All Good Things...

Sorry about the lack of updates over the past few days...I was in the great city of Milwaukee over the weekend, where I visited friends, participated in my fantasy baseball league's auction draft (verdict: it's a rebuilding year) and attended Friday night's AHL game between the Milwaukee Admirals and the Peoria Rivermen (more on that later). I also missed both Friday's 4-1 San Jose victory over St. Louis, which stretched a franchise-record winning streak to eleven games, and the 2-1 shootout loss to Edmonton last night that ended it.

You knew the streak was going to come to an end at some point, and I suppose it could've ended in worse ways. Sounds like the Sharks just ran into a hot goalie last night...Dwayne Roloson stopped 48 of 49 San Jose shots. And as everyone in the NHL has learned this season, you do not want to go past the third period against the Oilers (counting last night, they are an extraordinary 19-5 in overtime/shootout games).

Bearing in mind that it's easy to become bewitched by shot totals, you still have to like firing almost fifty shots while giving up just twenty-three. Patrick Marleau scored (again) and although it was in vain he buried one during the shootout, too. I actually witnessed the last 5-on-5 goal conceded by the Sharks, and that was a week ago yesterday against Minnesota at the X....an outstanding streak in its own right. Furthermore, remember that last night's game against Edmonton was essentially a tie; Edmonton gets the extra point for winning the little bit of crowd-pleasing stunt hockey that follows a tie these days.

So to the best that I can discern without having watched the last two games, things still seem like they're going pretty well. The Sharks are at LA tomorrow...the Kings may have the league's lowest point total, but they can still bite you if you take them lightly. Indeed, San Jose suffered a bunch of losses to LA towards the beginning of the season, and the Kings are better now than they were then. They need to come out firing and sustain the momentum that's carried them this far.


Go Admirals!

Milwaukee is home to an American Hockey League franchise, the Admirals (not to be confused with Norfolk's American Hockey League franchise, also called the Admirals). A friend of mine from Milwaukee (you can read his blog here, by the way) and I went to Friday night's tilt against the Peoria Rivermen.

The whole evening was a blast. First my buddy and I grabbed a burger at a cool bar right across the street from the Bradley Center (where the team plays). Then we strolled over and took in the game. Our seats were great (about twenty rows up just inside one of the blue lines) and way cheaper than NHL seats (seventeen bucks apiece before TicketMonster fees), and the hockey was excellent. The lower bowl of the arena was about three-quarters full...I had read before my trip that the Admirals average about 5,000 a game, and was on par with what it looked like I was seeing. The team clearly has a devoted fan base...many people showed up in Admirals sweaters, and one young girl a few rows in front of us was in possession of a well-made poster praising Milwaukee goalie Pekka Rinne. There were even a couple sitting near us who were Rivermen fans and had made the trip from Peoria, to provide a little bit of in-stands rivalry.

The Admirals won the game 3-2. The one player that really stood out to my eye was Milwaukee center Cal O'Reilly. It was clear from watching him play that he's a gifted skater, stickhandler, and passer, and his numbers bear that out. He had two assists on the night and was +2. I could see him playing in the big league one day (he's only twenty-one). Although his numbers are similar to Joe Thornton's, he's too small to really be a Thornton-type player, but I think he could reasonably aspire to be a Marc Savard-type player.

All told, it was an extremely fun night. If you are fortunate enough to live in a city that is home to an AHL franchise, I urge you to take the opportunity to check out some awesome hockey for a reasonable price.