AHL Milwaukee Admirals

Admirals Play 3-In-3 this Weekend

Published on February 23, 2012 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Milwaukee Admirals News Release


Milwaukee, WI-After splitting a pair of games at Western Conference leading Oklahoma City, the Milwaukee Admirals (51 Games Played, 26-22-2-1-55 points, 4th place Midwest Division, 11th place Western Conference, 21st place AHL) return to the Bradley Center Friday night to host Abbotsford (52 GP, 28-20-3-1-60 points, 3rd place West Division, 7th place Western Conference, 13th place AHL), then travel south to face Rockford (47 GP, 21-26-2-4-48 points, 5th place Midwest Division, 15th place Western Conference, 29th place AHL) Saturday night, before wrapping up the weekend Sunday with a home matinee against San Antonio (53 GP, 28-22-2-1-59 points, 4th place West Division, 8th place Western Conference, 14th place AHL).

Friday night represents the Admirals' final match up of the season with the Heat. Milwaukee owns a 2-0-0-1 record against Abbotsford this season, winning the previous two meetings against the Calgary Flames' top affiliate. In their latest encounter at the Bradley Center on Nov. 29, the Admirals posted an 8-3 decision over the Heat. Milwaukee forward Zack Stortini (Elliot, Lake Ontario) scored the game winner at 15:55 of the opening period, finishing off a four-goal first 20 minutes for the Admirals. Milwaukee goaltender Jeremy Smith (Dearborn, Michigan) earned the win, stopping 32 of 35 Abbotsford shots. The game was Ian Herbers' debut as head coach of the Admirals.

On Saturday night Milwaukee travels to Rockford for its sixth of 12 meetings of the season with its Midwest Division rivals. Though the Ice Hogs own the worst home record in the AHL, Rockford knocked off Milwaukee in its previous two home contests against the Admirals, including a 3-1 victory on at the BMO Harris Bank Center in the teams' latest battle. Ice Hogs defenseman Joe Lavin scored the game decider at 10:34 of the second period, while Carter Hutton made 27 saves to earn the win. Forward Taylor Beck (St. Catharines, Ontario) scored the Admirals' only goal, while Smith took the loss despite 27 saves. Over its next 23 games Milwaukee will get plenty used to facing Rockford, as seven of them will be against the Ice Hogs.

On Sunday afternoon the Admirals will return home for their second of four meetings this season with the Rampage. In the teams' only prior showdown, Milwaukee posted a 3-1 victory on Nov. 20, as the Admirals held San Antonio to just 15 shots. Smith stopped 14 of them to earn the victory, while Milwaukee forward Chris Mueller (Buffalo, New York) picked up the game winner at 15:32 of the first period. Rampage goaltender Brian Foster made 25 saves to take the loss. Over the past five years Milwaukee owns a 20-7-2-2 record against San Antonio, including a 5-1-0-2 mark against the Rampage last season.

Key Statistics:

MILWAUKEE's home record: (14th best AHL) 26 GP, 15-9-2-0-32 points; Milwaukee road record: (25th best AHL) 25 GP, 11-13-0-1-23 points.

Abbotsford's road record: (4th) 28 GP, 18-9-0-1-37 points.

Rockford's home record: (30th) 26 GP, 11-14-0-1-23 points.

San Antonio's road record: (10th) 27 GP, 14-10-2-1-31 points.

Active Leading Scorers Per Team as of February 23:

MILWAUKEE: Chris Mueller (23 goals & 15 assists, 38 points); Kyle Wilson (14 goals & 21 assists, 35 points); Juuso Puustinen (14 goals & 13 assists, 27 points); Taylor Beck (9 goals & 18 assists, 27 points).

Abbotsford: Brian Connelly (5 goals & 34 assists, 39 points); Ben Walter (11 goals & 24 assists, 35 points); Jon Rheault (15 goals & 15 assists, 30 points).

Rockford: Brandon Pirri (20 goals & 26 assists, 46 points); Peter LeBlanc (17 goals & 15 assists, 32 points); Rostislav Olesz (11 goals & 19 assists, 30 points).

San Antonio: Bracken Kearns (14 goals & 23 assists, 37 points); Mark Cullen (8 goals & 25 assists, 33 points); Bill Thomas (17 goals & 14 assists, 31 points).

Power play:

MILWAUKEE: (10th best AHL) 37 goals scored in 192 chances, 19.3% success rate, 3 shorthanded goals allowed.

Abbotsford: (18th) 35 goals scored in 205 chances, 17.1%, 6 shorthanded goals allowed.

Rockford: (21st) 40 goals scored in 243 chances, 16.5% success rate, 5 shorthanded goals allowed.

San Antonio: (28th) 28 goals scored in 197 chances, 14.2% success rate, 5 shorthanded goals allowed.

Penalty killing:

MILWAUKEE: (29th best AHL) 49 goals allowed in 223 times shorthanded, 78.0% success rate, 2 shorthanded goals scored.

Abbotsford: (3rd) 31 goals allowed in 234 times shorthanded, 86.8% success rate, 3 shorthanded goals scored.

Rockford: (27th) 50 goals allowed in 234 times shorthanded, 78.6% success rate, 2 shorthanded goals scored.

San Antonio: (26th) 47 goals allowed in 223 times shorthanded, 78.9% success rate, 4 shorthanded goals scored.

National Hockey League Affiliates:

MILWAUKEE: Nashville Predators

Abbotsford: Calgary Flames

Rockford: Chicago Blackhawks

San Antonio: Phoenix Coyotes

Check out the Milwaukee Admirals Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from February 23, 2012


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