It might have ended on a sour note but the month of March was one of the strongest runs of form for the Milwaukee Admirals during their 2017-18 season. The Admirals went 9-5-0-0 (18 points, 0.643 points percentage) in March. It was their most successful month since October when they went 5-2-0-0 record (10 points, 0.714 points percentage) to open up the season. And you couldn’t help but see a few key figures step up even more with the pressure of the playoffs looming over each and every game.
Why? Why, time after time after time after time, is it always the Grand Rapids Griffins? The only evidence that I have at this point are the results over time -but- I firmly believe the Milwaukee Admirals mentally get shutdown within these games as they happen. There will be some good spurts. They might even win some regular season games. But when the chips are down and it is time to deliver with everything on the line – nothing.
The Admirals archenemy in Grand Rapids swept them out of the first round of the Calder Cup Playoffs the last two straight seasons. They might have just solidly struck a nail in the Admirals 2017-18 coffin with last night’s 6-2 blowout. The Rockford IceHogs found the strength to rally back in the third period and beat the San Jose Barracuda. The Admirals could not do the same against the Griffins. The gap has widened and time isn’t on the Admirals side one bit for games like last night.
The Milwaukee Admirals lost 6-2 against the Grand Rapids Griffins at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena on Saturday night.
The Admirals came out of the gates strong and took a 2-0 lead before allowing six unanswered goals to the Griffins. The win tonight for the Griffins meant a season sweep of all games played in Milwaukee. The result comes as the Rockford IceHogs earned a 5-3 comeback win tonight against the San Jose Barracuda to extend their advantage in fourth place of the Central Division.
“I honestly don’t know,” said Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason of why the Grand Rapids Griffins have the Admirals number. “We have tried to adjust. Some teams you just don’t match up very well against. And I don’t know because it has been over the years it’s not like it is just this team. Hopefully we will see them in the playoffs and we will figure it out.”
Continue reading “Punishing Mistakes; Griffins Top Admirals 6-2”
The Milwaukee Admirals have signed Zeb Knutson to an amateur try-out (ATO) contract. The 24-year old forward recently completed a collegiate career with Minnesota State University (Mankato).
The Milwaukee Admirals closed the gap to fourth place in the Central Division last night. Their attention quickly switched to the Grand Rapids Griffins following the 5-3 win against the Texas Stars. It’s “on to the next one” for the Admirals right now. In order for any of the fight for the playoffs to come good for the Admirals they need to first take care of their own plate. The Griffins have been a thorn in the Admirals side for too many seasons now. Tackling this challenge tonight could be a great boost.
Last night could well have been a night perfectly placed to make the Milwaukee Admirals fall. They had a good amount of time between games and the Texas Stars are an opponent that has really worked them hard with pace and quality defending this season. It started sluggish but turned into a small slugfest for both power-play groups. The Admirals tightened up enough at even strength to secure a 5-3 win and keep their playoff lives very much alive.
The Milwaukee Admirals won 5-3 against the Texas Stars at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena on Friday night.
The Admirals power-play had been struggling for a long stretch in recent weeks. Tonight the Admirals scored three power-play goals as Anders Lindbäck fought off waves of shots by the Stars early. The Admirals are now on a three-game winning streak. And Lindbäck has become the eighth Admirals goaltender in team history to record thirty wins in a single season.
“I looked at it before the game and I saw that opportunity was there,” smiled Anders Lindbäck. “I think that’s good. It says I’ve been playing well this year and been giving the team a chance to win every night.”
Tonight marks the last time in the 2017-18 regular season schedule that the Milwaukee Admirals will face a non-Central Division opponent. In seventeen games this season outside of the division the Admirals have gone 6-9-1-1 (14 points, 0.412 points percentage). It has been an unfortunate spot on the season and it doesn’t get much better against a Texas Stars team who arrive to Milwaukee tonight looking to complete a four-game season sweep.
The AHL have announced the individual team winners of the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year. The Admirals Man of the Year for a second consecutive season is defenseman Jack Dougherty. He now becomes a finalist for the league’s 2017-18 Yanick Dupre Memorial Award.
Continue reading “Jack Dougherty Named Admirals Man of the Year”
The Milwaukee Admirals were in action for practice this morning. The team is set for two-games at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena this weekend. It starts tomorrow night against the Texas Stars and ends with the Grand Rapids Griffins on Saturday. The Admirals are continuing to battle for their playoff lives but time, and the Rockford IceHogs, are starting to run away from them.
Admirals Roundtable 