This afternoon the news has come out that Ads d-man Bryan Rodney will be suspended for two games as a result of his illegal check to the head of Texas Stars center Travis Morin. Rodney will officially miss the Ads games against the Texas Stars (Wednesday) and Rockford IceHogs (Friday).
The play occurred after a turnover at the blue line on an Admiral power-play. Morin was almost off to the races until he looked to his left and met the shoulder of Bryan Rodney. Morin stayed down on the ice for a brief time but did not miss a shift on the ice. Rodney was penalized with an illegal check to the head (Rule 48.2, minor penalty) but was not given a match penalty for the incident.
My take on the suspension: It was certainly a hit to the head. Based on the lone replay I saw of the incident at the game there was no intent from Rodney to hit Morin’s head. My guess is Rodney is looking to put a shoulder through the body of Morin to deny him a shorthanded breakaway, Morin tries to brace for a hit, and the net result is a shoulder to the head. Penalty? Yes. Two game suspension? No. I’ve watched a lot more blatant attempts of shots to the head at the NHL level this year (ex. Michael Grabner) receive similar punishment. It wasn’t as obvious. It wasn’t as dirty. Yet, this is an era of player safety. Any hit to the head, intent or no intent, is going to be under the microscope
Thoughts on the suspension? Who fills in in-place of Rodney? (Get better soon Jarvinen.)
The Admirals won 4-2 against the red hot Texas Stars Saturday night. A great second period effort from the Ads propelled the team to victory after trailing by two goals in the first period.
“We were fortunate we were only down two,” said Admirals head coach Dean Evason. “Five on five we weren’t bad in the first period. We just weren’t as detailed as we thought we should have been.”
Colton Sissons continued his outstanding start to the season by scoring two goals. Joshua Shalla and Austin Watson both tallied their first goals of the season. While a great 26 save performance in net by Marek Mazenec helped secure the victory at home.
Former Admiral Chris Mueller started for the Stars and won the opening face-off in his first game against his old team. The popular Admiral was the go-to guy in the pre-game skate as several players and members of the team talked to Mueller. Everyone was quite happy to see him back around the rink.
“It’s always good to see guys who you went to war with,” smiled Mike Liambas.
The Ads earned the opening power-play chance from an interference call by Texas while they were in their offensive zone. The Ads produced two good chances off the stick of Anthony Bitetto. His shots were clean to the net but failed to produce a goal.
The unfortunate then took place. A turnover from the Ads blueline lead to a shorthanded breakaway chance for Travis Morin. Bryan Rodney insured that would not happen by hitting Morin square in the head with a shoulder. The intent for a head shot wasn’t there. Looked like he was going in body-to-body but the pace of Morin altered the angle of impact.
Nevertheless, power-play gone – 4-on-4 hockey with a power-play to the Stars instead. The Stars cashed in just as the 4-on-4 expired. A great pass from Maxime Fortunus reached Morin whose slapper deflected off of Curtis McKenzie for a PP goal.
With the Ads earning another power-play, the Stars PK unit outpaced and simply suffocated the Admirals in their own zone. This lead to a turnover right in front of Mazanec and an unassisted shorthanded goal by Stars center Taylor Peters.
The first intermission was much needed for the Ads who were very over-powered in the first period. How do they start the second frame? Hot. They battled the boards strong and seemed to work the Stars onto their back-foot.
Reward would come after a great shift by the Liambas-Sissons-Rask line put the Ads on the scoreboard. Liambas tossed a puck to the net that Cristopher Nilstorp couldn’t trap. Sissons was right on top of the net to tap in the loose puck for his third goal of the season.
Persistence continued for the Ads as they equalized late in the second period after a silky series of passes. The break into the zone started off with Bitetto, who slowed down to find Van Guilder, and he picked out Joshua Shalla who one-timed it past Nilstorp for an equalizing goal.
The Ads didn’t let off the gas after the equalizer. Just one minute and thirteen seconds after Shalla’s goal Sissons tagged the net for his second of the game. Sissons took a great backhanded feed from the wall by Taylor Beck and deposited his wrister under Nilstorp’s blocker arm. That would be goal number four for him now.
With the Stars beginning to tilt the ice, the Ads and Austin Watson came from nowhere to push the lead to 4-2 in the closing stages of the third period. Watson skated in from the right wing and ripped a shot over the glove of Nilstorp for his first goal of the season.
Texas managed a strong push with their net empty (as well as a man-advantage from a Scott Ford boarding call), but the Ads held on for a 4-2 win over the visiting Stars. A really solid effort by the team after a sluggish start that saw them trail 2-0 and that deficit could have been even larger after the opening period.
Standout player of the evening was netminder Marek Mazenec. He posted 26 saves in the victory. More importantly he made some stellar “last line of defense” saves with the speed of the Stars attack getting the jump on the Ads defense. He looked very confident in net and the rest of the team really believes in the young Czech.
“We said right from the start that Mazenec and Hellberg were going to be 1 and 1-a,” commented Evason. “We didn’t come into the season that [Hellberg] was one and Mazenec was two. We planned on flipping them and seeing where we sit. It’s a nice thing to have two guys that we feel are real good prospects. [Mazenec] showed it tonight.”
The two will lock horns again Wednesday night and I, for one, can’t wait for the sequel.
Last year’s season ended with the Texas Stars topping the Ads 3-1 in the opening round of the Playoffs. As far as the regular season went the Stars took two of two from the Ads. With not too much shaken up from the rosters it’s clear to expect a toughy for the Ads at home come Saturday night.
The player the Ads will need to slow down is current AHL Player of the Week Travis Morin. Just look at what he has produced already this season: 8 goals and 9 assists… in 7 games. He is a mere 4 goals shy from his entire 2012-13 production. Morin has played a major cog to the Stars hot 5-1-1-0 start to the season that sees them atop the Western Conference (with those diabolical IceHogs). To beat the Stars is to slow down Morin and a hot Texas offense that has scored the most goals in the AHL to start the season.
It’s one thing to have this type of explosive offense. It’s another thing to pair it with great goaltending. That’s just who the Stars are and they feature a pair of quality goalies in net.
Captain ‘Merica Jack Campbell made a name for himself with his outstanding effort in net as Team USA won the 2010 IIHF World U20 Championship. The 21 year-old Michigan native played his first full professional season with the Stars last year. He went 19-13-3-3 in net with a 2.65 GAA and a .905 SV%. This year he has started twice and won both games with a sharp .956 SV%. Overall, still a work in progress for the Stars… but easily the future choice between the pipes for Dallas in the NHL.
While Campbell was the name in camp last year it was Cristopher Nilstorp who shouldered the load in last year’s playoff run. It was his first pro tenure State-side and he split the load with Campbell: 19-13-3-3, 2.38 GAA, and a .907 SV%. He’s played more games in net to start this season, but hasn’t quite provided as sparkling of a production as the young-gun Campbell. My expectation would be that Campbell gets the start against the Ads Saturday night. If he doesn’t though? The Stars have a solid alternative.
Oh yeah. Then there is this Chris Mueller character to talk about. The former Admiral returns to face his ye olde team for the first time after playing 262 games for Milwaukee. He scored 87 goals, 86 assists, and appeared in 25 playoff games for the Ads. Yet, after a decent stint with the Nashville Predators last season (18 games, 2 goals, 3 assists), the long-time member of the Ads headed off to Texas for an opportunity with the Stars. He has 3 goals and 5 assists to start this season off. He’s just one more part of a stellar offense the Stars feature. It’ll be fun to see the reception he receives as well as the on-ice interactions with his former teammates.
The last time the Ads suited up was without Patrick Cehlin, Kevin Henderson, and Joonas Jarvinen. No real time table was established for the players injuries but, in talking with Dean Evason last game, it sounds unlikely that Jarvinen will be in this contest. As for Cehlin and Henderson? We’ll probably get a better idea as to their fitness come game time. With an offensive explosion on the cards… the Ads sure could use them.
With Hellberg enjoying life up in Nashville for the first time it should be a tremendous opportunity for Marek Mazanec. He had a solid camp and a great first outing in a road victory against Grand Rapids. The team feels very comfortable with the young Czech in the net. It’ll be a great game for him to show everyone what he is capable of.
Thoughts on the return of Chris Mueller? Will Mazanec hold up while Hellberg is in Nashville? Who steps up if Cehlin and Henderson remain out of the lineup?
Hey, good for Fox 6 to give any love to the Admirals on any day other than media day, concert nights, and the playoffs.
They were at Admirals practice today to do a day-in-the-life-of-a-goalie story, and they were there when Coach Evason got the call that Magnus Hellberg was to be on a plane to Nashville tonight.
First — that conversation between Magnus and the coach…. you can tell Dean was just THRILLED that cameras were there. Second — I don’t believe for one second that he doesn’t know what the goalie situation is in Nashville. Third — Kramp suggested that he thought Hellberg was about to be demoted.
Oh, Kramp. Every Admirals fan is just shaking their head.
Fourth….oh that headline…. Milwaukee Admirals gets called up to the “bigs”. I hope they change it by the time you read it. That’s painful.
Nevertheless….credit where credit is due. Fox 6 broke the story, and they should get the credit for it. And we’re very happy for Magnus.
Nothing is official until the Preds say it is (I’m pretty sure absolutely positive they’re even less pleased about the cameras there than Dean was). Josh Cooper from the Tennessean tweeted: “For those wondering, Hutton did practice on-ice today. Rinne did not.”
The Admirals are off until Saturday, so in the event that this is just precautionary, we may get Magnus back in time for Saturday’s game against the Texas Stars. But we’ll be watching Josh Cooper and the Nashville blogs for news on Rinne tomorrow, for sure.
THURSDAY UPDATE: Magnus won’t be back on Saturday.
After spotting the Wolves a 2-0 lead, the Admirals battled back to send their home-opener to overtime. But Mark Mancari scored his second of the game on a two-on-one rush, giving the Wolves the 3-2 victory Saturday night in Milwaukee.
Coach Evason says that despite the loss, the team can still take some positives out of this game.
Mancari opened the scoring 6:38 into the game, with a laser slapshot from the far dot that beat Hellberg. Corey Locke was being tied up in the corner, but was able to feed a wide-open Mancari, while defenseman Bryan Rodney was without a stick.
Tyler Shattock made it a 2-0 lead, finishing off a 2-on-2 rush with Sebastian Wannstrom. Wannstrom led the rush along the right wing, and Simon Moser got caught in no-man’s land, leaving Shattock wide open for the chance. Moser didn’t play the shot or the pass, and didn’t tie up his man.
After getting stopped earlier in the game on breakaway chance, Mathieu Tousignant scored a shorty for the Admirals after a soft pass by goaltender Jake Allen and a lack of awareness by Taylor Chorney. Tousignant swooped in to receive that soft pass at the near faceoff dot, and after cruising to the crease, he delayed, and lifted a forehand shot top shelf.
Moser atoned by scoring his first North American goal — a power play tip-in of a Miikka Salomaki pass. Moser drove to the net, and was in perfect position for the re-direction, but Salomaki deserves a ton of credit too for the strong play on the rush.
On the game winning goal in overtime, Rodney was able to keep the puck in at the offensive blue line, but turned it over right away to Locke, who started the 2-on-1 rush the other way. Bitetto slid to try and block the pass, but the pass was able to get through to a wide open Mancari, who went up high on Hellberg.
Coach Evason gives credit where credit is due regarding that game winner.
They didn’t last very long, as after Shalla’s first shift, he was excused for the rest of the game. The coaches forgot to include him on their lineup card, and the Wolves called them out on it. No penalty was assessed for the illegal player, but that ended his night.
Coach says….well….the only thing that he can say in this situation.
Up until his goal, I was ready to pan Moser’s game tonight. This was the first time I had seen him play, and he looked…average at best. He took a stupid slashing penalty as the Wolves were breaking out of their defensive zone. He missed his assignment on the 2nd goal against. He did make some things happen in a positive way in the third period, in addition to his goal. So I can see why everyone was so excited about him. He just needs to play that way the whole game, and avoid those lazy stick infractions.
Tousignant can stay. He had a breakaway chance, and then scored that shorthanded goal, and was very effective all game. He talks us through his shot selection process.
The Ads killed off all six Chicago power plays, and one could argue they had more chances on those six than the Wolves did. Coach Evason gives high marks for the PP and the PK.
Jake Allen played very well. I don’t want that to get lost in the shuffle. There were a few saves he made that really should have been goals. And there were some times when the Admirals just made one pass too many. Although, the Wolves hit metal (at least) four times tonight. So it could have been a VERY different game had one or two of those gone in.
Nevertheless, the Admirals begin the season with points in their first four games — six of a possible eight points.
Jarvinen, Henderson, and Cehlin all missed the game due to injuries. Coach says Jarvinen is “a ways away”, but the other two are shorter term injuries.
So Roundtable…. Thoughts on the home opener? Did you like the Seven Nation Army intro-to-the-intro? Early impressions of new guys like Tousignant, Sissons, Salomaki, and Moser? Did you like the way they battled back after trailing 2-0? How about Liambas and Bitetto’s fights? How much did you miss seeing John Anderson on the bench over the last few years?
Ahh, the Amtrak Rivalry to kick off the home opener. Couldn’t have asked for a better opponent. One problem, especially to those who didn’t follow this news story late last season, the team is a little different this year.
Late last season it was announced that the Vancouver Canucks would not renew their deal to keep the Chicago Wolves as their AHL affiliate. Enter the St. Louis Blues who waved “so long” to the Peoria Rivermen. What became of Peoria? The Rivermen were wrapped up and shipped off to Utica, New York to become the Utica Comets – the new Canucks affiliate.
So, recap time. The Wolves are still here but were given a heart transplant. The Wolves of last year are now the Utica Comets. And the Peoria Rivermen, as we know it, no longer exist… outside of a Southern Professional Hockey League team that bears its name.
I don’t know about you but that makes me sad.
Who are the Wolves this year? Well, looking at last year’s Rivermen to this year’s Wolves, a fairly different but talented and young outfit – especially if you ignore Keith Aucoin.
According to Hockey’s Future’s Top 20 prospects for the St. Louis Blues, the Amtrak rivals have seven of the Top 20 on their roster: Jake Allen G (3), Ty Rattie RW (4), Dmitrij Jaskin RW (5), Joel Edmundson D (9), Jani Hakanpaa D (10), Yannick Veilleux LW (13), and Cade Fairchild D (18).
Jake Allen is certainly deserving the top nod as far as prospects go on the Wolves roster. The 23 year-old goalie is entering his fourth year of professional hockey and enjoyed a solid stint in the NHL last year with the Blues. Last year in Peoria, Allen produced a 13-19-2 record, 2.89 GAA, and a .904 SV%. Yet, with the Blues he played better with 9 wins from 15 starts, 2.46 GAA, and a .905 SV%. He has also started the season off with two wins in two starts with a razor sharp .973 SV%. In my book, he is the heart and soul of the team. If he is on his game the rest of the team responds. That was the case for him last year and so far in this young season.
Last year the Admirals clobbered the Wolves in the Amtrak rivalry by winning ten of twelve contests. The head-to-head against the Rivermen last year (more prevalent), the Ads went 8-2-0-2.
Against the Rivermen last year: Mark Van Guilder tallied four goals and five assists while Austin Watson put up five goals and three assists. For those with a good memory as well, you might recall that goaltender Magnus Hellberg absolutely owned the Rivermen last season: 5 games, 4 wins, 3 shutouts, 0.6 GAA, and a .979 SV%.
Either way you slice it, last year’s Wolves or Rivermen, this is favorable meeting for the Ads. The Wolves enter with a 2-3-0-0 record in five games against the Ads 2-0-1-0 in three. The Bradley Center should be set for a fun home opener for the Ads.
The Admirals won 3-2 over the Grand Rapids Griffins Friday night. The Ads spoiled the Griffins home opener where they raised their 2012-13 Calder Cup Championship banner in front of a sold out crowd.
“It was a real good hockey game with a real exciting atmosphere,” said assistant coach Stan Drulia after the game on Sports Radio 1250 WSSP. “Our guys stayed focused. We got scored on early on a bad bounce, but I really liked our defense, our commitment, our hustle. We skated with a really fast hockey team.”
Anthony Bitetto picked up his first professional multi-goal performance by scoring two power-play goals for the Ads tonight. Colton Sissons continued his strong start to the season by adding his second goal of the season. To boot, Ads goalie Marek Mazanec earned his first win of the season in his first start.
The Griffins didn’t allow the lengthy pre-game festivities to slow them down as they lit the lamp eighty seconds into the contest. The goal was scored off of a deflection by Gustav Nyquist for his third goal of the season.
For you fighting enthusiasts, great news! The Ads finally had their first fighting major of the season. Shortly after the opening goal for the Griffins, Mike Liambas squared up with former Admiral Triston Grant. Bad news for fighting enthusiasts: it was a quickie that ended in a take-down by Grant.
Anthony Bitetto managed to tie things up by scoring the Ads first power-play goal of the season. It was Bitetto’s second AHL goal and, more importantly, snapped an 0-9 PP skid by the Admirals to start the season.
The Griffins would respond with a PP goal of their own moments after a Liambas interference call. Ads d-man Scott Valentine lost the puck leading to the go-ahead goal from Griffins captain Jeff Hoggan.
The second period was a scrap fest amongst the two teams until 17:58 left in the period. Colton Sissons popped in his second goal of the season. Sissons was picked out by Joe Piskula to level the game at 2-2.
Immediately following the equalizing goal, Joonas Rask fought his way to open ice only to by dragged down Griffins defenseman Ryan Sproul. Rask nearly scored off a second effort chance as he went down. No penalty shot was given on the play, but Sproul received a minor for holding.
What do the Ads do on that PP goal? Score. Who else? Bitetto. It’s his first career multi-goal performance as a pro. The late second period surge by the Ads featured two goals a mere 49 seconds apart.
The Griffins pushed the Ads hard in the third period. So much so Mark Van Guilder even took a roughing penalty. The Griffins had a late PP chance with eleven seconds remaining in the game and their net empty. On the last shot of the game Griffins forward Cory Emmerton rang a shot hard off the post to end the game.
The story of the game for me was Ads goalie Marek Mazanec. For his first outing as an Admiral he played very strong. His best moments in net seemed to come late in the third period when the Ads were holding on for the final horn. The first goal might have been a shock to the system. It was a late deflection that gave AHL scorers a fit over who even scored it. Yet, he proved to be dominant past that goal. He put up 24 saves en route to his first win in his first start.
Also worth mentioning: Ads defenseman Bryan Rodney assisted on all three goals scored tonight. That includes a primary assist on Ads opening PP goal from Bitetto.
Three games in. The Ads are 2-0-1-0 and have taken five out of a possible six points on the road to kick off the season. That is absolutely fantastic to see the team so strong on the road to start the year. I believe you’ll all join me in saying, “I can’t wait to see these guys on home ice!”
What are your first impressions of the team so far? Any players exceeding expectations to start the year? Sissons has certainly blown me away to start the year.
Last year the Grand Rapids Griffins had a stunning season. They claimed the Midwest division and enjoyed a thrilling playoff run en route to their first Calder Cup success. On paper, not too much has changed from that Cup winning team. So, what should be expected of the 2013-14 Griffins? Considering there will be up to 17 returning cast members from last year expect more of the same.
The team boasts a plethora of young talent. According to Hockey’s Future’s Top 20 prospects for the Detroit Red Wings, the Griffins have twelve of the Top 20 on their roster: Gustav Nyquist LW (1), Petr Mrazek G (2), Calle Jarnkrok C (4), Tomas Jurco RW (7), Riley Sheahan C (8), Ryan Sproul D (9), Xavier Ouellet D (10), Martin Frk RW (11), Teemu Pulkkinen RW (12), Landon Ferraro C (15), Alexei Marchenko D (18), and Adam Almquist D (19).
The most puzzling name on that list: Nyquist. Not because of his talent. Not because of his prospect placement. But because, well, why? Why?! Why is a player this talented back in the AHL to start the season? Last season in the AHL he played 58 games, scored 23 goals, and picked up 37 assists. He also suited up for 22 games with the Red Wings where he managed 3 goals and 3 assists. Already three games into this season he has 2 goals and 4 assists. Simply put. This kid isn’t going to be in Grand Rapids for too much longer.
Another big name back from last year is netminder Petr Mrazek. The 21 year-old from the Czech Republic was fantastic in his first professional season last year with the Griffins. He played the bulk of games in net and recorded 23 wins, 2.33 GAA, and a .916 SV%. The Red Wings might have a good goalie in Jimmy Howard who they’ve investing in for the next six years, but Mrazek is a player I expect to hear great things from at the NHL level for a number of years. He is fast, athletic, and can only improve between the ears with time.
The Admirals defensemen better be prepared for some speed in this match up. Why? Darren Helm is suiting up for the Griffins. One of the fastest skaters in the NHL, Helm has been incredibly banged up in recent years. Most recently he has been nursing a groin injury, but is expected to hit the comeback trail with a game against the Admirals Friday night.
Last season the Ads went 5-3-0-0 against the Griffins. Patrick Cehlin lead the team in scoring against them with 3 goals and 2 assists. Also pesky against the Griffins is Taylor Beck who in 10 games has a goal and 7 assists in the match up.
How do you see the Ads fairing against the Griffins? Will the solid start on the road continue?
Notice the familiar face in that photo? That is former Admiral Darren Haydar suited up in Munich EHC’s Oktoberfest uniforms. As far as special occasion unis go I give this a solid 10/10!
So to help generate a little chatter in advance of the home opener…The Roundtable poses this mid-week question to you:
What is your pre-game routine for Admiral home games?
Do you get to the arena at the same time every game? Head to a particular food vendor? Order the same dish? Visit the same people? Say hello to the same ushers? Watch warm-ups from the same spots? Wear the same jersey? Are there any other superstitions that you’d like to share? Or is your routine that there is no routine at all?
My pre-game routine? Find Aaron Sims in the media room. His routine is that he’s in the same chair at the same table for every game, whether there’s a pre-game meal or not. It’s always great to talk with Aaron before he heads up the broadcast booth…whether it’s about hockey, the band Chili Sabotage, or whatever random stuff comes up. Sometimes scouts or the visiting radio/tv guys sit with us. My favorite pre-games are when Nashville goaltending coach Mitch Korn is in the room. The guy is absolutely brilliant, and it’s such a treat to just listen to him talk.
On nights that I’m wearing my media-hat, I still make a strong effort to be in press row for the playing of the opening video. Being a resident of press row for so many years, I’ve been conditioned to never cheer at sporting events….ever. But on the inside, I still get excited for the production. I enjoy seeing and hearing a big crowd react to it, and react to the players taking the ice. I don’t know what songs they’re doing for the videos this year….but I’m looking forward to seeing and hearing them on the big screen on Saturday.
It’s almost hockey night in Milwaukee. We’ll see you all on Saturday.
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