Scouting March 8, 2015

Barons: Scouting the Enemy

That moment when you’re in a fight but get eye contact with bae. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)

If you completely ignore how often the Admirals play the Iowa Wild – it’s been a long time since we’ve had a good dosage of the AHL’s West Division. You have to go all the way back to January when the Admirals finished off their season series against the Charlotte Checkers to find a non-Iowa team from the West. I suppose that explains this upcoming road trip pretty well enough. After today’s game the Admirals are on the road for six-games. Of those games only one contest doesn’t feature a West Division team.

~Oooooooooooooo~

OK, I really wanted to use this clip for the song “Oklahoma” but I digress. The Oklahoma City Barons enter today’s game with a record of 34-17-3-3 (74 points). They are current on top of the West Division and, thanks to the now fifteen-game point streak of the Grand Rapids Griffins, are second in the Western Conference.

The Admirals could well be playing the Barons at the exact right moment in time. The Ads have been on the upswing and the Barons have been knocked around these last few games. In their last ten games the Barons have gone 4-6-0-0 and have lost their last two games by a combined score of 12-2. Both of those losses came courtesy of Midwest Division opponents.

In some short and sweet special teams stats: Barons power-play ranks 11th in the AHL with a 18.4% success rate (44/239) while allowing a pair of shorthanded goals on the season. Their penalty kill also ranks 11th in the AHL with an 85.2% kill rate (30/203) with a lone shorthanded tally recorded from the Barons.

~Who What Now?~

The Admirals played the Barons back in early-December and lost 5-3. The story from that game was a pair of rapid fire power-play goals scored by Anton “Moon” Lander and Brad Hunt. Combine that with a quality performance in net by Laurent Brossoit, stopping 33/36 shots, and you get the result with the Barons coming out on top.

With today’s game in Milwaukee, and Tuesday’s game in OKC, Lander will be a non-factor as he remains out with shoulder injury up with the Edmonton Oilers. In his place (possibly) is the recently acquired and familiar face to the Admirals, Brad Winchester. He was brought in from the Norfolk Admirals on Friday for future considerations. Winchester has not played since mid-January so, depending on how quickly he joins the Barons, he could well return to the ice this afternoon.

The Barons have three scorers at the 40 point plateau right now: Andrew Miller, 48 points (21 goals, 27 assists)… Jason Williams, 42 points (18 goals, 24 assists)… and the aforementioned Hunt with 40 points (14 goals, 26 assists). Close behind these three in team scoring is Matthew Ford, 36 points (14 goals, 22 assists).

Brossoit has been the primary man in net for the Barons this season. He has played in thirty-five games with a record of 18-13-2-1, 2.61 goals against average, 0.916 save percentage, and a pair of shutouts. Not such a bad line for his first full-season in the AHL at the age of 21-years old.

Expectations for this game? With two games so close together between these two can we anticipate some rough stuff today? How do you think the Admirals are going to do when this long road trip starts up on Tuesday?

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News March 7, 2015

Garrett Noonan Returning to Cincinnati

It looks as if the entire Milwaukee Admirals defensive corps is getting back to 100% healthy. Johan Alm and Jimmy Oligny returned not too long ago and, last night, Joe Piskula came back from injury as well. Jonathan Diaby missed last night’s game after being lit up in a bout with Daniel Maggio in Lake Erie on Wednesday night but seemed to be in good spirits after Friday’s game.

With all this in mind the Admirals have assigned Garrett Noonan to the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL. This season he has played 6 games at that level, only has an assist as far as offense is concerned, has a plus/minus rating of -2, 6 penalty minutes, and is averaging 2 shots on goal per game.

Noonan has actually played really well when given the opportunity with the Admirals. In 38 games of work at the AHL level he has 9 points (4 goals, 5 assists), a plus/minus rating of +5, and 15 penalty minutes. The downside to his reassignment will obviously be not maintaining an AHL role. The upside is that he’ll get to log far more minutes with Cincinnati than he ever would have in Milwaukee. Staying fresh, sharp, and ready in the off-chance another injury bug crops up again is the plus of having a guy like Noonan waiting in the wings while playing more in the ECHL.

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Chatterbox March 7, 2015

The Chatterbox, Vol. 72

I’m getting the slight impression that this Kevin Fiala kid might be a good one. (Photo Credit: Jeff Hanisch)

I must confess, when the Grand Rapids Griffins took the lead in the third period I felt as if that was it. The combination of Petr Mrázek and Teemu Pulkkinen had done it again. And, for all the good work that was done, the Admirals were going to fall yet again to the white hot Griffins.

As you’ll hear, I wasn’t alone in that line of thinking. Dean Evason had started to walk off the Admirals bench with the seconds winding down in regulation assuming that things were over. Triston Grant had also started making the move down the bench towards the locker room.

Then something happened. Kevin Fiala happened. With 15.3 seconds remaining the puck wasn’t even in the attacking zone. The Griffins had cleared the puck to neutral ice. Taylor Aronson quickly threw the puck ahead to Fiala who caught and whirled a pass back ahead for Viktor Arvidsson to break into the zone. 10.8 seconds remaining. Arvidsson’s rush ahead is stalled by Nathan Paetsch. He passes all the way across towards the on-rushing Fiala back at the right point who quickly one-times a shot towards the net. The rebound off Mrázek kicked back to Fiala who one touch passed back to the point for Joe Piskula who teed up a one-timer for Arvidsson. No dice.

And then with 1.3 seconds remaining, with people moving towards the locker room and time effectively done as far as scoring chances should be concerned, it happens. Fiala hammers a shot pass square to the stick tape of Viktor Stålberg. The pass flew past a slide attempt of Kevin Porter and, from how it appears on the replay, a goaltender that just as well assumed there was no chance there would be a goal scored from where Fiala was firing from and firing to with 1.3 seconds remaining. There was. And the Admirals polished that opportunity off with 0.4 seconds to spare.

By the time the ice had been properly dry scraped and people had calmed down as best they could for the overtime period it had already been done. The Griffins were rocked just as hard, if not harder, than the Admirals were two weeks prior. Colton Sissons won the opening faceoff in overtime. Anthony Bitetto stalled as Piskula and Stålberg got in motion. Bitetto to Piskula. Piskula bank pass off the wall for Stålberg. The Swede raced ahead and battled for body positioning with Nick Jensen. Stålberg’s drive and drive alone on net put that puck past a flustered Mrázek. There was no real shot taken from Stålberg on the hat trick goal. It was simply working hard to the net and that pucked hobbled on through to the back of the net. 0:15.4 seconds of ice time between a regulation loss and an overtime win against the AHL’s hottest team right now.

After the game I did catch up with Evason. I also managed to grab the heroic duo of Fiala and Stålberg. Plus, we’ve not heard from Johan Alm in ages so I brought him into the Chatterbox for good measure. Here is what they had to say following the Admirals 3-2 (OT) win over the Griffins.

Continue reading “The Chatterbox, Vol. 72” →

Game Recaps March 6, 2015March 6, 2015

Stålberg Hat Trick Caps Off A Thriller; Ads win 3-2 in OT

The Admirals won in dramatic fashion by the final score of 3-2 in overtime against the Grand Rapids Griffins Friday night. History was flipped as this time it was the Admirals on their home ice scoring with 0.4 seconds remaining and scoring the game-winner in overtime all off the tape of the same man. The man tonight was Viktor Stålberg who scored his second hat trick of the season with the Admirals.

“It’s such irony,” smiled Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. “We lost to them 0.4 seconds in their building. Almost the exact same scenario. What goes around comes around, I guess.”

Viktor Stålberg’s ninth goal of the season opened tonight’s scoring off in the first period. Xavier Ouellet lost the handle of a puck flying back along the boards up to the blue line as the Griffins were in attack. Viktor Arvidsson instantly pounced on it. And Viktor and Viktor were off to the races with Nathan Paetsch between them. As Arvidsson was on the puck Stålberg managed to outskate Paetsch to make it a two-on-ziltch break. Arvidsson passed over from the right wing to his fellow Swede breaking down the slot for a tap-in past Petr Mrázek to make it 1-0.

With 1:20 remaining in the second period the Griffins were able to level the game at 1-1 on Kevin Porter’s tenth goal of the season. A long range clearance from the Griffins zone resulted in a skipping puck that alluded Johan Alm and led to a turnover out in front of Marek Mazanec. Tomas Nosek was able to tee up Porter as he broke from the left of Mazanec and across for a goal that snuck under the left pad.

The Griffins took their first lead of the game in the third period and did it with the AHL’s leading scorer Teemu Pulkkinen. Ouellet’s long range shot from the right blue line was snapped out of the air by Pulkkinen with a quick stick. The redirect was able to fool Mazanec in net and it went past him for Pulkkinen’s league leading thirty-fourth goal of the season.

There was 1:34 remaining when the Admirals pulled Mazanec in favor of the extra attacker. The last second push was just that. A last second push. On 18 February, it was the Griffins delivering an equalizing goal with 0.4 seconds remaining. Tonight it was the Admirals turn to equalize with the exact same time remaining.

“I thought we had some good chances,” said Viktor Stålberg. “Eventually we’d get a bounce. We haven’t had much of those bounces in the last couple of weeks. It was nice to get one.”

Kevin Fiala was firing a few pucks on net with the final flurry but, in a last ditch attempt to generate something before time ran out, he threw a puck from the right wing wall and it perfectly hit the blade of Stålberg in front of Mrázek for the simple redirect goal. The goal light and final horn hit at the exact same moment and the play needed a review to determine what time was left on the clock as that goal crossed. It was exactly 0.4 seconds just as the Griffins were able to do a few weeks prior. The goal was Stålberg’s second of the game and tenth of the season.

“Honestly, I was walking,” said Evason. “I looked at Stan [Drulia] a little bit. Triston Grant was in front of us and he said he was leaving too. I just turned and then [Clune] was going crazy so I figured we’d stick around.”

Not to be outdone by flipping the script of that game in Grand Rapids one week ago, Stalberg scored the game-winner in overtime to score his eleventh goal of the season, complete his hat trick, and give the Admirals the win. Joe Piskula’s bank pass off the boards through the neutral zone sent Stålberg loose on the left wing with Nick Jensen pressuring him on his drive to the net. Stålberg didn’t even get a shot off on Mrázek but, on his race to the net, the puck flipped up and past the current CCM/AHL Player of the Week and in to close out the game.

Andy Miele scored with 0.4 seconds to tie and then won the game in overtime only two weeks ago. Stålberg repeated that exact same feat to the letter tonight. Save for one item. Miele’s overtime winner that day took 2:09 of the period. Stålberg’s game-winner in overtime tonight was scored in fifteen seconds. From regulation defeat to overtime winner in just 0:15.4 seconds of ice time. The Griffins may still have their point streak of fourteen games going but their attempt to set a franchise record with an eighth straight win on the road stopped in Milwaukee tonight.

Ramblings: Tonight’s scratches for the Admirals included Jonathan Diaby (undisclosed), Mike Liambas (right leg laceration), Miikka Salomäki (upper body), Garrett Noonan (healthy), and Frédérick Gaudreau (healthy). Joe Piskula made his return to game action after missing the previous nine contests due to a lower-body injury. Tonight’s hat trick was the third time this season that an Admirals hat trick was scored by a Swede named Viktor.

Was this the game of the year? How would you rate the Admirals performance tonight? Why was the Admirals first period effort not carried over through the rest of the game? Can a result like this be the launch pad the Admirals need to get back up to the top of the Midwest Division?

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Scouting March 6, 2015

Griffins: Scouting the Enemy

Petr Mrázek is an Admirals killer. He has since adapted to even more teams and has yet to lose since his last reassignment to the Grand Rapids Griffins. (Photo Credit: Sam Iannamico)

Tonight is the first of only five home games for the Admirals in a jam packed fifteen game slate for the month of March. It’s the busiest month of the season for the Admirals. The previous high for games in a month was twelve in November, December, and January. With ten road games this month it’s going to be important to take advantage of home ice. Unfortunately, the Admirals have one win from their last five home games. Time to change that tonight and doing so at the expense of the AHL’s hottest team.

~The Grand Ol’ Enemy~

The Grand Rapids Griffins enter tonight’s game with a record of 34-17-5-1 (74 points) are currently leading the Midwest Division by 4 points over the Rockford IceHogs and are 6 points clear of the Admirals. The Griffins do have a game-up on both the IceHogs and Admirals. So, do take that points gap with a grain of salt.

Grand Rapids is without question the hottest team in the AHL right now. They are on a points streak of thirteen-games (11-0-2-0) and are currently on a winning streak of nine-games. The last time the Griffins were defeated in regulation came at the hands of the Admirals in Grand Rapids with a 4-0 shutout.

On this thirteen game run for the Griffins they have outscored opponents by an outrageous 55-25. They’ve gone past regulation and into overtime five times and came up the better three of the five times. Their power-play: 19.6% (9/46). Their penalty kill: 97.4% (37/38).

~Two Headed Monster~

There are two names that give me the heebie jeebies when it comes to the Griffins: Petr Mrázek and Teemu Pulkkinen. When last we met, the Griffins had Mrázek but not Pulkkinen and shutout the Admirals 4-0.

Scary news? Pulkkinen is now back to complement the Admiral-killer in net. In his first game back from his latest stint with the Red Wings all Pulkkinen did was score a hat trick as the Griffins pounded the Western Conference leading Oklahoma City Barons 7-1.

Pulkkinen, despite his NHL time, remains the AHL’s leading scorer this season with 60 points (33 goals, 27 assists) in 45 games. The next closest to him in the goal scoring department is Shane Harper of the Chicago Wolves with 25 goals and he has played in ten more games than Pulkkinen has.

Since being brought back to Grand Rapids Mrázek has done Mrázek like things. By that I mean: winning all six games he has started since being reassigned, three shutouts, 0.89 goals against average, and a 0.972 save percentage. His last loss in the AHL came in late-October when he allowed 5 goals to the Lake Erie Monsters. He’s only allowed that many goals in a game once since and it came courtesy of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

~The Game Plan~

What will the Admirals need to do in order to stop the hottest team in the AHL tonight? The answer is simple. No really, just keep things simple. What had the Admirals looking so sharp last time out against the Monsters in their 3-0 shutout win was a simplified North/South game that had crisp passing and shutdown defense that generated right back up to offense for a massively lopsided shot total of 31-16.

With a penalty kill that has been devastatingly sharp, a netminder that is a wall, and sniper that is picking his spots. Keep it simple. Get bodies in front of Mrázek to take his sight-lines away and look for loose pucks off rebounds. Don’t take stupid penalties to allow the Griffins to wheel and deal Pulkkinen along the left wing on the power-play to hammer that howitzer slap shot of his. Be smart. Be simple. Because it ends up being highly effective for the Admirals when they play that style of hockey.

Expectations for tonight’s game? What must be done to stop the likes of Mrázek and Pulkkinen? Should the Admirals change much of anything from last time out against the Monsters to match-up with the Griffins?

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Ramblings March 5, 2015

Question of the Day: The Goaltending Conundrum

Juuse Saros is one of the more touted prospects in the Nashville Predators system that has yet to land in North America. Could we see him in Milwaukee next season? (Photo Credit: Hämeen Sanomat)

We are a day between games for the Milwaukee Admirals. They got back into the win column with a 3-0 shutout last night and are set to face the hottest team in the AHL right now, no question about that, the Grand Rapids Griffins on Friday.

Rather than look ahead to the short term I thought it’d be fun to think about the long term. Specifically looking at the goaltending position. Both Magnus Hellberg and Marek Mazanec will be restricted-free agents at the end of this season. Then, thinking about the 2015-16 season, there is a very good chance that Juuse Saros will make the leap to North America.

The question is what will the Nashville Predators do in the system next season? Carter Hutton will be in the final of his two-year contract next season and all three of the names above could be positioned to compete for the back-up job to Pekka Rinne down the road – specifically the current tandem with the Admirals right now.

Hellberg is in season three with the Admirals right now and has only logged a cameo appearance with the Predators to date. Mazanec has split his time in the AHL and NHL so far through two seasons: 65 games with the Admirals and 27 games with the Predators. Saros is currently in his second senior playing season with HPK of the SM-Liiga in Finland. He turns 20-years old in mid-April and has already played 87 games in net as a pro.

What I feel makes the most sense would be to tender both RFA’s in Hellberg and Mazanec, as well as bring Saros into the mix in North America, and assess the options come the end of the 2015-16 season. I’d look for Saros to do exactly what has worked well for Jordan Binnington these last two years which is integrate him at the ECHL level for a season before bringing him into the AHL.

The alternatives can go anywhere from trying to trading Hutton and promoting either Hellberg or Mazanec next season, retaining one or both of the current AHL tandem and trading them at the NHL Draft to allow Saros to start next season at the AHL level, or -my idea- keep them all and wait out the season to map things out after the season.

How do you think the Nashville Predators will handle the goaltending situation next season? Where will Juuse Saros fit? Will Magnus Hellberg and Marek Mazanec be back in 2015-16? If you had two chose between Hellberg, Mazanec, and Saros -and could only pick two- which do you pick?

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Game Recaps March 4, 2015March 4, 2015

Admirals Back To It; shutout Lake Erie 3-0

The Admirals earned a 3-0 shutout on the road against the Lake Erie Monsters Wednesday night. The Ads set a season low for shots allowed in a game with the Monsters only putting sixteen shots on net. One better, Marek Mazanec stopped each and every one of them to snap the Admirals five game losing skid.

After a slow start for the home side, birthday boy Daniel Maggio asked Jonathan Diaby if he wanted to drop the mitts in the first period. The two locked up and Maggio landed quite a few jabs out the gate. Diaby started to fair a bit better in the middle of the fight but Maggio started getting some solid overhand rights that took Diaby down. Give the birthday boy for Lake Erie the win, 29-28, in your three round fight cards.

It took the Admirals fifty-five seconds into the second period to get the game’s first goal. Johan Alm made a great swooping play down the left wing. After he dodged the check of Gabriel Beaupre he fired on net and Calvin Pickard kicked the puck out to the path of Colton Sissons. An Austin Watson net front drive helped clear out the front of the net and Sissons was able to pop home his twentieth goal of the season.

Not too long after the Admirals got another puck past Pickard. Beaupre was torched again in defense. This time his clearing breakout attempt down the right wing boards was picked off by Ian White who immediately tossed to the front of the net where Felix Girard was all alone. It was a flashy finish for Girard’s fourth goal of the season and first since back in the middle of December at Toronto.

This game was heavily in favor of the Admirals throughout until the third period where they appeared to take their foot off the gas a little bit. That may sound poor but, thankfully, their defensive effort backed that up. With under three minutes to go, the Monsters emptied their net despite being on the penalty kill at the time. Joe Pendenza buried his seventh goal of the season to close the game off with an empty net tally on the power-play.

Marek Mazanec didn’t have to stop much but, when he was called upon, he was extremely confident in net. He stopped all sixteen shots he faced to earn his fourth shutout for the Admirals this season. The shots allowed by the Admirals set a season low.

Credit must be given to Mazanec for staying sharp throughout plenty of dead spots in the game without action in his zone. His highlight of the night came when the Monsters had just emptied their net and stopped Andrew Agozzino in his tracks on a breakaway chance.

Ramblings: Prior to the game, Frédérick Gaudreau was recalled to the Milwaukee Admirals from the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL. Rich Clune was suspended for tonight’s game by the AHL after accumulating his third fighting instigator misconduct of the season (AHL Rule 46.11). He will be available for Friday night’s game against the Grand Rapids Griffins. Tonight’s scratches included Mike Liambas (lower body), Miikka Salomaki (upper body), Rich Clune (suspended), Joe Piskula (lower body), and Garrett Noonan (healthy). The win tonight for the Admirals gives them 30 wins on the season.

Thoughts on the win tonight? What was done differently that earned the result? How is the defense, now healthy with the exception of Piskula, looking to you?

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News March 4, 2015

Frédérick Gaudreau Recalled From Cincinnati

Welp, I think we all saw this one coming. The Milwaukee Admirals have officially recalled Frédérick Gaudreau from the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL. This move comes a day after the AHL handed Rich Clune a one-game suspension and with the potential of Mike Liambas not being available for tonight’s game due to a lower body injury.

Gaudreau has played 27 games with the Admirals this season and has produced 9 points (4 goals, 5 assists) with a plus/minus of +6 and 8 penalty minutes. His time with the Cyclones in the ECHL has seen him post a stat-line of 7 points (5 goals, 2 assists), a plus/minus rating of -1, and 4 penalty minutes in 14 games. In his last 5 games with Cincinnati he has scored 5 points (3 goals, 2 assists).

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Scouting March 4, 2015March 4, 2015

Monsters: Scouting the Enemy

The Milwaukee Admirals season has been all about these hot and cold stretches. They’re currently skidding through another cold one: five game losing streak, four regulation losses in those five defeats, one win from eight games, and are 4-5-2-1 (11 points) from their last twelve games.

Consider what the other teams in the Midwest Division have done in their last twelve games: Grand Rapids Griffins, 10-0-2-0 (22 points)… Rockford IceHogs, 7-5-0-0 (14 points)… Chicago Wolves, 7-4-1-0 (15 points)… and the Lake Erie Monsters, 5-6-1-0 (11 points). Not hard to see why the Admirals have sputtered down the divisional standings is it?

Some good news? The last time the Admirals won was against these very same Monsters. It was a 5-2 win. The bad news? They followed that up with a 3-2 loss two days later that kicked off the losing streak that the Admirals are still on.

If there is anything that is going to right the ship for the Admirals tonight it’s getting back to the “play the right way” formula that worked so well in January. The game needs to be simplified. Passes need to connect. And puck control must be paramount. Take care of the defensive end, chip pucks up to forwards, get shots on target, and crash for second and third chance opportunities.

That very same simple formula can just as easily map over to the power-play. That twelve game span mentioned up above? The Admirals went 18.9% (10/53) on the power-play while conceding six shorthanded goals. Pass smart. Pass shooting lanes open. Shoot. Use the numbers to work around the net for screens and rebound opportunities.

~What’s That Coming Over The Hill?~

The Monsters aren’t exactly doing great at the moment, either. As mentioned about they’ve earned the same points total over twelve games as the Admirals. Lake Erie’s current overall record is 24-22-5-3 (56 points). They remain in last place in the Midwest Division and current sit in twelfth place of the Western Conference – they trail the current eighth placed Texas Stars by 7 points.

~Recent History~

This season the Monsters have managed to be a thorn in the Admirals side with some late comebacks that have cost the Admirals ‘should have been’ wins.

12/18/14, the Admirals held a 2-0 lead before coughing up four straight goals – including the go-ahead and eventual game-winning goal twenty-six seconds apart in the final two minutes of the game.

2/3/15, the Admirals have a 2-0 lead -again- and concede two goals in the third period before losing in the shootout.

The two have matched-up seven times this season and the match up has favored Lake Erie, 4-2-0-1. Of those games all but two games have been separated by one goal. In those games? The Admirals won both contests.

~Chet’s Brother~

Calvin Pickard has always been solid against the Admirals and that trend has continued this season. He absolutely stole the show last time they played the Monsters and now has a 2.11 goals against average and 0.929 save percentage against the Admirals from four games on the season.

Pickard was hugely active last month. He started all but one of the Monsters twelve games in February and went 5-5-1-0 in net with a 2.78 goals against average and 0.903 save percentage.

~Score!~

The Monsters will be without their top two scorers in the head-to-head against the Admirals. Paul Carey was involved in a trade deadline deal with the Boston Bruins that sent him out of the Colorado Avalanche organization with Maxime Talbot in exchange for Jordan Caron and the Bruins sixth round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. As for the other top scorer? Joey Hishon is currently up with the Colorado Avalanche in the NHL.

This will mean keeping an eye out for the likes of Colin Smith and Andrew Agozzino. Smith inherits the head-to-head scoring lead for the Monsters against the Admirals with 4 assists. He has 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists) on the season. Agozzino had 3 goals against the Admirals this season and leads the Monsters active roster in scoring with 31 points (15 goals, 16 assists).

~Forward Watch~

If I were you folks, I’d keep a keen eye on the AHL’s transactions page throughout the morning to see if Frédérick Gaudreau gets called up from the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL. Rich Clune was suspended yesterday as a result of accumulating three instigating misconducts this season. Should Gaudreau get the call up it would be telling of how injured Mike Liambas is after his “lower body” injury suffered last time out. It didn’t look pretty at all and Liambas did not return from the first period onwards.

No Clune. No Liambas (possibly). You’ll probably see Gaudreau get the call should Liambas be out tonight.

~UPDATE~

And, surprise surprise, Gaudreau was officially called up this afternoon from the Cyclones. It’s his first time back with the Admirals since January and he has since played fourteen games in the ECHL.

Who will rebound tonight? What will the Admirals have to do in order to get a positive result against the Lake Erie Monsters on the road tonight? Who would you start in net for the Admirals?

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News March 3, 2015

AHL Suspends Rich Clune

The AHL announces a few suspensions today and one of them includes Milwaukee Admirals winger Rich Clune. The suspension for Clune is for accumulating his third instigating misconduct of the season (AHL Rule 46.11) and carries a one-game suspension. Clune will miss tomorrow night’s road game against the Lake Erie Monsters.

When looking back to the previous occasions of Clune’s instigator misconducts you have (1) his fight against Brennan Evans on 11/7/14 (2) his fight against everyone else on the Grand Rapids Griffins on 2/27/15 (3) and his most recent fight against Cody Beach on 3/1/15.

Sadly, no video highlight of the last altercation but it was easy enough to breakdown. Beach had hit Taylor Aronson up high with a check and Clune took exception to the early hit. The play had already been whistled dead for a roughing call against Beach for the hit but Clune skated over and threw down. Seemed like Beach was a more than wiling combatant on the play but Clune was handed the instigator to not only nullify the Admirals power-play in the game but -as it happens- give him a suspension for his accumulative third instigating misconduct of the season.

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News & Discussion Site For Your Milwaukee Admirals