AHL Milwaukee Admirals

Admirals Weekly

March 22, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Milwaukee Admirals News Release


OVERALL...The Milwaukee Admirals (41-18-7-3) enter this week's action winners of eight of the last nine games and lead the American Hockey League with 92 points, two points ahead of the Grand Rapids Griffins. The Ads also own the AHL's best winning percentage (.667) and are 12-2-1 in their last 15 and 20-4-1 since February 1st, outscoring their foes 99-50.

THE WEEK AHEAD:

SAN ANTONIO...The Admirals are 7-1 vs. the Rampage this season, including 4-0 in San Antonio, outscoring the Rampage 18-12 at the SBC Center. The Ads are 12-4-2-0 lifetime vs. the Rampage with a 5-3-1 in San Antonio. Milwaukee is 8-1-1 in their last ten overall meetings and 10-2-1 in the last 12 encounters.

TORONTO...The Admirals are 3-0 vs. the Roadrunners, including a 4-3 overtime victory in Toronto on March 10th that ended the Roadrunners nine game home unbeaten streak. In their only meeting in Milwaukee, the Ads bested Toronto by a score of 4-3 on opening night.

CHICAGO...This is the 100th regular season confrontation between the Admirals and Wolves. Milwaukee is 5-2 this season against Chicago, including 2-1 at the Allstate Arena. The Ads are 52-36-1-10 overall vs. Chicago, including 21-19-1-5 in the Windy City. Seventy-one of the 99 previous meetings have been one or two goal decisions with the Admirals sporting a 39-22-0-10 record in those games.

HOUSTON...This is the tenth and final regular season meeting between the Admirals and Aeros. Milwaukee is 7-1-1 in the previous nine, including 4-0 in Houston outscoring the Aeros 19-8. The Admirals are 31-20-2-6 lifetime vs. the Aeros with a 15-10-1-4 in Texas.

TWO-OUT-OF-THREE...On Sunday afternoon, Curtis Murphy's goal early in the third period gave the Admirals a 4-3 advantage en route to a 5-3 victory over the San Antonio Rampage. The Admirals split a two-game series in Utah, losing 2-1 on Wednesday before rebounding with a 7-2 victory on Friday night. Brad Tiley provided the Admirals firepower on Wednesday and Brian Finley stopped 24 of 26 shots. On Friday, the Admirals exploded for seven unanswered goals, including four power play tallies, and overcame a 2-0 deficit. Curtis Murphy scored two goals, Darren Haydar had a three-point night (1g-2a) and Finley stopped 25 of 27 Grizzlies' shots.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN...Four of the Admirals next five games will be on foreign ice. The Admirals are 4-1 in the last five road games, 8-3 in the last 11 and 11-5-1-1 since January 2nd, outscoring their opponents 65-43. Overall, the Admirals are among league leaders with a road record of 19-9-3-3 (.647).

HOME, SWEET HOME...After a sluggish 8-8-2-0 start on Bradley Center ice to begin the season, the Admirals are now 14-1-2 in the last 17 home games, outscoring their adversaries 69-30.

ON THE PLUS SIDE...Entering this week's action, the entire Admirals active roster is +1 or better. Defenseman Curtis Murphy leads the league with a +37 rating. Rookie blueliner Greg Zanon is third at +25 and veteran defenseman Ray Schultz is tied for fourth at +24. In addition, Murphy, Zanon and Schultz rank 1-2-3 among AHL defensemen in plus/minus. The following four players have extended streaks of even or better: Tony Hrkac 16 games (+10), Vernon Fiddler nine games (+9), Alexandre Jacques nine games (+7) and Libor Pivko seven games (+6). Greg Zanon is +16 in the last 14 outings.

WHO'S HOT...Brad Tiley enters this week's action with a three-game goal scoring streak and four points (3g-1a) in those contests. Greg Classen has scored in three straight (2g-3a), four of the last five (4g-3a) and has 13 points (5g-8a) over his last 11. Darren Haydar has 17 points (6g-11a) in the last 13 contests. Vernon Fiddler has nine points (2g-7a) over his last nine and 13 points (4g-9a) over his last 14, while Mathieu Darche has 11 points (4g-7a) in his last nine outings. Goaltender Wade Flaherty has won four straight games and is 5-0-1 in his last six decisions.

THROUGH 69 GAMES...The Admirals are currently 22 points ahead of last season's pace after 69 tilts. With 11 games remaining, the Admirals are 41-18-7-3 (92 points) vs. 26-25-13-5 (70 points) during 2002-03. They've scored 237 goals in 2003-04 vs. 212 in 2002-03. Additionally, the Ads have surrendered only 158 goals in 2003-04 vs. 226 through 69 games last season. Milwaukee is also 19-9-3-3 (.647) on the road vs. an 11-16-5-2 mark (.426) after 34 road games a year ago. At the BC, the current Admirals are 22-9-4-0 (.686) after 35 games, while their predecessors were 16-8-8-3 (.614).

LEAGUE LEADERS...The Admirals lead the AHL with 237 goals, 375 assists and 612 total points. They feature the league's most explosive offense at 3.43 goals per game. Haydar (19g-34a) and Darche (27g-26a) rank 16th among AHL scorers with 53 points. Curtis Murphy is second among AHL defensemen with 44 points and 14 goals. Brad Tiley is fourth among AHL blueliners with 42 points (13g-29a), third among AHL defensemen with 13 goals and leads AHL defensemen with 10 power play goals. Timofei Shishkanov ranks among league rookies with 42 points (23g-19a) in 61 games. Veteran Wade Flaherty ranks 13th among AHL netminders with a 2.06 GAA. The 36-year old, Terrace, B.C. native brings an 18-8-3 record and a .926 save percentage into this week's action. Brian Finley ranks fifth among AHL netminders with 21 victories.

STELLAR GOALTENDING...In 39 games since January 1st Milwaukee is 26-9-3-1 and has allowed just over two goals per game. Brian Finley, a 22-year old Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario product is 14-2-1 in his last 17 outings. He enters this week's action with a 21-13-4 record with a 2.37 GAA and a .917 save percentage. Finley's 21 victories are the most in a season by an Admiral's netminder since Jan Lasak was 23-17-2-3 during the 2000-2001 season.

THIS WEEK HOME
Wednesday March 24th Toronto Roadrunners 7:00 p.m.

ROAD
Tuesday March 23rd San Antonio 7:00 p.m.
Saturday March 26th Chicago Wolves 7:00 p.m.
Sunday March 27th Houston Aeros 5:00 p.m.

Here 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 March 22, 2004


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