AHL Milwaukee Admirals

Admirals start New Year off right

Published on January 11, 2006 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Milwaukee Admirals News Release


OVERALL...The Admirals (23-11-2-1) enter this week's action in second place in the West Division with 49 points, five points behind the first-place Houston Aeros (54 pts). The Ads are 5-4-1 in their last eight games and have won two of three games since the start of 2006. Milwaukee has five days between their last game, Saturday night, and their next game, Friday night, making it the longest they will go without a game the rest of the season. Starting with Friday's game at home versus Cleveland, the Admirals will play five games in seven nights and six games in nine nights.

LAST WEEK...The Ads picked up four out of a possible six points with wins over Iowa and Omaha and a loss at Cleveland. On Thursday night Milwaukee spotted the Stars a 2-0 lead before scoring four unanswered goals and escaping with a 4-2 win. Chris Durno netted two goals to record his first AHL multi-goal game. Kris Beech and Darren Haydar both chipped in with two assists on the night. On Friday, Nolan Schaffer stopped 24 of 25 Admirals shots as Cleveland beat the Ads 4-1. Beech scored Milwaukee's lone goal. In spite of playing their third game in three nights the Admirals were able to get by the Omaha Knights on Saturday. Beech had a goal and an assist to lead the Milwaukee offense while Pekka Rinne stopped 32 of 33 shots to pick up his 15th win of the season.

VS. CLEVELAND... Milwaukee and Cleveland meet for the fourth time this year and the second time at the Bradley Center. The Barons toppled the Ads by a score of 4-2 on October 14 in the first meeting between the two teams this season, while the Admirals got revenge with a 5-4 win on December 18 at the Bradley Center before the Barons win last Friday. Last season the Admirals took a pair of 4-3 wins over the Barons, one an OT decision on October 20 at Cleveland and the second a shoot-out win on March 12 in Milwaukee. All-time versus the Barons the Admirals are 10-4-2-0, including a 5-4 record in Cleveland.

VS. GRAND RAPIDS...The Admirals travel to Grand Rapids on Saturday night to take on the Griffins. The two teams have squared off four times so far this season with the Ads posting a 1-2-1 mark in those games. Milwaukee has lost four straight games to the Griffins in Grand Rapids. Their last win at the Van Andel Arena was on January 29, 2005 when they took a 3-2 decision. In 70 lifetime meetings between the two clubs, the Admirals have a 25-33-7-5 mark, including an 8-20-2-3 mark in Grand Rapids.

VS. TORONTO...The Toronto Marlies invade the Bradley Center for the first time on Sunday at 4:00 pm. The Marlies moved to Toronto this season after spending the previous 14 seasons as the St. John's Maple Leafs. Last season the Ads were a perfect 4-0 versus St. John's, outscoring the Leafs 19-9. Former Admirals Captain Marc Moro has six points (3g-3a) and 90 penalty minutes for the Marlies this season.

UP COMING PROMOTIONS...Friday night is winter hat night when the Ads do battle with the Barons. The first 3,500 fans will receive a knit hat courtesy of the Titus Group. Sunday is Roscoe's Birthday party and the first 2,500 kids 14 and under will get a Roscoe Growth Chart, compliments of Children's Hospital. Sunday is also a Foley and Lardner Family Day when fans can get 4 tickets, 4 hot dogs, and 4 sodas for just $34 and then when the game is over they can put on their skates and take to the Bradley Center Ice for an hour of post-game skating, all courtesy of Foley and Lardner.

SECOND CENTURY...This Sunday's contest versus Toronto will mark the 200thregular season game that Claude Noel has served as Admirals head coach. Through 197 games, the 2004 AHL Coach of the Year has posted a 116-59-7-15 record for Milwaukee. Noel also has the distinction of being the only coach in the franchise's history to lead a team to a league title when he guided the Ads to the Calder Cup Championship in 2004.

THREE-IN-THREE...For the second consecutive weekend and fifth time this season the Admirals will play three games in three nights. And similar to last weekend's trio of games, Milwaukee will be at home for the first and third games and hit the road for the second tilt. Last week the team sandwiched a trip to Cleveland in between home games with Iowa and Omaha and this week the Ads will play Cleveland and Toronto at the BC on Friday/Sunday and make a jaunt to Grand Rapids on Saturday. Milwaukee's record during three-in-three stretches is 7-4-1, while the team is 16-7-1-1 in games where they are not playing three times in three nights.

HOME COOKING... The Bradley Center has been a safe haven for the Admirals thus far this season as the team has posted a 13-3 record at home, outscoring opponents 56-35. The Ads have yet to lose two in a row on home ice and they are a perfect 3-0 in overtime/shoot-out contests. Pekka Rinne has posted some impressive numbers in goal for the Ads at the BC. The Kempele, Finland native is 12-2 with a 1.91 goals against average and a .925 save percentage in 14 home games. However, in all three of the team's losses at home they have been shut-out.

WESTWARD HO... The Admirals have made their hay versus West Division opponents thus far this year, posting an impressive 15-4-0-1 mark against intra-divisional foes and outscoring them by a 68-39 margin. Milwaukee has been particularly impressive at the BC with a 6-1 record against the West at the Bradley Center. Versus the North Division the Ads have not been quite as good, recording just a 3-3-1 mark versus teams from the North.

MAKING THE LEAP...Rookie Defenseman Shea Weber became the tenth Admirals player to suit up for the Nashville Predators this season when he made his National Hockey League debut Friday night in the Preds 3-1 loss to Detroit. The Sicamous, BC native had two PIMs and was -1 in just over 11 minutes of ice time in the game. Weber is currently the top scoring rookie blueliner in the AHL with 22 points (10g-12a) in 34 games for the Ads, and his ten goals are tied for second among all AHL defensemen. Along with Kevin Klein, Greg Zanon and Pekka Rinne, Weber is the fourth Admiral to play in his inaugural NHL game this year.

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 the Admirals website at www.milwaukeeadmirals.com and click on the B2 logo.

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American Hockey League Stories from January 11, 2006


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