AHL Milwaukee Admirals

Admirals Weekly Notes

Published on November 23, 2009 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Milwaukee Admirals News Release


OVERALL...The Admirals enter this week's action with an 8-6-1-2 record and 19 points, good for sixth place in a tightly packed West Division. The four teams directly in front of the Ads all have 21 points, but Milwaukee has at least two games in hand on all of them. The Admirals continue their current eight-game road trip this week with two games against both Texas and San Antonio, the two teams in the West Division that Milwaukee has yet to play this year. The Ads play the Rampage on Tuesday and Saturday and the Stars on Wednesday and Friday in their first of three four-game-in-five-night stretches this season.

VS. SAN ANTONIO...Milwaukee will play their first two of four games in San Antonio this week when they battle the Rampage on Tuesday and Saturday night. Last season the Admirals posted a 4-1-1 record against San Antonio, including a 2-0-1 mark at the AT&T Center. In 60 all-time meetings between the two clubs the Ads have a 36-16-2-6 record. The Rampage will make four visits to the Bradley Center this year, the first coming on December 11.

VS. TEXAS...The Admirals travel to Cedar Park, TX for their first ever games against the Texas Stars on Wednesday and Friday night. The Stars, who are the primary affiliate of the Dallas Stars, are in the inaugural season in the American Hockey League. Last season Dallas did not have a sole AHL club where they reassigned players, however, during the three seasons prior their affiliate was the Iowa Stars. From 2005 through 2008 the Admirals combined for a 13-10-3-2 mark against Iowa.

GOOD PICKINGS...Rookie goaltender Chet Pickard earned back-to-back starts for the first time in his professional career and he rewarded Coach Lane Lambert's faith in him by stopping a combined 47 of 50 shots in the two games while earning wins in both contests. On Friday night he stopped 22 of 24 Houston chances in the team's 3-2 victory before turning aside 25 shots in a 2-1 OT win on Sunday afternoon. On the season Pickard is 3-2 with a 2.77 GAA and a.896 save percentage. However, since allowing seven goals in his first pro start, the Winnipeg, MB native is 3-1 with a.933 save percentage and a 1.73 goals against average.

JONESING FOR MORE...After being held off the scoresheet for his first six games after being reassigned to the Admirals, forward Ryan Jones has picked up his offensive production, posting three goals in his last four games including the game-winner last Friday night against Houston. The Chatham, ON native posted 22 points (13g-9a) in 25 games for the Admirals last season and has 17 points (7g-10a) in 54 career NHL contests.

WELCOME TO MILWAUKEE...The Predators have reassigned 2008 first round draft pick Colin Wilson to the Admirals. In his first 10 professional games with the Predators, the 20-year-old rookie posted a goal and an assist while averaging 13:57 of ice time. Wilson has missed the past eight games - and 11 games overall in 2009-10 - due to injury. 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. Wilson did not record a point in the team's 2-1 OT win Sunday.

ON THE MARK...Admirals forward Mark Santorelli tallied a goal and an assist on Friday night against the Aeros, giving him seven (4g-3a) points in 16 games this season. That point total equals the amount he accumulated last year in 53 games with Milwaukee. Each one of Santorelli's goals has come on the power-play, giving him the team lead, and the Ads are 3-1 on the year when he scores. The Predators fourth round pick in 2007, Santorelli led the WHL in scoring with 101 points (27g-74a) during the 2007-08 campaign.

FAST STARTER...Admirals center Cal O'Reilly is off to a fast start, having posted 19 points (3g-14a) in 12 games to start the season, and scoring the GWG in overtime Sunday against Houston. The Toronto native is tied for fifth in the AHL in assists and leads the Admirals in scoring, in spite of missing five of the team's games while on recall to Nashville. In the games that O'Reilly has skated in the Admirals have totaled 36 goals, which means that he has been on the scoresheet for over 50% of the goals the Ads have recorded when he plays.

HIT THE ROAD JACK...Sunday's win over Houston marked the halfway point in the Admirals eight-game road trip and gave them a 2-1-1 mark thus far. They kicked off the jaunt with a 3-2 OT loss to Grand Rapids on November 13, then dropped a 5-4 decision the next night in Peoria before picking up back-to-back wins over the Aeros last Friday and Sunday. In the second half of the swing, Milwaukee will square off twice against both San Antonio and Texas before returning home on December 2. When its all said and done, the Admirals will play 15 of their first 21 games away from the Bradley Center.

GETTING BUSY...Hopefully the Admirals got plenty of rest Monday because off days are at a premium over the next two weeks. Starting with Tuesday's game against San Antonio, the Admirals will play four games in five nights and seven games in 11 nights. It is the busiest two week stretch of the season for Milwaukee, who will play the first four games on the road and then finish with three games in four nights at home.

IN ON THE ACTION...Admirals captain and defenseman Nolan Yonkman picked up a point in back-to-back games after recording assists on November 14 in Peoria and another on Friday night against Houston. The Punnichy, SK native is the first Admiral to be named team captain in consecutive seasons since the team joined the AHL in 2001. Yonkman, who is second on the squad with 40 penalty minutes, set a team season high with 12 PIMs on Friday night.

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 p.m. 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.

Check out the Milwaukee Admirals Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from November 23, 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.

OurSports Central