AHL Milwaukee Admirals

Admirals Weekly

February 23, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Milwaukee Admirals News Release


OVERALL...The Milwaukee Admirals (30-16-6-3) enter this week's action in second place in the AHL's West Division nine points behind the Grand Rapids Griffins and three points ahead of the third place Chicago Wolves. Milwaukee is 9-2 overall the last 11, and 10-2-0-1 over the last 13 and 12-3-2-1 over the past 18 contests.

THE WEEK AHEAD:

SAN ANTONIO...The Admirals are 5-1 vs. the Rampage this season and 2-1 at the Bradley Center. The Ads are 10-4-2 lifetime vs. San Antonio, including 6-1-1-0 on home ice outscoring the Rampage 26-11 overall.

HOUSTON...Thursday's contest is the ninth of ten meetings and the last of five in Milwaukee between the two clubs. The Admirals are 7-1 vs. the Aeros this season and 3-1 at the BC. Milwaukee has won seven straight vs. Houston and are 8-2 in the last 10 meetings.

PHILADELPHIA...The Admirals are 2-1-0-2 lifetime vs. the Phantoms, including 1-1 at the Bradley Center. In the only meeting thus far this season the Phantoms posted a 4-3, overtime victory in Philadelphia on January 31st.

MANITOBA...The Ads travel to Winnipeg for a two-game series with the Moose. The Admirals are 1-0-1 in the two games played in Milwaukee this season. The Admirals are 25-17-1 lifetime vs. the Manitoba Moose, including 11-9 in Winnipeg.

PART OF ADMIRALS HISTORY...On Saturday night, #44 jersey worn by former Admiral greats Gino Cavallini and Kevin Willison will be retired during the first intermission. Willison, a top blueliner in the early 80's, scored 232 points (40g-163a) in 313 games. Cavallini, one of the most popular Admirals ever, averaged over a point a game during his career with Milwaukee. Overall he registered 248 points in 240 contests (139g-109a).

THIS WEEK'S ACTION...Simon Gamache scored a pair of goals and Brian Finley stopped 21 of 22 shots leading the Admirals to a 5-1 victory over the San Antonio Rampage on Sunday. The Griffins took a 2-0 first period lead and held on for a 2-1 victory on Saturday night at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids. Andrew Hutchinson provided the Admirals goal and Wade Flaherty stopped 27 of 29 shots. On Friday night, the Admirals defeated the Aeros, 4-2 in Houston. Greg Classen picked up three points (2g-1a) and Brian Finley stopped 35 of 37 shots. On Wednesday night, the Wolves snapped the Admirals seven game winning streak with a 3-1 victory. Brad Tiley supplied the Admirals only goal.

MONTH OF FEBRUARY...Milwaukee enters this week's action with a 9-2 mark in the month of February. With four games remaining this month, the Admirals have a chance to surpass the franchise record of 10 wins in a month. The Admirals have reached 10 victories eight times with the last being in February 2001 when they posted a 10-2-0-2 mark.

SPECIAL, SPECIAL TEAMS...The Admirals special teams have been special during the month of February. Over the last seven games, Milwaukee has successfully killed 25 of 26 opponents' chances for a 96.2% penalty kill ratio. In the 11 February games, the Ads have successfully extinguished 44 of 48 opponents' chances for a 91.7% success ratio. On the power play, Milwaukee has scored on 24.5% (13 of 53) of their February chances.

HOME COOKING...After struggling to an 8-8-2-0 start on home ice to start the season. The Admirals are 8-1-1 in the last ten home games outscoring their adversaries, 34-15.

THE ROAD'S GOOD TOO....The Admirals have a 14-7-3-3 (.630) record on foreign ice, which is the second best road winning percentage in the AHL. The Bridgeport Sound Tigers have a 16-8-3-2 road mark and a .638 winning percentage. Last season, the Admirals were 13-18-6-3 on the road. Milwaukee is 3-1 in the last four road games, 4-2-1-1 in the last eight road tilts and 7-4-1-1 in the past 13 games away from home.

PLUS/MINUS LEADERS...Entering this week's action, defenseman Curtis Murphy and rookie forward Timofei Shishkanov rank one-two in the AHL in plus/minus with a +22 and +21 respectively. Shishkanov also leads AHL rookies with 20 goals and ranks second among first year scorers with 39 points.

OFFENSIVE LEADERS...The Admirals feature the AHL's most potent offense generating 3.22 goals per game. Twenty-three different Admirals have accounted for a league-leading total of 177 red-lighters. The Admirals attack features eight thirty-point scorers, led by Tony Hrkac with 43 points. Hrkac also tops Milwaukee playmakers with 31 assists. Mathieu Darche leads Admirals goal scorers with 22. Shishkanov became the sixth player in Admirals AHL history to reach the 20-goal barrier. Forward Simon Gamache has 15 points (6g-9a) over his last 14 outings.

DYNAMIC DUO...Second year goaltender Brian Finley enters this week's action with eight straight victories and an 8-0-1 mark in his last nine starts. His eight-game winning streak ranks third in team history. Frank Caprice holds the Admirals record for consecutive wins with 10 established from October 8th through November 25th, 1988 and Lindsay Middlebrook won nine straight games from November 16th through December 6th, 1985. The 22-year old, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario native boasts a 1.76 goals against average and a .938 save percentage over his last nine games. Overall, he sports a 15-11-4 mark with a 2.44 GAA and .915 save percentage. Veteran Wade Flaherty ranks seventh among AHL goalies with a 1.95 GAA. The 36-year old, Terrace, B.C. native brings a 13-8-2 record and a .927 save percentage into this week's action. In 25 games since January 1st, the Admirals goaltending duo has allowed only 50 goals for a 1.98 GAA.

LEADING BLUELINERS...The Admirals feature the AHL's eighth stingiest defense allowing only 2.31 goals per game. Milwaukee's defense corps also ranks among league leaders offensively. Brad Tiley, who has 497 career points, shares the league lead among defensemen with seven power play goals and ranks fifth among AHL blueliners with 31 points (8g-23a). Murphy ranks eighth among defensemen with 30 points (9g-21a) and Andrew Hutchinson has 10 goals to share the goal scoring lead and tops AHL defensemen with an 11.8% shooting percentage.

THIS WEEK
HOME
Wednesday February 25th San Antonio Rampage 7:00 p.m.
Thursday February 26th Houston Aeros 7:00 p.m.
Saturday February 28th Philadelphia Phantoms 7:00 p.m.

ROAD
Sunday February 29th @ Manitoba Moose 4:00 p.m.
Tuesday March 2ndt @ Manitoba Moose 7:30 p.m.

Hear all of the Admirals' games on Joy1340 (1340 am) and on the Internet at www.sportsjuice.com****

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American Hockey League Stories from February 23, 2004


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