AHL Milwaukee Admirals

Milwaukee Admirals Gameday Information

Published on May 5, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Milwaukee Admirals News Release


Admirals vs. Houston Aeros

West Division Finals, Game 4

Thursday, May 5, 2011

7:05 pm at the Toyota Center, Houston, TX

Aaron Sims broadcast on 1250 WSSP begins at 6:45

Game 1 - at Milwaukee 3, Houston 1

Game 2 - Houston 2, at Milwaukee 0

Game 3 - Milwaukee 5, at Houston 3

Game 4 - May 5 - Milwaukee at Houston, 7:05

Game 5 - May 6 - Milwaukee at Houston, 7:35

*Game 6 - May 8 - Houston at Milwaukee, 5:00

*Game 7 - May 10 - Houston at Milwaukee, 7:00

OVERALL ‚¬Â¦

The Admirals and Aeros play game four of the West Division Finals tonight, after the Ads grabbed a 2-1 series lead with their 5-3 win in game 3. Milwaukee finished the regular season with 102 points and earned the first seed, while Houston was close behind the Ads in second with 98 points. This is the ninth consecutive season the Ads have qualified for the post-season and the 31st time in 34 years that Milwaukee has hit the ice in the playoffs. Including Tuesday's game the team's all-time playoff record stands at 99-126 and since joining the AHL in 2001 the Admirals have tallied a 53-40 mark with a 23-21 record on the road.

SERIES SO FAR ‚¬Â¦

The Admirals took a 3-1 win over the Aeros in game one of the series on Friday night. Milwaukee picked up goals by Steve Begin and Taylor Beck just 41 seconds apart in the first period to jump out to an early lead while Jeremy Smith made 25 saves in the win. Then in game two Houston goalie Matt Hackett turned aside all 21 shots thrown his way to earn his first shutout of the playoffs. Warren Peters and Colton Gillies lit the lamp for Houston. In game 3 on Tuesday, Milwaukee scored three straight goals to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 lead and then answered a pair of third period goals from Houston with two of their own to earn a 5-3 victory.

LET IT BEGIN ‚¬Â¦

In 36 games with the Admirals during the regular season Steve Begin didn't have a multi-point game and had six points (3g-3a). However, in the first three games of the series with Houston, Begin has almost matched those numbers, posting five points (2g-3a), including a three-point night to help guide the Ads to a game 3 win. The Trois Riverios, QE native, who missed much of the regular season due to injury, is a veteran of over 485 NHL games and won the AHL Playoff MVP award with the St. John Flames in 2001.

BREAKING OUT ‚¬Â¦

One game after being shutout, the Admirals erupted for five goals, tying a post-season high for goals in a game and the 15 points they accumulated set a playoff best. Milwaukee received the bulk of their scoring from the line of Steve Begin (1g-2a), Mike Bartlett (1g-1a), and Andreas Thuresson (1g-1a), who all had multi-point nights and were +3. Ryan Thang also notched a goal and an assist, while Scott Ford and Aaron Johnson each finished the game at +3.

STATS AND STUFF ‚¬Â¦

The Admirals enter tonight's game four with an all-time record of 19-19 in game fours, with an 12-9 mark on the road and an impressive 11-4 record in the American Hockey League, including a 3-2 win over Texas in the first round. The Admirals have led a playoff series 2-1 nine times in team history, notching a 7-2 mark in those match-ups. Milwaukee hasn't had a 2-1 series lead since the Calder Cup Finals in 2006.

MANNING THE PIPES...

While he gave up three goals for just the second time on Tuesday, Admirals netminder Jeremy Smith continues his strong play in the post-season. The Dearborn, MI native leads the league with 285 post-season saves to go with a 6-3 record, a 1.93 goals against average and .938 save percentage. He has allowed two or fewer goals in five straight games, including 52 save performance in the double-overtime game 6 win versus Texas. The co-MVP of the Kelly Cup Playoffs last year with Cincinnati, Smith ended his first full season with the Admirals with a 16-8-2-2 record to go along with a 2.26 goals against average and a .921 save percentage.

POWER STRUGGLES ‚¬Â¦

The Admirals started the playoffs with good success on the power-play, scoring four times in their first 16 opportunities through the first four games. However, the Ads have struggled in their last five contests, going scoreless in their last 20 opportunities with the man-advantage. Milwaukee is 0-for-14 in the first three games in the West Division Finals, but they did score twice on Tuesday night within ten seconds of a power-play ending. The Admirals ended the regular season with the seventh best power-play in the league at 19.7 %.

RESPONDING WELL ‚¬Â¦

Another key to the Admirals win in game 3 was their ability to respond quickly to two Houston third period goals, stemming any momentum that the Aeros might have grabbed. With each of the goals the Ads were able to score less than 90 seconds later. After Marco Scandella pulled Houston to within one at 8:16 of the third, Steve Begin answered with a goal at the 9:35 mark and then when Jared Palmer tallied at 10:08, it was just 26 seconds later that Mike Bartlett increased the Ads lead back to two goals.

ITS YOUR THANG ‚¬Â¦

Admirals forward Ryan Thang continued his strong offensive play in game 3, scoring a goal and adding an assist to give him eight points in the post season (4g-4a), which is tied for second best on the team. At + 11 the Edina, MN native leads the AHL in playoff +/- and has picked up seven of his eight points in the last five games. Thang finished his rookie campaign as the team's third leading scoring with 41 points (14g-27a) and was tops on the squad with a +17 rating.

PLAYOFF HISTORY ‚¬Â¦

The Admirals and Aeros have squared off four times in the post-season, most recently in 2009 when Houston outlasted the Ads in seven games, winning the decisive contest on the Bradley Center ice. In 2006 Milwaukee swept the Aeros 4-0 on their way to the Calder Cup Finals, while in 2003 it was Houston who swept the Admirals, 3-0, as they captured the Calder Cup Championship. Their first post-season encounter was back in the 1998 when the Ads took out the Aeros 3-1 in the first round of the IHL playoffs.

OVER THE AIR AND ON THE WEB ‚¬Â¦

For the fourth consecutive season Sportsradio 1250 WSSP will serve as the Admirals flagship station with Aaron Sims calling 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 Monday from 6-7 pm on WSSP. Fans can watch all Admirals games, home and on the road, live on the internet via NeuLion. Simply go the Admirals website at milwaukeeadmirals.com and click on the AHL Live banner.

Check out the Milwaukee Admirals Statistics

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