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Milwaukee Monday: Admirals Sweep Homestand

A new feature on Section303.com, dedicated to bringing you all the news from “down on the farm”. Check back every Monday for Milwaukee Monday.

Week in Review

Sunday, January 2 vs. San Antonio Rampage

In their first appearance on home ice in 2011, the Milwaukee Admirals topped the San Antonio Rampage with a final score of 3-1 Sunday afternoon at the Bradley Center to boost their record to 20-11-2-4.

Jeremy Smith had another strong performance, stopping 26 shots to improve his record to 6-4. Jamie Lundmark (2a) and Jonathon Blum (1g,1a) led the offensive attack for the Admirals and both had a multiple point night.

After the game was scoreless for most of the first period, Gabriel Bourque put the Admirals on the board at 18:39. From the left point, Thang made a pass to Bourque who was positioned in the slot. Bourque kicked the puck into the air, caught it, dropped it to the ice and then fired a shot high past Rampage goalie Matt Climie’s glove side to give the Admirals a 1-0 lead. Blake Geoffrion also picked up an assist on the tally.

Matt Halischuk scored the game-winner and his first power play goal of the season at 12:36 of the second period to increase the Admirals lead to 2-0. Roman Josi passed the puck up the boards from the left point to Halischuk, who fired k past Rampage net minder Matt Climie. Jamie Lundmark also credited with an assist.

San Antonio scored their lone goal of the game at 1:18 of the third period. Matt Watkins centered the puck to Andrew Ebbett who put the puck past Smith to cut their deficit in half.

The Admirals went up 3-1 with a heads up play by Ryan Thang. From the far dot, Thang passed the puck to Blum who was positioned in the slot. Blum fired a wrister which bounced off Rampage goaltender Matt Climie into the net, giving Blum his sixth multiple point game of the season.  Lundmark picked up his second assist of the night.

Smith turned away all 14 shots in the third period to hold off the Rampage and pick up his sixth win of the season.

Box Score
Team 1 2 3 Final
San Antonio Rampage 0 0 1 1
Milwaukee Admirals 1 1 1 3
Location Bradley Center – Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Winning Goaltender Jeremy Smith
Losing Goaltender Matt Climie
First Star Jonathan Blum (MIL)
Second Star Gabriel Bourque (MIL)
Third Star Jeremy Smith (MIL)
Attendance 2,735
Thursday, January 6 vs. Grand Rapids Griffins

Ryan Flynn lead the scoring for Milwaukee with a pair of goals, the first of his career, as the Admirals posted a 5-1 victory over the Grand Rapids Griffins Thursday night at the Bradley Center to give them a three-game home winning streak.

Flynn (2g), Gabriel Bourque (1g, 1a), Mike Bartlett (2a), and Mark Van Guilder (2a) all had multiple point nights, while Ryan Thang extended his point streak to four games with an assist on the night.

After a scoreless first period, Grand Rapids posted their lone goal of the game 10:07 into the second period. Joakim Anderson passed the puck to Greg Amadio, who fired a shot past a screened Milwaukee goaltender Jeremy Smith, giving them a 1-0 lead.

At 18:18 of the second, Flynn scored his first professional goal to tie the game at one. Van Guilder sent the puck deep into the corner before Mike Bartlett played the puck off the boards to send the puck back to Van Guilder. He made a centering pass to Flynn, who was all alone on the post and chipped the puck past Griffins netminder Jordan Pearce’s glove side.

With just 38 seconds remaining in the second period and Milwaukee on the power play, Matt Halischuk scored the eventual game-winning goal, his second in as many games, to give the Admirals a 2-1 lead. Jamie Lundmark centered the puck to Ryan Thang, who left it for a trailing Halischuk. The Admirals winger then fired a wrister past Pearce.

Flynn scored his second goal of the night 3:30 into the third period. The play started with a shot from the point by Aaron Johnson that was blocked by Pearce.  Van Guilder picked up the rebound and sent the puck back to the net, where Flynn picked up the rebound and slapped the puck in to put the Admirals up 3-1.

Just thirteen seconds later, Gabriel Bourque forced a turnover in the Griffins zone and scored his second goal in as many games. Andreas Thuresson completed the Admirals scoring at 6:44 of the third, his first goal since October 22. Blake Geoffrion and Bourque picked up the assists on the tally.

Smith had another strong night between the pipes allowing only one goal and making 30 saves, to give him his seventh win of the year.

Box Score
Team 1 2 3 Final
Grand Rapids Griffins 0 1 0 1
Milwaukee Admirals 0 2 3 5
Location Bradley Center – Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Winning Goaltender Jeremy Smith
Losing Goaltender Jordan Pearce
First Star Ryan Flynn (MIL)
Second Star Gabriel Bourque (MIL)
Third Star Jeremy Smith (MIL)
Attendance 2,880
Saturday, January 8 vs Toronto Marlies

A strong performance by Mark Dekanich and a lone goal in the shootout by Mark Van Guilder gave the Milwaukee Admirals a 1-0 win over the Toronto Marlies on Saturday night to give them a four-game home winning streak and increase their record to 22-11-2-4. Tonight also marked the Admirals 900th game played at the Bradley Center.

In his first game back from injury Dekanich made 33 saves, including 17 Toronto shots in the second period along, and turned away all five shootout attempts to give him his fourth shutout of the season. Tonight is the second time this season in the AHL that there has been a scoreless game decided in a shootout, with the first time being on November 10 when Milwaukee played at Grand Rapids. Dekanich turned away all 35 shots and stopped all five shootout attempts for the win in that game as well.

Marlies goaltender Ben Scrivens also recorded a shutout by stopping all 25 shots and 4 of 5 shootout attempts, but suffered the hard-luck loss.

Van Guilder, who was Milwaukee’s fourth shooter, had the only successful attempt in the shootout. Skating slight right towards Scrivens, he faked back-hand and flipped the puck over Scrivens’ glove side.

Toronto was 0-for-2 on the power play during the game, while the Admirals couldn’t manage to convert in three tries, including 56 seconds of 5-on-3 time during the beginning of the third period.

Box Score
Team 1 2 3 OT SO Final
Toronto Marlies 0 0 0 0 0 0
Milwaukee Admirals 0 0 0 0 1 1
Location Bradley Center – Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Winning Goaltender Mark Dekanich
Losing Goaltender Ben Scrivens
First Star Mark Dekanich (MIL)
Second Star Ben Scrivens (TOR)
Third Star Mark Van Guilder (MIL)
Attendance 6,843
Sunday, January 9 vs. Hamilton Bulldogs

Mark Dekanich stopped 28 shots while Aaron Johnson and Teemu Laakso both notched two assists, helping Milwaukee top Hamilton 3-2 Sunday afternoon at the Bradley Center, bringing their four-game homestand to a close with four wins.

Linus Klasen also posted two points for the Ads with a goal and an assist on the night, giving him his ninth multi-point game of the season.

Hamilton got on board first at 3:02 in the first period. Off a pass from Mathieu Carle, J.T. Wyman put the puck past Milwaukee goaltender Mark Dekanich. Brendon Nash also picked up a helper.

Klasen answered back putting the Admirals on the board at 7:16 . Laakso passed the puck to Johnson who fired a shot from the point that Klasen managed to deflect past Hamilton goalie Curtis Sandford.

Just minutes later, Ryan Thang gave Milwaukee the lead. Klasen fed the puck to Johnson who hammered a wrister to the net, which was deflected by Sanford and tipped in by Thang, giving him his fifth point in the last six games.

Blake Geoffrion scored short-handed at 9:52 of the second, putting the Admirals up 3-1. Jonathon Blum passed the puck off the wall to Geoffrion who gained control of the puck and went on a 2-on-1 attack with Gabriel Bourque to his left. Geoffrion fired a wrist shot that went off the glove of Sanford and into the net.

Wyman was the lone scorer for Hamilton putting his second of the game in just 47 seconds later. Aaron Palushaj and Alexander Avtsin picked up the assists.

Dekanich had another strong performance, stopping all 13 Hamilton shots in the third period and helping the Admirals kill off a pair of penalties, to increase his record to 15-5-3.

Box Score
Team 1 2 3 Final
Hamilton Bulldogs 1 1 0 2
Milwaukee Admirals 2 1 0 3
Location Bradley Center – Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Winning Goaltender Mark Dekanich
Losing Goaltender Curtis Sanford
First Star Linus Klasen (MIL)
Second Star J.T. Wyman (HAM)
Third Star Aaron Johnson (MIL)
Attendance 3,737

League Leaders

Player Name Category Rank
Mark Dekanich GAA 3rd (1.77)
Mark Dekanich Save % 3rd (.938)
Mark Dekanich Wins 4th (15)
Mark Dekanich Shutouts 2nd (4)
Chris Mueller SHG 5th (3)
Chris Mueller GWG 3rd (4)

Division Standings

West Division GP W L OTL SOL PTS
Peoria Rivermen 38 25 10 2 1 53
Milwaukee Admirals 40 23 11 2 4 52
San Antonio Rampage 40 25 14 1 0 51
Texas Stars 38 21 13 2 2 46
Chicago Wolves 42 21 17 2 2 46
Houston Aeros 42 21 18 1 2 45
Oklahoma City Barons 40 19 15 2 4 44
Rockford Ice Hogs 36 16 15 1 4 37

The Week Ahead

Date Time Opponent Location
Thursday, January 13, 2011 7:30 pm Manitoba Moose Winnipeg, Manitoba
Saturday, January 15, 2011 7:30 pm Manitoba Moose Winnipeg, Manitoba

Quick Notes

  • Andreas Thuresson was called up to the Predators on Saturday, while Linus Klasen returned to the Admirals. Chris Mueller remains in Nashville.
  • Jamie Lundmark left the team on Saturday, reportedly after requesting permission from the Predators due to family circumstances. Lundmark was released unconditionally and signed with Timra of the Swedish Elite League.
  • Voting for the AHL All Star Classic ended yesterday and teams are expected to be announced tomorrow.

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GAME RECAPS COURTESY OF MILWAUKEE ADMIRALS

PHOTO CREDIT: Scott Paulus