Milwaukee Admirals Totally Explained

Everything about The Milwaukee Admirals totally explained

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

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 wasn't 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.
   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".

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.(External Link

) 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.

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

Logos

logo during
independent years

		-->
1973–1977	1977–1981 logo, the first "Skating Sailor"	1982–1998	1998–2006	2006-present

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

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. (External Link

) 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.

Season-by-season results

Milwaukee Wings 1970 Independent team

Milwaukee Admirals 1970–1973 Independent team

Milwaukee Admirals 1973–1977 (United States Hockey League)

Milwaukee Admirals 1977–2001 (International Hockey League)

Milwaukee Admirals 2001–Present

Regular season

Season	Games	on	ost	ied	TL	OL	oints	Goals for	Goals against	tanding
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		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	See 2007–08 AHL season for up-to-date standings.

Playoffs

Season	relim	st round	nd round	rd round	inals
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	[Lostto chicago 4-2 ] ---.

Team records

Single season � Goals: 75 Danny Lecours (1982–83)

   Assists: 100 Dale Yakiwchuk (1982–83) � Points: 138 Dale Yakiwchuk (1982–83)

   Penalty Minutes: 381 Don Gibson (1992–93) � GAA: 2.18 Wade Flaherty (2003–04)

   SV%: .922 Wade Flaherty (2003–04)
   Career � Career Goals: 444 Danny Lecours

   Career Assists: 379 Fred Berry � Career Points: 813 Danny Lecours

   Career Penalty Minutes: 1233 Ken Sabourin � Career Goaltending Wins: 119 Rich Sirois

   Career Shutouts: 11 Brian Finley � Career Games: 641 Danny Lecours

Further Information

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