AHL Milwaukee Admirals

Hats off to Upshall

Published on January 23, 2006 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Milwaukee Admirals News Release


OVERALL...The Admirals (26-11-3-1) enter tonight's action in second place in the West Division with 60 points, six points behind the Houston Aeros (66 pts). The Ads are 7-2-1 in their last ten games and have picked up at least a point in seven straight contests. The team recently finished a stretch where they played six games in nine nights, collecting 11 of a possible 12 points. After this week's action the Admirals will go five days without a game as the AHL hosts the 2006 RBK Hockey AHL All-Star Classic in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

LAST WEEK... Milwaukee was a perfect three for three in games last week, earning all six points to keep pace with Houston, who has won four in a row. The Admirals started the week with 4-3 overtime win versus the Cleveland Barons on Tuesday night. Darren Haydar, who finished the game with two goals and an assist, notched the game-winner just 44 seconds into the extra frame. On Thursday night Corey Hessler's goal with just 20 seconds left in the game broke a 3-3 tie and gave the Admirals the win over the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights and extended their home-winning streak to eight games. Scottie Upshall recorded his second four-point night in as many weeks when he scored a hat trick and dished out an assist in the Admirals 6-4 win over Chicago on Saturday night.

VS. SAN ANTONIO... The Admirals and Rampage do battle for the fourth time this Tuesday and the second time at the Bradley Center. Milwaukee is a perfect 3-0 versus San Antonio this season after recording a 3-1 win at the BC on November 22 and 4-0 and 3-1 wins in San Antonio on November 23 and 26. Lifetime versus the Rampage the Ads are 21-9-2-1, including an 11-4-1-0 mark on home ice. In addition the Admirals have won four straight over their West Division rival.

VS. CLEVELAND... The Admirals will make their final trip ever to the Quicken Loan's Arena, formerly the Gund Arena, to take on the Cleveland Barons this Friday and Saturday. The Barons will play next season in Worcester, MA. So far this year Milwaukee is 3-2 versus Cleveland with the home team winning all five games. The Ads were victorious December 16, January 13 and January 17, while the Barons beat the Ads on October 15 and January 6. The Admirals are 12-6-2-0 all time versus the Barons, including 4-5 at the Quicken Loans Arena.

FAMILIAR FACES... Former Admirals defenseman Brad Tiley makes his first visit to the Bradley Center with San Antonio on Tuesday after playing for the Ads the previous two seasons. In those two years, Tiley posted 21 goals and 51 assists for 72 points and 37 penalty minutes in 152 games and helped the Admirals capture the 2004 Calder Cup Championship. After last year the former AHL Defenseman of the Year signed with the Springfield Falcons before being traded to the Rampage earlier this month.

HOME COOKING... The Bradley Center has been a safe haven for the Admirals thus far this season as the team has posted an impressive 17-3 record at home, outscoring opponents 74-48. Milwaukee is currently riding an eight game home winning streak which is two shy of the club record of ten consecutive home wins. This is the second time this season that the team has won eight straight at the BC. The Ads have yet to lose two in a row on home ice and are a perfect 5-0 in overtime/shoot-out contests. However, in all three of the team's losses at home this year they have been shut-out.

TAKING THEIR NICHOL BACK...Center Scott Nichol finished his conditioning assignment with the Admirals and was recalled by the Nashville Predators. Rehabbing a broken foot he suffered versus the Los Angeles Kings on November 5, Nichol was reassigned to Milwaukee on January 12, just in time for a six-games-in-nine--night stretch. In those six contests the Edmonton, ALTA native recorded eight points (3g-5a), 18 penalty minutes and was +9.

TRANSACTIONS... The Nashville Predators have reassigned defenseman Shea Weber to the Admirals. In his second stint with the big club Weber played in three games and did not record a point. For Milwaukee, the rookie blueliner has 22 points (10g-12a) and a +2 rating in 35 games. Those 22 points place him atop AHL rookie defensemen in scoring. In addition, the Edmonton Oilers have reassigned right wing Zack Stortini to the Admirals after recalling him from the Iowa Stars. In 27 games this season in Iowa the 6-3, 216-lb Stortini has three points (2g-1a), 108 penalty minutes and a +6 rating.

MOVING UP... Left wing Scottie Upshall has certainly left his mark with the Admirals since being reassigned on January 9th. In just six games, the Fort McMurray, ALTA native has 15 points (8g-7a) and a +7 rating, including two four-point nights and a hat trick last Saturday versus Chicago. In 11 games with Milwaukee this season Upshall has posted two or more points eight times and has totaled 21 points on ten goals and 11 assists. In 30 games with Nashville, Upshall has 12 points on four goals and eight assists.

HATS OFF... Upshall's hat trick was the second this season by an Admirals player and the first on the road since Wyatt Smith scored three times versus the Grand Rapids Griffins on December 28, 2002. Kris Beech has the team's other hat trick this season. The Salmon Arm, BC native lit the lamp three times versus Peoria on November 30th. In addition, the Admirals have won 18 straight games when one of their players scores a hat trick.

QUICK ENDINGS... While the Admirals have gone to overtime in five of their last 12 games, they haven't exactly logged much additional ice time. In those five contests, which the Ads are 3-2 in, the longest they have played for was 1:45 and four of them have been over in less than 45 seconds. The combined time of those five OT periods is just three minutes and 31 seconds. That is shorter than either of the team's first two OT sessions which lasted 4:40 and 4:00, respectively. Timofei Shishkanov provided the quickest ending to an extra stanza when he set an Admirals franchise record with a goal only nine seconds into OT on Dec. 27 versus Peoria.

ROAD WOES... While the Admirals have won eight straight games on Bradley Center ice, they have been struggling away from the BC. The team's win over Chicago on Saturday night snapped a five game road losing streak. The one bright spot for Milwaukee is that two of those five games, January 14 in Grand Rapids and December 29 in Chicago, they lost in overtime and were thus able to pick up one point in the standings.

WESTWARD HO... The Admirals have made their hay versus West Division opponents thus far this year, posting an impressive 22-6-1-1 mark against intra-divisional foes and outscoring them by a 107-73 margin. Milwaukee has been particularly impressive at the BC with a 1-1 record against the West. Versus the North Division the Ads have not been quite as good, recording just a 6-5-2 mark.

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. 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 to the Admirals Website at www.milwaukeeadmirals.com

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American Hockey League Stories from January 23, 2006


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