For those of you who have been distracted by the exciting/unexpected Packers playoff run, the flurry of Bucks coaching and player acquisitions, Marquette’s impressive men’s basketball campaign so far (minus last Saturday’s walloping by UConn), and another Brewers season on the horizon, allow us to get you up to speed on local ice hockey happenings. In short, the Milwaukee Admirals are on a certified heater right now.
This isn’t just a regular, run of the mill hot streak. No, the Ads are actually in the midst of a historically good stint of on-ice dominance that’s unlike anything we’ve seen in Milwaukee sports. Last evening’s 4-3 win over the Manitoba Moose increased Milwaukee’s win streak to an astounding 17 games. Yep! You read that right: SEVENTEEN GAMES. That streak is the longest in the franchise’s long and respectable history (besting the previous team high of 13 straight games), and is tied for the second longest win streak in the history of the American Hockey League.
Just how amazing is this current streak? Well, let’s put it this way: The Admirals haven’t lost a game this calendar year. Their last defeat came on New Year’s Eve. During this incredible 17-game span, they’ve scored 69 goals (nice!) compared to just 26 from opponents. Six teams were shutout by Milwaukee along the way. Oh, and Cheap Trick played a postgame concert on the Admirals’ home ice after the February 9 win. That doesn’t really have anything to do with the winning streak, but it’s still pretty awesome.
Though things have been especially good for the Admirals thus far in 2024, this recent surge is pretty much in line with how the whole season has been for Milwaukee. The team’s current mark of 34-10-1 is the second best record in the entire AHL (trailing only the reigning Calder Cup champion Hersey Bears) and is tops in both the Western Conference and the Central Division by a pretty sizable margin. A pair of Admirals players—Mark Jankowski and Egor Afanasyev—are among the AHL’s top 10 scorers this year, with 47 points and 42 points respectively. That’s even more impressive when taking into account both players were recalled by the Nashville Predators (Milwaukee’s NHL affiliate) on February 12 and haven’t been part of the last three Admirals wins.
Now back from their two-game stint in Winnipeg, the Ads travel to Rosemont, Illinois on Thursday to try to keep the streak alive against the 17-24-3 Chicago Wolves. The action begins at 11 a.m. The teams will then reconvene at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena on Saturday night before Milwaukee takes on the Grand Rapids Griffins (who currently own a 22-15-5 record) on Sunday night. [Emphatically knocking on wood as this is typed] If Milwaukee can take care of business the rest of this week, they’ll have gone undefeated for two full months. And they’ll also be within striking distance of the seemingly unimaginable all-time AHL winning streak of 28 games that was accomplished by the 2011-2012 Norfolk Admirals.
Though we’re doing our best to just enjoy the ride while trying not to look too far ahead, it’s hard to not get excited about this Milwaukee Admirals team, this crazy winning streak, and their legitimate Calder Cup chances this spring. Who knows, this team could actually win 29 in a row. Streak, aside, they could realistically win the Calder Cup. Hell, they could never lose again. Keep it up, Admirals!