AHL Milwaukee Admirals

Finley drives Admirals through Texas

Published on November 28, 2005 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Milwaukee Admirals News Release


OVERALL...The Admirals (11-5-0-1) enter this week's action in third place in the West Division, tied with the Peoria Rivermen at 23 points. The Admirals have won two in a row, five of six, and are 11-2 since starting the season with an 0-3-0-1 record. Milwaukee is currently one point behind the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights for second place, however the Knights have played five more games than the Admirals. All the teams in the division trail the Houston Aeros who have accumulated 32 points and a 15-7-1-1 record thus far this year.

LAST WEEK...Milwaukee completed their busiest stretch of the season last week and did so in impressive fashion, posting a 4-1 mark as they played five games in six nights, all versus San Antonio and Houston. On Tuesday and Wednesday nights the Admirals swept a home-and-home series with San Antonio by identical 3-1 scores. The team took Thanksgiving off before dropping their lone game on the trip, 3-0 at Houston on Friday night. Brian Finley then took center stage for Milwaukee in the final two games of the tirp, posting back-to-back shutouts with a 4-0 win over the Rampage on Saturday and 3-0 victory over the Aeros on Sunday. It was just the third time in franchise history that the team had posted back-to-back shutouts.

VS. PEORIA...The Admrials renew their rivalry against Peoria with two contests versus the Rivermen this week, including their only home game on Wednesday. Milwaukee and Peoria have quite a history with each other dating back to their days in the International Hockey League before the Rivermen switched to the ECHL back in 1996-97. The Admirals season was ended by Peoria in the Turner Cup Playoffs three times in a ten year span back from 1986-1996. The Rivermen, primary affiliate of the St. Louis Blues, played last season in Worcester as the IceCats before moving to Illinois.

VS. CHICAGO...Milwaukee and Chicago do battle for the third time this season at the All-State Arena on Friday night. Thus far this year the rivals have split their first two games, with each team winning on home ice. On Nov. 4, the Wolves scored two late goals to tie the game at four, but Kris Beech scored the lone shoot-out goal and the Ads came away with a 5-4 win. The Admirals saw their seven-game winning streak snapped on Saturday, Nov. 19 when they fell to the Wolves 3-2 in Chicago. All-time versus the Wolves the Admirals are 60-41-1-12.

VS. GRAND RAPIDS...On Saturday the Admirals travel to Grand Rapids for the second match-up of the season with the Griffins. The two teams squared off on opening night this year with the Griffins taking a 6-3 victory in Michigan. Juri Hudler had two goals and two assists to lead the Griffins, while Scottie Upshall posted two assists for Milwaukee. In 67 lifetime meetings between the two clubs, the Admirals have a 24-32-7-4 mark, including a 8-20-2-2 record at the Van Andel Arena.

QUITE A WEEK...Brian Finley put up some impressive numbers during the Admirals Texas swing last week. The Sault Ste. Marie, ONT native went 3-0, including two shutouts, and stopped 96 of 97 shots thrown his way. On Wednesday night, Finley allowed his only goal of the week in the Ads 4-1 win over San Antonio. On Saturday night, he beat the Rampage again, this time stopping all 28 shots he faced, before posting another shutout less than 24 hours later over the Houston Aeros. It was the third straight time that the 6th overall pick in the 1999 NHL draft has not allowed an Aeros goal. His two shutouts increased his own team record for career shutouts to 14. For his performance, Finley garnered AHL Player of the Week honors.

DYNAMIC DUO... Finley and Pekka Rinne have combined to give the Admirals a remarkable goaltending combination. Playing in his first AHL season, Rinne is second in the league with a 1.90 GAA to go along with a 7-5-1 record, a .925 save percentage and one shutout. The Kempele, Finland native has been particularly effective at home, winning six of seven games and allowing just eight goals on 149 shots, good for a .946 save percentage. After missing much of the first month of the season with an ankle injury, Finley has started to show the form that saw him set Milwaukee records last season for wins (36) and shutouts (6). In seven games played, Finley is 4-0 with a 1.54 goals against average, a .950 goals against average, and three shutouts. He is currently on a streak of 131:32 without allowing a goal.

A NOVEMBER TO REMEMBER... After posting just a 2-3-0-1 mark in October, the Admirals have caught fire in November, earning 18 out of a possible 22 points while outscoring their opponents 36-18. Timofei Shishkanov (6g-5a) has led the way for Milwaukee in the 11th month with 11 points, while Darren Haydar (5g-5a) and Libor Pivko (4g-6a) have each recorded ten points in November. After picking up just one point in October, Greg Zanon has increased his offensive production with two goals and seven assists for nine points and an impressive +9 rating. Milwaukee's goaltending as also been stellar, with Finley and Rinne combining for a 1.64 goals against average and a .938 save percentage.

SHOTS, SHOTS AND MORE SHOTS... In the Admirals 3-1 win over the Rampage on Wednesday night, Milwaukee fired 50 shots at San Antonio goaltender Karl Goehring. It was the first time the team has had 50 shots in regulation in one game since Dec. 21, 2001 when they put 53 shots on net versus the Utah Grizzlies. The Admirals did have 51 shots on goal on March 15 versus Manitoba last season, however that game was decided in a shoot-out.

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. Sims comes to the Admirals after calling play-by-play for Wisconsin Badger Hockey on Wisconsin Public Television. 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 November 28, 2005


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