Milwaukee Admirals

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Milwaukee Admirals
City: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
League: American Hockey League
Conference: Western Conference
Division: West Division
Founded: 1970 as an amateur team
Home Arena: Bradley Center
Colors: silver, black, and ice blue
Owner(s): Group headed by
Harris Turer
General Manager: Duties handled by Nashville Predators Asst. GM Paul Fenton
Head Coach: Lane Lambert
Media: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Affiliates: Nashville Predators (NHL)
Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL)
New Mexico Scorpions (CHL)
Franchise history
1970 (amateur): Milwaukee Wings
1973 to 1977 (USHL): Milwaukee Admirals
1977 to 2001 (IHL): Milwaukee Admirals
2001 to present (AHL): Milwaukee Admirals
Championships
Regular Season Titles: 1 AHL (2003–04)
Division Championships: 4 IHL (1982–83, 1992–93, 1994–95, 1995–96)
2 AHL (2003–04, (2005–06)
Conference Championships: 2 (2003–04),(2005–06)
Calder Cups: 1 (2003–04)
Playoff Championships: 1 USHL title (1975–76)

The Milwaukee Admirals are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They play in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA at the Bradley Center.

Contents

[edit] History

The Admirals first took to the ice in the winter of 1970 as an amateur club known as the Milwaukee Wings. They lost their first game on January 25 when the Madison All-Stars beat them 17–7. They got their first win five days later when they defeated the Milwaukee Winter Club 10–8.

The next year the team was sold by the original owner Reed Fansher to a group of investors. One of the investors, Erwin J. Merar, owned an appliance store. The team was renamed the "Admirals" after a brand of refrigerators sold in Merar's store.

Beginning with the 1973–74 season the Admirals joined the newly formed United States Hockey League. Their first season in a league was not particularly successful as they ended the season in last place in their division. They won only 11 games, lost 35 games, and tied 2 games that season.

The Admirals won the USHL league championship in 1976, winning seven straight games in the league's playoffs. In the off-season, the team was purchased by former Chicago Blackhawks announcer Lloyd Pettit and his wife, Jane Bradley-Pettit.

For the 1977–78 season the Admirals joined the International Hockey League as the USHL was becoming a strictly amateur league. The Admirals appeared in the IHL's Turner Cup finals only once (1983), where they lost to Toledo in six games.

They stayed a part of the IHL until it joined the American Hockey League for the 2001–02 season when the IHL ceased operations. Five other IHL franchises also joined the AHL that season.

They won their first Calder Cup in 2004 when they defeated the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Prior to the Finals, Milwaukee needed seven games to defeat the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks in the first round. Then the Admirals defeated the Chicago Wolves in six games to advance to the Conference Finals. The Admirals then eliminated the Rochester Americans four games to one. Milwaukee then swept the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to win the Calder Cup. The Admirals completed a rare postseason run in which they needed one fewer game to eliminate their opponents in each subsequent series.

Alternate logo
Alternate logo

The Admirals were purchased in June 2005 by a group of investors, led by Harris J. Turer, including Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio, assistant general manager Gord Ash and pitcher Ben Sheets. The Brewers subsequently became the sole uniform sponsor of the Admirals, and the Admirals wear a Brewers logo patch on their sweaters.

The Admirals won their second division title as a member of the American Hockey League in 2006, clinching the title on the last day of their schedule with a win over the Grand Rapids Griffins.

After narrowly winning a seven-game playoff series over the Iowa Stars, Milwaukee swept both the Houston Aeros and Grand Rapids Griffins to advance to their second Calder Cup final series. To their disappointment, the Admirals would lose 4–2 to the Hershey Bears.

On August 1, 2006, the Admirals unveiled their newest logo to the public at the Henry Maier Festival Park (also known as the Summerfest grounds). The logo came with a radical color change for the team, away from red and blue hues to one of black, white and light blue. They also unveiled their new slogan, "Never Say Die".

[edit] NHL affiliation

The Admirals have been the top-level affiliate of the Nashville Predators since that team's founding in 1998. On February 15, 2007, the clubs signed a new agreement that will extend that relationship through the 2009–10 season.[1]

“ I like to say that for our players, the road to Nashville runs through Milwaukee and a look at our roster illustrates this. (T)his is the kind of environment that we want our prospects to develop in. ”
 
— Nashville General Manager David Poile

Coincidentally but unrelated, the two cities' baseball franchises share a reverse affiliation, as the Nashville Sounds are the AAA affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers.

During the 2006–2007 season, the Admirals were also part of an unusual affiliation agreement with the Edmonton Oilers, who used five partial affiliates in the AHL for the 2006–07 season. These five affiliates include the Milwaukee Admirals, the Grand Rapids Griffins, the Iowa Stars, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and the Hamilton Bulldogs. This arrangement lasted one season, as the Oilers announced a three-year affiliation with the Springfield Falcons on March 19, 2007.

[edit] Retired numbers

  • 9 Phil Wittliff, C, 1973–77
  • 14 Mike McNeill, C, 1992–98 and Fred Berry, C, 1980–84, 85–87
  • 26 Tony Hrkac, C, 1994–97
  • 27 Danny Lecours, LW, 1975–84, 85–87
  • 44 Gino Cavallini, C, 1993–96 and Kevin Willison, D, 1981–84, 85–86

[edit] Logos

Image:Admirals1980s.png -->
logo during
independent years		 1973–1977 1977–1981 logo,
the first "Skating Sailor"		 1982–1998 1998–2006 2006-present

[edit] Notable alumni

  • Fred Berry, Lloyd Bradley, Gino Cavallini, Don Gibson, Chuck Kennedy, Tony Hrkac, Danny Lecours, Mike Mallinger, Yves Preston, Ken Sabourin, Bruce Saulnier, Rich Sirois, Phil Wittliff, Dale Yakiwchuk

[edit] Junior Admirals

On March 2, 2007, the Admirals announced a five-year partnership with Wisconsin AAA Hockey to sponsor the youth team, which will be known as the Milwaukee Junior Admirals. [2] The Junior Admirals will receive financial support, opportunities to play at the Bradley Center, and assistance with player development.

The Junior Admirals will compete against teams in other states and "promote the (Admirals') name and look throughout the country", according to Turer.

[edit] Season-by-season results

[edit] Regular season

Season Games Won Lost Tied OTL SOL Points Goals
for		 Goals
against		 Standing
1970 15 8 7 0 — — 16 —- —- Independent
1970–71 22 14 7 1 — — 29 —- —- Independent
1971–72 24 11 12 1 — — 23 167 117 Independent
1972–73 32 26 5 1 — — 53 228 145 Independent
1973–74 48 11 35 2 — — 24 192 318 5th, South
1974–75 48 18 30 0 — — 36 241 288 3rd, South
1975–76 48 23 25 0 — — 46 279 270 3rd, South
1976–77 48 23 23 2 — — 48 231 241 1st, South
1977–78 80 27 38 15 — — 69 257 299 3rd, South
1978–79 80 21 48 11 — — 53 260 391 4th, South
1979–80 80 29 41 10 — — 68 327 402 3rd, South
1980–81 82 32 35 15 — — 79 354 371 3rd, West
1981–82 82 41 34 7 — — 91 385 351 2nd, IHL
1982–83 82 43 30 9 — — 98 407 312 1st, West
1983–84 82 46 30 6 — — 101 403 335 2nd, IHL
1984–85 82 25 52 5 — — 60 292 389 9th, IHL
1985–86 82 48 28 1 5 — 102 368 306 2nd, West
1986–87 82 41 37 4 0 — 68 342 358 3rd, West
1987–88 82 21 54 — 7 — 49 288 430 4th, West
1988–89 82 54 23 — 5 — 113 399 323 2nd, West
1989–90 82 36 39 — 7 — 79 316 370 3rd, West
1990–91 82 36 43 — 3 — 75 275 316 4th, West
1991–92 82 38 36 — 8 — 84 306 309 3rd, East
1992–93 82 49 23 — 10 — 108 329 280 1st, Midwest
1993–94 81 40 24 — 17 — 97 338 302 2nd, Midwest
1994–95 81 44 27 — 10 — 98 317 298 1st, Central
1995–96 82 40 32 — 10 — 90 290 307 1st, Midwest
1996–97 82 38 36 — 8 — 84 253 298 4th, Midwest
1997–98 82 43 34 — 5 — 91 267 262 3rd, Northwest
1998–99 82 38 28 — 16 — 92 254 265 4th, Midwest
1999–00 82 37 36 — 9 — 83 222 246 5th, Eastern
2000–01 82 42 33 — 7 — 91 244 217 5th, Eastern
2001–02 80 30 35 10 5 — 75 198 207 5th, West
2002–03 80 32 27 14 7 — 85 247 251 4th, West
2003–04 80 46 24 7 3 — 102 269 191 1st, West
2004–05 80 47 24 — 5 4 103 247 207 2nd, West
2005–06 80 49 21 — 6 4 108 268 234 1st, West
2006–07 80 41 25 — 4 10 96 227 230 3rd, West
2007–08 80 44 29 — 4 3 95 231 212 4th, West

[edit] Playoffs

Season Prelim 1st round 2nd round 3rd round Finals
1970 Independent team.
1970–71 Independent team.
1971–72 Independent team.
1972–73 Independent team.
1973–74 Out of playoffs.
1974–75 Out of playoffs.
1975–76 — W, 2–0, SC W, 2–0, TC — W, 3–0, GB
1976–77 — W, 2–0–2, GB — — L, 1–2–3, GR
1977–78 — L, 1–4, TOL — — —
1978–79 — L, 3–4, GR — — —
1979–80 — L, 0–4, SAG — — —
1980–81 — L, 3–4, FW — — —
1981–82 — L, 1–4, SAG — — —
1982–83 — bye W, 4–1, KAL — L, 2–4, TOL
1983–84 — bye L, 0–4, FLI — —
1984–85 Out of playoffs.
1985–86 — L, 1–4, PEO — — —
1986–87 — L, 2–4, SLC — — —
1987–88 Out of playoffs.
1988–89 — W, 4–2, KAL L, 1–4, SLC — —
1989–90 — L, 2–4, SLC — — —
1990–91 — L, 2–4, PEO — — —
1991–92 — L, 1–4, MUS — — —
1992–93 — L, 2–4, KC — — —
1993–94 — L, 0–4, ATL — — —
1994–95 — W, 3–2, SD W, 4–1, LV L, 1–4, DEN —
1995–96 — L, 2–3, PEO — — —
1996–97 — L, 0–3, LB — — —
1997–98 — W, 3–1, HOU L, 2–4, CHI — —
1998–99 L, 0–2, MTB — — — —
1999–00 L, 1–2, CLE — — — —
2000–01 — L, 1–4, CHI — — —
2001–02 Out of playoffs.
2002–03 W, 2–1, ROCH L, 0–3, HOU — — —
2003–04 — W, 4–3, CIN W, 4–2, CHI W, 4–1, ROCH W, 4–0, WBS
2004–05 — L, 3–4, CIN — — —
2005–06 — W, 4–3, IOWA W, 4–0, HOU W, 4–0, GR L, 2–4,HER
2006–07 — L, 0–4, CHI — — —
2007–08 — L, 2–4, CHI — — —

[edit] Team records

Single season
Goals: 75 Flag of Canada Danny Lecours (1982–83)
Assists: 100 Flag of Canada Dale Yakiwchuk (1982–83)
Points: 138 Dale Yakiwchuk (1982–83)
Penalty Minutes: 381 Flag of Canada Don Gibson (1992–93)
GAA: 2.18 Flag of Canada Wade Flaherty (2003–04)
SV%: .922 Wade Flaherty (2003–04)

Career

Career Goals: 444 Danny Lecours
Career Assists: 379 Flag of Canada Fred Berry
Career Points: 813 Danny Lecours
Career Penalty Minutes: 1233 Flag of Canada Ken Sabourin
Career Goaltending Wins: 119 Flag of Canada Rich Sirois
Career Shutouts: 11 Flag of Canada Brian Finley
Career Games: 641 Danny Lecours

[edit] External links

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& awards
Related articles: List of AHL seasons · Other Professional Hockey leagues
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AHL: Milwaukee Admirals - USHL: Green Bay Gamblers
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MAAFL: Milwaukee Bombers
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Category:Sports in Wisconsin