Admirals weekly
October 18, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Milwaukee Admirals News Release
OVERALL... The Admirals (2-0) enter this week's action as one of only eight unbeaten teams in the American Hockey League. Coupled with victories in the final seven Calder Cup playoff games the Admirals have been victorious in nine consecutive games. The 2-0 start to the 2004-05 campaign marks the ninth time in franchise history that the Ads have had an unblemished mark after two games. The last time was the 1997-98 season. The last time Milwaukee started the season 3-0 was during 1996-97.
THIS WEEK'S GAMES...
@CLEVELAND: The Ads are 7-3-2-0 lifetime vs. the Barons, including 3-3-0-0 at the Gund Arena. In two confrontations last season Milwaukee was 1-0-1-0, winning 6-2 in Cleveland on January 2, 2004 and skating to a 3-3 tie at the BC on December 27. The Admirals are 3-0-1 in their last four trips to Cleveland.
@CHICAGO: This marks the 104th meeting between the two clubs. Milwaukee holds a 54-38-1-8 record in the previous 103 contests, including a 22-20-1-5 mark in 48 games at the Allstate Arena. The Ads were 3-2 in five games played in Chicago last season outscoring the Wolves, 11-10.
LAST WEEK'S ACTION...On Saturday night, Timofei Shishkanov scored 2:21 into overtime giving Milwaukee a 5-4 victory over Rochester in Nashville. The game was played in front of 10,642 fans at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Music City. Wyatt Smith registered a four-point night (2g-2a). Mike Matteucci and Vernon Fiddler also scored for the Admirals and Brian Finley stopped 29 of 33 shots. On Friday night, Libor Pivko notched three assists and Shishkanov added two points (1g-1a) leading the Admirals to a 4-2 victory to the delight of 8,067 Opening Night fans at the Bradley Center. Finley stopped 32 of 34 Wolve's shots for the victory. The opening night victory was the Admirals third straight and they are now 10-2-0-1 in the last 13 seasons.
WELCOME BACK...The Admirals feature 14 players who were members of the Calder Cup Championship team last season. Those players include forwards Darren Haydar, Simon Gamache, Tony Hrkac, Scottie Upshall, Brandon Segal, Libor Pivko, Wyatt Smith, Vern Fiddler, Jeremy Yablonski, and Timofei Shishkanov, defensemen Andrew Hutchinson, Greg Zanon, and Brad Tiley, and goaltender Brian Finley.
LEADERS AT A GLANCE... Smith leads the Admirals in all offensive categories with five points (2g-3a). Shishkanov shares the goal scoring lead with two and Pivko shares the assist lead with three. Smith, Shishkanov and Simon Gamache have all scored at least one point in each of the first two games. Finley enters this week's action with a 2.95 goals against mark and a .910 save percentage in two games.
NHL VETS APPEAR...Two players on the Admirals roster spent all of last season in the NHL with the Predators. Defenseman Dan Hamhuis put together a stellar freshman campaign for Nashville, tying a franchise rookie record by appearing in 80 games and averaged over 22 minutes of ice time per game, second among all NHL rookies. Hamhuis is no stranger to Milwaukee, however, as the 21-year played on the Ads blueline corps in 02-03. Jordin Tootoo was also on the Preds roster last year. Tootoo, the first player of Inuit decent to play in the NHL, posted eight points (4g-4a) and 137 PIMs in 70 contests with Nashville.
LEADER OF THE PACK...Head Coach Claude Noel returns for his second season behind the Admirals' bench. The Kirkland, ONT native was selected as the AHL Coach of the Year last season after leading the Ads to a league best 43 wins and 102 points. The honor was the second consecutive year that Noel received his league's Coach of the Year award. In 02-03, he was the ECHL winner with Toledo. Assistant Coach Todd Richards returns for his third season with the team after serving as an assistant under Peter Horachek in 02-03.
THE CAPTAIN AND HIS MATES...Coach Noel has appointed Tony Hrkac to captain the Admirals ship this season. Last season the 38-year old Hrkac put up impressive numbers, posting 59 points (20g-39a) in just 68 regular season contests. With last year's championship, the Thunder Bay, ONT native has now collected both Calder and Stanley Cup Titles. He won an NHL crown with the Dallas Stars in 1999. Brad Tiley and Wyatt Smith have been selected as Alternate Captains and will wear the "A" on their Admiral sweaters.
NO MORE TIES...The American Hockey League has instituted a shootout system to break ties for the 2004-05 season. If the game remains tied following the five-minute sudden death overtime period the outcome will then be decided by a shootout. In a shootout, each team will get five attempts to score on a breakaway starting at the center red line. The visiting team will shoot first. The five shooters for each team will be determined by the respective coaches prior to the shootout. Once a team has mathematically clinched a victory, it will be declared the winner. If both teams are tied after five rounds, the shootout will proceed to sudden-death rounds until a winner is determined; shooters for the sudden-death rounds must come from the original groups of five.
YOUNGSTERS ON THE BLUELINE...The Admirals lineup features two young defensemen who were products of the 2003 N.H.L. Draft. Ryan Suter, 19, was selected seventh overall and Kevin Klein, 20, was the 37th player chosen. Suter had an impressive 03-04 campaign scoring 19 points (3g-16a) in his freshman year at the University of Wisconsin. He also helped the United States capture it's first-ever gold medal at the World (U-20) Junior Championships. Klein was a member of the Ontario Hockey League Champion Guelph Storm. He notched 29 points (6g-23a) in 46 regular season games and added 21 points, including 10 goals in 22 playoff games.
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