AHL Milwaukee Admirals

Admirals gain ground on first

Published on February 13, 2006 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Milwaukee Admirals News Release


OVERALL...The Admirals enter today's action with a 33-14-4-1 record, good for 71 points and second place in the West Division. The Admirals are two points behind the first-place Houston Aeros (73 pts). Milwaukee is 6-3-1 in their last ten games and owns the fourth best winning percentage (.682) in the AHL. The Admirals have an impressive 18-5-1 record at the Bradley Center and will play eight of their next nine games and 13 of their next 15 on home ice.

VS. SAN ANTONIO... The Admirals and Rampage do battle for the fifth time on Wednesday and the third time at the Bradley Center. Milwaukee is a 3-1 versus San Antonio this season overall and 1-1 at the Bradley Center. When the Rampage beat the Admirals 4-2 on January 24th it was the first time this year the Ads lost a game at home when they scored a goal. Milwaukee had lost three times at home previous to that, but they were shut-out in each one. Lifetime versus the Rampage the Ads are 21-10-2-1, including an 11-5-1-0 mark on home ice.

VS. MANITOBA... The Manitoba Moose invade the Bradley Center for the second and final time this season on Friday night. The Moose spoiled the Admirals home opener this year when they shut the Ads out 1-0 on October 14th. Former Admiral and 2004 Calder Cup MVP Wade Flaherty swatted aside 39 Milwaukee shots in that game. All-time versus the Minnesota/Manitoba Moose, the Admirals are 41-23-1-1 with a 20-13-1 mark at the BC.

VS. PEORIA... The Admirals and Peoria Rivermen will play a home-and-home set this weekend with the Admirals hosting Saturday matinee at 1:30 pm before traveling to Peoria for a 5:00 pm contest on Sunday. So far this year Milwaukee is 3-1 versus Peoria, with a 2-0 mark on home ice and a 1-1 record at the Carver Arena. The Ads only loss to the Rivermen came on December 4th when they fell 5-1 in Peoria.

SHOOT-OUT AT THE WELLS FARGO ARENA... In a game that featured 13 goals, 96 penalty minutes, six lead changes, and lasted almost three hours, the Admirals outlasted the Iowa Stars 7-6 in what finished in, and can best be described as, a shoot-out. Ironically, the game was decided when Pekka Rinne stoned Yan Stastny on Iowa's final shoot-out attempt. The Admirals set or tied season highs for goals (7), assists (12), points (19), and power play goals (4) and had six players score at least two points. Libor Pivko tied a team high for assists this season with four, while Kris Beech had a three-point night on a goal and two assists. Kevin Klein (2a), Simon Gamache (2g), Darren Haydar (1g-1a), and Jordin Tootoo (1g-1a) all had two-point games.

ALSO LAST WEEK... Friday night the Admirals and Stars traded goals five times. Luckily it was Milwaukee who scored first and thus came away with a 3-2 victory. Sheldon Brookbank had two assists for the Admirals, while Jordin Tootoo tallied the game winner. On Tuesday the Ads fell to the Houston Aeros 3-2 at the Toyota Center. Former Admiral Bryan Lundbohm netted the GWG for the Aeros. Brandon Segal and Simon Gamache lit the lamp for Milwaukee, while Chris Durno chipped in two assists. On Sunday the Admirals fell to the Chicago Wolves 5-2 at the Bradley Center. With a goal and an assist Kevin Klein posted his second straight two-point night.

SHOOT-OUT SUCCESS... Saturday night's win over Iowa was the Admirals sixth straight win when the game is decided in a shoot-out. The Ads lost their first shoot-out of the season, 3-2 to the Stars on October 21, and have won every one since. Goalie Pekka Rinne is a big reason for the Admirals success as he has successfully stopped 24 of 29 opponent attempts good for a .828 save percentage. Milwaukee shooters have scored on 15 of 36 attempts with Libor Pivko leading the way with an 80% conversion rate.

UECKER'S BACK... Next Friday and Saturday the Admirals will don special plaid jerseys that will be auctioned off with the proceeds going to the Milwaukee Admirals Power Play Foundation. The jerseys will be similar to the ones that were made popular by Bob Uecker in the Admirals mid-90's television commercials. In addition, the first 5,000 fans at Friday's game will receive CheerStix courtesy of Patrick Cudahy and the first 2,500 kids 14 and under on Saturday will get an Admirals Puzzle from TEK Systems.

THREE-IN-THREE...This weekend the Admirals will play three-games-in-three-nights for the second straight weekend and the seventh time this season. This weekend is a bit easier from a travel standpoint than last as they team plays at home on Friday and Saturday before making a short trip down I-39 to Peoria on Sunday. Last weekend the team sandwiched home games around a trip to Iowa, which meant they had two straight nights of 4:00 am arrivals. So far this year Milwaukee is 11-5-2 in three-in-three sets and 22-8-2-1 when they are not playing three straight games.

TRANSACTIONS... With the NHL starting a three week break for the Olympics, the Nashville Predators have reassigned defenseman Shea Weber and left wing Scottie Upshall to the Admirals. Weber leads AHL rookie blueliners with 11 goals, to go along with 14 assists, 25 points, and 40 PIMs for the Ads. The Sicamous, BC native has one assist and six penalty minutes in six games with the Preds. Upshall has been nothing short of dominant with Milwaukee this year. Nashville's first pick in the 2002 NHL Draft has 16 goals, including two hat tricks, and 13 assists for 29 points, 16 PIMs, and a +13 rating in just 16 games for the Ads. Upshall has 14 points (5g-9a) and 28 penalty minutes in 34 games with the Predators.

BACK-TO-BACK SUCCESS... The Admirals have been quite successful this season when playing the same team in two consecutive games. The team is 12-2 in those contests this year, including 8-1 on the road. The Ads loss to the Aeros last Tuesday was the first time this year they had lost on the road when playing the same team twice in a row. The Ads will take on Peoria in back-to-back games this Saturday and Sunday.

WESTWARD HO... Milwaukee has made their hay versus West Division opponents thus far this year, posting an impressive 23-9-1-1 mark against intra-divisional foes and outscoring them by a 119-89 margin. Milwaukee has been particularly impressive at the Bradley Center with an 11-3 record against the West. Versus the North Division the Ads have not been quite as good, recording an 8-5-3 mark.

OVER THE AIR AND ON THE WEB... The Admirals have a new flagship radio station this season in Milwaukee's ESPN Radio 1510 AM (days)/1290 AM (nights). Aaron Sims will call 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 Tuesday from 6-7 pm on ESPN Radio. Fans can watch all Admirals games, home and on the road, live on the internet via B2 Networks. Simply go to the Admirals Website at www.milwaukeeadmirals.com,

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American Hockey League Stories from February 13, 2006


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