News

Mazanec Named NHL Rookie of November

Marek Mazanec’s coming out party was made official today.

Mazanec, who posted a 5-4-1 record with a 2.00 goals-against average, .932 save percentage and two shutouts in 11 November appearances, was named NHL Rookie of the Month.

Mazanec got his first NHL win on Nov. 16, holding the fort during a 7-2 drubbing of Chicago. The win was his first in a stretch of five in six starts. However, Mazanec started out the month in Milwaukee, winning his two starts there while allowing just two goals in each contest. Overall the 22-year-old Czech, who could barely grow out his Movember mustash, was 5-0-0 with the Admirals, with a sparkling 1.97 GAA. and .933 SP.

Mazanec beat out the likes of stellar rookies Chris Kreider, Tomas Hertl, Tyler Toffoli, Nathan MacKinnon and Torey Krug for the honor. Plenty of NHL scribes around the league are starting to take notice of the rookie netminder’s fine play. Overall its been a quite a start to a North American professional life for the 6’4″ sixth-round draft pick, who has become the next in line of Nashville’s talented, and tall, European goaltenders.

But perhaps Mazanec’s efforts shouldn’t be much of a suprise. Before the season Admirals defenseman Scott Ford and coach Dean Evason each saw the impressive talents of Mazanec firsthand out of training camp and expected great things:

“(Mazanec) is going to push Magnus (Hellberg) right to the limit,” Ford said. “I think it’s going to be a great tandem. Kind of doubleheaded monster where we have confidence in both guys. They’re going to push each other to be the best.”

“With Mazanec, the young Czech, we feel that we have two number one goalies as opposed to a one and a two,” Evason said. “In both of them we have very young, but talented prospects.”

So Roundtable . . . What do you think of Marek Mazanec’s impressive start? Do you think his AHL days are numbered? How will Nashville handle their goaltending situation when Pekka Rinne returns? Can Hellberg again move above him in the pecking order?

Game Recaps

Ads Heading Back Home with a 2-1 Victory

The Admirals won 2-1 against the Charlotte Checkers Sunday afternoon. After conceding the opening goal to Zach Boychuk and the Checkers, the Ads behind Miikka Salomaki, Austin Watson, and Scott Darling came back to pick up the Ads first win in regulation since 11/16 in Iowa.

“I thought our guys had a real good compete level today,” said Milwaukee Admirals assistant coach Stan Drulia after the game on Sports Radio 1250 WSSP. “We felt pretty comfortable as the game went along. The guys were playing the right way. They were doing a lot of the little things. We had a couple of guys step up. We were physical on the forecheck as a group. I think that really sent the message as the game went along.”

Perhaps starting where they left off last night, Mike Liambas and Nicolas Blanchard dropped the gloves the first chance they could when both men were out on the ice together. This carried over from the events of last night where Liambas took a charging call against Blanchard and was subsequently jumped by him – drawing a third man in penalty – and causing Blanchard’s night to end with a game misconduct. The fight was a quick one. Hard to say who won the scrap.

In the dying seconds of the first period Liambas was at it again. After a tightly contested period Liambas drew a charging penalty and Ads starting goalie Scott Darling picked up an unsportsmanlike conduct to give the Checkers a very late five-on-three power-play chance. Just as the Checkers did for their second goal in last night’s game, Zach Boychuk scored a lightning fast goal after the face off win to give the home-side a 1-0 lead – with only eight-seconds remaining in the period.

In yet another flashback to last night’s game Miikka Salomaki ripped a wrist shot from between the face off circles for a goal. The equalizer came at the 14:54 mark of the second period. It was a period heavily dominated by the Ads who held the Checkers to only three shots on goal in the period – the lowest total the Ads have held an opponent all season. The goal for Salomaki is his fifth of the season and now sees him tied with Colton Sissons for the team lead in points with fourteen.

Austin Watson picked up the game-winning goal off of a rebound effort near the midway point of the third period. His linemates, Zach Budish and Kevin Henderson, set him up on the play with a puck to the net that Checkers netminder Rob Madore spilled out. Watson was there to backhand the rebounder and give the Ads their first lead in regulation since 11/19 against Abbotsford Heat. The Ads held on tight to the 2-1 lead all the way until the final horn.

The win in net goes to Scott Darling who started the back half of this two-in two in Charlotte.

“He’s a confident guy,” said Drulia of Scott Darling. “He wants to play. He’s battling for minutes. Obviously, Magnus [Hellberg] is the guy right now and we have to find a way to get him going so he’s ready in case Nashville needs him. Darling’s buying his time. He gets his opportunity today. I thought we were really good in front of him.”
Darling’s game in this one was real solid. While the team in front of him kept the shot totals down he managed to stop 17-18 shots on goal. The lone goal he did allow came right after the Checkers were given a full two-minutes worth of five-on-three power-play. If not for that lone lapse, we may well be talking about Darling posting back-to-back shutouts in games he has started in.

The upcoming schedule for the Ads will see a decent rest period for the team. The next game is Friday at home against the Oklahoma City Barons. They will then have nearly another week off when they play those same Barons at home the following Thursday. Tired bodies will no doubt get healed up. Practice regarding the team’s recent offensive and power-play struggles will also no doubt be worked on. It should be a productive next two weeks for the team with a light break in an intense AHL schedule.

Thoughts on today’s game? How would you rate Salomaki’s season to this point? Would you like to see more of Scott Darling in net? How do you feel this upcoming stretch of off days for the Ads can impact the team?

Game Recaps

Ads Defeated by Checkers, 4-1

The Admirals lost 4-1 against the Charlotte Checkers Saturday night. This wasn’t a pretty one at all. The Checkers came to life in the second period and held off the Admirals for the majority of this game. The lone consolation goal for the Ads came from Miikka Salomaki who picked up his fourth of the season. That was that as far as the Ads were concerned, and they’ll need to reload quickly because these two meet again tomorrow afternoon.

“It was a slow game,” said Milwaukee Admirals assistant coach Stan Drulia after the game on Sports Radio 1250 WSSP. “There was no pace. Pretty lifeless by both teams. Then they got the goal, and then the power-play goal off the face off. We just couldn’t really find ourselves after that at all.”

Charlotte scored the opening goal in the second period through Chris Terry’s team best eighth goal of the season. The Checkers broke out of their zone lead by Zach Boychuk who dished it off to Brett Sutter who then crossed paths and teed up Terry for the goal.

After a slow opening period and a flat start to the second period, Mike Liambas took to the fighting stage in hopes he could ignite a fire in his team. He went toe-to-toe with Matthew Corrente and this sounded like a decent bout for the always fearless Liambas. This fight here may also have played part in a later scrum in the game.

After a boarding penalty against Kevin Henderson, the Checkers scored very quickly off a power-play goal from Boychuk to make it a 2-0 game. Eight seconds into the power-play the Checkers won the draw, passed around the puck, and Boychuk’s wrister beat Magnus Hellberg who possibly never even saw the puck.

“We floundered a little bit with our identity,” said Drulia. “I didn’t think we competed as hard as we usually do.”

Then things got ugly on the ice. Liambas took a run along the boards that drew a charging penalty but was then jumped by two Checkers players. Also in the mix of the scrum was Mathieu Tousignant who sounded as if he was being pounded against the ice. Hopefully some highlights from tonight’s game kick up so this incident can be more visualized to me. Based on Aaron Sim’s call though, the take down from behind on Liambas and Tousignant’s head against the ice, a few things there sounded very very bad. The net result of this scrum: Liambas, two-minutes for charging and five for fighting. Nicolas Blanchard, ten-minute game misconduct for third man in. Matthew Corrente, four-minutes on a double minor for roughing. Matt Marquardt, five-minutes for fighting.

In the third period the Checkers tagged the Ads off of another goal from the top of the circle to push the lead to 3-0. This go-round Justin Shugg blasted a shot from the left circle that beat the screen of Jared Staal and Hellberg in net.

Consolation goal for the Ads came after a faceoff win from Colton Sissons set up Miikka Salomaki in the slot for his fourth goal of the season. Salomaki’s shot pinged hard off the crossbar and down. It needed video review to determine if the puck did in fact cross the line. It did, and the score was drawn back to a 3-1 Checkers lead with 10:59 remaining in the third period.

Nothing came off from there for the Ads. Charlotte capped off the game with a late empty net goal from Aaron Palushaj. That finished off a 4-1 defeat of a very sluggish Admirals team that will look to fight back quickly tomorrow afternoon.

“Good,” said Drulia about facing the Checkers so soon tomorrow afternoon. “I hope [this game] is fresh in [the Admirals] minds.”

Thoughts on tonight’s performance? Are you more worried about the Ads’ ability to score goals or defend at this point? What has happened to the team that started the year so hot? What is missing? And how can that be implemented so quickly into tomorrow afternoon’s rematch?

News

Joe Piskula to Nashville

Piskula
(Photo credit to Scott Paulus)

After some developments out of Nashville, in which both Shea Weber and Kevin Klein are out of the lineup tonight, veteran d-man Joe Piskula has been recalled by the Predators. Piskula has played in ten career NHL games. The last time he played in the NHL was during the 2011-12 season with the Calgary Flames. He has yet to record his first career NHL point. Here’s hoping that changes on chance number three for Piskula in his now eighth professional season.

This move was countered by the Admirals who recalled Teddy Ruth from the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL. Ruth started the season with the Ads, played in four games, and didn’t score a point. Since the move down to Cinci he has played in twelve games, scored one goal and two assists, and picked up six penalty minutes.

Right move by Nashville? Would you have preferred another defensemen get called up to Nashville? Likewise, is there another defensemen you would have liked to have seen in Cincinnati get called up?

Scouting

Checkers: Scouting the Enemy

First and foremost, I hope that you all had lovely Thanksgivings and tame Black Friday festivities!

Tonight marks the first meeting of the season against the Charlotte Checkers. It has been a very difficult season to this point for them. They sit above only the Utica Comets for the worst record in the AHL with a record of 6-12-0-1 (13 pts). As a team they’ve scored one more goal than the Admirals have, 49, but have conceded 14 more goals.

The current run the Checkers have gone through is a cringe inducing one that has them 1-9-0-0 in their last 10 games including back-to-back losses. Not one of those games went past regulation. Four of the defeats were decided by one-goal. They conceded 40 goals during that span including 23 goals in six home games.

In fact, the Checkers have played eight games at home and have only won once. OUCH.

Their current top scorer is Zach Boychuk with 5 G, 9 A, and 14 pts. If he sounds familiar it is because last season he was picked up on waivers by every team under the sun… alright, put on waivers by Carolina, claimed by Pittsburgh, waived by Pittsburgh, claimed by Nashville, waived by Nashville, and claimed by Carolina again before being sent to the Checkers… so all went to Carolina’s plan. While it has been a struggle for the entire team of late, Boychuk has produced 4 points (2 G, 2 A) in his last three games at home. He could well be the igniter the Checkers desperately need in order to claw back into the win column.

The top goal scorers of the Checkers are defensemen Mark Flood and winger Chris Terry with 7 goals each. That sounds all well and dandy but both started off the season with red hot months of October and have since cooled off. Terry scored 6 goals and 4 assists in October and earned an NHL call up. He played in seven games, didn’t hit the scoresheet, and went -3. Since being sent back down he has scored 1 goal in three games. As for Flood, he scored 5 goals and 3 assists in October. In November he has cooled, 2 goals and 3 assists, but the bulk of those points came in the two-in-two at home against the Rockford IceHogs where he picked up 2 goals and 2 assists in two games.

Six. Six goalies. The Checkers have played six different goalies. One of which was Rick DiPietro – who the Checkers released from his PTO earlier in the week. The main man between the pipes has been John Muse who has started 11 games from 19 total. The numbers: 4-6-0-0 record, 2.55 GAA, 0.912 SV%, and 2 SO. He started the season with three straight wins including back-to-back shutout performances over the Griffins and Wolves. Great right? Now here’s where it gets bad. In the month of November Muse has gone 1-6-0-0 with a 0.885 SV% conceding an average of 3.2 goals per game. In his last five appearances he has allowed 19 goals. Whether he gets the net against the Ads is a mystery at this point. If you read up on the Checkers website… it sounds like we might see the seventh different goalie they’ve used in net this season.

Thoughts on the Checkers? What are your expectations for this two-in-two scenario? Will the Ads take both games this weekend or meet a Charlotte team ready to get off the floor?

Game Recaps

Ads Come Up Short in OT, 2-1

The Admirals lost 2-1 in overtime against the Rockford IceHogs Wednesday night.

While they may have earned a point on the road this is certainly a game that the Ads should have walked away from victorious. The goalies were brilliant at both ends of the rink in this one – neither allowed a puck to get behind them until the third period. Yet the backbreaker comes in OT with a poor penalty taken by Scott Valentine that leads to a four-on-three power-play opportunity that sealed the Ads fate tonight.

While the goal scoring came later on in this contest the Ads produced one of those rare fast starts. Credit that to the weekend off and very fresh legs on the ice. The Ads outshot the IceHogs 12-7 in the first period and 15-9 in the second period. Major credit has to be given to IceHogs’ netminder Kent Simpson who was pretty much lights-out tonight – stopping 33-34 shots on goal.

The third period is where the goals came in and, against the run of play through the first two periods, it was the IceHogs who managed to score first. Joakim Nordstrom picked up a feed in the slot from Mark McNeill to finally tally the game’s opening goal at the 7:07 mark of the third period.

After a holding penalty against Austin Watson the Ads aggressive penalty-kill were able to race into attack mode and score their third shorthanded goal of the season. A shot by IceHogs d-man Brett Skinner was blocked in front by Joonas Jarvinen. The big Fin acted quickly and delivered an outlet pass for Taylor Beck who broke off on a breakaway. Beck went forehand-to-backhand to beat the tip-top Simpson in net to level the game at 1-1. The goal by Beck is his fifth of the season and fourth of this month.

After a late surge by the IceHogs, one that required a last second save of Magnus Hellberg to deny Jeremy Morin, the two teams headed to OT. Just a minute and a half through OT Ads defensemen turned forward turned defensemen Scott Valentine took a swipe up high on Alex Broadhurst and went to the box for roughing. The Ads special teams at this moment in the game had gone 0-4 on the power-play and 3-3 on the penalty-kill with a shorthanded goal. Still, this is OT hockey where there is plenty more space to operate and the IceHogs didn’t waste time delivering the goods. A one-timed shot was deflected in past Hellberg and the IceHogs edged the Ads in a game they probably shouldn’t have even earned a point in. The game-winner was officially credited to McNeill. For the Ads, who have played in four OT games this season, this was the third time they have lost on a power-play goal in OT.

Some other notes out of this game: Scott Ford was listed as out with a lower-body injury. Initial reaction on my end was that this might be something precautionary. According to Aaron Sims on his radio call tonight the captain might miss a few weeks. In light of that, the “C” patch is off the ice meaning there will be an added “A” divvied out to Admiral veterans Kevin Henderson and Bryan Rodney. Henderson will wear the “A” at home and Rodney wore it on the road black uniform tonight. The new kid on the block, Vinny Saponari, played on a line with Henderson and Mark Van Guilder tonight. Saponari didn’t register a shot and was on the ice for the IceHogs opening goal in the third period. Mike Liambas made his return to the lineup after missing the last eight-games. Liambas picked up ten-minutes worth of penalty time after getting into a verbal bout with Theo Peckham. Both players received ten-minute misconducts for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Thoughts on the game tonight? Could the lack of a finishing touch on all those shots just have been a sign of some “off-day” rust or is there a bigger issue when it comes to this team burying chances? Would you say Hellberg and Beck are starting to show that they are back in form? How will this team fair against the Checkers?

On behalf of my family to your’s – Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Let’s just eat everything and get ready for the Charlotte Checkers this weekend.

Scouting

IceHogs: Scouting the Enemy

It has been 10 games since these evil –EVIL– IceHogs faced off with the Ads. That game looked a little something like this:

The game finished with a 4-2 Admirals win. Since, the Ads have played in ten games going 4-4-1-1. The IceHogs played nine games since their defeat in Milwaukee and have gone 3-6-0-0. So, both have been in a less than favorable stretch looking to snap out of it.

The IceHogs currently sit third behind the Ads in the Midwest division with a record of 10-10-1-0 good for 21 points. Their top scorer is defenseman Adam Clendening who has 4 goals, 14 assists, 18 points, and 20 PIM’s. As far as goals are concerned there really isn’t one player shouldering the load. There are three tied with six goals (Klas Dahlbeck, Mark McNeill, and Jeremy Morin) and another three tied behind them with five goals (Alex Broadhurst, Terry Broadhurst, and ex-Admiral Brad Winchester).

There is also a lot of sharing the spotlight as far as goaltending is concerned. The IceHogs have wheeled in three different goalies in their last four games: Kent Simpson, Mac Carruth, and Antti Raanta. Coming into Wednesday’s game against the Ads the top man in net for Rockford has been Raanta… but he is currently playing in the NHL with the Blackhawks. That leaves the starting role in the hands of the 21-year old Simpson who has gone 3-4-1-0 in seven starts and three relief appearances. Backing him up is another 21-year old in Carruth who made his AHL debut in a 5-2 loss in Charlotte where he allowed all five goals scored by the Checkers. My expectation is for a goaltending match up between Simpson and Magnus Hellberg tomorrow night. Simpson faced the Ads in the first meeting of the season stopping 34-37 shots on goal in a losing effort.

Penalty Minutes. The IceHogs have 101 more PIM’s than the Admirals. Alright, fair enough the IceHogs have played in four more games… but still. The first meeting between these two produced 26 combined PIM’s that gave the IceHogs six power-play chances (producing one goal) and the Ads with seven power-plays (where they scored twice). Top of the top in PIM’s in this contest is Rockford’s Jared Nightingale with 63 PIM’s. Those wondering who leads the way for the Ads: Anthony Bitetto with 34 PIM’s. Interestingly enough, as much as I love going back to the infamous bench clearing brawl between these two, there wasn’t a fight in the last game when these two met nor the pre-season game at the Kern Center. You have to go back to last season’s final meeting between the Ads/Hogs to find a scrap which involved Mike Liambas and Kyle Beach. Liambas is a possibility to return at some point in this road trip. Should he return tomorrow night I feel he would be a welcome element to stand toe-to-toe should push come to shove-facewash-punching.

Thoughts on tomorrow night’s game? How will the rested Ads come out to start this game? Will we see anyone drop the gloves?

News

Ads recall Vinny Saponari from ECHL

Saponari_Northeastern
(Photo credit to Dave Arnold)

Two days before the Ads take to the road against the Rockford IceHogs they’ve made a roster move. The team announced this afternoon that they have recalled right-winger Vinny Saponari from the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL.

Saponari currently leads the Cyclones with ten assists and is second on the team in points with eleven scored in fourteen games. The 23-year old Georgia native was drafted in the fourth round of the 2008 NHL Draft by the Atlanta Thrashers. He made his professional hockey debut last season as a member of the St. John’s IceCaps where he scored a goal and an assist in seven AHL games.

There was no counter move made to this from the team. No players are known, at least not yet, to be heading to Cincinnati. The two key injuries on the Admirals team right now consist of Mike Liambas and Patrick Cehlin. Dean Evason stated that he expects Liambas to return during this road trip (possibly Wednesday in Rockford – probably Saturday or Sunday in Charlotte). Meanwhile, Cehlin has been out of the Ads lineup since a road game against the Iowa Wild on 11/3. In that game he scored a goal and an assist but went down with an unknown injury that has kept him out ever since.

The Ads have held a familiar roster and lineup ever since those two injuries took place. It has featured Scott Valentine in the Liambas role and Charles Roussel filling in for Valentine on defense. With Liambas potentially coming back and Saponari turning up today, one wonders where the move will come with the team and what exactly the status is on Cehlin. Either way, Saponari should be getting another crack at the AHL and, as far as offense goes, he might add a little extra spice on the back end of the Admirals forward line.

Thoughts on the move? Is this a short-term move for Rockford or possibly a long-term move? Who do you see potentially being sent down to Cincinnati? Does Valentine move back to defense or should he remain a forward? How would the return of Liambas impact the team?

News

Doctor Who?

Yesterday I received the keys to this ship from Ryan Miller. I’m sure I join everyone in an immense “thanks” to Ryan who has been the heart and soul of the Roundtable for a long time. In the time I’ve known him he has been nothing short of brilliant. He is a hockey enthusiast with a love of the Ads and its team history. I’m sad that he won’t be around to as many games as he was in the past but I do know he’s off on a great adventure as “the dad” and will no doubt be fantastic at it. Get that kid into hockey, Ryan! Start early!

It being yet another off day I wanted to take the time to introduce myself and let you all ask questions about me, my thoughts on the team, its players, whatever you fancy. So, let’s get a dialogue going. Who is this Daniel Lavender (@Doctor_Lavender) character anyways?

IMG_0148I am a Sconnie sports fan who just so happens to have family here in Wisconsin and in England. My dad was born and raised across the pond. My mum over here in the States. Long story short, I have a world of different perspectives and tastes for things thanks to my experiences traveling to England. Things like: Cornish pasties, a love of football (the other one), Formula 1, MotoGP, a Vanilla Flake cone, different music, and more Cornish pasties. Why nicknamed the Doctor? Well, because I’m the Doctor… clearly. If it’s English it gets my stamp of approval… unless we’re talking Manchester City.

For those who might think I sound familiar it is because, last season, I was a public relations intern with the Milwaukee Admirals. I was just coming off of my graduation from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, English major, and it was a dream opportunity for me to get into the sports field. I learned so much from the team’s front office group, had the chance to really study this team up close, and get into its history as I worked with the team’s 35th Anniversary campaign. I loved every bit of that experience. When offered the chance to stick around through Admirals Roundtable… I couldn’t possibly say no. Everyone involved in the organization is first class and treats one another like family. Hard to imagine a more fun work environment than this one.

From here, I say the floor is all your’s to ask any questions you might happen to have. I will take any and all questions, either in the comment section or over on Twitter (@AdsRoundtable), bring them up to this post, and answer them. Allons-y Admirals Roundtable!

Q&A: Open Thread

Kurtis: Who would win in a goalie fight between Hellberg and Pekka?
DL: Well, I get the feeling it wouldn’t be like DiPietro/Johnson. Two 6’5″ players going at it in full goaltending gear… it would probably be like Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant on ice!

Mike: Do you have a favorite Admirals player?
DL: I try my best to avoid favoritism, but I would say my favorite players to sweep through Milwaukee have been Darren Haydar and Juuso Puustinen. Both had such a calm and smooth playing style on the ice. They were always fun to watch on the ice.

News

Turning Over The Keys

The time has come.

In a weird and awkwardly timed mid-season announcement, I’m officially retiring from the Admirals Roundtable, and I’m handing over the keys of the franchise to Daniel Lavender.

The Roundtable and the Short Shifts blog before it were my babies. But then something happened…My wife and I became parents of a real baby this past summer. And now, I am finding it increasingly more difficult to devote the time to writing. I don’t want to half-ass it. You deserve better than that.

The time has come to fully pass the Admirals Roundtable torch to Daniel — a guy who bleeds Admirals blue, white, and black. His dedication to the cause will allow the Roundtable to continue to be the best place for Admirals and Predators fans (and I suppose any hockey fan, for that matter) to go for news and analysis about the team. Anyone can read a box score and put it into words. Daniel will continue to go beyond the box score.

As for me, you’ll probably still see me at games periodically. I’m still going to do the game ops stuff on weeknights, and as much as I loathe the twitter, I think I’m still going to participate in that (@RyanAdmirals). I hope to periodically have interesting things to say. And I’ll continue to comment on this site. But at this point…it’s time to walk away from the writing, remember the good times, and thank all of you for reading over the years.

That last one is huge. Sincerely, thank you for your support of these labors of love.  Thanks for playing along when we’ve been goofy (Mountain Fury….Beef-A-Roo….”under there”…dumb nicknames…).  Thanks for sharing your opinions in the comments section.  And thank you for sharing these hockey seasons with me.  The Short Shifts blog started in the fall of 2008.  It’s been a great run.  Thank you for reading, and thank you some more.

And I hope you will continue to support Daniel and this site as we press on with this season of Admirals hockey.

#furythefury