Taylor Beck has been hitting plenty of posts of late. That wasn’t the case last night as he scored twice in the Milwaukee Admirals 4-1 victory over the Iowa Wild. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
The Admirals won 4-1 last night over the Iowa Wild. The nail in the coffin came from Filip Forsberg‘s late second period power-play goal. Things seemed rather tight and along the walls up until then. Enter the third period – and away went the Wild’s composure.
Mathieu Tousignant might chirp up a storm during the course of a game. He can play an equally agitating game for his speed and strength on the ice – hounding puck carriers or just cycling a forecheck. He also doesn’t shy away from finishing off his checks. And it was just that which blew the lid off of Brad Winchester last night.
The incident between those two seemed to get up the nose of Curt Gogol. With only 1:09 remaining in the game, and Tousignant on the ice, Gogol sought him out and attempted to sucker him as the puck was actually in the Wild’s attacking end. Tousignant seemed like he instantly hit the deck once he saw Gogol’s stick come flying up around his face – and did get out of the game without further incident. Meanwhile, Gogol was handed an instigating minor, a fighting major, and a game misconduct for instigating.
This was somewhat reminiscent of the Admirals 9-1 victory over the Wild when Corbin Baldwin was a human torpedo on the ice – and really, for the way he was acting on the ice, made the game seem secondary from the perspective of the Wild. Credit where credit is due, at least Baldwin asked Mike Liambas to fight rather than take matters into his own hands and do his team massive damage by taking unnecessary penalties in the process.
Those two moments left a slightly bitter taste in my mouth at the end of this game. Still, you can take it as a positive that the Admirals maintained composure and let the Wild shoot their foot right off. As you’ll hear Tousignant say – they took huge penalties in that last period and it put the game to bed.
Mike Liambas doing Mike Liambas-y things like putting Corbin Baldwin in his place. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
The Admirals won 4-1 against the Iowa Wild Friday night. It is the Ads seventh win from nine contests against the Wild this season. Taylor Beck scored two goals in front of another calm performance in net by Scott Darling – who picked up his twelfth win of the season.
“We talked tonight about the games we’ve played against Iowa and they’re always intense games as this one was,” said Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. “We knew that they didn’t have their full lineup. They had ATOs and PTOs. They outworked us for a lot of that hockey game. We were very fortunate to come away with that win.”
After a solid forecheck by the Wild, the Admirals cleared the zone and looked for a line change – all except for Taylor Beck. Once he had the puck on his tape Beck was attempting to drive deep into the zone while the Ads line change took place behind him. He carried on with speed through the right wing and roofed a wrist shot over the blocker of Johan Gustafsson to get the game’s opener and his fifteenth goal of the season.
In the second period the Admirals extended their advantage with a power-play goal from Francis Wathier. The play was all set up with patience from Vinny Saponari in the left wing faceoff circle. Saponari slowly creeped in on goal, gave a look towards Gustafsson, but passed to the opposite wing for a one-timer by Wathier that blasted the net for his eighth goal of the season – and his third since joining the Admirals from the Texas Stars.
The Wild finally solved Scott Darling – only taking three games and 155:41 worth of ice time to do so. The Admirals were working hard in attack and the Wild’s puck clearance went deep into the defensive zone. The puck had some bounce to it and it trapped the Admirals on the walls as they tried to regain control. Zach Phillips eventually took advantage of the bad bounces and scored his twelfth goal of the season to get the Wild on the board for the first time against Darling all season.
Then we had a scrap between Mike Liambas and Corbin Baldwin. It was the third time the two have dropped the gloves against each other this season – and this one was a marathon. Liambas was chirping Baldwin the entire bout and each landed some hard shots. I call this one even in my fight card. Give them both tens for round number three.
Patrick Cehlin earned a late penalty with 1:58 remaining in the second period after a surge to the net. For the second time in the frame the Ads cashed in from the power-play – and again benefited from a patient primary assist. Bryan Rodney and Beck were working the point and it was Beck that kept the attention of everyone as he worked towards the net. He passed over to a wide open Filip Forsberg who had an even more wide open net to shoot on. It was Forsberg’s twelfth goal of the season – half of which have come from the power-play.
“Filip’s goal at the end with ten seconds left was huge going into the dressing room and into the third period,” said Taylor Beck of the team’s power-play tonight. “The power-play has been working for us lately and hopefully it continues.”
Beck picked up his second goal of the game in the third period to make it a 4-1 game. The puck flicked off of Wathier’s skate in front of the net a came out towards center point to Rodney. The veteran d-man pushed on to Beck for a one-timer – resulting in goal number sixteen of his season.
It’s also worth noting as the third period dragged on so did Iowa tempers. Former-Admiral Brad Winchester must have had enough of the Tousignant chatter and snapped. He tried to engage him, Tousignant declined, and Winchester gave him a two handed slash low before trying to get after him. It ended Winchester’s night and gave the Admirals a four-minute power-play.
“I don’t know what happened,” said Mathieu Tousignant after the game. “That’s a little bit of my game. I need to get under the other team’s skin. That’s what I did tonight.”
Things didn’t end there either. With 1:09 remaining in the game Curt Gogol attempted to sucker punch Tousignant from behind – and actually tosses his stick up at him after missing. This created a small scrum with the end result being seventeen minutes worth of penalties assessed against Gogol. Hey, he got his wish by getting out of the game early right?
“They took two huge penalties against me in the third and that put the game away I think,” said Tousignant.
Darling, who had Tuesday’s thirty-six save shutout against the Chicago Wolves, responded with another victory tonight. He stopped twenty-three of twenty-four shots on goal en route to his twelfth win of the season. In his last five starts he has now won four of them – with the lone loss coming in a shootout against the Utica Comets.
Ramblings: Joonas Jarvinen returned to the lineup tonight after missing thirteen games due to an upper body injury. His last game was played on 2/28/14 against these very same Iowa Wild – he scored two goals and had nine penalty minutes. Mark Van Guilder missed tonight’s game with a lower-body injury. With his start tonight for the Milwaukee Admirals – Joe Pendenza made his professional hockey debut.
Thoughts on tonight’s game? Who stood out the most for you in this game? Did you like the team’s lack of response to the Wild’s late game tactics?
Remember when Patrick Cehlin channeled his inner Admirals/Predators fandom and dropped the gloves with Jonathon Blum? Me too! (Photo Credit: Jeff Hanisch)
The Iowa Wild are entering tonight’s game with a record of 26-32-6-4 (62 points). They are at the bottom of the Midwest Division and Western Conference. The only two teams in the AHL that are worse in terms of points this season are the Portland Pirates (58 points) and Adirondack Phantoms (56 points).
Iowa’s last game played was on Wednesday in Grand Rapids where they were beaten up 6-1. It marked the ninth time this season where they allowed five or more goals in a game. It also provided one of the most gruesome selfies you’ll see any time soon courtesy of Mitch Callahan of the Griffins. I’ll be honest – graphic – click here if you are so inclined – update from their team on his condition as well.
That loss to the Griffins was the team’s second straight loss and seventh defeat from their last ten games played. They have had a rough season – and playing the Admirals hasn’t exactly been great for them either.
Nov. 3 @ Iowa: W, 5-2
Nov. 16 @ Iowa: W, 1-0
Dec. 29 @ Iowa: W, 4-0
Jan. 6 vs. Iowa: W, 4-3 (SO)
Jan. 31 @ Iowa: W, 3-2 (OT)
Feb. 14 vs. Iowa: L, 3-1
Feb. 28 vs. Iowa: W, 9-1
Mar. 12 vs. Iowa: L, 3-2
In eight games the Admirals have gone 6-2-0-0 (12 points) against the Wild.
Scott Darling, who is freshly removed from a 36-save shutout against the Chicago Wolves on Tuesday, has played the Wild twice and shut them out each time: 65-65 in save attempts. Marek Mazanec has taken part in four games, split them in wins and losses, has a 2.49 GAA, and a 0.902 SV%.
The top two scorers of the match up are Bryan Rodney and Miikka Salomaki. Rodney has tallied 8 points (3 goals, 5 assists) and Salomaki has produced 8 points (1 goal, 7 assists). Of the players in camp right now – Austin Watson has the most goals against the Wild with 4 goals from eight games… the other tied with that same total is Colton Sissons.
Meanwhile, the Wild’s top scorer in the season head-to-head with Milwaukee is former-Admiral Brad Winchester. He has played in nine games against the Admirals this season thanks to his move from Rockford to Iowa: 3 points (2 goals, 1 assist) in seven games with Rockford… 1 assist in two games with Iowa.
Gustafsson has played in thirty-six games this season, has twelve wins, a 2.97 GAA, 0.906 SV%, and one shutout. He has played the most games against the Admirals for the Wild this season: six games, one win, 3.11 GAA, and a 0.884 SV%.
Reichard was signed to a PTO contract from the Orlando Solar Bears yesterday. This season he has played in twenty games in the ECHL, won thirteen games, had a 3.18 GAA, and a 0.903 SV%. He last played in the AHL when this same team was called the Houston Aeros during the 2012-13 season: seven games, three wins, 2.41 GAA, and a 0.910 SV%.
To get an additional bang for your buck to prep for today’s game – check out yesterday’s team practice round up and interviews in the Chatterbox.
Thoughts on tonight’s game? Can the Admirals continue their success against the Wild? Should the Admirals play any of the new faces that were brought in recently against an opponent like the Wild?
Today I trekked into the morning practice at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. I arrived nice and early. Admired Anthony Bitetto‘s new haircut. Then took watch for the session.
Michael Young was the first man on the ice. He hasn’t played since getting injured in his professional debut in Toronto. Then the rest of the Admirals trickled out – including the new blood: Jonathan Diaby, Kirill Gotovets, and Joe Pendenza.
On the Admirals injury front – we had two real pleasant sights today: Simon Moser and Joonas Jarvinen were on the ice.
Moser took part in the full practice. He was wearing the red “no contact” jersey but seemed to be in real good form. Moser is not expected to participate in game action this weekend – but is getting closer and closer to a return.
Jarvinen also took part on the full practice and, unlike Moser, he was in the typical black defenseman jersey. There still isn’t necessarily a time table for a return. And I think the amount of bodies in camp right now helps Jarvinen in the sense that there isn’t a rush to bring him back before he’s 100%. Still, great to see the big Finn back on the ice.
The ATO trio from yesterday looked rather good from what I saw today. I was impressed with Diaby. He seemed to move around real well for a 6’5″ defenseman. He has plenty of size, seems good on his skates – particularly moving backwards, and looked real comfortable already.
Pendenza played on a line with Filip Forsberg and Patrick Cehlin today at practice. I feel like it is hard to judge him fairly when I’m seeing Forsberg toe-dragging and making the moves that he was today in practice. It somewhat took away from his line-combo work. That said, from a few drills where he worked on wing and odd-man rushes – I liked his speed. Seems to have a good burst out of that first step.
Gotovets, compared to all other Admirals d-men, really stood out because of his size. When all Ads defensemen are in their black practice gear the size of the players pop that extra bit against the ice. So, when you see a 5’11” Gotovets next to our goalies, you do kind of notice. He isn’t exactly Ryan Ellis-like with that size either. His game is not particularly about offensive flashiness. It’s about defense with him. It may be hard to gauge a player from watching him for an hour long practice – but he really appeared to keep things in front of him rather nicely. As was the case with the other new faces – I didn’t really see anything stand out as overwhelmed, flustered, jumpy, or nervous. It seemed controlled. And that I take as the real bright spot for all of them.
One player that I did not see in today’s practice was the Admirals Man of the Year, Mark Van Guilder. I didn’t ask about his absence. I didn’t get the impression that any move back to the NHL was in the cards – other then him not participating in practice. Just worth mentioning. I would assume he’ll be in the lineup tomorrow barring another recall in the next 24 hours.
When practice finished up I talked with head coach Dean Evason. I then had the chance to welcome in the new faces and hear from captain Scott Ford. Here is what all had to say following practice.
Paul Crowder has been reassigned to the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL today. He gives way to some new blood on the Milwaukee Admirals roster. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
There are plenty of transactions to round-up. The Milwaukee Admirals added three players to ATO contracts and reassigned Paul Crowder to the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL.
Crowder has played in 4 games with the Admirals this season. He hasn’t scored a point, took one penalty for holding, and has a plus/minus rating of -2. With the Cyclones he has played in 59 games, scored 43 points (14 goals, 29 assists), has 42 penalty minutes to his name, and a plus/minus of +5.
Diaby was the Predators 3rd Round (64th Overall) selection in 2013 NHL Draft. He is just finishing up his time with the Victoriaville Tigres in the QMJHL. In juniors the 19-year old defenseman played in 175 games, scored 63 points (14 goals, 49 assists), had 280 penalty minutes, and an overall plus/minus of +30.
Gotovets is a 22-year old from Belarus, drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 7th Round (183rd Overall) in the 2009 NHL Draft, and a product of Cornell University of the ECAC. In college the defenseman played 112 games, scored 19 points (3 goals, 16 assists), recorded 76 penalty minutes, and his plus/minus was +27.
Pendenza just finished his time with UMass-Lowell of H-East. The 23-year old Massachusetts native is an undrafted forward who played 152 games in college, scored 110 points (49 goals, 61 assists), had 118 penalty minutes, and a plus/minus of +36.
It is also worth mentioning that the recently added ATO signing, Tommy Veilleux, will not play with the Milwaukee Admirals this season due to lingering injuries following a season where he played alongside Diaby with Victoriaville.
What are your thoughts on all of these moves? Which new ATO signing excites you the most?
Scott Darling hasn’t just been one of the better stories this season for the Milwaukee Admirals. He has also been their best goaltender. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
With last night’s game complete, Scott Darling surpassed the amount of games played this season by Magnus Hellberg for second on the team by Milwaukee Admirals goaltenders. Did that raise an eyebrow? Because it did with me. For someone who has had the results to the toll of Darling you would think, in a survival of the fittest sense, he should be in net more than anyone else. So why hasn’t he?
Let’s start with the cold hard fact that Darling is on a one year contract that was made with the mindset that he would be the organization’s man in Cincinnati. And, you know what, for awhile he was. Then an injury from Nashville, and an opening and injury in Milwaukee, gave him a window to exceed expectations. He has done just that.
He has now played in twenty-two AHL games, won half of the games he has played in, has a 1.95 goals against average (GAA), 0.935 save percentage (SV%), and a remarkable five shutouts from eighteen starts. This is coming from a goalie that, up until this season, only played in one AHL game.
We’ve covered the story of Scott Darling previously here on the Roundtable. It’s a good one. It is something that reminds you that (A) this is a goalie that was drafted by the Phoenix Coyotes in 2007 (B) the Admirals were the first team in which he ever experienced in-season goalie coach (C) he is always prepared for his surroundings to change and to roll with those punches.
Perhaps that explains his ability to sit out, step in, and produce.
Last night’s thirty-six save shutout was his first game in net since March 23rd. The team lost a shootout in Utica that night. The space between starts? Ten days. Three games. He was called up from the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL on October 24, 2013. His first start occurred fifteen days and four games later. His second start with the Admirals happened eight days and three games later. It was in that game that he shutout the Iowa Wild for his first shutout and win in the AHL.
He is driven to compete. A door opened for him to make a splash at the AHL level. He’s taken it whenever he is finally presented the chance to play.
So, why not him? Let’s get cold and very blunt again.
Magnus Hellberg
Nashville Predators, 2011 NHL Draft, 2nd Round (38th Overall)
Marek Mazanec
Nashville Predators, 2012 NHL Draft, 6th Round (179th Overall)
Painfully, I could almost leave that information up there and it should speak for itself. Hellberg’s slow start and subsequent injury gave the fast track to us seeing Marek Mazanec play in more games than he has ever played in any single season prior to his first in North America.
Mazanec’s previous career high for games played in a season came with Plzeň of the Czech Extraliga in 2012-13 where he appeared in twenty-one games. This season, combined between the Predators and Admirals, he has played in fifty-two games.
While the massive work load given to Mazanec this season might be staggering – he has also shown to the Predators that he is capable or handling himself at the NHL level. With Pekka Rinne‘s injury causing a scramble in net early in the season – Maznec appeared in twenty-five games, won eight games, had a 2.80 GAA, 0.902 SV%, and earned two shutouts. He was recognized by the NHL as the Rookie of the Month in November.
As if being drafted by them in 2012 wasn’t enough he has earned his place firmly on Nashville’s radar. They want him to play games and continue to sharpen his rough edges, to settle into the North American game, and put the coaching staff’s instructions immediately to use in game situations.
And that is the biggest problem when it comes to Darling not playing more than he probably should despite the better statistical numbers. By the start of next season, Mazanec will have a weight of Nashville and Milwaukee instructed knowledge in mind and put to use – and Darling will probably be in a different organization all together.
Now, here is why I think absolutely none of that matters as it pertains to the here and now.
There are eight-games remaining in the Admirals season. The schedule ahead of them sees the following play out: two-in-two, …a Tuesday game, three-in-three, and two-in-two. How the team distributes the net in those back-to-backs will be telling as to who gets the starts in the playoffs. It’s crunch time. And it is time to give the important minutes of the season to the players who’ve done the best with the time they’ve been given. In goal, that man is not Mazanec – it is Darling.
This time last season we were on the Hellberg train plowing through the final games of the season. He started every game of a three-in-three on the last weekend of the season with the eighth seed for the Western Conference on the line. He won them all – and had back-to-back shutouts to end the season.
Where are we in the present for confidence in net the likes of Hellberg last season? Darling.
In Hellberg’s month of April last season he had a 1.81 GAA in ten games. Mazanec’s month of March heading into this time of the season, 2.87 GAA. Darling, in minimal work – seven games since February, has had a sub-2.00 GAA for every month since February: 1.67 (Feb.) … 1.95 (Mar.) … 0.00 (Apr.).
Alright, so that last 0.00 GAA comes from his shutout last night -but- is that not the start of bigger and better things? Shouldn’t the numbers and performances that back them up ascend “in the pipeline” talent? We could be set to find out when the Admirals play on Friday night against the Iowa Wild. Just as equally telling – will the man that starts on Friday start the following night against the Chicago Wolves? The watch for the would-be playoff starter in net for the Admirals is officially on.
Scott Darling picked up his eleventh win and fifth shutout of the season tonight as the Milwaukee Admirals won a 1-0 shootout in Chicago. (Photo Credit: Mark Newman)
The Admirals won 1-0 in a shootout against the Chicago Wolves Tuesday night. The game was deadlocked all the way through regulation and overtime – and eventually even went to the sudden death rounds of the five round shootout.
The game was given its conclusion courtesy of Patrick Cehlin’s game-winning shootout goal. And Scott Darling capped off a thirty-six save shutout in the win for his fifth shutout of the season.
“It was a pretty good hockey game,” said a modest Milwaukee Admirals assistant coach Stan Drulia after the game on 1250 Sports Radio WSSP. “A lot of guys played well. Chicago had their chances. Scott Darling was exceptional.”
This game was stunning for the goaltending and defensive efforts displayed from both sides. For the first time this season – the Chicago Wolves entered the third period scoreless. That scoreless trend lasted all the way to the shootout. Both Scott Darling and Jake Allen picked up shutouts for their regulation efforts.
The Wolves went first in the shootout and wheeled out their top scorer Ty Rattie – whose backhander missed wide. Mathieu Tousignant, the Admirals would-be leadoff hitter of late in these scenarios, did it again. Tousignant was the first man to put a puck in the net, first round of the shootout – second skater, and lifted a shot over Allen’s right shoulder.
Keith Aucoin answered right back in the second round of the shootout and give the Wolves their first taste of a goal in the game. He managed to beat Darling’s glove to make it 1-1. Taylor Beck followed but was stopped Allen’s paddle to keep things level out of two rounds of the shootout.
Not content with stress levels – the 1-1 scoreline in the shootout carried through five rounds and into sudden death. In the sixth round, after Derek Nesbitt was denied from a five hole attempt, Patrick Cehlin skated in from center – stayed center – fired between the circles – and beat Allen five hole to give the Admirals the 1-0 shootout victory.
Darling continued to display just how good he has been with the Admirals this season. His thirty-six save shutout tonight was his fifth shutout of the season and he has only made eighteen starts. He has been phenomenal when given the opportunity.
“When you keep [Scott Darling] hungry he always responds,” said Drulia. After he sat out a for lengthy periods of time with [Magnus Hellberg] playing and [Marek Mazanec] playing, then [Pekka Rinne] was down, then his injury, and all those types of things – his first game back, every time, he is exceptional. He does a lot of good things.”
Despite the lack of games played, which via minutes logged put him out of contention for many of the statistical categories such as goals against average or save percentage, Darling is now tied for second in the AHL in shutouts – trailing only his counterpart tonight, Allen, who earned his league leading sixth in a shootout defeat.
Ramblings: Prior to the game, the Milwaukee Admirals reassigned Josh Shalla to the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL. Vinny Saponari returned to the lineup after an upper body injury he sustained against the Lake Erie Monsters last Friday. Scott Valentine moved into sole possession of the twentieth spot on the Admirals all-time AHL games played list with his one-hundred-and-eighty-seventh game with Milwaukee.
What are your reactions from this game? How brilliant has Scott Darling been for the Milwaukee Admirals this season? Shouldn’t Darling be the man in net heading towards the playoffs? Considering the playoff-like atmosphere, and potential that this could be a first round match up, what does this game say about the Admirals defense?
Jason Karnosky, contributor to MilwaukeeAdmirals.com/Admirals Roundtable and former sidekick to Daniel Lavender, was traded today by the Milwaukee Admirals to the Chicago Wolves. No word yet on what compensation the Admirals are receiving in return, but at this point is likely a writer to be named later. Karnosky will make his Wolves debut Tuesday night as the Milwaukee comes to town.
“We added Karnosky for his familiarity within the division,” Chicago Chairman of the Board/Governor Don Levin said. “With the Amtrak Rivalry game tonight and his countless interviews of Michael Davies while he was at the University of Wisconsin, we see him as a great fit in the Windy City.”
By getting rid of Karnosky and Daniel Lavender’s surprising recall, Ryan Miller was called back to his former duties and will be writing the Admirals Roundtable recap, and perhaps even Scouting the Enemy this morning.
“I can’t write that today,” said Karnosky, who asked to fill in on the piece before leaving for Chicago. “I am the enemy now!”
Miller will likely only be an interim solution. Rumor is his young family is planning to move to Edmonton, Alberta in the not too distant future to start the new blog, Golden Bears and Pandas?, covering former Admirals coach Ian Herbers‘ University of Alberta squad, which just won its 14th Canadian National Championship.
No word yet on whether Karnosky’s upcoming feature on Admirals forward Mark Van Guilder for MilwaukeeAdmirals.com was completed before the trade. Since taking the job in Chicago, Karnosky has been heard around the Wolves’ offices in Rosemont, Illinois lobbying for Chicago to acquire the veteran forward so he could move the piece to ChicagoWolves.com.
“The guy (MVG) is amazing in the community, mentors fellow players, and now has over 13 shifts of NHL experience,” Karnosky was overheard saying. “He also brought back to Milwaukee a Nashville Predators sock and that has to be worth something.”
Karnosky asked for the trade today after purchasing a new Toyota Camry Monday evening (pictured above).
“I can’t be seen in this car in Milwaukee,” Karnosky said. “No is ever going to believe a Admirals Roundtable blogger could have afforded this.”
Daniel Lavender has been with the Milwaukee Admirals since the 2012-13 season. This is his first recall since joining the organization as a public relations intern. (Photo Credit: Daniel Lavender’s Mum)
In a shocking turn of events the Nashville Predators announced that Daniel Lavender has been recalled from the Milwaukee Admirals this morning. It will be his first career NHL call up and he is expected to join a line of Jeremy K. Gover and Robby Stanley.
“I was unaware they could actually do this,” said a confused Daniel Lavender at Mitchell Airport. “I wonder if Pekka will remember me.”
Lavender joined the Admirals last season on an ATO as a public relations intern. The team brought him back this season as a member of Admirals Roundtable. In his time there he has produced 256 posts and gained an additional 426 Twitter followers.
“I tried to squeeze Scott Ford into my luggage but he wouldn’t fit,” said Lavender of his flight to Nashville. “I told him it was worth a shot. At least now he can meet up with the team before their bus to Chicago leaves.”
He is a product of the prestigious University of Wisconsin-Parkside. It was there that he led the sports beat for the college’s newspaper, The Ranger News. He was best known for his work with the Parkside Rangers women’s soccer program. At the legendary Wood Rood Field – he not only wrote for the paper but also performed color commentary for the student radio station.
“I had a blast with Parkside soccer,” smiled Lavender. “People always told me I have a face for radio and a voice for newsprint. It was great that I managed to incorporate both into the same sport.”
After his first year with the newspaper his colleagues elevated him to the position of Executive Editor. He would remain in that role up until his graduation in the spring of 2012. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and a certificate in Sports Management.
“I still can’t believe this is really happening,” said Lavender. “No, seriously.”
There is no word whether or not the Admirals make a corresponding move from the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL. The Cyclones are led by Nick Brunker this season in news reporting and social media. He would be a likely candidate should a move occur shortly after this transaction. For now the Admirals should anticipate major things from the Houghton, Michigan native Jason Karnosky.
What are your thoughts on this move? Did Daniel Lavender deserve to get recalled or should he have remained at the AHL level? Should he have really made an April Fools Day post before tonight’s game? Can I try to fit Scott Ford inside of your luggage?
An Amtrak Rivalry Moment: Colton Sissons looks at Mike Liambas in amazement as he spearheads the offense. (Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)
The Chicago Wolves enter tonight’s game with a record of 39-20-5-3 (86 points). They are second in the Midwest Division and fourth in the Western Conference.
It feels as if it has been forever since we’ve seen the Amtrak Rivals. To this point, here is the season series.
Yep. It has been forever hasn’t it? Including tonight, the Admirals and Wolves will face each other four times in the final nine games of the Ads season.
The season series has gone the way of the Wolves so far: 6-0-1-1 (14 points). They have gained a point from every game. What makes this match up so frustrating for the Admirals is – look just how close they are to reversing those defeats or taking a minimum of one point. Every single game of this season’s Amtrak Rivalry has been won by a single goal. Quite remarkable.
Since we’ve last played the Wolves they have competed in sixteen games and have gone an impressive 10-4-1-1 (22 points). Their goal differential from open play, during that span, is +14 (52 GF, 38 GA).
Much credit for such a goal disparity can be given to the goaltending and, in Chicago, they have one of the best in the AHL – Jake Allen. This season he has played in forty-seven games, has won an AHL best twenty-nine games, has a 2.16 GAA, 0.925 SV%, and five shutouts. He is in the top three of almost every single major AHL category for goaltending: wins (1st), goals against average (3rd), save percentage (3rd), shutouts (3rd), saves (3rd), and minutes (1st).
Against the Admirals this season, Allen has played in six games and won five of them. He has a 2.10 GAA and a 0.919 SV% in those games. Interestingly, it is his battery-mate Matt Climie who has the better statistical numbers in the match up: 1.92 GAA and a 0.922 SV% in two games.
They are led in scoring by first year pro Ty Rattie who has 45 points (29 goals, 16 assists in sixty-six games this season. He is coming off of his hottest goal scoring month of the season: 8 goals in twelves games through the month of March. It seems like he is only getting better as his rookie season progresses.
The Admirals enter tonight’s game with a record of 32-22-6-7 (77 points). The are third in the Midwest Division and sixth in the Western Conference.
Though the division leading Grand Rapids Griffins may have ended the Admirals month of March on a down note- it was still a massive month for the team. They went 8-3-0-1 (17 points) from twelve March contests. The offense, which scored 28 goals from twelve games in February, produced 45 goals in March.
I think the major reason for the Admirals’ success in the last month comes down to the cohesiveness of the team’s forward depth. It seems all four lines have really been pounding out great game after great game.
The line combination of Taylor Beck (LW), Francis Wathier (C), and Austin Watson (RW) were a blindingly bright spot for the Ads in March. They combined for 22 points (7 goals, 15 assists) last month. Watson alone enjoyed his best points production of the entire season last night playing mostly as a winger – 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) with a point streak that lasted seven-games.
Another combination that always seems to have worked well this season also had a great month of March: Mike Liambas (LW), Mathieu Tousignant (C), and Joonas Rask (RW). They work traditionally as the team’s fourth line -but- generally start the game because their style perfectly sets the competitive tempo for the rest of the lines to follow.
Prior to March, Tousignant had 11 points (3 goals, 8 assists). In March he produced 7 points (3 goals, 4 assists). He’s done well enough to bounce around the lineup during some games – and even factored into the Admirals power-play unit last game as a net front presence. It has been very impressive to see his workmanlike attitude finally find its way to the scoresheet.
UPDATE: This afternoon the Milwaukee Admirals have reassigned Josh Shalla to the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL. With the Admirals he has played in twenty-six games and scored 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists). As a member of the Cyclones he has played in twenty-two games, scored 23 points (10 goals, 13 assists), and had the greatest blooper ever.
What are your expectations for this game? Is this a possible first round playoff teaser? Would you want to face the Amtrak Rivals in the opening round of the playoffs?
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