OVERALL…The Admirals enter this week’s action with a 10-7-1-3 record and 24 points, good for a fourth place in the tightly packed West Division. The Ads are just two points out behind the Houston and one point behind Rockford. Out of the five teams clustered in second through sixth in the division, Milwaukee has played the fewest number of games (21). The Ads kick off a four game home stand Wednesday against Peoria, and then host Texas on Friday night and Manitoba Saturday at the Bradley Center.

THE PICK OF NOVEMBER… Rookie goaltender Chet Pickard posted in an impressive 1.66 goals against average and a .942 save percentage to go along with a 4-2-1 record in seven games during November. The Winnipeg, MB native allowed three or fewer goals in each of his starts and in a four game span from the 22nd to the 27th he turned aside 108 of 111 shots thrown his. He was victorious in back-to-back 2-1 wins over Houston on the 22nd and 24th before allowing just one goal to Texas on the 25th, but suffered a 2-1 shoot-out loss. However, he got revenge on the Stars two nights later when he handled all 31 shots thrown his way to pick up his first career shutout, 2-0. On the season Pickard is 5-3-1 with a 2.20 GAA and a .923 save percentage.

A LONG STRANGE TRIP…With last Saturday’s 5-1 loss to San Antonio, the Admirals concluded their season long eight game road trip with a 4-2-1-1 record. The team lost their first two games, one in OT, and their final game and in the middle five contests posted a 4-0-0-1 mark. The trip took Milwaukee from Grand Rapids to Peoria and then down to Texas for two games each against the Stars, Rampage and Aeros. Through the team’s first 21 games, the Ads have played 15 on the road.

CLOSE CONTESTS…The Admirals have developed a penchant for playing close games so far this year as 17 of their 21 contests have been decided by just one or two goals. Prior to Saturday’s contest, every game on the team’s recent road trip had been decided by just one goal, including three that finished with a final score of 2-1. The Ads record in one-goal contests stands at 7-3-1-3 and they are 1-2 in two-goal games. Ironically, in spite of all the close games the Admirals have played in just one contest where an empty net goal was recorded by either squad.

WELCOME TO MILWAUKEE…The Predators have reassigned 2008 first round draft pick Colin Wilson to the Admirals. In his first 10 professional games with the Predators, the 20-year-old rookie posted a goal and an assist while averaging 13:57 of ice time. Wilson has missed the past eight games – and 11 games overall in 2009-10 – due to injury. The Greenwich, CT native was one of three Hobey Baker Finalists in 2008-09 after finishing second in the nation and first on Boston University in both points (55) and assists (38), while helping BU win the 2009 NCAA National Championship. Wilson recorded his first point as an Admiral last Saturday night.

WELCOME BACK…In addition to the recalls of Scatchard and Sulzer, the Predators have reassigned forward Andreas Thuresson to the Admirals. Thuresson played ten games with Nashville in the first promotion of his career. He earned his first point in the NHL with an assist on Nov. 7 at Los Angeles. In nine games with the Admirals in 2009-10 the Kristianstad, Sweden native has three goals and two assists.

SHUTOUT STATS…Chet Pickard’s blanking of the Stars last Saturday in Cedar Park was the first shutout of the season for the Admirals, after allowing just one goal on five previous occasions. The last time Milwaukee garnered a shutout was in a 4-0 win over Iowa at the Bradley Center March 6 of last season. The last time the team earned a whitewashing on the road was a 1-0 win for Mark Dekanich in Chicago on February 20, 2009.

THE CENTURY MARK… Admirals center Nick Spaling played in his 100th game with the team Saturday. The second-year pro needed just 101 games to reach the century mark, having skated in 79 of the Ads 80 contests last season and then all 20 this season. Spaling has totaled 12 goals and 26 assists for 38 career points to go along with a +8 rating and a 36 penalty minutes.

OVER THE AIR AND ON THE WEB…For the third consecutive season Sportsradio 1250 WSSP will serve as the Admirals flagship station with Aaron Sims calling all of the hard-hitting end-to-end action. In addition, the team has a one-hour hockey magazine dubbed “Milwaukee Admirals Center Ice” that airs every Monday from 6-7 pm on WSSP. Fans can watch all Admirals games, home and on the road, live on the internet via NeuLion. Simply go the Admirals website at milwaukeeadmirals.com and click on the AHL Live banner.