Patrick WilliamsFeatures Writer for TheAHL.com
Losing doesn’t happen often in Milwaukee. Since entering the AHL in 2001, there have been just three shutout seasons for the Admirals. They had 22 consecutive seasons finishing above .500 and won eight division titles.
This season, however, has brought its fair share of frustrations, including nine straight losses in a difficult December.
But a big win against a powerhouse opponent could send the team on its way.
On Tuesday night, the Admirals were in the midst of a back-and-forth game on home ice against the league-leading, record-setting Grand Rapids Griffins.
It was tied 4-4 as extra time began, Zach L’Heureux he went down the right boards and passed the Grand Rapids green line before cutting 90 degrees to the left. Finally he cut through the slot and reached the inner edge of the left circle. A firing line opened up, and L’Heureux passed the small gun Sebastian Cossawhose name is at the top of the AHL offensive charts.
It was Milwaukee’s 5-4 win 23 seconds into OT.
The Admirals needed that one. Two points, sure, but mostly he needed to keep feeling good again.
L’Heureux, who also scored the game-winning goal in overtime against the Griffins on New Year’s Eve, finished with three points after he had a goal and three assists in a win over Manitoba a game earlier.
The Admirals, who started 12-4-2-0, now have five of seven points from that nine-game skid. Their win over Grand Rapids made it two of six losses the Griffins have suffered all season, and they will visit Van Andel Arena to try to keep the momentum going tonight – and Wednesday.
Magnus Chrono stopped Milwaukee’s skid on Dec. 30 when his 31-save shutout for Rockford — the first of his AHL career — gave them their first win in 27 days. After picking up just one point between a two-game visit to Texas, the Ads bounced back to Manitoba with a 7-3 victory on Jan. 8.
After a last-minute 5-4 loss to Chicago on Friday evening, Milwaukee sits in fourth place in the Central Division, one point ahead of the IceHogs and Stars. It would only take a short stumble for the Admirals to fall out of the playoff spot.
Another key change was the return of 22-year-old L’Heureux to the lineup on December 30 after missing 18 of the previous 20 games. L’Heureux has four goals and six assists in his last eight games, and the 2021 first-round draft pick has always had his fair share of poor play – but he has managed to go clean in his last six games.
“I liked the way we stuck to it,” the head coach Karl Taylor said after Tuesday’s win over the Griffins. “I’m very proud of the team for finding a way.”
Taylor, who has been behind Milwaukee’s bench since 2018, is never one to panic. He will also not be too far-sighted. If the saying is true that a team takes on the personality of its coach, then a calm, steady spirit has long defined how things are done in Milwaukee – for better or for worse.
“Good signs,” Taylor agreed, “but we have a lot of work to do.”
In the American Hockey League for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams and currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for the league’s top scorer in 2016.
