’s season in net has been largely split with Sam Brittain for the Cyclones. While the first half of the season may not have been what Madore would’ve hoped for, as follow up to his Kelly Cup MVP performance last season, he has started to get on a nice roll. This season he has a record of 11-12-1-4 from 29 appearances with a 2.69 goals against average, 0.903 save percentage, and 3 shutouts. In his last 4 starts he has been brilliant. His save percentage in that span is 0.959 (142/148) including a shutout. Think that’s a crazy amount of shots for such a small span? Well, in his last game he stopped an insane 53/55 shots on goal on the wrong side of a 3-2 shootout loss on the road against the Orlando Solar Bears.

~The Road To The Finish~

Including their game later tonight, Cincinnati has 17 games before the ECHL regular season comes to an end. They have 8 more home games to close out the season and they will be desperate to start digging back points in an effort to sneak back into the playoff picture. Last season, the Cyclones finished second in the North Division with a final points total of 90 to get the fifth seed out of the Eastern Conference. Between the current sixth seed and twelfth seed there are only 10 points of separation. The Cyclones are in that mix and so much can change in a matter of games and good form. If Cincinnati gets on a run at the late stages of the season who is to say that they can’t repeat the same playoff performances that they achieved last season? It’s all a matter of consistency and that will be the key to the Cyclones finish this year.

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Chatterbox March 8, 2015

The Chatterbox, Vol. 73

As an eternal optimist I always like to grab positives out of rough, rough, rough results such as the Admirals 5-1 defeat at the hands of the Oklahoma City Barons. As you’ll hear reciprocated by the team, there certainly were things to take from that game and carry into Tuesday’s rematch with the Barons. Once again the team produced pucks to the net at a high rate. The problem of that game just became mounting mistakes, lost composure, and an inability to finish off many of the great looks that were generated on the offensive end.

I would like to think of that game as a wake up call sort of result for the Admirals. They are about to embark on a season long six-game road trip and are going to be tested hard all the way to the finish line. Mistakes get punished. Being handed five chances on the power-play should produce some sort of a result on the scoreboard. Getting a first goal just to allow one right back seconds later. It’s simple stuff but it was the little things that alluded the Admirals in that game. Even in a bit of a rut, the Barons are too good of a team to have allowed that many breaks to and it ended up biting back pretty hard by the end of the game.

Following the defeat, I had the chance to speak with Dean Evason, Joe Piskula, Triston Grant, and *drum roll bonus guest* the General Manager of the Nashville Predators David Poile. Here is what they had to say following the Admirals loss Sunday night.

Continue reading “The Chatterbox, Vol. 73” →

Game Recaps March 8, 2015March 8, 2015

And The Cosmic Ballet Goes On; Ads lose 5-1

The Admirals lost 5-1 against the Oklahoma City Barons Sunday evening. This was about as rough of a game as the Admirals have had all season as the Barons bounced back in a big way tonight at the Admirals expense. The two will meet up again Tuesday when the Ads season long six game road trip starts up.

“That was a funny game,” said Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. “Clearly we made some mistakes to allow them the two goal lead and certainly the third goal. We thought for a lot of the game we had some territorial advantages. We make a mistake and we kick it in the net, then the power-play goal, we get back in it 3-1, and then we lost our composure a little bit in the hockey game. That wasn’t good on our part for sure.”

It was a sluggish start for both teams in the opening few minutes. The Barons were jamming up the neutral zone right out the gate and pinned the Admirals deep in their own half. This helped on the opening goal as a long range shot by Dillon Simpson was deflected past Marek Mazanec by Jason Williams to score his nineteenth goal of the season.

Figuring it’s high time for a spark, Rich Clune delivered a hard check to Brad Hunt that resulted in both a boarding minor and a subsequent fight with Mitch Moroz. The two had a heated tilt that escalated with Moroz continuing to gun for Clune after the officials had broken things up.

While Moroz was handed a misconduct for his troubles the Barons still had a power-play off of the initial Clune boarding minor. It would come back to bite the Admirals. The puck ricocheted over to Andrew Miller who patiently glided down the left wing before passing between the circles for Bogdan Yakimov. The defense wasn’t able to close him down in time and Yakimov responded with a quick swat for his tenth goal of the season.

In the second period the Barons extended their lead to 3-0. C.J. Ludwig’s shot from the right wing wall trickled through the pads of Mazanec and rolled behind him in the crease. C.J. Stretch was the first man to react to the loose puck and fended off Johan Alm as he whipped a shot back to the goal. As it happened, Stretch’s shot banked off of Alm’s skate and in for Stretch’s eighth goal of the season. Hard to imagine he’ll score an uglier one than that in his career.

Viktor Arvidsson finally put the Admirals on the board with his eighteenth goal of the season in the third period. The Swede rushed off the right wing, toe dragged, and fired a quick wrist shot past the blocker side of Laurent Brossoit.

Sadly, the Barons answered right back only forty-five seconds later. A puck jarred free off the left wing wall and straight to Joshua Winquist. He was all alone in front of Mazanec as he swooped across from left to right before finishing off on the backhand for his fifth goal of the season.

“That’s something that just can’t happen,” explained Triston Grant after the game. “You get some momentum, some life, and we’ve got to keep building and make sure we come back with an even bigger shift than we had when we scored. So, that’s obviously something that is part of our learning process, being a pro, and being good teams. That’s one of those things we’ve got to continue to work on.”

The damage would continue following an unsportsmanlike conduct on Jimmy Oligny. With his penalty expiring the Barons teed up a great passing play that ended with Stretch feeding across, low left wing to the top of the right faceoff circle, for Kellen Jones. His one-timed bomb ripped past Mazanec high blocker side for his fifth goal of the season to make it a 5-1 game.

As always, there is the potential for message sending at the end of lopsided games – especially with an overlap such as this Sunday-Tuesday tilt between the Admirals and Barons. With 1:45 remaining Triston Grant unloaded on Moroz in the right wing corner and laid him out. As officials separated them, and things cooled down, Moroz reached out and threw another punch at Grant’s face. Be curious to see how explosive things are going to get come Tuesday night in Oklahoma City.

“We knew when we saw the schedule at the start of the year that March was going to be a grind for us,” said Evason. “It’s in front of us. We’re looking forward to next game. We get [Oklahoma City] right away so it will be a good challenge for the group.”

Ramblings: Prior to puck drop tonight, Viktor Stålberg was recalled to the Nashville Predators. Tonight’s scratches for the Admirals included Mike Liambas (right-leg laceration), Miikka Salomäki (upper-body), and Jonathan Diaby (undisclosed, did participate in pre-game skate). Per Aaron Sims, today was Mark Van Guilder’s 365th game as an Admiral. He is now one game behind Scott Ford for the most games played by an Admiral in the AHL history of the team. Tonight’s game was the final time we will see the Oklahoma City Barons who are ceasing operations after this season. The Edmonton Oilers AHL affiliate will be the Bakersfield Condors in next season’s new Pacific Division.

What is your reaction to this result from the Admirals? Is this a wake-up call sort of game? What all went wrong today and how can it get corrected when these two meet up again in OKC?

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News March 8, 2015March 8, 2015

Viktor Stålberg Recalled To Nashville

Prior to tonight’s game the Nashville Predators recalled Viktor Stålberg from the Milwaukee Admirals. This comes after Eric Nystrom will miss the next few weeks due to injury.

Stålberg was the late game hero for the Admirals 3-2 (OT) win over the Grand Rapids Griffins. He scored the Admirals first goal of the night, the game-tying goal with 0.4 seconds remaining in regulation, and the overtime winner 15-seconds into the OT period. He has scored 17 points (11 goals, 6 assists) in 20 games with the Admirals this season. With the Predators he has 4 assists in 11 games this season.

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