Chatterbox

Chatterbox, Vol. 188
(Photo Credit: Greg Hamil)

Even if I didn’t take a nice long drive back home from Rockford I think last night’s game was the sort I’d need to really wait on, think about, and process before discussing it at length. Well, I have. And I’m still left really saying: wow, that was a weird game.

The Milwaukee Admirals did earn the 4-3 overtime win on the road over the Rockford IceHogs. As a result alone: good. For everything else I’m left with this constant sentiment of -dang- do they make games like that far harder on themselves than it has any right to be.

The Admirals had a rather nice start to the game but from the very first power-play they allow, on a weird call, they concede a goal and were then pressed on their heels. It isn’t to say they were awful in the process or made seriously glaring errors – those came later – but they had such a hard time being allowed to settle down and dictate the play. It feels very much, in an MMA or Boxing sense, that the Admirals are counter punch strikers who keep waiting for an opening to present itself rather than step forward and make it themselves. That element creeps in a lot but there was one man last night on a mission to break that mold. He is Admirals captain, Trevor Smith.

In last night’s game Smith really took over in ways that forced you pay attention. His face-off work was excellent but his penalty killing exceeded killing the penalty itself and often times he was generating scoring chances that were better than most that the Admirals were getting at even strength or on their power-play. Smith’s hustle to create the Admirals shorthanded goal last night was a massive moment in that game. Vinnie Hinostroza had just scored shy of two-minutes earlier and the IceHogs were sitting on a power-play looking for a two-goal lead. Smith gets his face-off assignment dealt with. He battles with pace up ice to generate an odd-man rush with Justin Florek. And the two never stopped digging until that puck got behind Jeff Glass. That leveled the game at 2-2. And cleaned the game’s slate.

Defensively, both teams had their good and bad moments but by the end of the second period it is a 2-2 game with shots on goal sitting at 28-25 IceHogs. It was such an incredibly scrappy game with both frankly throwing junk at the net and hoping for rebounds or second and third chance opportunities. The Admirals at times were getting out-muscled around their zone and were getting pucks lost in neutral ice in a jungle of sticks.  It took some rather special moments or special circumstances to get breakthroughs last night.

It was a very pleasant sight to have Matt White back in the Admirals lineup last night. The 27-year old forward missed the last two-games after suffering a loss in the family. While it always takes a quick adjustment to get back up to game speed it took White just over ten minutes to generate a primary assist on an odd-man rush with Pontus Åberg and out of the third period his snapped a slick shot off of a toe-drag to get the Admirals ahead for the first time in the contest. Some stability felt like it was back with him around again. He operates across the board for the Admirals on special teams and can often times go unnoticed for all the small details he gets spot on.

(Photo Credit: Todd Reicher)

Now, about that Åberg kid. If you were to go back and watch last night’s game – start it with two minutes remaining in the third period and you will get the full showcase for what I felt summed up that game. Åberg goes the distance on an empty net bid rather than win neutral ice, get the puck deep, or get a better chance for the net without the threat of icing. He then blows his defensive assignment, Hinostroza, on the very next face-off which would turn into the game-tying goal for the IceHogs. And, for a laugh, he was on the ice in three-on-three overtime for what felt like ages before alerting Marek Mazanec that the IceHogs were in a line change and to hit him for a quick pass up ice. Åberg was supposed to change. And he didn’t. And then Mike Ribeiro lays a picture perfect drop pass for him to get a shot down the slot before following in on Glass to snag his own rebound for the game-winning goal. It all went horribly wrong for Åberg at the end -but- he made up for it by doing what he is doing so well right now: score. Åberg has produced 20 points (13 goals, 7 assists) in his last 20 games.

The test ahead for the Admirals is a big one. This coming weekend is a three-in-three featuring a travel schedule that goes Milwaukee to Iowa to Milwaukee with the last game on the slate being the Grand Rapids Griffins. The Iowa Wild have been very good this season, as well, and that only makes two games in two nights against that squad all the more physically and mentally exhausting. It is a big challenge that is standing in front of the Admirals. They could make a huge statement if they work a weekend sweep.

After last night’s game I caught up with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason.  I also had the chance to speak with Åberg, Florek, and White. Here were their post-game comments.

Comments on the comments? Are these last two games for the Milwaukee Admirals clunkers that can be thrown away or are they “just those kind of games” in retrospect? What are you expecting of this upcoming three-in-three?

Be sure to keep updated with Admirals Roundtable through social media platform of your choice: follow along Twitter, like us on Facebook, get photo updates on Instagram, and listen along on SoundCloud.

Game Recaps

Ads Scrap Back Against Rockford; Win 4-3 in OT
(Photo Credit: Greg Hamil)

The Milwaukee Admirals won 4-3 in overtime against the Rockford IceHogs on the road at the BMO Harris Bank Center on Tuesday night.

This was a car crash style game that had hectic ebbs-and-flows. It wasn’t until the third period when the Admirals held a lead and even then overtime was needed. He might have made three key mistakes to get there but Pontus Åberg’s second goal of the night was the winner in overtime.

“He messed up three times,” smirked Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. “Our group knows they can go for the [empty] net if we have a two goal lead. They get it out if we have a one goal lead. He messed up there. He messed up on their tying goal by going through his check. He should have went through [Hinostroza] first and then to the defense. And then he messes up by not changing at the end. Ultimately all his messes led to him scoring the game-winner.”

The game’s first power-play chance put the IceHogs ahead in the first period. Trevor Murphy was called for a kneeing minor against Vinnie Hinostroza. The IceHogs won the initial power-play face-off and quickly cycled d-to-d with a shot from the right point by Ville Pokka deflecting off the blade of Brandon Mashinter in the slot past the blocker side of Marek Mazanec. It just so happened to take an extra deflection off of Kyle Baun who would later be credited with the power-play goal for his twelfth goal of the season.

Matt White was welcomed back into the lineup tonight and his presence was felt quickly. The California native had pace down the left wing and seeing a two-on-two with Pontus Åberg on his opposite wing practically become a two-on-naught with their pace down the wings cutting to the net. White dished off to the back post run of Åberg and the Swede cradled it home past Jeff Glass for his team leading twenty-second goal of the season.

Prior to the midway point of this contest Chris DeSousa was called for a boarding major against Admirals captain Trevor Smith along the IceHogs bench. All the Admirals could do is generate four shots on goal and see a left wing shot by Åberg ring off the near post and go flying into the right wing boards.

It wasn’t all that long after the successful major penalty kill that the IceHogs put themselves back in front. They had generated great pace starting from their own zone and worked a rush play that cut the Admirals defense apart tic-tac-toe from Mashinter to Baun and then down the right wing for Hinostroza to barreled in on net to snag his second AHL goal of the season and second in as many games against the Admirals.

So, the Admirals power-play was getting stifled but that didn’t mean that their special teams couldn’t generate offense. Smith would get the Admirals off on a shorthanded rush with Justin Florek in tow. The initial shots would be denied by Glass but a scramble would form and Florek flicked a shot that nearly rolled in clean. Glass would swipe a glove to it before it rolled over the line but, in the process, appeared to lose the puck off his glove into his pad and back into the net. They all count the same and that shorthanded marker for Florek was his eighth goal scored on the season.

“We’ve kind of been talking about it lately. I don’t think we have too many shorthanded goals,” said Florek of the Admirals penalty kill. “We’ve kind of been talking about when we get the chance to capitalize off a few of their’s. Lately we’ve been getting a few more and hopefully we start to see a few more go in.”

DeSousa may have still had a small debt to pay as far as the Admirals were concerned. That or he simply owed last year’s teammate Mike Liambas one as the two let the gloves drop before the end of the second period. It was a decisive victory for Liambas who dropped DeSousa with stiff overhand rights.

Just past the midway point in the third period the Admirals would claim their first lead of the night. Jake Dowell took liberities with Trevor Murphy’s jousting in a post-whistle back-and-fourth and proceeded to throw a punch. That gave Dowell an added minor for roughing and the Admirals a power-play that ended in White getting a slick toe-drag as he cut from the low left wing circle into the slot. His shot flew past Glass stick-side to the near post for his twelfth goal of the season and make it a 3-2 Admirals lead.

With 1:53 remaining in regulation Glass took to the bench to get the extra attacker on for the IceHogs. Åberg went for an empty net bid only to draw an icing call and fourteen seconds of empty net and extra attacker later the IceHogs were level. They won a face-off and quickly had Hinostroza scoring his second goal of the night as he whistled a wrister through traffic and over the glove of Mazanec for his third goal of the season.

That tally meant this game would need overtime. In the overtime period the IceHogs would burn their timeout with 1:41 left in the period as the Admirals earned an attacking zone face-off. The Admirals would pin the puck deep from the point until a clearance saw the IceHogs race for a line change. That allowed Mazanec to get a quick pass up ice to Åberg who had a give-and-go between himself and Ribeiro. The veteran forward left a drop pass in-line for the Swede to swat a shot from the slot. Glass made the initial shot but Åberg followed in for his own rebound and popped the puck over the left pad to score the game-winning goal in overtime. His second goal of the night pushed him up to twenty-three goals on the season.

“It kind of felt like I needed that overtime goal,” said Åberg of his mistakes late in the game. “I felt like I had to give [Mazanec] an out. He put it a little too far for me so I thought their guy was going to get it. Got a stick. Got it between the guy’s legs. That guy went to change and I was supposed to change too but we had a clear three-on-two. So, I wanted to get that opportunity.”

Mazenec not only played a hand in the game-winning goal but his efforts in net to weather waves upon waves of IceHogs shots tonight was important for the Admirals in staying alive tonight. He ended the night with thirty-eight saves to get the Admirals back to winning ways.

Next on tap for the Admirals is a three-in-three weekend. They start on home ice Friday night against the Iowa Wild at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. On Saturday both the Admirals and Wild will travel to Des Moines for a 7:00 PM CDT face-off at the Wells Fargo Arena. The final stop sees the Admirals traveling all the way back home that night for a 5:00 PM CDT start against the high powered Grand Rapids Griffins on home ice.

Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals last played on Saturday night there have been no roster moves made by the organization. Tonight’s line combinations were: Richard-Ribeiro-Gaudreau, White-Smith-Aberg, Perfetto-Kirkland-Payerl, Florek-Army-Liambas, Oligny-Carrier, Murphy-Granberg, O’Brien-Dougherty. Tonight’s scratches were: Vladislav Kamenev (undisclosed injury), Adam Pardy (broken left arm), and Rick Pinkston (healthy).

What is your reaction to tonight’s game? It feels as if the Milwaukee Admirals, even when they get the results, have been sputtering: what is the primary reason?

Be sure to keep updated with Admirals Roundtable through social media platform of your choice: follow along Twitter, like us on Facebook, get photo updates on Instagram, and listen along on SoundCloud.

Scouting

IceHogs: Scouting the Enemy
“WELCOME TO ERF,” said Justin Florek as he quoted his favorite line from Independence Day. (Photo Credit: Jeff Hanisch)

While Saturday night’s game was a slight punch to the gut it would have nothing in comparison should that performance be repeated tonight. The Milwaukee Admirals were able to get the better of the Rockford IceHogs on Friday with a lesser squad by winning 5-2. It is expected that Vladislav Kamenev and Matt White will be returning to the mix tonight and that should be a very welcome boost.

The 4-0 shutout loss against the Chicago Wolves on Saturday shouldn’t entirely be forgotten about for the Admirals. There are plenty of areas and details for them that need to be cleaned up for the team to find success tonight on the road. Defensively responsible hockey is a good thing but their progression from defense to attack was stifled. They will need to clean up the neutral zone and be less careless in puck possession if they are to do what the Wolves did to them on Saturday night as they would like to do to the IceHogs tonight.

Since these two clashed on Friday night the IceHogs have not played. That frankly means our previous Scouting the Enemy on the IceHogs just about holds up! I must say, watching the Friday game, the IceHogs still possess some great talent in the form of Vinnie Hinostroza, Tyler Motte, and even Michael Latta – who has joined the team and been a consistent worker every night. Yet, losing their top three scorers at the NHL Trade Deadline was a proper gut punch and their hope of salvaging the 2016-17 season was pretty much squashed.

That isn’t to say that the IceHogs were playoff bound at that point in the season. This has been a highly disappointing year for the team who have a record of 21-30-8-3 (53 points, 0.427 points percentage). At the moment they are dead last in the Central Division. The team above them in the divisional standings are the Manitoba Moose (0.435) and the only team with a lesser record in the Western Conference are the San Antonio Rampage (0.415).

As far as things to cheer about the IceHogs do have those three still functional spark plugs in Hinostroza, Motte, and Latta. In particular Hinostroza’s efforts on Friday night are something to watch out for once again tonight. He earned him his first goal in the AHL this season while also getting a primary assist. The soon to be 23-year old Chicago native has 14 points (6 goals, 8 assists) in 48 games with the Chicago Blackhawks this season.

In net is where you will find the biggest shake-up for the IceHogs tonight. Jeff Glass has returned to the AHL and should be given the reigns tonight after cuppa coffee in the big time while Scott Darling was out due to injury.

Glass’ 2016-17 season has been a very fun watch from afar considering what he’s accomplished in such a quick time under the IceHogs banner. The 31-year old goaltender was a third round draft pick by the Ottawa Senators in the 2004 NHL Draft. His career in North America took a detour after the 2008-09 season and he set his sights to play in Russia’s KHL. He played there for the past seven seasons and this year was his return. Glass was signed by the Toronto Marlies, things didn’t work out, and then found himself as part of the IceHogs in mid-January.

In just over a month’s work Glass did well enough to earn an NHL contract from the Blackhawks good for the 2017-18 season. He has a record of 5-7-1-0 in 13 games with the IceHogs this season with a 2.62 goals against average, 0.910 save percentage, and 2 shutouts. He has won both starts he has had against the Admirals this season with a 1.45 goals against average and 0.945 save percentage.

What are your expectations for tonight’s game? How big of a boost will it be for the team to get back Kamenev and White tonight? Is there the threat of Saturday’s woes trickling into tonight’s contest?

Be sure to keep updated with Admirals Roundtable through social media platform of your choice: follow along Twitter, like us on Facebook, get photo updates on Instagram, and listen along on SoundCloud.

Chatterbox, Feature

Fifteen with Mike Liambas
(Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)

At the end of November the Nashville Predators recalled four players to their roster during a tough injury stretch. Kevin Fiala and Petter Granberg have been in the mix before but seeing the names Frédérick Gaudreau and Mike Liambas as part of that day’s call-ups from the Milwaukee Admirals was a pleasant surprise. Gaudreau’s story and emergence has been rather well documented. As for the journey that Liambas had to take before reaching the NHL? It’s a long story.

Liambas is a native of Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada. In his junior playing career he suited up for the Erie Otters in the OHL. Originally, Liambas was a defenseman but the main characteristic of his play from the word “GO” has always been his physicality. There are very few players in hockey with the fearlessness and determination that Liambas brings on the ice with every shift and his willingness to drop the gloves for his teammates, regardless of being a smaller skater on the ice than some heavyweights he will duke it out with, only serves to remind people in broad daylight of the heart he has.

What is unfortunate is that for many, still to this day, Liambas is known for a single moment in his junior playing career. In 2009, on Halloween, Liambas’ Otters were matched up against the Kitchener Rangers. The play itself was incredibly simple and happens, or can happen, numerous times in a given hockey game. The Otters chipped a puck deep from the neutral zone, went for a change, but left Liambas out to press deep against the puck carrier. The man tasked with puck retrieval on the dump-in was Rangers defenseman Ben Fanelli. What happened next would impact both of their lives.

After getting a quick stop behind the net by the goaltender, Liambas saw Fanelli gathering up the puck and cycling back around the net with his head down. The natural instinct would be to follow through with a check, which Liambas did, and the two came together with astonishing force. Fanelli saw Liambas at the last second, started to rotate out of the incoming check, but he was always getting leveled from the check. Fanelli was hit so hard by Liambas that his helmet came off prior to his head catching the metal stanchion separating the glass panels and then crashing to the ice. He would remain motionless as the medical staff rushed to the ice. He required to be stretchered off the ice and would later be diagnosed with a skull fracture and concussion. Fanelli would return to complete his junior playing career in Kitchener but the hit would effectively be the end of his hockey playing caeer.

That incident came at the beginning of Liambas’ fourth junior playing season in the OHL. He would be suspended for the rest of the season as well as that year’s playoffs as a result of the boarding penalty against Fanelli. The hit was the end of Liambas’ junior playing career. What came next was the true test of whether or not he would ever be able to make a career out of playing the game as a professional hockey player.

Liambas’ first step from that moment involved going back to the IHL with the Bloomington PrairieThunder. He had played briefly with the outfit in the previous season in 2008-09. By the end of that 2009-10 season he had logged more games in the IHL (25) than he did in the OHL his final two junior playing seasons (9).

His next step came at the University of British Columbia playing in the CIS. At the end of the 2010-11 season he would officially join the Cincinnati Cyclones in the ECHL to become a professional hockey player. His time with the Cyclones would last through to the 2012-13 season which saw a spell with the Orlando SolarBears. Where he would go next is where this journey really starts to go onwards and upwards.

At the end of the 2012-13 season a scrappy young Liambas showed up on a PTO Contract with the Admirals. His AHL debut came eight days prior to his twenty-fourth birthday in Milwaukee against the Houston Aeros. I suppose you can say for Admirals fans it was love at first fight. The 5-10 Liambas paired up to fight 6-3 forward Ryley Grantham. Liambas from his first ever AHL experience showed Milwaukee his greatest attribute: it isn’t the size of the dog in the fight, it is the size of the fight in the dog. Liambas is as fearless as they come.

From that moment since Liambas has been a staple in the AHL. The very first full-season he had as a member of the Admirals came in 2013-14 and saw him break Jordin Tootoo‘s Admirals record for penalty minutes accumulated in a single season. He fought twenty-five times that season.

Yet, looking past fighting majors, Liambas has fought his way from that fateful night in 2009 to get to where he is today. His evolution as a player through the tutelage of Admirals head coach Dean Evason as well as Admirals assistant coach Stan Drulia has been one of the most fun developments I’ve had the chance to watch in my time around the organization. It isn’t just about fighting. The days of the out-and-out enforcer aren’t there anymore. You need to play. And, make no mistake about it, the day the Liambas was officially given the call by the Predators organization it came as a result of having established himself as a well rounded player.

Liambas’ game has matured with time on and especially off the ice. He displays great leadership qualities and players in Nashville such as Anthony Bitetto and Colton Sissons would be quick to credit him for his guidance along their individual journeys as well.. That recall wasn’t a reward for service time by the Predators or a simple pat on the back. He earned it.

Cheers to Mike Liambas on taking the time out after practice last week to chat at such length. Tomorrow Admirals Roundtable will be covering the Milwaukee Admirals road game against the Rockford IceHogs at the BMO Harris Bank Center. On Wednesday we will be hoping to get you the next installment of Fifteen which features Derek Army.

Be sure to keep updated with Admirals Roundtable through social media platform of your choice: follow along Twitter, like us on Facebook, get photo updates on Instagram, and listen along on SoundCloud.

Chatterbox

Chatterbox, Vol. 187
(Photo Credit: Jeff Hanisch)

I suppose it is fitting for Chatterbox Vol. 187 to feature what feels like an MDK. The game last night was a rough one. “It is what it is,” was actually what I kept saying as I let last night’s 4-0 shutout loss for the Milwaukee Admirals to the Chicago Wolves sink in. No one on the team would say as much, no one one wants to use an excuse, but when you’re lacking a Vladislav Kamenev and Matt White while working in three PTO Contracts and seven defensemen it makes containing -much less defeating- a team as solid as the Wolves that much harder to do.

Mind you, that isn’t to say that there weren’t positives to take from last night’s game. At the forefront of any rough outing such as that should be the concepts that made the Admirals as exposed as they were and things that should be better handled in the transitional game as they were stuck defending most of the night. If the season ended today – the Amtrak Rivalry would be playing itself out in the opening round of the 2017 AHL Calder Cup Playoffs. While the roster between last night and then will change, of course, so much more needs to be done by the Admirals to make attacks more effective.

Despite having lost the contest I cannot applaud the efforts of Marek Mazanec enough. He conceded two power-play goals and one off of a stellar passing play by the AHL’s top scorer and assist leader Kenny Agostino. Beyond that? He was the reason why the Admirals had any hope of being in the game entering the third period. He was sharp from the opening puck drop and, against that offense, that was required. Mazanec saved that game from being what it was from being a massive punch to the gut.

The Admirals power-play seems to be caught up at times in passing too often and hoping for the perfect shot to evolve. When I think back to opponents that the Admirals have had this season the top that comes to mind is the Grand Rapids Griffins and their ruthlessness on the power-play to shoot, shoot, shoot, and crash to the net because they have the numbers in their favor to scrap for rebound on a power-play chance. If the back door play from the low left wing from Trevor Smith to Pontus Åberg isn’t there? The Admirals get frozen and cycle back to it later on – be it high to Alex Carrier and then down from the point to Åberg. The Admirals power-play is frozen to shots on the left wing. They need better options to make it a more complete zonal attack. Even Jack Dougherty was being thrown into the Åberg spot on the left wing circle last night and treated as such. They need variables.

Speaking of Åberg, he was doubled up on two forward lines last night in an effort to ease need for seven-defensemen. As great as he has been when you tend to overload one player’s plate, sap his energy – especially given Åberg played the night prior, it only lessens what he could be on his own tangent. What the Admirals missed the most last night was structure. With the lines in fluctuation while players are missing – that takes a big dent. What you hope for is by Tuesday night against the Rockford IceHogs on the road is that doesn’t get lessened from a two game hiccup with bodies out and then back into the mix. The Admirals seemed to just start finding a groove… it may have had a lull in the second period at times but they found ways to win even then. That group should be back together come Tuesday and that factor alone should hopefully let last night’s shutout loss be the following: it is what it is. Chin up. Eyes forward. Keep going.

After last night’s game I spoke with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason. I then spoke with recently added Admiral Stephen Perfetto and then Adam Payerl to hear their thoughts on last night’s effort.

Comments on the comments? Are you able to chalk up last night’s game against the Chicago Wolves as a perfect storm that saw them to shutout-style victory or was there serious concern from last night that has you feeling the Milwaukee Admirals at full-strength can’t match-up against them?

Be sure to keep updated with Admirals Roundtable through social media platform of your choice: follow along Twitter, like us on Facebook, get photo updates on Instagram, and listen along on SoundCloud.

Game Recaps

Admirals Blanked by Chicago, 4-0
(Photo Credit: Jeff Hanisch)

The Milwaukee Admirals were shutout 4-0 by the Chicago Wolves at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena on Saturday night.

For the Admirals their approach of late has been to play a “defense first” approach but tonight it was “defense only” against the league’s most prolific offense. They came up bust with the Wolves getting the edge as the Admirals offense was blanked in the process.

In an opening period that mainly saw Marek Mazanec put on a highlight reel performance the fans did get to pop for a Fight of the Year candidate between Adam Payerl and Jared Nightingale.

The veteran Wolves defenseman had taken liberties off the puck against Anthony Richard which drew the ire of Payerl. Punches were instantly raining down from Nightingale but the heavyweight tilt extended to see Payerl get his fair share of stiff punches that landed flush. This one was almost too close to call but I tip my scorecard to Payerl for knocking Nightingale’s bucket off his head in the finish.

In the second period, following a holding minor against Derek Army, the Wolves were able to net the opener from a power-play goal. Kenny Agostino hit a shot pass from the right wing to the backdoor of Mazanec where Andrew Agozzino had a step for a first-time shot that sailed in glove-side for his fifteenth goal of the season.

Agostino’s AHL best scoring and assisting prowess made itself known once more late in the third period. The winger snapped a pass from the right wing to the tape of defenseman Vince Dunn who joined the rush down the left wing and labeled a shot past the glove of Mazanec for his twelfth goal of the season to make it a 2-0 Wolves lead with 6:39 remaining in regulation.

With Jack Dougherty in the box for high sticking Ty Rattie it allowed for James Wisniewski to hammer a slap shot from the left wing circle to make it a 3-0 Wolves lead from his fourth goal of the season.

With 1:46 remaining in regulation the Admirals would go empty net and extra attacker. That only allowed MacKenzie MacEachern to add his fifth goal of the season to get the game to its 4-0 final score.

Jordan Binnington didn’t need to do too much tonight but did have one of the best saves you will see all season when he robbed Trevor Smith from point blank range on the Admirals final power-play chance of the evening. Binnington earned his first shutout of the season by stopping all eighteen shots on goal tonight.

After tonight’s game the Admirals are off until Tuesday night where they will travel to play against the Rockford IceHogs at the BMO Harris Bank Center at 7:00 PM CST. That will then be followed by a brutal travel scheduled three-on-three weekend that has them in Milwaukee against the Iowa Wild, then in Iowa, and then back home to see the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals played last night the team saw Miikka Salomäki return to the Nashville Predators after fulfilling his long-term injury loan. Tonight’s line combinations were: Richard-Ribeiro-Gaudreau, Perfetto-Smith-Åberg, Florek-Army-Liambas, (Rotating)-Kirkland-Payerl, Oligny-Carrier, Murphy-Granberg, O’Brien-Dougherty, Pinkston. Tonight’s scratches included: Vladislav Kamenev (undisclosed injury), Adam Pardy (broken left arm), and Matt White (bereavement leave). There were 1,786 teddy bears thrown by the 6,676 of fans in attendance tonight.

What was your reaction to tonight’s game? If the season ended tonight the Chicago Wolves would be the Milwaukee Admirals opening round opponent in the playoffs: how would that rodeo go?

Be sure to keep updated with Admirals Roundtable through social media platform of your choice: follow along Twitter, like us on Facebook, get photo updates on Instagram, and listen along on SoundCloud.

Scouting

Wolves: Scouting the Enemy
(Photo Credit: Scott Paulus)

Tonight is the last Amtrak Rivalry game of the season. That’s rather crazy to think but the Milwaukee Admirals and Chicago Wolves clashed relentlessly in December and January. The Amtrak Trophy has long been clinched by the Wolves who posted a record of 6-3-1-1 over the Admirals this season. If the Admirals were to snag the victory tonight they would at the very least be on par as far as wins in this year’s head-to-head.

The Wolves enter this game having last played on Thursday night where they lost 3-2 in overtime at home against the Cleveland Monsters. That feels more like a small setback as the Wolves are in the middle of a nine-game point streak (7-0-2-0).

Their current record stands at 35-17-5-3 (78 points, 0.650 points percentage) which is good enough for second in the Central Division behind the Grand Rapids Griffins (0.681). They’ve been ahead of the Admirals (0.627) for awhile now and these three teams have locked out the division for what feels like ages.

Of all that took place on the NHL Trade Deadline what was perhaps the most impactful on the Central Division landscape was seeing the St. Louis Blues organization trade away Pheonix Copley. He had been the best goaltender in their pipeline since last season but was really improved in his second season under the Wolves banner. He now rejoins the Washington Capitals organization who had traded him two seasons ago.

In that trade the Blues organization added Zach Sanford, Brad Malone, and the Capitals’ first-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. Sanford immediately joined the Blues in the NHL while Malone was added to the Wolves roster where he has contributed 2 goals in 3 games.

The battle for the Wolves net now shifts to a three man competition between Jordan Binnington, Ville Husso, and C.J. Motte. Admirals fans are quite familiar with Binnington who previously was a known “Admiral Killer” for how dominant he was in the Amtrak Rivalry. He declined last season and is still up and down in the 2016-17 season. Binnington holds a record of 12-6-4-1 from 24 appearances with a 2.96 goals against average and 0.906 save percentage.

“Why are the Wolves surging again,” you ask. Well that bloke named Kenny Agostino is back in the AHL where he has been the best scorer -by miles- this season. Agostino has recorded 70 points (21 goals, 49 assists) in 54 games. The next closest to Agostino in the AHL’s scoring race is a four-way tie with 52 points between Taylor Beck, Cory Conacher, Matt Lorito, and Chris Terry. In the assists department the next closest to Agostino’s 49 assists are former Admirals Beck and Conacher who both have 38 assists.

And, for all that, Agostino is in the AHL still – even despite contributing 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists) in 7 games for the Blues this season. If I’m him, and I’m playing this well and not getting a better NHL shot, I look to move elsewhere in the off-season. He is NHL quality and I’m not sure why the Blues don’t try to treat him as such.

The same might be said from Wade Megan who is having a monster season for the Wolves. To think that two-seasons ago he was playing with the Cincinnati Cyclones in the ECHL, too. He went from that to earn 23 points (14 goals, 9 assists) in 75 games as a member of the Portland Pirates last season. That was a career best for him at the time but he now has more goals than he did points for the Pirates. Megan has scored 51 points (27 goals, 24 assists) in 57 games for the Wolves this season. He also scored his first career NHL goal as a member of the Blues. He has played 3 games in the NHL this season.

What are your expectations for tonight’s Amtrak Rivalry game? With the Wolves no longer on the Admirals schedule after tonight’s game how crucial is it for the Admirals to win in regulation tonight to swing points in the playoff race their way?

Be sure to keep updated with Admirals Roundtable through social media platform of your choice: follow along Twitter, like us on Facebook, get photo updates on Instagram, and listen along on SoundCloud.

Chatterbox

Chatterbox, Vol. 186
(Photo Credit: Jeff Hanisch)

I’m not sure what it is about the second period lately. Heck, even the team isn’t all that sure of what to make of it. I suppose at day’s end it is far better for the hiccup to come in the second than the third period -but- it certainly would be nice for it to be a non-issue.

Still, the damage limitation was there for the Milwaukee Admirals who kept the brunt of the Rockford IceHogs attacks to that second period. Marek Mazanec was a rock for the majority of the contest and it helped the Admirals weather what could have been a worse storm in that second period when they were outshot 16-7.

At this point I am not sure what more can be said for the efforts of Pontus Åberg and Frédérick Gaudreau. In my eyes they are playing the best hockey of their professional playing careers and doing it at the exact same time on different forward lines. In his last 15 games Åberg has produced 17 points (11 goals, 6 assists). Meanwhile Gaudreau has recorded 23 points (15 goals, 8 assists) from his last 17 games. These two have been putting the Admirals on their back lately and excelling at carrying the weight.

Another fun sight from tonight’s game were the unlikely contributions from those who probably weren’t even on the radar at the start of the season. Andrew O’Brien seems to be fitting in better and better with every game and has now surpassed the amount of goals that the man he was swapped with, Max Görtz, scored with the Admirals. Derek Army once again played a very steady and hard game. And Stephen Perfetto, who wasn’t even announced as an Admiral formally until today, looked like he had been on the roster for a solid length. It was only Perfetto’s fourth career AHL contest and the game’s opening goal was all him.

Tonight marked the final appearance of Miikka Salomäki on his long-term injury loan. I never noticed him dishing out his typical style of checking or physical play but the bottom line is that he played 3 games – which -on paper- is all he had played this season but he really only had the season opener with the Nashville Predators as a complete game that he had played prior to this. I felt his timing was much better in tonight’s game and, as you’ll hear him say himself, his leg feels good after having played tonight. He’s ready to return to the Predators when he’s needed.

There was a lull again. That’s just true. Yet, there was far more right than wrong out of the Admirals performance tonight with several issues that cropped up on Wednesday’s AM game clamped down. That’s an important thing to see given that the Amtrak Rivals and their high powered offense arrive tomorrow night.

After tonight’s game I had the chance to catch up with Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason as well as Gaudreau, O’Brien, and Salomäki These were tonight’s post-game comments following the Admirals 5-2 win over the IceHogs.

Comments on the comments? How will the Milwaukee Admirals handle the offense of the Chicago Wolves tomorrow and what happens if they have a lull period against them?

Be sure to keep updated with Admirals Roundtable through social media platform of your choice: follow along Twitter, like us on Facebook, get photo updates on Instagram, and listen along on SoundCloud.

News

Loan Over; Miikka Salomäki Returning to Predators
(Photo Credit: Jamie Wahl)

Miikka Salomäki has fulfilled his long-term injury loan assignment with the Milwaukee Admirals and will be rejoining the Nashville Predators roster. It’s likely that he will be traveling to Nashville ahead of Monday’s game at the Bridgestone Arena against the Winnipeg Jets rather than race to the West Coast for Saturday’s afternoon game versus the San Jose Sharks.

Prior to this conditioning assignment Salomäki had only played three games in the 2016-17 season. Even then, it was hardly three full-games considering he broke his hand blocking a shot in one and then suffered a significant leg injury in the first period of his initial conditioning assignment with the Admirals after that.

During this recent spell on the comeback trail Salomäki played three full-games of work with the Admirals and scored a goal in his first game back from injury. He also celebrated his twenty-fifth birthday on Thursday. In his Admirals career he has now played a total of 121 games while scoring 71 points (29 goals, 42 assists).

Be sure to keep updated with Admirals Roundtable through social media platform of your choice: follow along Twitter, like us on Facebook, get photo updates on Instagram, and listen along on SoundCloud.

Game Recaps

Åberg and Gaudreau Powered; Ads Win 5-2

(Photo Credit: Jeff Hanisch)
The Milwaukee Admirals won 5-2 against the Rockford IceHogs at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena on Friday night.

The Admirals were caught out by another less than favorable second period but the explosive duo of Pontus Åberg and Frédérick Gaudreau helped get them back to winning ways tonight. The surging forwards both popped home a pair of goals as the Admirals got the best of the IceHogs on home ice.

“They not only scoring goals they are playing the right way – both of them,” commented Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason of Åberg and Gaudreau. “Both kill penalties. Both are on the power-play, obviously. It’s exciting. Obviously, the goals are there, you see that, but they are both playing extremely well.”

To get the Admirals off the mark in the first period they saw contributions from their latest addition, Stephen Perfetto. The recently PTO signed forward flew down the left wing with great speed and was wrapping around the net. Before Perfetto did that he managed to perfectly dish off to Pontus Åberg on the front door, left wing side, to beat Lars Johansson near post. The goal for Åberg was his twentieth of the season to give the Swede back-to-back twenty goal seasons for the Admirals. The primary assist for Perfetto was his first career AHL point and came in his fourth career AHL game.

The Admirals first period scoring continued and also required speed down the left wing from one of their PTO contracted talents. Derek Army beat out an icing call and then pushed a puck out towards the net front area where he narrowly missed Mike Liambas. Johansson attempted to push the puck up and out of the zone but cleared out to Jack Dougherty at the right point who zipped d-to-d for Andrew O’Brien whose following slap shot stayed low with pace to record his second goal of the season.

“I’m always trying to shoot. That’s one of my strong points I feel,” commented O’Brien of his goal. “We had Army in front there, [Dougherty] made a nice d-to-d pass, and I just tried to put it on net. It went in, fortunately. It was pretty exciting.”

In typical Admirals fashion as of late their second period became a bit of an adventure. They allowed two goals in the opening 6:01 of the second period for the IceHogs to level the scoring up at 2-2. They would also get outshot 16-7 in the sandwich stanza.

Vinnie Hinostroza worked out of the left wing pocket to pick out a pass for Michael Latta rushing into the slot. The former Admiral was denied by Marek Mazanec on his initial shot but stuck with the puck to get his own rebound across the line for his third goal of the season.

After the Admirals were hemmed into their own zone, and took an icing call, the IceHogs caught them in the ensuing line change for an odd-man rush. Jake Dowell worked down the left wing and saucer passed opposite wing where Hinostroza was able to bury his first goal in the AHL this season to make it a 2-2 game.

In the third period the Admirals would hop back out in front with some magic by the French Fries – young and old. Mike Ribeiro made a great effort to maintain puck possession behind the net. He was then able to chip a pass out in the low right wing for Frédérick Gaudreau who froze Johansson with a pump fake to the forehand and shot into an open net before Viktor Svedberg could close him down to score his nineteenth goal of the season and make it 3-2 Admirals.

“Honestly, it was just instinct,” said Gaudreau of his game-winning goal. “Sometimes you kind of see stuff a little bit and then you just try to put the puck in the net. I think I got lucky a little bit.”

As the game was in its closing minutes the Admirals would get some insurance in the form of a power-play goal. Trevor Smith poked a puck hopping around the glove-side of Johansson off to Åberg in his sweet spot on the power-play unit for a rocket of a one-timed finish. The Swede had his second tally of the night, twenty-first of the season, and the Admirals had themselves a 4-2 lead.

With fifty-three seconds remaining Johansson would come off to get the extra attacker on for the IceHogs who would burn their timeout late after earning an in-zone face-off. Ribeiro would see a long range empty net big be denied by a post but it fell kindly for Gaudreau to pop in his second of the night and give him a twenty goal season for the first time in his professional playing career.

The Admirals will be back in action tomorrow night at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena when they face-off against the Chicago Wolves at 6:00 PM CST. That will be the team’s annual “Teddy Bear Toss” night as well as Juuse Saros bobblehead night. Fans in attendance will receive one bobblehead per person not per ticket. The Admirals will then take to the road on Tuesday night at 7:00 PM CST where they will see tonight’s opponents the IceHogs at the BMO Harris Bank Center.

Ramblings: Since the Milwaukee Admirals last played on Wednesday morning there was one roster move made. The Admirals added forward Stephen Perfetto from the Alaska Aces of the ECHL to a PTO Contract. Perfetto will wear the #13 for the Admirals. The final roster note would be that tonight’s game marked the official end for the terms of Miikka Salomäki’s long-term injury loan. The Finn who celebrated his twenty-fifth birthday yesterday will be joining the Nashville Predators shortly after this game. Tonight’s line combinations were: Richard-Ribeiro-Gaudreau, Perfetto-Smith-Åberg, Salomäki-Kirkland-Payerl, Florek-Army-Liambas, Oligny-Carrier, Murphy-Granberg, O’Brien-Dougherty. Tonight’s scratches included: Vladislav Kamenev (undisclosed injury), Adam Pardy (broken left arm), and Rick Pinkston (healthy), and Matt White (bereavement leave).

What were your thoughts on tonight’s game? What is it lately with the Milwaukee Admirals and having a second period lull? How great have Pontus Åberg and Frédérick Gaudreau been for the Admirals? How did you feel Miikka Salomäki looked during his three-game conditioning assignment?

Be sure to keep updated with Admirals Roundtable through social media platform of your choice: follow along Twitter, like us on Facebook, get photo updates on Instagram, and listen along on SoundCloud.