Patrick WilliamsTheAHL.com Features Writer
Losing is not common in Milwaukee. Since entering the AHL in 2001, the Admirals have only missed the playoffs three times. They have scored over .500 for 22 consecutive seasons and have won eight division titles.
However, the season also brought its fair share of setbacks, including a nine-game losing streak in a tough December.
But a big win against a good team could put the team in trouble.
The Admirals took on the league-leading, record-breaking Grand Rapids Griffins in a back-and-forth game on home ice Tuesday night.
Overtime started and the two sides tied at 4-4. Zach Lahler Run down the board on the right, cross the Grand Rapids blue line, and turn 90 degrees to the left. He eventually cut through the notch and reached the inside edge of the left circle. The shooting lane is open and L'Heureux's low shot flies past Sebastian Cosahis name is high on the AHL goaltender rankings.
Milwaukee won 5-4 in just 23 seconds of overtime.
The admirals need one. Those two things, of course, but most importantly they just need to feel good again.
L'Heureux, who scored the game-winning goal in overtime against the Griffins on New Year's Eve, completed a three-point night after scoring a goal and assisting three in the previous game against Manitoba.
The Admirals, who started the year 12-4-2-0, have now scored in five of seven games since a nine-game skid. Their win over Grand Rapids was two of six losses the Griffins have suffered all season, and they visit Van Andel Arena tonight to try to keep the momentum going and again on Wednesday.
Magnus Croner On December 30, he stopped Milwaukee's decline with a 31-save shutout in the first game of his AHL career, giving Milwaukee its first win in 27 days. After scoring just one point in two games at Texas State, the ADs defeated Manitoba 7-3 on Jan. 8.
Milwaukee fell to fourth in the Central Division, just one point ahead of the IceHogs and Stars, after a last-gasp 5-4 loss to Chicago on Friday night. All it took was a brief misstep to cost the Admirals a playoff spot.
In one big change, 22-year-old L'Heureux returned to the lineup on Dec. 30 after missing 18 of the previous 20 games. L'Heureux has four goals and six assists in his past eight games, and the 2021 first-round draft pick always brings his trademark cantankerous play, but he's managed to stay without a penalty in his past six games.
“I like the way we're holding on,” head coach Carl Taylor said after Tuesday's win over the Griffins. “We’re very proud of the team that found a way.”
Taylor, who has been on Milwaukee's bench since 2018, is never one to panic. Nor is he one who sees too far ahead. If the adage is true, “A team inherits the personality of its head coach,” then a calm, steady demeanor has long defined Milwaukee's approach — for better or worse.
“That's a good sign,” Taylor acknowledged, “but we still have a lot of work to do.”
About two decades in the American Hockey League, TheAHL.com feature writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. In 2016, he received the AHL's James H. Ellery Memorial Award for outstanding coverage of the league.
