Milwaukee started and finished the week with dominating wins, posting 11 goals total. In the midst of that was a tight loss to the rival Wild, but, overall, the four-point week was a success, vaulting the Admirals to third place in the Central Division.
Milwaukee hosts Manitoba this morning for a school day game before traveling to San Antonio for two match-ups with the Rampage this weekend.
Headlines
- Last week, Milwaukee loaned defender Adam to Smith to the Florida Everblades [ECHL]
- Right before the end of the month, Nashville returned forward Colin Blackwell to Milwaukee without his appearing in a game
- On Sunday, Milwaukee assigned defender Arvin Atwal to Florida [ECHL] upon recovering from injury/
Stats and Standings
The Admirals continue to have some notable performances off the scoresheet this season: Troy Grosenick has undoubtedly been the best goalie league-wide so far and Frederic Allard has not surrendered an even-strength goal-against in 11 games.
Jeremy Davies continues to play a well-rounded, two-way game but other than him and Steven Santini, much of the defense has struggled to contribute offensively.
Another week passes and Milwaukee is still waiting for Anthony Richard, Rem Pitlick and Eeli Tolvanen to turn their shot shares into consistent goal scoring.
Game Recaps
October 29 v. Texas Stars
Milwaukee started off their week with a six-goal outburst despite not delivering consistent offensive pressure until the third period. In spite of the high-scoring affair, the game story had Connor Ingram’s name all over it, as he turned aside 40 shots to start an impressive week for himself.
November 1 v. Iowa Wild
The Admirals have had little luck with Iowa recently and Friday was no different. The match was a tight contest highlighted by goaltending expertise. The Admirals surrendered the game’s only goal five minutes into the third period and couldn’t answer.
November 2 v. Chicago Wolves
Milwaukee capped off their week with an impressive win over Chicago, striking early with a Tanner Jeannot goal two minutes into the contest and converting twice on the man advantage.
Daniel Carr and Cole Schneider scored those goals and Anthony Richard added his third of the season. The penalty kill mitigated six chances against and assisted Connor Ingram in an impressive 34-save performance.
Players of the Week
Cole Schneider (F): Schneider is always visible on the ice and always threatening with the puck. His game against Chicago was his strongest of the season, as he scored once and added four shots on goal (eight shots this week total).
His veteran presence as a top-line scoring threat is helpful while lines continue to fluctuate, but he has found some chemistry with Rem Pitlick and Tommy Novak. [RK]
Connor Ingram (G): Ingram posted two wins this season in which Milwaukee scored 11 goals total. But it wasn’t a boring affair for the goalie, who now boasts a .927 save percentage on the season.
Ingram surrendered four goals in those two starts while facing 78 shots, including 42 just at the hands of the Texas Stars. He’s finally starting to turn around a slower start to the season. [ED]
Musings
The AHL can be such a fascinating league at times; the fickleness of the NHL doesn’t always extend to the American league. For example, until this past week, the Syracuse Crunch had gathered at least one point in every November game they’d played since 2017 (h/t Justin of Raw Charge).
It’s also a league where personality can shine and community breeds inclusiveness. A handful of teams sport specialty jerseys throughout the season, including some for Dia de los Muertos (celebrated this past weekend). Milwaukee did so against Chicago (pic), but it was the San Antonio Rampage who were the subject of an excellent Shea Serrano piece on Monday; take a few minutes to read it now:
this is the most important thing i have ever written https://t.co/P5drmNNuJU
— Shea Serrano (@SheaSerrano) November 4, 2019
Musings and Observations, courtesy of Rachel and Eric:
- Troy Grosenick is nearly invincible; He sports the league’s best save percentage this season: 0.957
- Something about Milwaukee’s match-up with Iowa is infuriating. At times, it seems there is a complete abandonment of any offensive support system. It’s a roadblock that will need to be solved if the Admirals have any serious championship aspirations
- Despite fluctuating lineups, Frederic Allard has been playing consistent second-pair minutes for Milwaukee and has yet to allow an even-strength goal. It’s only 11 games, but it’s impressive, especially considering that his partner, Matt Donovan, has struggled with controlled zone exits this year
- The power play looks a bit different from earlier in the season. Karl Taylor has to like what he sees from unit one: Pitlick, Schneider, Carr, Blackwell and Carrier
- Eeli Tolvanen has struggled to find the score sheet consistently but leads the team in shots on goal. His controlled zone entries have been a noticeable improvement, but I’m curious to continue tracking those as the season progresses/
All statistics are courtesy of theAHL.com and eliteprospects.com. Charts are courtesy of Bryan Bastin (@projpatsummitt).