NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



Admirals Back On The Road

December 14, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL) - Milwaukee Admirals News Release


OVERALL...The Admirals enter this week's action with a 13-8-1-4 record and 31 points, good for fourth place in the tightly packed West Division where five points separates second through sixth. Rockford and Peoria are currently tied for second place in the division with 33 points, while the Admirals find themselves in fourth with 31 points, followed closely Houston (29 pts) and by sixth-place Chicago (28 pts). Out of the five teams clustered in second through sixth in the division, Milwaukee has played the fewest number of games (26). This week the Admirals will have four games beginning with tonight's match-up with the Marlies. Tomorrow the Ads travel to Hamilton and then head to Chicago Saturday night before finishing the week on Sunday afternoon by hosting San Antonio.

LAST WEEK...The Admirals had just two games last week and picked up wins in both of them. On Friday night four different players lit the lamp for the Admirals, while 11 skaters managed at least a point in the game, as the team downed San Antonio 4-2. Mike Santorelli broke an Admirals 0-for-20 slump with the man advantage on a first period power-play marker and finished the game with a goal and an assist. Then on Saturday Milwaukee outshot Grand Rapids 48-22 on their way to a 3-1 win at the Van Andel Arena. Nick Spaling tallied his first goal of the season, while Wacey Rabbit and Andreas Thuresson added goals of their own. Chet Pickard stopped 21 of 22 shots to earn the victory.

WELCOME BACK...The Predators have reassigned defenseman Cody Franson to the Admirals. Franson ranks seventh among rookie defensemen in points, with seven (2g-5a) in 24 games since making his NHL debut on Oct. 17 at Washington. He also leads the Predators, and is tied for fourth among rookie defensemen in plus/minus (+5). Nashville's third choice, 79th overall (third round), in the 2005 Entry Draft, Franson recorded his first career NHL point/assist on Oct. 21 at Boston and scored his first NHL goal the following night in a 6-5 overtime victory at Ottawa. The Sicamous, B.C., native started the 2009-10 season with the Admirals, posting two points (1g-1a) in the club's first three games.

MONDAY, MONDAY...The Admirals and Marlies face-off tonight in a rare Monday contest, the first of just two on the season for Milwaukee. From a winning percentage standpoint, Mondays are the Admirals most successful night with an all-time record of 40-23-5-1, good for a.623 percentage. On the road, the Ads Monday night mark is 13-11-0-1. The team's other Monday contest will take place in two weeks when they host the Grand Rapids Griffins on December 28.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN...The Admirals find themselves in a familiar place today: on the road. Milwaukee is in the midst of a four-game road trip that began Saturday night in Grand Rapids and continues here in Toronto. Following tonight's game the Ads travel to Hamilton tomorrow and then finish the swing on Saturday night in Chicago. This is the third trip of four or more games for the team this year, after they started the season with a six-game swing and recently finish up an eight gamer that took them to Texas over Thanksgiving. So far this season the Admirals have posted an 8-5-1-2 mark on the road.

THE FIRST TIME...Admirals forward Colin Wilson posted his first goal as an Admiral Friday night in the team's 4-2 win over the Rampage. The Predators first-round pick in the 2008 draft, Wilson notched a pair of assists in his first seven games with Milwaukee, but had yet to tickle the twine. In 10 games with the Predators, the 20-year-old rookie posted a goal and an assist while averaging 13:57 of ice time. The Greenwich, CT native was one of three Hobey Baker Finalists in 2008-09 after finishing second in the nation and first on Boston University in both points (55) and assists (38), while helping BU win the 2009 NCAA National Championship.

WELCOME BACK, TAKE TWO...Admirals forward Ryan Maki has an assist and is +2 in two games since returning to the ice Friday night after missing the previous 13 games with an injury he suffered on November 4 against Chicago. Maki played in the team's first 11 games, totaling a goal and an assist to go along with eight penalty minutes. Last season the Harvard University alum set career highs with 12 goals, 13 assists, 25 points, and 37 penalty minutes. Maki also paced the Admirals with a +14 rating and added a goal and an assist in 11 playoff contests for the team.

STRONG IN NET...Milwaukee netminder Mark Dekanich played stellar in net for Milwaukee Friday night against San Antonio, stopping 24 of 26 shots and earning his sixth win of the season. While on a conditioning assignment with Cincinnati the previous weekend the second-year netminder stopped 51 of 52 shots, to post a pair of wins and earn ECHL Goaltender of the Week honors. Last Friday, he turned aside 24 shots in regulation time and stopped all four Florida attempts in the shootout to claim a 2-1 victory in his ECHL debut. The next night, he re-routed all 27 Everblades shots in a 3-0 win before being recalled by the Ads on Sunday.

OVER THE AIR AND ON THE WEB...For the third consecutive season Sportsradio 1250 WSSP will serve as the Admirals flagship station with Aaron Sims calling all of the hard-hitting end-to-end action. In addition, the team has a one-hour hockey magazine dubbed "Milwaukee Admirals Center Ice" that airs every Monday from 6-7 pm on WSSP. Fans can watch all Admirals games, home and on the road, live on the internet via NeuLion. Simply go the Admirals website at milwaukeeadmirals.com and click on the AHL Live banner.


• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...

American Hockey League Stories from December 14, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Milwaukee Admirals Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central