Editorial Milwaukeehockey.com Disclaimer - the words/graphics on this page do not reflect the views of anyone other than the moron who runs this site. If you're easily offended, go away. Send me your thoughts Post traumatic stress May 3, 2007 I gave myself a week to get over it. A week isn't long enough, but I cannot wait much longer before the trickle of emails asking when I'm going to update becomes too unbearable to read. After the Chicago Wolves embarrassed the Admirals last week in a four game first round playoff sweep, I tried to take my mind away from it... spending mere minutes in updating the main page ticker as I tried to distance myself from the agony. I turned to the local racing scene and watched my friend's sprint car win at the Dodge County fairgrounds last weekend. Therapeutic and exciting. His first win as a car owner. It helped to keep my mind off the horror from a few days earlier. Still, as I try to follow the AHL and NHL playoffs, my stomach turns... my head spins... No, a week isn't long enough. As far as following the rest of the playoffs, I don't have a 'horse' in the race. As I predicted, my three favorite teams (Milwaukee, Nashville, Pittsburgh) wouldn't go far... but all three lost in the first round with a combined total of just two wins. It doesn't get much worse than that. I could follow the World tournament in Moscow featuring at least 10 former Admirals, including Kim Staal, who joined Team Denmark soon after his duties in Milwaukee were cut drastically short, but I just cannot get myself hyped up for that. So, I will turn my thoughts from the ugly past to the future. The summer doesn't stop me from working on providing news and information, but it does slow down. Way down. Weeks can go by without much to chew on... but I gather what I can to settle your appetite. I also tend to tweak the look of the site each summer. Not sure how much I'll do this time around, as I'm fairly content. I'm interested in setting this page up differently in order to set up an XML feed for you to subscribe to, so that you do not have to stop by every day wondering if I updated this page. That's something I will need to do my homework on to see if it's within my mental grasp and worth my trouble. I've just begun to use feeds for my favorite sites, and it saves me a lot of time. Every season, more than half of the team does not return. A fact of life in minor league hockey. I will track who is going where this summer and will form a chart on the Players page in the coming month or so. I will post what I know when I find out, so it's a waste of time to ask me where a certain player from this season will be next season. I still have some catching up to do with updating the history and statistical pages and putting up the final few batches of photos. Have patience, as I may need another week to recover before being ready to dive back into the world of Admirals hockey again. And before I go, I know many of the Admiral players (and their families) read this site. I'd like to thank all of you for your efforts this season. Yep, the end result was disappointing, but you guys fought through some uphill battles this season to make the season respectable. Good luck next season, and enjoy your summer. Playoff predictions April 20, 2007 I should have done this a few days ago, before the playoffs started in the East... but I'll stick my neck out and provide my playoff picks. Hopefully I don't come across as being too clueless. The West First round Milwaukee over the Chicago... and I think it'll take 7 games. Omaha over Iowa... Omaha won 8 of their 12 meetings. Manitoba over Grand Rapids... the Griffins were bad down the stretch. Hamilton over Rochester... the Amerks were a better team in the first half of the season. Second round Omaha over Milwaukee Manitoba over Hamilton Semifinals Manitoba over Omaha The East First round Hershey over Albany... the Rats have the worst record of any playoff team. Wilkes Barre over Norfolk... two 108 point teams go at it early. Manchester over Worcester... Monarchs allowed the fewest goals all season. Hartford over Providence... Hartford beat the Bruins in their last 4 meetings. Second round Wilkes Barre over Hershey Manchester over Hartford Semifinals Manchester over Wilkes Barre... but only if Jason LaBarbera is back from his leg injury. Calder Cup Finals Manchester over Manitoba MVP - LaBarbera Blast me now or later. Recent user comments Damfino writes... Did you see Claude the trumpeter hanging upside down from the glass on Friday night? I couldn't believe my eyes! If it was a stunt it was a damn good one. If he had fallen they would have carried him of the ice to the hospital. I don't think it was a stunt. I think he was going to sit on top of the glass and blow his horn. I took a quick picture of it, but didn't have time to get it focused perfectly.         He was able to catch himself from crashing headfirst to the ice by keeping one leg hooked over the top of the glass. Sy writes... Do you have any idea what started the fight in the Peoria-Milwaukee game? I've got video of the fight at (warning 72 Megs): http://files-upload.com/171005/MVI_0326.AVI.html but I missed the beginning. Peoria had some chances, but totally collapsed in the latter part of the game. Ads were not impressive (especially when Durno failed to get us custard :-)) I'm assuming it's ok to share your download link. If not, let me know, and I'll remove the link. It looked like words were exchanged about 15 seconds before they fought... Rocky threw down the gloves first, but T.J. (smartly) wanted to wait until the Admirals flurry in front of the Peoria net ended. Hard to say if it was a friendly agreement to fight, or if T.J. said something to spark it. T.J. and Rocky fought once before this season in a memorable bout in front of a large concert night crowd. Public service announcement April 16, 2007 I'm sitting in my seat waiting for Sunday afternoon's game to begin... when I get a hot sensation in my pants. A really hot sensation. A "god damn this hurts!" sensation. I lept to my feet and emptied my left pocket where the pain was coming from. Cell phone, ticket stub, a few coins, and extra AA rechargeable batteries for my camera. One of the batteries was hot to the touch and partially melted. It must have come in contact with the coins in a way to spark a short circuit. I knew better, but I have been carrying my spare batteries in my pocket with other items for over a year this way. Needless to say, I learned my lesson and will find a new way to carry around my spare batteries. I'm thinking of a small pocket size case to hold 4 or 6 AA's. Perhaps something like this is available at a store near me. I bring up this embarrassing story as a 'heads up' to others who may also throw their batteries in a pocket or a purse without imagining the consequences. Perhaps that hot battery helped in some cosmic way to spark the Admirals to their 4-0 win over Peoria. Overall a good effort by the Admirals against a Peoria team that looked exhausted, although the typical Admirals 'prevent defense' was used with a 2-0 lead. In a game like this with nothing to lose, it would have been nice to see them work on developing a killer instinct. Instead, they usually kept three players back unless the puck was under control in the offensive zone. The prevent defense will not work in the playoffs against a team with a huge offensive arsenal like Chicago. If the Admirals get a lead on the Wolves, they cannot afford to ease up in the offensive zone. Taking a look at the final season standings, I noticed a few things... - Albany makes the playoffs with 81 points in the Eastern Conference, while Lowell (88) and Portland (86) of the Atlantic division are packing up their belongings this week. If the AHL would mirror the NHL playoff format, Albany's season would be done, and Lowell would be the 8th and final seed in the East. - Every AHL team with a winning record (over 40 wins) made the playoffs, while Grand Rapids and Albany each snuck in with only 37 wins. - Despite the 4-0 win in the final game, Milwaukee finished the season a -3 (227 goals for, 230 against). Compare that to +34 last season, +40 the year before, and +78 when the Admirals won the Cup in '04. This despite the revised officiating to limit obstruction over the past two seasons. I really do not like that trend. - Of the 40 home games, Culver's only had to give away free custard (5+ Milwaukee goals) twice this season. Not a bad investment for how many times they were mentioned at the BC and on the radio this season. The Admirals are in a 29 game home streak with fewer than five goals. On the road, Milwaukee scored at least five goals 8 times in 40 games. League leaders 1st - Scoring defensemen - Sheldon Brookbank (53 pts.) 1st - Rookie assists - Cal O'Reilly (47), 9th overall 1st - Rookie penalty minutes - Kelsey Wilson (215), 8th overall 5th - Rookie scoring - Cal O'Reilly (65 pts.) 6th - Goals against average - Pekka Rinne (2.34) 6th - Save percentage - Pekka Rinne (92.0%) 6th - Shorthanded goals - Rich Peverley (4) 7th - Insurance goals - Rich Peverley (5) 8th - Game winning goals - Sheldon Brookbank (6) 8th - Scoring defensemen - Ville Koistinen (41 pts.) 9th - Shootout save percentage - Pekka Rinne (67%) 9th - Power play assists - Ville Koistinen (23) 10th - Shutouts - Pekka Rinne (3) 11th - Attendance - Milwaukee Admirals (5701 per game) 11th - Power play assists - Sheldon Brookbank (22) 14th - Wins - Karl Goehring (22) 17th - Goals - Rich Peverley (30) 19th - Scoring - Rich Peverley (68 Pts.) Clarkie writes... Ads 4 - Peoria 0...with an empty netter...Odd game. Note - Rocky Thompson is one of THE UGLIEST dudes you will ever see! #55 for the Rivermen. He wears the 'A', decent player, won't hurt ya' but the no teeth in front, greasy long hair down the back with the crooked nose is freakin' scary! After his fight with TJ (Reynolds) in the first, he blew a kiss at the big board! Yuck! At any rate, kinda rooted for Peoria...Odd. BUT - to see a team that has its whole future in its destiny - Toronto beat Grand Rapids 5 - 1... All the Rivermen had to do was win...and they just didn't do it. So, its 3 - 2 Omaha in CHI over the Wolves right now in the second in the Division title game...Hope Omaha wins - as we have a much better chance of beating CHI in the first round than Omaha. Either way, I think we lose second round...regardless...Playoffs start next Friday on the road... Here's a story I read early this season about Rocky. He found the Lord during his playing career and started a weekly chapel service for the team. As recently as a year or two ago, he used to have short hair... but this season he's trying to look like Jesus... a very ugly Jesus. And Peoria didn't even have to win on Sunday to make the playoffs. A single point against Milwaukee would have given them the spot via a tie-breaker over Grand Rapids. Knowing that, I'm amazed the Rivermen couldn't put up more of a fight. It's the most wonderful time of the year April 12, 2007 My favorite time of the calendar year. Spring. It means warmer temperatures, thoughts of what I want to do this summer, and time for playoff hockey. But quite frankly, the playoff hockey part has not pumped me up as much as it has in the past three seasons. My three favorite teams (Milwaukee, Nashville, Pittsburgh) all made the playoffs, so I should be ecstatic... but instead there's an empty feeling this go-round. And that's not to say I'm counting any of my teams from having a chance at postseason success... anything can happen. Maybe after the first round I'll feel better. It now appears that the Admirals will share the West division bracket with Omaha, Chicago, and Iowa (Peoria still has a slim mathematical chance to pass Iowa). Omaha Has an almost airtight defensive game (ranked 2nd in the league) that the Admirals have had trouble figuring out (16 goals scored and one win in 9 games), but the Knights cannot score (ranked 24th in the league). How many games have the Knights won by a score of 1-0 or 2-1 this season? I cannot see the Admirals taking the series. Chicago A likely first round opponent. The Admirals won all five games in Rosemont, and the Wolves will have home ice (dis)advantage. Chicago's weak point is goaltending. They will not go far in the playoffs this season, despite having a lethal offensive combo in Sterling/Haydar/Krog. Iowa The Stars have also beaten Milwaukee 9 out of 10 meetings this season. Iowa will toss the undead Admiral logo back into the lake for the summer if they meet in the second round, especially if Dallas loses early and sends a few players back to Iowa. As for Nashville and Pittsburgh. Goaltending gets you far in the playoffs. Tomas Vokoun has not played as well as he normally does since coming back from injury, and Predators' Coach Trotz has apparently decided not to use a more effective Chris Mason. Peter Forsberg appears to have been a poor investment, and missing Steve Sullivan for who-knows-how-long hampers the Preds offensive game. Pittsburgh's tandom of Marc-Andre Fleury and Jocelyn Teabag disappoints me. Fleury shows signs of brilliance every second or third game, but cannot put together a string of games needed to get far in the playoffs. The young guns (Crosby, Malkin, Staal) will score... but I don't believe they'll make it to the conference finals. We'll see how wrong I am in the coming weeks... Allow me to share with you something pretty cool that has kept me occupied lately. I've got an addicting personality. As I noted in an entry on February 27, I enjoy looking at aerial views of our world on sites such as Google Earth. When flying, I insist on having a window seat to look at the land below. Google Earth is good for taking a 'virtual plane trip' to wherever you please, but I found something more satisfying. Local.live.com. At first glance, local.live.com is just another version of a map/aerial view integration. Pick a spot on the map and look at the aerial view. Their unique hook is (in certain areas) to see a 'birds-eye-view' (BEV). Pick a spot on the map (such as Milwaukee), zoom in until the BEV icon lights up, click the icon, and see a low altitude angled perspective. Often-times close enough to read a billboard. Suddenly, cars are not just little colored rectangles... you can usually see what kind of car it is. And instead of grainy satellite photos, most of the BEV shots are in great resolution. Want to see the back-side of a building you're looking at... no problem... click on the compass (N,E,S,W) to see four views of almost every BEV location. Zoom in closer by clicking on the plus sign on the control box. Here's a link to see what I'm talking about with the Bradley Center. Drag your mouse on the picture to view surrounding areas. Also, to enhance the view, close the welcome frame (X in the corner) and hide the inset map by clicking on the < Currently, BEV is available in most large American cities and much of Europe. In our area, it's available along the lakefront from Port Washington to the Indiana state line southeast of Chicago... and along the west from Allenton-to-Waukesha county. Kenosha and Racine counties are available east of I-94 with some spotty locations in the western counties (Burlington, Wilmot). The Janesville-Beloit area is the only other part of the state currently covered. Unfortunately, the only part of Canada I've found is in Windsor, near Detroit. New areas are added to BEV all the time, so check back later to see if an area unavailable now has been loaded into the system. Recently, I've contributed to a site where people can share their BEV (and google maps) findings. Virtual Globetrotting. Almost 30,000 places to look at on that site, with more added each day. See Wisconsin views at this link. Machine gun gripes March 20, 2007 Yeah, yeah, yeah... once again, I've been behind on updating things lately. Honestly, the game on Friday night deflated my spirit, and since then, a few more issues have surfaced, so I'll try to keep each one brief to keep this entry from being too long. The Tootoo punch The NHL suspended Tootoo for five games for an 'unlucky' punch that knocked Stephane Robidas out cold. If you haven't seen it yet, click on this logo... Would Tootoo have gotten five games if Robidas didn't go off on a stretcher? No. Would someone like, let's say, Vern Fiddler have gotten five games for the same thing? No. Tootoo's reputation definitely figured into the suspension. Tootoo's glove stayed on. Nothing dirty... just an unlucky punch to Robidas' melon. The Glumac clip Alex Henry is on crutches from a knee injury caused by this hit in overtime on Friday. The referee (Nygel Pelletier) didn't call a penalty on the play, although the rule book states a check to the knees causing an injury is an automatic 5 minute major and game misconduct. Did Glumac mean to hurt Henry? Probably not, but he was careless with that hip check, and just like an accidental high stick, it's still a penalty. Hearing that Coach Noel agreed with the referee's non-call stirred me up. Insult to injury - Glumac scored the game winning shootout goal. The shootout Having just read a decent article in the Hockey News criticizing NHL teams and players for not taking the shootout seriously, I was pissed by what I saw Friday night. Against a team they are in a playoff race with, Coach Noel chooses three defensemen for the first three rounds of the shootout. Not to mention, Peoria goalie Marek Schwarz was pitching a shutout. I'm guessing Alex Henry would've been the 4th shooter had he not been injured. The shootout blame game The day after that pisspoor shootout strategy, Coach Noel mentioned that the team had been working on the shootout, with Nashville goaltender coach Mitch Korn giving the team some pointers. In an interview during Saturday's game, Korn claimed that he worked with the forwards a few weeks earlier, and even he wondered why three defensemen were used. The wave Water is frozen in hockey, folks. Save the 80's crowd fad for your next softball game. Quick notes - The AHL unanimously voted the Rockford Icehogs into the league for next season. The league is now up to 29 teams, with only one unused franchise, owned by Edmonton, but... - Edmonton signs a three year full affiliation deal with Springfield. That leaves Norfolk without an NHL partner, and Tampa without an AHL partner. It would make geographical sense for those two to sign a deal for next year. - The newest Admiral is Pat Bateman, who just finished his college playing career with Northern Michigan. I wonder if he's ever had the nickname "The Master". Yes? No? Recent user comments Mike writes... It seems (to me at least) that most hockey fans aren't too big on basketball. Well, to be honest, neither am I. Still, I can't resist filling out a few brackets and being drawn into March Madness. Just wondering what your take is on this...do you follow college basketball as a casual fan for these few weeks of the NCAA Tournament, or do you keep your attention on the world of hockey? Do any other die hard Admirals fans that you know pay much attention to the tournament? I personally find it kind of fun, but I could understand those who don't enjoy basketball (and I'm usually one of them) deciding to take a pass. No, I'm not much of a basketball fan. But, I understand the obsession over the NCAA tournament. In no other team sport do you see as many teams from around the country in a championship tournament. Wherever you live, there will be teams in your area to connect with. I've gotten more than my usual fill of it this year, as I record and listen to Steve Czaban's national sports talk show on XM-142 every weekday morning. I seem to remember that the IHL had an online contest for the fans to correctly fill out the IHL hockey playoff brackets. I haven't seen a version of that for the NHL (or AHL), but I'd be interested in guessing those brackets if such a contest exists. Come From Behind Weekend March 11, 2007 I chauffeured a few friends who wanted to go to Chicago to see the Admirals Saturday night. I really didn't want to go, instead wanting to feed off the positive feelings from Friday night's come-from-behind Admirals win over Hamilton. I was afraid my weekend would get spoiled by a visit to the division leader's rink. And early on in the game, my fears were being validated. The Wolves came into the game energized and capitalized on an Admirals defensive blunder, a power play, and a long snap shot that fooled goaltender Pekka Rinne to take the 3-0 lead at the 15:25 mark of the first period. Chris Durno managed a power play goal late in the period to stop the bleeding. The key moment of the game came when the Wolves were whisted for penalties :14 seconds apart, giving Milwaukee a 1:46 5-on-3 power play. I frantically was hoping that Coach Noel would call a timeout and round up the troops to take advantage of this gift-wrapped chance to get back into the game. Coach eventually called the timeout, but almost waited too long as the players were getting ready for the faceoff. Durno scored again on that power play to pull within one... and suddenly the Admirals were back in the game. Going into the third period, I was hoping the team would keep up the pressure. Hoping they would at least get a point out of the game. I was not disappointed, as the team outskated and outdisciplined the Wolves in the final 20 minutes. The Admirals stayed out of the penalty box and scored on one of the three Chicago penalties in the final period. Kim Staal broke out of his shell and scored a power play goal early in the period to tie it up. Bracken Kearns gave Milwaukee the lead less than a minute later, and Staal got the eventual game winner near the midway point of the period. Down 3-0 in the first. Up 5-3 with about ten minutes left in the game. In front of a large Chicago crowd. Unbelievable. The Wolves didn't give up and pulled within one with 2:28 remaining on a goal by Kevin Doell. Tense moments as the teams went back and forth. The Wolves pulled goaltender Michael Garnett for an extra attacker. Thoughts of a Chicago comeback to ruin my weekend crossed my mind. A drive in the final seconds produced a hat trick empty net goal for Chris Durno and a final score of 6-4. Relief. Joy. The 'Glad I Made the Trip' feeling. 15 of the remaining 16 Admiral games are against playoff contenders, including some heavyweights in Manitoba, Omaha (twice), and Chicago (four times). This could be bad news if the competition proves too tough and knocks the Admirals down the standings, but it could also be great news if the team continues to play well and steamrolls into the playoffs knowing they can beat all of these teams. Recent user comments Clarkie writes... Boobirds. Yeah, for the first time in memory - at least four seasons or so, you hear em' come out...It is what it is. We are spoiled now with the teams we've had. And, you know, it isn't that the Ads are a bad team, they just don't have the offense they once had, and a couple of key division foes - Iowa and Omaha, have just figured them out somewhat. It is frustrating to have low scoring games, with the Ads eeking out wins - or seeing us get crushed 3 or 4 zip and feverishly try to mount a comeback. It was fun before to watch US whup up on teams - not so much the other way around... Sometimes we need to be reminded that thankfully, we are not fans in San Antonio (in their 5th straight losing record season), Albany (possibly in their 8th straight losing season), or Springfield (in their 9th straight losing season). Still, that game last Monday was more difficult to swallow because it was San Antonio (minus Taffe and Lehoux) and not a deserving team to take a spanking by like Omaha or Manitoba... and especially since the Admirals are in a tight playoff race. House of Cards March 6, 2007 I sat amongst several boobirds last night. Doug in section 213, as always, let his feelings be known, while several other season ticket holders around me vented their displeasure. Me? I found myself beyond the point of joining the choir around me... instead, I did what I rarely ever do... I left early. I strolled out of the building with about 10 minutes left in the game and the Admirals down 4-0 to a sixth place San Antonio team. A San Antonio team without the services of two top players in Jeff Taffe and Yanick Lehoux. A San Antonio team that has spent 22 of their last 26 games on the road. A San Antonio team that should not have dominated the Admirals through 50 minutes of hockey. After I left, the Admirals managed two goals before allowing an empty netter to make the final score 5-2. John Laliberte scored his first AHL goal. Good for him... I'll make sure to catch the replay of it on the jumbotron before Friday's game. Yes, the standings still show the Admirals in 3rd place. However, the Rivermen are just two points back with five games in hand. And also in the rear-view mirror are the Stars. Just four points back with a game in hand. Unfortunately, the Admirals face Iowa two more times. The Stars have won all 8 games against Milwaukee this season. So, despite what the Journal Sentinel wrote a few weeks ago, the Admirals are not looking like a first round opponent for Omaha. It could happen, but only if the Admirals start taking care of business... most importantly in the two remaining games against Iowa. Also, I want to note that the Roscoe poll on the front page may be confusing to some. Roscoe had a new look for one game, but after I put up the poll, he's returned to being the mutt we have grown to love (or hate). Recent user comments Admiralsfan1 writes... What do you think of the new Roscoe, it looks to me that he went in for plastic surgery and it didn't go very well?   Oilersfan writes... I think that in your poll about Roscoe you should have included the option "I hate Roscoe either way." I mean, seriously, this guy has got to be the worst, most useless mascot in all of sports The new costume certainly struck me as odd. It didn't look as 'friendly' as the old one, and it was shaggier, which may be scarier for young kids to deal with. (Just my thoughts... I'm no child-psychologist). I don't hate Roscoe, although I had serious issues in '98 or '99 when I had my ass grabbed at a preseason game by whomever was in the suit at the time. I understand he's there to entertain the kids. He's a minor league mascot, so I don't expect to be thoroughly entertained by it. Yes, there are certainly better mascots out there, but I have seen worse. Fun with Google Earth February 27, 2007 Many years ago, I had aspirations of getting a career in cartography (map making). In college in Chicago, I even met with reps from Rand McNally. Well, life dealt me several loops, and that dream fizzled, but I've always been a bit of a geography nut. I can stare at an atlas for hours without getting bored. For years I visited the web site MapQuest.com, which had the option of seeing satellite images or aerial photos of about anywhere in the US. I would spend countless hours of bringing up images of anything and everything I could think of. That option was taken off the site in 2004 (has since returned), but I was able to satisfy my appetite on other sites such as terraserver.com, google local, and yahoo maps. Recently, I decided to download Google Earth. I had been scared off from doing it earlier because of warnings that older computers would have trouble running the program. My system was well above par when I built it about 5 years ago, but I've done little in upgrades. Thankfully, Google Earth runs well on my machine... slower than on newer computers, I'm sure, but very functional. I'm now in the early stages of more countless hours picking a location and seeing what I see... but this time in occasional 3D. Some major metro areas and geographic points of interest are shown topographically (buildings and mountains stand tall). In addition to aerial views, you can tilt and pan the map to show horizontal viewpoints. Most areas are two dimensional for now, and many outlying areas are in very low resolution, but in time most of the world will be seen in 3D. What does this have to do with hockey?, you may ask. Well, I spent part of this morning looking up AHL arenas. Those of you who have Google Earth can view these links of the Western Conference barns: Milwaukee's Bradley Center Chicago's Allstate Arena - yes, there is a Target store across the street Peoria's Carver Arena (low resolution) Iowa's Wells Fargo Arena Omaha's Civic Auditorium San Antonio's AT&T Center Houston's Toyota Center - in 3D Grand Rapids' Van Andel Arena (poor quality image) Manitoba's MTS Centre Hamilton's Copps Coliseum Toronto's Ricoh Coliseum Rochester's Blue Cross Arena Syracuse's War Memorial And coming next season... Lake Erie's Quicken Loans Arena - in 3D Rockford's Metro Center Recent user comments Richard writes... I would like to know if you have the following information regarding the 1976-77 USHL season: Did the USHL have a First & Second Team All-Star team selected for that season (either by league, by Northern & Southern Divisions, or both)? If so, can you tell me who the players are and their positions? Who are the award winners for that season: MVP (regular season): Rookie of the Year: Best Defenseman: Most Sportsmanlike Player: Goaltender's Trophy: Coach of the Year: MVP (playoffs): Any help answering these questions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for taking the time. Hopefully you read this Richard. You sent me this query from my contact page, but you didn't include your email address for me to reply to. As you probably realize, information from the semi-pro era of the USHL is very hard to find. The USHL became a teenage amateur junior league in 1979, and league references generally ignore USHL history before '79. 1976-77 was the final year of the Admirals in the USHL, as the team stepped up to the IHL the following season. The best chance of finding all of your answers would be in searching old Milwaukee newspaper articles on microfilm, and that chore may not turn up a thing, as the Journal's coverage of the Admirals then was about as bad as it is now. I usually only hit up the microfilm machine in the summer, when I need a 'hockey fix' to get through the offseason. It can be very frustrating to find answers about the history of the Admirals that way, but is very rewarding when you find a juicy nugget. I dream of having access to old Hockey News papers... that would be invaluable. The three 77-78 game programs that I own do not have a recap of the previous season, but here's what little I've found in the player bios: - The USHL apparently honored seperate all star teams for the first half and second half of the season. - Michel Lachance, who joined the Admirals late that season, was named as an all star for the second half of the 76-77 season. - In his bio, Pierre Allard was named to the "second all star team" (no idea if this means he was a second team honor for the whole season, or an all star for the second half of the season) - Rich Kramp was a "perennial all star" in the USHL for the previous four seasons (Grand Rapids in 76-77) - And for what it's worth, Alain Myette was named an all star for the first half of the 1977-78 season with Green Bay before being promoted to the Admirals in the IHL. If anyone has answers for Richard, I'll post them here, and if he provides me with his email address after reading this, I'll forward any responses I get to him. Clarkie writes... Its now official. The Ads really have no offense - and they can't beat teams that have figured them out. Can't beat Iowa, can barely beat Omaha on ocassion. Bad news for the Calder Cup playoffs this spring. Which stinks, cause' I'm going to have to buy the whole shabang in one package - then have to give back 3/4 of the tix! Can you tell I'm a little frustrated after last Friday night's 0 - 1 performance? Brandon (Segal) hit it on the head. Most missed player - Darren Haydar. My fiance is like, "Where's that Gamache guy? That Haydar? Why can't we score!" Sigh. With injuries to Steve Sullivan and Scott Hartnell in Nashville, I wondered which Admiral forward might get called up soon... and I had trouble thinking of a 'no brainer' pick for Nashville. Ramzi Abid and Pat Leahy are coming off injuries and may not be ready, experimenting with newly-signed Rich Peverley might be an option, but I'd like to see them reward Brandon Segal for his unselfish years of toiling in the system. As for the Admirals not scoring... true it's frustrating, but they somehow score more often (168 goals) than Omaha (153) and Peoria (149)... the difference being that those two teams allow far fewer goals than Milwaukee. My gameday routine February 21, 2007 I make every effort not to miss an Admiral home game. Since '98, I can count on one hand how many games I've been kept away from. The down-side to being such a regular fan is that you eventually lose the extra special feeling of going to a game. At times, it can be almost tedious... especially when the schedule packs a bunch of home games in a short time. Recently, the Admirals had six home games in ten days (Feb. 9-18), including three days in a row, and I questioned myself a few times why I kept putting myself through the trouble. Many of you can probably relate. Get home from work... throw on a hockey jersey... maybe grab a quick bite to eat... and hit the road. For me it's a 35-40 minute drive... find a parking spot... and walk through the turnstile. Very routine up to this point. Once at the game, there are occasionally things that make the night a little different or special from the rest... whether it's a themed jersey worn by the team, a concert, celebrity guests, or a new player joining the team worth watching... the Admirals do a fair amount to shake up the routine... but sometimes it's not enough to erase the tedious feeling. After I get my coat off, I walk a few laps around the building... take pictures during pregame warmups for this site... chat with an usher or two that I've gotten to know... and (hopefully) enjoy the game. After the game... drive home... go right to bed... get woken up by an alarm clock telling me to go to work. With several games in a short time, that makes my free time to get things done at home very limited, so I feel like I seldom get a chance to unwind. It's also a reason why this site isn't always updated as quickly as you (and I) would prefer. But you know what? The pride I get of being a loyal fan makes the tiring times worth it... especially when the team goes on to win the Cup. Yeah, I'll get worn out, but I'll still be there for every game. Recent user comments GOEHRINGfan1 writes... What are your thoughts on the Scottie Upshall trade? My initial reactions are in the previous entry below (Feb. 16), but since then, Upshall has gone on to score two goals and an assist in his first two games as a Flyer. And I just knew that would happen. A player doesn't live up to expectations... gets traded and suddenly becomes a better player. Three examples of this cry out to me. - Kris Beech dragged ass in Milwaukee last year and became a key member on the Hershey Bears team that beat the Admirals in the Calder Cup Finals. - Shane Endicott matched the scoring production he had with Milwaukee this season in just 7 games with Portland. - And the worst example... Timo Helbling was a complete cancer on the team in 2003... by far the team's worst defenseman. He leaves town and elevates his game enough to make the Tampa Bay Lightning opening night roster last season and got a callup from Hershey to Washington earlier this season. It was evident Upshall would not stay in Nashville forever. He's now in a place to showcase what he can do, and it's almost a make-it-or-break-it time in his career. I don't dislike Upshall like I did for Beech, Endicott, and Helbling, but I still had the gut feeling he would be a spark plug for the Flyers. Hell, any of the Rockford Icehogs would be an improvement for the Flyers this year. No longer just an expansion team February 16, 2007 Yesterday, the Nashville Predators pulled off the biggest trade in team history... acquiring Peter Forsberg from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for former Admirals Scottie Upshall, Ryan Parent, and two draft picks. And along with it, they sent a message to the league that they mean business. Hey, I'm a Predators fan, but I am a little torn over this. Nashville is gambling that Forsberg will strengthen their chances at lifting the Stanley Cup and will help sagging attendance numbers at the GEC. His 11 goals this season are nothing to boast about, but he is still one of the league's best players. He might just be a 90 day experiment, as he's not guaranteed to stay in Nashville next season. The Predators' team chemistry was already as good as ever, as the team had risen to the top of the league standings, and arguably already had all the tools to win the Cup... but getting Forsberg was an offer too good for the Predators to pass up. The reason I'm torn is this deal probably hurts Milwaukee for a few years to come. The Admirals likely lose one good player (Ryan Parent) for next season, and two more (the draft picks) in the following seasons. It's impossible to tell exactly how this will affect Milwaukee, as sometimes draft picks are duds or go straight to the NHL, but the potential for losing a difference-maker (or two) in Milwaukee is pretty high. But I won't whine and complain about it. That's the fact of life for a farm club. We've been fortunate that Nashville has put so many good prospects through Milwaukee over the past few seasons, so we'll have to accept an occasional short-end-of-the-stick. Recent user comments Mike writes... Nashville now owns Peter Forsberg. Are you ready to go out on a limb and predict a Stanley Cup championship this season for the Preds? I know I am. I'm enthusiastic for the Predators chances, but cautiously. Many times in recent years, top seeded teams have fallen to teams that had to fight their way into the playoffs. Then again, Detroit could squeak past the Predators in the standings, dropping Nashville to the #4 seed. The playoffs are all about matchups. Let's hope Nashville gets some good ones. Mitch writes... I definately second the rock music!! Also, I think they play the "Jump on It" every time our goaltender "Jumps" on a rebound. I made that connection, but then again it could just be coincidence... I hate it too, by the way... Damfino writes... More polka music and Johnny Cash! More Jordin Tootoo hilites. The next game after my rant, that annoying "jump on it" sound clip was not used... and seemingly a few more rock songs were played. If my complaining here make a difference, then thanks to whomever listened. Could've been just a one game fluke and my blood pressure will suffer for the rest of the season while that fad carries on. I'm all for the Johnny Cash suggestion... especially if we could hear more than just "Ring of Fire" ("Folsom Prison Blues" or how about the hook from "Cry, Cry, Cry" when the other team complains to the ref). Here's another suggestion... Brewers players choose a song to be played when they come to bat... perhaps Admiral players could choose a song to play when they do something special. Oilersfan writes... I just saw a picture of the new full-body Admiral bobble head on the official website...I'm not too impressed. Thoughts? I'm guessing the team submits a design for the bobbleheads to the company that makes them and has to live with the final product. It does look a little awkward in the pic on the Admirals site, but it'll sit alongside all my other hockey figurines no matter how ugly it is. A week ago Clarkie writes... Ads 3 - SA 2 ...in the shootout. Not much remarkable. BUT - Klein (I think) hip checked a guy RIGHT INTO the Ads bench! This Rampage player is laying on three sitting Ads laps, with his feet sticking straight up in the air! Comical. That will be on highlight reels for years...and, in the shootout, no goals, the first four rounds. Who does Claude put out there? Nolan Yonkman. The biggest, slowest dude out there! (Don't get me wrong. I like him. Big, tough, strong, and he is a dead - ringer for Steven Segal!)...at any rate, the whole crowd gets on there feet. I'm like - "You gotta' be kidding me!" He scores the game winner. Go figure. There were several kids sitting near me, so I had to try real hard not to unload some F bombs when Yonkman came to center ice for the shootout. The team dressed 11 forwards, but Noel chose, not one..., not two..., but three defenseman for the shootout!! Does he have no faith in the guys whose main job is to put the puck in the net?!? Okay... let me think... me neither. Maybe he was right to put the 6'5" lumberjack in for the shootout. Heck the team already got a point on the night... so one more would be a bonus. I think Yonkman is a decent defenseman, but he would be below Goehring and Rinne on my list of shootout contenders. His goal makes the year-end highlight DVD that I wish the team would produce. One Goal Games February 13, 2007 32 of the 54 Admiral games thus far have been decided by one goal, with a handful more being decided by two after an empty net goal in the closing minutes. The last eight Milwaukee victories have been by one goal. You have to go back to December 27 (4-2 at Peoria) to find a game where Milwaukee won by two without the benefit of an empty netter... a game they were leading 4-0. Only four times all season have the Admirals won by more than two goals... three of those coming against Grand Rapids and once in Chicago. Milwaukee has outshot their opponents in only 21 of the 54 games - a stat that was even worse (16 of 48) before the team reversed the trend in 5 of the last 6 games. In only 3 of the last 22 games have the Admirals scored more than one power play goal. Verdict - this team does not know how to take control of an opponent and bury them when they have the chance... unless they're playing the Griffins. With three home games this past weekend against the two lowest teams in the divisional standings, I was hoping to see at least one blowout... but instead, we end up seeing the team outscored 10-9 (excluding the goal credited for the shootout win). Too often I see the Admirals trying to protect a lead instead of pressing the issue in the offensive zone... only sending two players deep in the zone and not taking risks with the forecheck. Things need to change during the final weeks of the season if this team will make a dent in the postseason. Another issue I want to address is one I've had problems with for many years... Don't let the standings fool you! Next to the win/loss columns, the percent column currently shows the Admirals at .565 (26-19-3-6). Because of that many people say (or think) Milwaukee has a winning record. Wrong!! 26 wins in 54 games is not a winning record. The team has 'benefitted' from getting points in 9 losses beyond regulation. In fact, the Admirals have not had a winning record all season. If I were in control... I'd list the standings with a win-total losses-points-points% format. Group all the losses together, but show the OT and shootout loss totals seperate for reference. Currently, the division would look like this: 2/13/07 GP W L Pts % OTL SOL Chicago 56 34 22 75 .670 2 5 Omaha 51 30 21 64 .627 3 1 Milwaukee 54 26 28 61 .565 3 6 Peoria 48 25 23 54 .563 2 2 Iowa 51 25 26 53 .520 2 1 Houston 53 20 33 48 .453 3 5 San Antonio 54 22 32 48 .444 1 3 Gone would be the illusion that nearly all of the teams in the league are winning more often than they are losing. As you can see, Chicago and Omaha are doing very well... Milwaukee, Peoria, and Iowa are near .500... and the Texas teams are truly 'down South'. While I'm in gripe mode... Why do we need to hear the 'Jump On It' sound clip 5-6 times a game?? Not only is it annoying to listen to, it causes people in front of me to stand up and do some stupid dance... blocking my view of the game. Is this the new macarena? A lame fad that will die away soon? If so, play it once. Get it out of the way during an extended stoppage of play and put the song away for the night afterwards. We don't need to hear it all night long. And while I'm at it... I wish we could hear more rock music at the games. Hockey and rock music are a perfect marriage - fast, blood-pumping, exciting, inspiring, and intense. Archived Editorials Oct. 1 - Oct. 11, 2006 Oct. 15 - Oct. 24, 2006 Oct. 29 - Nov. 11, 2006 Nov. 14 - Nov. 30, 2006 Dec. 2 - Dec. 24, 2006 Jan. 1 - Feb. 6, 2007 Feedback Form Let me know what you think. As time permits, I will share your thoughts on this site. If you do not want your comments shared, then note that in your message. Include your email address if you want a reply. Your name/nickname: Your thoughts: Select comments (or partial comments) will be published on this site. If you do not want your thoughts shared, note that in your message.