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May 2009 Archives
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A while ago, I wrote about the Bradley Center receiving state funds ($500k per year for 10 years) for building maintenance and improvements. This week, the state's Joint Finance Committee has recommended paying the $5 million sum over a two year period.
Read the full story in the Business Journal. The money from the state will help fund about $23 million in upcoming improvements to the building. Here are some bullet points for how the money will be spent:
** A new scoreboard at a cost of $4-4.5 million. (widescreen high-def???)
** A new hockey rink system at a cost of $200-300k (hopefully that includes new frickin' glass)
** New handrails in the seating area
** Replacing or repairing many seats
** Replacing heating, air conditioning, lighting, and electrical systems
** A team store, sit-down restaurant, and a family interactive area
I won't set my hopes too high for a magical restoration of the entire facility to my liking. I'm afraid they'll go with the lowest bidding contractor and get a half-assed job on many of the tasks, but I guess that would be better than doing nothing at all.
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The Calder Cup Final matchup was determined today. Hershey advanced in the East after beating Providence in Game Five this afternoon, and Manitoba dropped Houston in Game Six this evening.
The Moose and Bears did not meet this season, but Manitoba has a three game winning streak intact against Hershey from last season.
This is the first playoff final series in the 15 year history of the Moose franchise, including two seasons in Minnesota.
Hershey is making it's 21st final series appearance in 76 seasons, with many of those coming when the AHL was a much smaller league in the early decades of the Bears franchise. However, to their credit, this is their third Calder Cup Final appearance in the last four seasons. The Bears have won the Cup nine times, most recently in 2006 at the Bradley Center.
Go Moose.
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As the pain of the Admirals season ending playoff loss has subsided, my full attention has been spent on the NHL playoffs, where my favorite team since childhood, the Pittsburgh Penguins, continues to cruise along. They currently hold a 3-0 lead over Carolina in the Eastern Conference Final Series. As I type this, Detroit is about to go up 3-1 over the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference.
I live and work near Kenosha, which unfortunately has a large number of Chicago sports fans. At work, I'm always subjected to Bears-Packers or Cubs-Brewers arguments. I tend not to get involved in those discussions since I'm not a big baseball fan, and, well..., as a Steelers fan, I have trouble stooping to the levels of NFC North Division bickering. I'd rather hear Saints and Falcons fans yell at each other. At least their accents would be worth listening to.
In the last few weeks, a few of my coworkers have begun vocally thumping their chest about the Blackhawks. I can only shake my head at them for jumping on the bandwagon.
Part of me wants Chicago to beat Detroit, because I really hate the Wings. It would also set up a replay of the 1992 Stanley Cup Final when the Penguins swept the Hawks for their second straight title.
Part of me wants Detroit to beat Chicago, because I really hate the city of Chicago. It would also set up a rematch of last season's Cup Final. The Penguins would have a chance to work on unfinished business.
In Admirals news, the team promoted Charlie Larson to Vice President of Communications. To that, I say congratulations. He has honestly paid his dues. Soon after joining the Admirals, he was the gameday host, where he didn't mind embarrassing himself by dancing for the Pepsi Twist and the Chancery Dance for Your Dinner promotions.
He will probably not like it, but I dug through my clipart archive and found a Separated at Birth joke I whipped up several years ago to poke fun at him. Enjoy...
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The Admirals season came to an end tonight, as they were unable to stop the Houston Aeros in game 7 of the Divisional Final playoff series.
The tone of the night was set after Houston scored twice in the first five minutes of the game. Patric Hornqvist gave the home fans some hope with a power play goal late in the first period to make it a 2-1 game.
 The Aeros went up 3-1 in the second from a power play goal. Mike Santorelli's goal with a minute left in the period brought it back to being a one goal game.
Former Admirals Tony Hrkac and Bryan Lundbohm put the final nail in the Admirals coffin, as Hrkac fed Lundbohm for the back breaker. The Aeros added an empty netter to make the final score 5-2.
Houston advances to play Manitoba in the Western Conference Final series. Games one and two will be Friday and Saturday in Winnipeg.
This site continues on during the offseason, but at a slower pace. In the meantime, I'll be enjoying my Pittsburgh Penguins journey of returning to the Stanley Cup Final for a second straight year. They disposed of the Flying Ovechkins 6-2 tonight in Washington to advance to the Conference Final series.
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Like most people on Mother's Day, I spent a good part of Sunday with my Mom. Unlike most people, we spent part of that time watching a hockey game from Switzerland.
She doesn't have cable or satellite TV, but she does get digital channels over the air. Chicago's NBC station airs Universal Sports on channel 5.3
While flipping through the channels, I came across the gold medal game in the World Championships featuring Russia and Canada. (The Americans finished fourth behind Sweden). Sixteen former Admirals took part in the sixteen team tournament. Five former Admirals took part in Sunday's gold medal game.
Canada's roster included Shea Weber (who was an alternate captain), Chris Mason, Dan Hamhuis, and Scottie Upshall. Russia's team had Alexander Radulov. You should pretty much guess who I was pulling for in Sunday's game.
Weber won two awards for Best Defenseman in the tournament (one from the tournament, one from the media). He was the highest scoring defenseman in the tournament (4g, 8a), and was third highest overall. His stock continues to rise as he may become the most successful former Admiral when his career is over.
Mason finished with the best save percentage (96.5) and goals against average (1.00) in the tournament. He allowed four goals in four games and had one shutout. He split time with Edmonton's Dwayne Roloson, who was between the pipes in the title game.
Hamhuis had two goals and two assists in the tournament, while Upshall finished with one assist.
Radulov... Admiral and Predator fans pretty much consider him a prick for skipping out on his NHL contract last summer to play in Russia. I loved the dude while he was here, but he has since lost all my respect. He finished with 4 goals and 6 assists (second to Ilya Kovalchuk on the team) in the tournament. One of those four goals was the game winning goal on Sunday (video below). Russia won the game 2-1. After the final horn Radulov wrapped himself in a Russian flag while celebrating.
I found one thing kinda cool during the postgame awards ceremony. The four officials (two refs and two linesmen) who worked the final game were given an award. A plaque or medal of some sort... I didn't catch a good look at it. A real nice gesture.
Other Admirals in the tournament:
Austria - Jeremy Rebek, Oliver Setzinger
Denmark - Kim Staal
Finland - Pekka Rinne, Ville Koistinen, Janne Niskala, Mikko Lehtonen
Latvia - Karlis Skrastins
Slovakia - Jan Lasak, Peter Smrek
USA - Ryan Suter
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May, 6 2006. Milwaukee annihilated Houston 7-0 in game 2 of the Divisional Finals at the Bradley Center.
Tonight. Milwaukee annihilated Houston 7-0 in game 6 of the Divisional Finals at the Bradley Center.
Four players were involved in both of those games. Cal O'Reilly for Milwaukee and Houston's Clayton Stoner, Bryan Lundbohm, and Benoit Pouliot. The 2006 game was made even more memorable by Jordin Tootoo of all people getting a hat trick.
Seven different Admirals scored to force a game 7.
Hugh Jessiman and Robert Dietrich scored on starting goaltender Anton Khudobin. Houston replaced Khudobin with Nolan Schaefer after just seven shots. This was Schaefer's first game since March 31, as he has been out injured.
Patric Hornqvist made it 3-0 less than two minutes before the first intermission. Milwaukee outshot the Aeros 12-5 in the first frame.
The Admirals dominated the second period with goals by Bryan Smolinski, Mike Santorelli, and Cody Franson. They held a 12-6 shot advantage in the middle frame.
Houston showed a little more life in the third period, but could not beat Drew MacIntyre. Ryan Maki recorded his first goal of the playoffs with just over two minutes left in the game.
Game 7 is Wednesday at the Bradley Center. The winner of that game advances to face a well-rested Manitoba Moose team.
Looking through YouTube videos tonight, I found that Time Warner Sports has clips available. Here's the latest Admirals video from TWS:
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I didn't listen to much of Milwaukee's game tonight. I was drooling over the Penguins-Capitals game on TV instead. Pittsburgh won in OT (Whoo Hooo!!) and took a 3-2 lead in the series.
The AHL affiliates of those two teams (Hershey and Wilkes Barre) are copying what's happening on the NHL level. Hershey went up 2 games to 0, as did Washington. Wilkes Barre won the next three, as did Pittsburgh. Both Penguins teams won the pivotal game 3 in overtime on the same night.
The Admirals came into the night needing to win three straight games to keep their season alive.
One change to the Admirals lineup. Jonathon Blum dressed, while Tim Ramholt was scratched.
Houston's Corey Locke took the lead nine minutes into the game with a power play goal. I didn't hear the description of the play because WSSP's online feed was stuck in a long commercial break. When they came back from commercial, they rejoined Aaron in mid-sentence, making me think someone at the station f'ed up (this happened again later in the game). The online feed does not feature the same commercials of what is heard over the air.
I did hear the Admirals tie it up 56 seconds later. Bryan Smolinski scored for the first time since being signed prior to the second round of the playoffs. The NHL veteran of 1179 games by all accounts has not performed up to par so far in this series. Before the first period ended, Smolinski scored again to give Milwaukee a 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission.
Andreas Thuresson put the Admirals up 3-1 early in the second period. Smolinski assisted on the play.
Kelsey Wilson make it 4-1 midway through the second period. Houston replaced goaltender Anton Khudobin with fourth-string goaltender Matt Climie after Wilson's goal.
The first four Admirals goals were all even strength. Tonight's referee was Jeff Smith, who has made very few penalty calls in the playoffs. Tonight, he only sent five guys to the box (three Admirals and two Aeros).
The Admirals outshot Houston 19-8 in the middle frame and appeared to be coasting towards an easy win. Not so fast.
Houston began a comeback as Locke got his second power play goal of the night with 11 minutes left in the contest to make it 4-2.
The Aeros got their third power play of the night with 3:38 left in the game. Robbie Earl's goal with 1:50 left in the game kept the Aeros power play a perfect 3-for-3 on the night.
Houston pulled the goalie for an extra attacker and frantically tried to tie the game. The Admirals held strong came away with the win.
The Aeros outshot Milwaukee 14-9 in the final twenty minutes, but Milwaukee held a 36-30 edge for the game.
Game six is Monday night in Milwaukee.
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Down 2-1 in the Divisional Finals Series against Houston, the Admirals entered Game Four not wanting to fall behind 3-1. (stating the obvious)
Rookie defenseman Jonathon Blum was scratched from the lineup in favor of Kelsey Wilson. Oren Eizenman remained sidelined, allowing Bryan Smolinski to remain in the game. The rest of the lineup was business as usual.
Late in the first period, Houston's Benoit Pouliot converted on a power play to give the Aeros the initial lead. It was his first playoff goal in three seasons (16 games) with Houston. Taken fourth overall in the 2005 NHL Draft (three spots behind Sydney Crosby), Pouliot has played a grand total of 15 NHL games in three full pro seasons.
I don't usually give you that much background on a goal scorer on the other team, but this would be a very brief recap, as not a whole lot happened for the rest of the game. Milwaukee radio guy Aaron Sims raised his voice a number of times, but Milwaukee couldn't figure out Houston goaltender Anton Khudobin, who was celebrating his 23rd birthday today.
Khudobin was the ECHL's Goaltender of the Year last season. He has split time between Houston and the ECHL for the last two seasons. He's from Kazakhstan, but he does not sport a Borat 'stache.
Milwaukee pulled Drew MacIntyre with 1:21 left in the game, but they could not manage a shot on goal with the extra attacker. Krys Kolanos recorded an empty net goal with two seconds left in the contest.
Once again, Milwaukee dominated the shots on goal numbers (27-14). In the series, Milwaukee holds a 118-73 shot advantage, but have been outscored 8-6.
The teams meet again Saturday night in Houston.
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After the 2000-01 season, the old International Hockey League folded, and six teams (Milwaukee, Chicago, Grand Rapids, Houston, Manitoba, Utah) joined the AHL as expansion teams. Since then, one of these teams has advanced to the Calder Cup Final in six of the last seven seasons (Milwaukee twice, Chicago three times, and Houston once). Hamilton beat Chicago in the '07 Western Conference Final to break the streak.
In a few weeks, the stat will change to seven of the last eight seasons, as the final four Western teams are all former IHL teams. (Note - Manitoba swept Grand Rapids tonight to advance).
IF ==I said IF== the Admirals cannot make it to the Final, I'll throw my support behind Manitoba. Houston's been there, winning the Cup in '03. Manitoba spent their first two AHL seasons in the Eastern Conference and has only advanced beyond the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs once before this season. They are due for a shot at the Cup.
The bad side of possibly rooting for Manitoba... Jason Krog won it last year. Do I want to see him get another? I might have to give this some more thought. Until then, let's pray the Admirals get back to their A game and get a win or two in Houston this week.
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With temperatures in the 80's at game time in Houston tonight, the Admirals played in a very warm building on what was probably a poor ice surface. Whether or not that hampered their game plan, Milwaukee lost game three to the Aeros by a score of 3-1.
Hugh Jessiman returned to the lineup after missing game two from getting hit in the face by a puck in practice. Kelsey Wilson missed his first game of the season making room for Jessiman to rejoin the lineup. Newcomers Jonathon Blum and Bryan Smolinski both dressed for Milwaukee.
Houston's Krys Kolanos put the Aeros up 1-0 about five minutes into the game. Drew MacIntyre made an initial save, but ended up on his back allowing Kolanos an easy shot with the rebound.
Ryan Jones tied the game with a high wrist shot late in the second period.
Milwaukee took two consecutive penalties early in the third period to give Houston a 1:23 two man advantage. Former Admiral Matt Beaudoin made that power play count by deflecting a shot past MacIntyre to get the game winner. Former Admiral Tony Hrkac assisted on the first two Houston goals.
With under two minutes left in the contest, Corey Locke added a goal to seal the game for Houston.
The Admirals outshot Houston 28-16, but Houston goaltender Anton Khudobin came up big with some key saves to earn the number one star of the game. The Aeros lead the series 2-1. Game four is Thursday evening in Houston.
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Paul sent me a batch of really cool photos from the first two games against Houston today. Check them out in the Fan Photos section of this site.
If you haven't checked out the Fan Photos in a while, you'll notice I have also added several of Paul's photos from earlier in the season. He has a great knack of getting shots of the puck going into the net.
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I've always felt that the lower seed in a 2-3-2 playoff format has too much of an advantage. Regardless if the lower seed wins in the first two games, they get three home games in a row to get back in the series. If they get a win on the road early in the series, they are in great shape.
Down 1-0 in the series, the Admirals absolutely had to win game 2 to have a realistic chance at coming back in the series. That they did. Milwaukee made easy work of the Aeros by a score of 4-1... outshooting them by a 35-19 margin. The Admirals were outshot in 9 of their last 10 regular season games, making this game's shot margin even more remarkable.
Nashville's 2007 first round pick Jonathon Blum made his Admiral debut tonight. After his junior hockey career ended last week, he was signed to an amateur tryout contract (ATO), meaning that he could play for Milwaukee despite not being on the Clear Day roster. The team dressed seven defensemen and scratched Hugh Jessiman (upper body injury) to make room for Blum (rhymes with plum).
Milwaukee also dressed newly signed veteran Bryan Smolinski. He was signed just before game one and has replaced Oren Eizenman in the lineup. The 37-year-old Smolinski has 1179 games of NHL experience (regular and postseason) with eight different teams.
A Cody Franson shot clanged into the net off the post in the first period to give the Admirals the intial lead in the contest. Former Wisconsin Badger Robbie Earl tied the game up in the middle of the second period, but Ryan Jones' power play goal minutes later gave the Admirals the lead for the rest of the way.
Mike Santorelli and Jones added goals in the third period. Houston pulled goaltender Anton Khudobin after Jones second goal with nine minutes left in the game. Matt Climie stopped all six shots he faced in relief.
Drew MacIntyre stopped 18 of 19 shots to improve his postseason record to 5-1.
When it rains it pours. A few days ago, I mentioned my dismal outlook as my job will soon be severely diminished. Today, I realized my car seems to have a blown head gasket. I was already planning on staying home and listening to the game as I am in penny-pinching mode, but now I can't trust my car to even get me to work on Monday.
As I listened to Aaron Sims' pregame show, a light bulb went off over my head. On the bottom of my Bradley Center page, I have a link to a webcam from the Bradley Center. 99+% of the time I've checked it in the past, it merely shows a view from the roof looking east... but I remember seeing shots from inside the building during a basketball game a few years ago.
I'm always at the Admirals games, so I haven't had the chance to test the webcam during a hockey game, but I did tonight. Much to my delight, the webcam showed scenes from the jumbotron feed. No, not a video feed... but rather a still frame updated once every three minutes. I'd complain about that outdated technology, but beggars can't be choosers.
As I listened to the radio feed of the game, I set my browser to auto-refresh the webcam throughout the game. I saved all of the scenes. Most of the screenshots were not all that great, but I did get some interesting ones. Here are a few of my favorites.
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