Chatterbox, Vol. 246

(Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)

The Milwaukee Admirals are now on a four-game losing streak following a 4-3 loss against the Ontario Reign last night at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. That was a performance that left me absolutely numb. The Admirals keep having stretches, within a game, where they look and play so well only to see all that positivity get crushed by one mistake. The Admirals were up 1-0 after the first period. They rallied past a bizarre moment to get back in the lead and enter the second intermission up 2-1. And then everything crumbled by way of mistakes.

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When It Reigns It Pours; Admirals Lose 4-3

(Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)

The Milwaukee Admirals lost 4-3 against the Ontario Reign at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena on Saturday night.

The Admirals had the lead after the first and second period. Yet, the Reign stormed out of the second intermission to score three third period goals to give them an edge that the Admirals couldn’t overcome late. The Admirals, who had a season best four-game winning streak earlier in January, have closed out the month with a four-game losing streak. It is the longest such losing skid since November of last season.

“It’s so frustrating because we had control of the game,” said Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason after the game. “We think we played extremely well in tonight’s hockey game and we didn’t get rewarded for it. I’m sure that the players feel the same frustration that we’re feeling but we have to take some kind of a positive out of it. The outcome wasn’t what we wanted but the way that we played was the way that we wanted it.”

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Reign: Scouting the Enemy

(Photo Credit: Jessica Harsen)

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

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

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Fifteen with Tyler Kelleher

(Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)

The first professional playing season for Tyler Kelleher has been bittersweet. He had an amazing showing during the Nashville Predators Rookie Development Camp, continued that form into Pre-Season Training Camp, and hit the ground running with the Milwaukee Admirals. Unfortunately he has lost over a month’s time due to a knee injury.

Kelleher is on the comeback trial right now. He is slowly edging towards a return in the coming weeks. When he gets back to the ice it will be a great boost for the Admirals. The future is a bright one for the 5’6″ forward from Longmeadow, Massachusetts.

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Matt O’Connor Assigned to Manchester Monarchs

(Photo Credit: Sam Iannamico)

The oddity that is this year’s ECHL goaltending continues with yet another twist. According to AHL Transactions the Nashville Predators have assigned Matt O’Connor to the Manchester Monarchs. This will be O’Connor’s third different ECHL team on the 2017-18 season and all came after he had the chance to play for the Norfolk Admirals who began the season as the organization’s ECHL affiliate.

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Chatterbox, Vol. 245

(Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)

In the Mid-Season Review I had said that the Milwaukee Admirals of 2017-18 are really hard to gauge. I’m not sure you can sum up the season better right now that how January is playing out before our very eyes. The Admirals went on their longest winning streak of the season, lasting four-games, and after a two-game tilt of up and down they are now on a three-game losing streak with all defeats coming inside of regulation. Last night’s 5-0 shutout loss to the Cleveland Monsters went beyond being “just one of those games” and was deflating to watch. It’s one thing to have bad bounces. It’s another thing to mentally switch off.

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Struggling; Ads Shutout By Monsters 5-0

(Game Recap: Nicholas Hatch. Photo Credit: Scott Paulus.)

The Milwaukee Admirals were shutout 5-0 by the Cleveland Monsters at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena on Tuesday night.

This game started out well for the Admirals. A few bad bounces resulted in the Monsters scoring two quick goals, but the first period was by far the best of the night for the Admirals. The Monsters were aided by Terry Broadhurst, who registered the first hat trick of his AHL career. Not only that, but this was just his third career multi-goal game. This all happened in front of a twenty-seven save shutout in the Monsters debut for goaltender Jeff Zatkoff.

“Very frustrating,” said Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. “Because we thought we turned the corner. Now we’ve lost the last three in a row. We can’t continually shoot ourselves like we continue to do.”

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Monsters: Scouting the Enemy

(Photo Credit: Cleveland Monsters)

We’re into the All-Star Week stretch. The Milwaukee Admirals are in action tonight and on Saturday night at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. Those are the last games ahead of the 2018 AHL All-Star festivities kick-off in Utica, New York on Sunday night with the Skills Competition and then on Monday night for the All-Star Challenge. The Admirals will be represented by Anders Lindbäck and Emil Pettersson it Utica. But, firstly, they’ll need to handle the Cleveland Monsters and Ontario Reign. The time to get back to winning ways after a lull begins now.

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Frédérick Gaudreau Reassigned to Milwaukee

(Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)

The Nashville Predators have activated Viktor Arvidsson from injured reserve and reassigned Frédérick Gaudreau to the Milwaukee Admirals. Both teams are in action tonight. The Predators host the Florida Panthers at the Bridgestone Arena while the Admirals are on the road playing against the Iowa Wild at the Wells Fargo Arena.

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Wild: Scouting the Enemy

The last time the Milwaukee Admirals played on the road against the Iowa Wild we saw Trevor Mingoia score his first career AHL goal in a 4-2 win. (Photo Credit: Ted Sandeen)

You know what can be just as rough as the Milwaukee Admirals losing 5-2 to the Grand Rapids Griffins in front of an Admirals record 9,444 fans at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena? Well, traveling nearly six hours on a bus from Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Des Moines, Iowa immediately afterwards. That is an extremely specific example but oddly accurate. The Admirals and Iowa Wild are both looking to hit the reset button after rough Friday night games. The first period is going to be important for both.

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