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Admirals look to be without starting goaltender Karri Ramo for up to another week as former ECHL Admirals netminder and current Bolts backup Olie Kolzig is still nursing an arm sprain. The St. Petersburg Times also reports that Paul Szczechura may miss Thursday's game, which would be his second consecutive scratch with a knee issue. No update on Jamie Heward, which I find slightly ominous.

Speaking of Szczechura, he's in this article about Admirals recalling their first NHL promotions. The emotion many players must have, but will never admit to, is ``Will this be my one and only shot at the big time?'' Someone like Brandon Bochenski (no goals in his last 11 games, btw) is at a point in his career where he could still have an NHL career or he may have already played his final game in The Show.

[Update: Bochenski just scored to snap his streak.]

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Former Admiral Adam Burish posted an NHL career-best three points last night in the Blackhawks' rout of Phoenix. Former Norfolk skater Kris Versteeg scored yet again and his campaign for Rookie of the Year continues.

Rob Klinkhammer, an Admiral last season and a guy the Lighting should have kept around, led AHL Rockford in points last week. Departed Admirals vice president Mark Bernard is also hot, having gotten his club a pair of home sellouts recently.

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From an AHL release today:

Tied with Iowa for second place in the West Division with 42 points apiece, Peoria hosts the Chops at Carver Arena on Wednesday in the teams' fifth meeting of the campaign... The Rivermen are just 1-4-0-1 in their last six games, while the Chops are wrapping up a six-game road swing on which they are 2-2-1-0 thus far... (Former ECHL Admiral) Trent Whitfield has four goals in his last three games (4-0-4) for Peoria and shows four points (2-2-4) in four match-ups with Iowa this season.

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Searching for an Admirals connection to the bizarre Jarkko Ruutu biting incident? Well, the bitee, Andrew Peters, is the younger brother of former Admirals forward Geoff Peters. The brothers once fought each other in Rochester when Geoff was playing for Norfolk, upsetting their mother to no end. She and other family members were in the stands. I can't imagine what her reaction would have been if one sibling bit the other.

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Admirals PR man Keith Phillips, whose frequent blog contributions mean we may have to put him on staff here at Admirals Snapshots, contributed this article on former Admirals coach Mike Haviland today.

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This gig is, ahem, rather low paying, and the bills keep piling up. However, I'm not to the point of enrolling in this activity. I did notice, however, that one of the participants seems to be missing his front teeth. Perhaps he caught a high stick in the choppers?

Speaking of missing teeth, former WBS Penguin pest Daniel Carcillo lost his first chiclets the other night. And in the same article, the question is raised, could former Admirals goaltender Adam Munro be the Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender of the future?

Speaking yet again of missing teeth, this kid must be a hockey player to let his sister do that to him. But given how hard she slams the fridge door, I'm thinking the tooth was about ready to fall out on its own.

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Interesting quote below from Manchester Monarchs defenseman Drew Bagnall to the Union Leader newspaper. He's a second-year pro who played at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., so I'm guessing he and Admirals goaltender Mike McKenna overlapped as Saints.

"In pro hockey you run into guys more concerned with themselves than they would be at other levels. They're more concerned with individual success than team success sometimes. And I'm not saying they're on our team. But it comes from the fact that everyone is so good before they got here. They were "go-to guys" and once they get here everyone can't be that guy. When you come to a team like this, you do what's best for the team and not what's best for the individual."

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Syracuse Crunch owner Howard Dolgon recently denied his team a night or two in a hotel and had them bus back and forth between road games because he didn't like the team's effort. This is interesting, because I really wonder what the parent Columbus Blue Jackets thought of the move. I know NHL GMs don't want their prospects tired any more than they need to be. It leads to injuries and bad attitudes, etc. I would think a team owner could get away with this once or twice a season but no more. The article on the issue shows Dolgon is clearly very involved with his team.

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Hershey broadcaster John Walton writes on his blog that:

(Ogre) ``Kip Brennan won't be in the lineup this evening here, but only because of his veteran status. One problem that Bob Woods will have to struggle with a bit from here on is the fact that he has six veterans on his roster and only five can play per night according to AHL rules. So although it would be nice to have Kipper's toughness in there this evening, there's really not much that can be done about it.''

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Mediocrity, thy name is Norfolk Admirals. At least since Thanksgiving, as WBS beat man Jonathan Bombulie has tallied on his blog. The Ads are 8-8-0-1 since Turkey Day, which, of course, is much better than they were before it.

East Division foes Hershey, WBS and Binghamton, which make up a good chunk of Norfolk's remaining schedule, are a combined 33-10-2-2 since Thanksgiving. Uh-oh.

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If you believe in karma, there's a fake Wrigley Field security guard who's due to have a piano land on him from above. Read about this Winter Classic heist.

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Tampa Bay prospect Dustin Tokarski backstopped Canada to the World Junior Championship title this week and it appears he's ticketed for Norfolk next season. His current coach predicts if that happens, the Admirals will win the Calder Cup. I'll assume he hasn't taken a hard look at the Bolts' minor league affiliate history.

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How cool would it be if we could get this artist to tackle hockey in addition to the other sports he Ectch-A-Sketches? And I want a hat like this, but with the Admirals logo and Ty Jones' mug on it.

Why alienate us hockey folks who voted for Obama? C'mon, add a puck jersey to the lineup.

Thank goodness this accident didn't involve a Zamboni. That's about as good a hockey reference as I can make, but you should still check it out.

The Admirals better make sure they closely supervise whoever paints the upcoming ``Pink in the Rink'' paint job so nothing along these lines happens.

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Radio man Pete Michaud said just now on the game broadcast that Admirals coach Darren Rumble reports that Brandon Segal, Pete Zingoni and Juraj Simek are not close to returning from injuries. Segal's absence really stings.

Michaud's color man shares a name with an apparently unscrupulous former pastor. The Admirals' Pat Shetler is currently interviewing the GM for AHL Peoria, where former ECHL Admiral Trent Whitfield is the Rivermen captain and recently notched his first-ever hat trick.

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Sports Illustrated's Michael Farber takes a look at the mess former Cincinnati Mighty Duck Sean Avery has made of his NHL career.

Also from SI, but in 1983, is a great read on the Minnesota High School State Hockey Tournament, a legendary competition that back then had only one class for the entire state. Back in the 1990s, the ``more kids need a medal'' mindset resulted in the state's schools being divided by class and multiple state champs being crowned every March. White Bear, Minn., hometown of former Admiral Matt Henderson, is mentioned in this piece.

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From the St. Petersburg Times' Damien Cristodero:

Coach Rick Tocchet reiterated he is leaning toward starting Karri Ramo Friday at Anaheim, and that forward Paul Szczechura (leg) likely will sit out tonight and play against the Ducks as well.

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I asked Admirals goaltender Mike McKenna if he's growing a beard, because it certainly appears that way. He said he just hasn't shaved in a week and that beards are only for the playoffs. Given his current growth, I bet his beard last season was impressive when Portland reached the Eastern Conference finals.

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Assistant coach Alan May, a former NHL player, missed today's practice while being treated for an abcessed tooth, coach Darren Rumble said. Rumble said May has been troubled by this for several weeks and it kept him off the bench for a game in Portland. I don't ever want to experience the kind of pain that can do that to someone as tough as May.

Rumble also said he's having four separate appointments to work on a molar of his own. I guess he crunched it when he got hit in the mid-90s (``I remember spitting out pieces of tooth on the ice'') and the repair work is falling apart now. And last but certainly not least, Admirals captain Zenon Konopka recently had a root canal done on a tooth that popped its filling when he absorbed a body check.

Konopka also talked about his ongoing back problems. He said he could barely get out of bed or walk on Monday and thought there was no way he'd play last night, but credited the team's medical staff for getting him up and moving. He said he's got a herniated disc in his back that's left some bone-on-bone rubbing and again, that's a pain I don't ever want to be in. I guess Z is getting an MRI ASAP 2C if he's AOK.

One final tooth thought: couldn't they have done this without taking so much flesh?

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Hockey players love contests. Breakaways, shooting accuracy, wrestling, cards, you name it. And what fun's a contest unless someone's beaten? The photo below shows Norfolk defenseman Daryl Boyle untying the skates of Blair Jones while Steve Downie indicates his enthusiastic approval. Boyle said he lost a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, but I think that might have been a tiebreaker from another, larger contest.

Speaking of contests, Admirals GM Mike Butters said a team he was once with used to do breakaway contests which went on until everyone on the team had scored except one person. That loser then had to eat a lemon, peel and all. I'd rather untie someone's skates.

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Former Admirals leading scorer Brett McLean got pummeled by Sidney Crosby last weekend but I charge it wasn't a fair fight. If you watch the second showing on this link, McLean has no idea he's in for a fight as the puck is dropped. Crosby just grabs him without warning. I consider that a bit cheap. You want to fight off a faceoff, man up and tell the other guy so he has a chance to defend himself.

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Rochester beat writer Kevin Oklobzija recalls bad behavior by current Ottawa Senators biter Jarkko Ruutu back when he was in the AHL:

Amerk fans surely remember Ruutu and his many illegal hits he delivered during the 1999-2000 season as a rookie with the Syracuse Crunch.

There’s no doubt that his old Crunch teammates (they were Vancouver Canucks property back then) remember him too. Namely, all the fights they were forced to fight because of him.

Just asky Ryan Ready, Pat Kavanagh and Chad Allan. They both paid dearly in the form of a line-brawl beating in the final week of the regular season (April 5, 2000).

Midway through the third period, Ruutu, on the forecheck, leaped up and into the head of Amerks center Domenic Pittis along the boards. The impact of the hit drove Pittis’ helmeted head into the old cement-like seamless glass that surrounded the War Memorial rink.

Later in the third period, Crunch goon (and future Admiral) Mike Brown speared goalie Mika Norenen.

Then-coach Brian McCutcheon had seen enough thugery and opted for an-eye-for-an-eye approach.

For a faceoff with 13 seconds to play, McCutcheon put Eric Boulton, Darren Van Oene and Denis Hamel out as forwards, and Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre and Doug Houda on defense.

A brawl instantly began. When it was over, Ready and Allan were left bloodied and goalie Corey Schwab had a sore face after taking a wicked punch from Denis Hamel.

All because of what Jarkku Ruutu started 10 minutes earlier. Well, actually because of what he’d done much of the season.

He clearly didn’t care.

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Some of the Tampa Bay Lightning players think interim coach Rick Tocchet should have that tag removed.

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Text below from the Tampa Tribune's hockey blog. This idea is just made for goofball Radek Smolenak and his Czech tongue. Soooo much better than a lame trivia question for a fan to answer.

They just had an interesting intermission contest on here (in Phoenix), with (Ilya) Bryzgalov speaking something presumably in his native tongue, Russian. The contenstant had to determine if he was speaking Russian or Rubbage. So, it got us up here thinking who could do something like this for Lightning games, and it has been determined that if the Lightning want to do something like this, they should choose Jussi Jokinen and have him speak something and a contestant determine whether it’s Finnish or Gibberish?

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Our friends at UniWatch Blog note that former Virgina Red Wings star Robbie Ftorek was one of two Cincinnati Stingers to wear No. 8 during a season way back when. Also mentioned on the same page is Dale Smedsmo, a former Hampton Gull who is the de facto stepfather to former Admiral and current Chicago Blackhawks millionaire Dustin Byfuglien.

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Mike McKenna's old team, the Las Vegas Wranglers, unveiled their prison-stripe unis to celebrate a certain Illinois governor. Check out the opposition's togs and those of the refs.

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It's a great day for hockey: Robin Big Snake is back in the game.

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Those of you shouting for the Admirals to add a veteran defenseman might take note that former Admirals rearguard Lasse Kukkonen has been waived by the Flyers for a second time this season.

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The Carolina Hurricanes' AHL farm team, once called the Alabama River Rats by one man in the Admirals' series of bumbling public address announcers, now have a player named Yannick and one named Danick. Word is they're on the prowl for a Henrik or a Patrick so they can form the ``In the Nick of Time'' line.

And while I'm on my PA rant, why can't the Admirals announcers check with that night's radio men before the game so as to get the correct pronunciations for both home and visiting players' names? At many other arenas throughout the AHL, it's a common site to see the PA guy conferring with his radio brethren so he's less likely to botch players' names. Grant Puh-TOOL-ny? Mike London? Sheesh.

[Update: Time of first-period fighting penalties for Norfolk's Brent Henley and Manchester's Kevin Westgarth were just given incorrectly. Doing the PA just isn't that hard a job. I know from experience, although I won't bore you with the details.]

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Former Admiral Kris Versteeg, now a standout with the Blackhawks, just gets better and better and should be playing in the Young Stars game that comes before the NHL All Star contest. The man Chicago traded to get him? Current Admiral Brandon Bochenski, who scored for the first time in 12 games Wednesday. [Update: Versteeg is officially in the game.]

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The Admirals are closer to the last-place team in the AHL (Rochester, eight points back) than they are to the fourth and final playoff berth in the East Division (11 points away). This is a sobering thought for Norfolk supporters.

The Admirals have the fourth-best power play in the AHL but the fourth-worst penalty killing unit.

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Why can't the Admirals get players like this?

AMERKS SIGN MIKE BRODEUR TO ONE-YEAR AHL CONTRACT

(Rochester, NY)… Rochester Americans General Manager Jody Gage announced today that the team has signed (former Admirals) goaltender Mike Brodeur to a one-year standard American Hockey League contract.

"We're happy Mike was able to earn a permanent spot in Rochester and within our system," said Jack Birch, Director of Player Personnel for the Florida Panthers. "He has certainly shown he has the talent to play in the AHL and the potential to play at the next level."

"We're excited we were able to come to terms with Mike," said Gage. "He has done a lot to help this team turn around since his arrival here and his All-Star nomination is a direct indication that he is deserving of this contract."

The 25-year-old netminder joined Rochester in early December on a 25-game professional tryout (PTO) and since shows an 8-3-1 record with a 1.59 goals-against average and .944 save percentage in 12 games between the pipes for the Amerks. His two shutouts also tie him for third among AHL goaltenders. He has now started 12 of the last 13 games for Rochester, including nine straight.

The AHL announced January 6th that Brodeur has been selected as one of three goaltenders to man the pipes for the Canadian All-Stars in the 2009 AHL All-Star Classic. Brodeur was named the Reebok/AHL Player of the Week for period ending December 14, 2008 after posting a 3-2-0 record to go along with one shutout as the Amerks completed a stretch of playing five games in six nights from December 9th to December 14th.

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The Peoria Rivermen have acquired a former Michigan State Spartan who was tossed out of that program in mid-season. Shades of the Admirals and Kevin Quick's ungainly exit from the Univ. of Michigan last winter.

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From Admirals PR man Keith Phillips, regarding Zenon Konopka's goal just eight seconds into tonight's game:

``That was the fastest goal to start an Admirals game but not the fastest to start an Admirals period. Previous fastest to start a game was 14 seconds by Brandon Bochenski, 12/16/06 at Springfield. Fastest to start a period was seven seconds by Casey Hankinson at Saint John, 11/10/00. The fastest goal to start a game in AHL history was 4 seconds by Wayne Bianchin of Syracuse on 1/12/75 versus Hershey.''

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Touching article on www.nhl.com about Patrick O'Sullivan and the physical and verbal abuse he endured at the hands of his father. There are times when I think youth sports would be better off if parents were just banned from watching.

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Coach Darren Rumble estimated Juraj Simek (injured ankle) is out another 10-14 days, while Andy Rogers (back), Pete Zingoni (broken wrist) and Brandon Segal (broken hand) are about two weeks away from returning. Segal, who has a hard cast on right now and will soon move to a soft cast, said he has to have someone tie his skates when he goes on the ice to work out his legs. He's also discovered that it's not so easy to turn the key in his car ignition with the hard cast on. His pantomime of trying it for the first time is pretty amusing.

With Segal out, Chris Gratton is wearing the `A' as an alternate captain.

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You are one serious hockey fan if you buy and wear these beauties.

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Tonight's game story is up and ready. Various notes coming tomorrow but I need to get home to bed. Got to watch the rug rats at our house tomorrow morning.

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The St. Petersburg Times reports that:

Rumor Control: Rumors have swirled for months in Canada that OK Hockey is having financial problems and could miss a payment to Palace Sports & Entertainment, the primary lender in the group's $200-million purchase of the team.

But the Lightning denied the report, and Palace Sports CEO Tom Wilson said no payments have been missed.

"They're living up to everything they're supposed to," he said.

Return: F Paul Szczechura (leg) played after missing two games.

Another report on the Lightning ownership's finances, this one from TSN.

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The feeling in the Admirals' locker room last night was that Dusty Collins, the Manchester Monarch who forced Norfolk's Jay Rosehill into his third fight and subsequent ejection, was trying to save face. Collins, who's apparently known as something of a physical player himself, was crushed by a Rosehill body check earlier in the game and had to head to the locker room for a bit.

Rosehill said he knows a little about Collins, who used to be in the Tampa Bay organization, and that he was trying to show that he could stand up for himself. Or maybe lay down for himself, because Rosehill dropped him with a series of punches that couldn't have felt too good. The visiting penalty box attendant told myself and some others after the game that Collins came in after the fight and after a long silence, said ``I guess I picked on the wrong guy.''

Norfolk captain Zenon Konopka said he wasn't sure what Collins was thinking by provoking Rosehill, but that ``if they want to have a fourth fight with him, I'll arrange one in the hall''.

Rosehill, by the way, had large ice bags on both hands after the game. Fighting takes its toll on your mitts over the course of a season and Rosehill's aren't pretty to look at. He's got an enormous, scabbed gash on the back of his left hand that he thinks came from accidently scraping the Plexiglas in Worcester during a bout last week.

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Norfolk coach Darren Rumble said he made wing Radek Smolenak a healthy scratch last night so the player could ``refocus''. As he said it, he had that look of a person who's looking to put a semi-positive spin on unhappy news.

Smolenak is a bit hyper and definitely a free spirit. When all that energy goes in the right direction, he's very tough to play against. It should be interesting to see if he plays tonight. I'd guess not because coaches rarely tinker with lineups if the team is winning.

[Update: Same exact lineup as last night. Smolie gets a seat in the stands once again.]

[Double update: late change has Smolenak back in and Curadeau out.]

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It really seems like it's only a matter of time before Lowell is out of the AHL. More money woes have surfaced for the city and its rink.

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Don't like the job your coach is doing? Well, fire him right away, in the middle of a period!

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Interesting list here of recent Canadian WJC players and how they've stacked up as pros.

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Admirals captain Zenon Konopka said last night he had just received notice of a $500 fine he incurred from a pregame fight with Springfield earlier this season. Konopka didn't throw any punches in the scuffle, but admitted he told the Falcons' goaltender that he might want to watch out, because Norfolk was planning on running through his crease.

Konopka said he totaled $2,800 in AHL fines last season.

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I enjoyed dealing with Adam Henrich last season and I hope he does well in WBS this winter. But exactly what Hall of Fame do you suppose the seller of this Henrich photo card is referring to?

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Man, what would hair like this have looked like exploding out from under a hockey helmet?

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Former Admirals defenseman James Wisniewski is rounding back into form with the Chicago Blackhawks, notes the Chicago Tribune.

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Twenty-year old backup goaltender Riku Helenius had been playing regularly in the ECHL but has only played a period with Norfolk since being called up from Mississippi on Dec. 21. Here are Darren Rumble's thoughts on the situation:

``I don't want to put him into something he's not ready for. I wouldn't be doing him a favor by putting him in before he's clearly ready. He went in for a period in Worcester and did great, so I have a pretty good idea that he could do the job for a whole game, but Mike (McKenna)'s our guy right now and there's no three in threes right now. If (Helenius) doesn't play for a couple weeks, it's not the end of the world. He might be 25 before he's ready for the NHL.''

Rumble on Steve Downie, who's had several fights of late:

``He had the fight at the end of the game in Portland where he one-punched a guy, and he said he got some confidence back from that. He's a little quicker to flip the switch but I'd rather have him on the ice because he's such a good player. If I was the other team, I'd try to go after him and get him off the ice, so he has to be aware of that while he's down here.''

And on how Downie might be best served by staying with Norfolk the rest of the season, although he's certainly good enough to contribute to the Lightning:

``You want guys to really develop their game down here so when they go up to the NHL, they have a foundation to build upon. Dominating down here for 15 or 18 games isn't going to compose that foundation. Is he too good for this league? Probably. But I think being here for a year would allow him to develop his whole game instead of going up and just learning how to be a third-liner.''

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I'm going to irritate some folks with this comment, but Vladimir Mihalik needs to fight his own battles, for better or worse. He just cross-checked Manchester's Matt Moulson into the crossbar after a Mike McKenna save on a penalty kill. Fine, send a message. But then Moulson swings and knocks Mihalik's helmet off and then Bracken Kearns steps in and fights Moulson.

The issue for me isn't that Kearns is willing to fight that battle, but that Mihalik needs to do it himself. Yes, the only two times I've seen him truly fight, he's gotten decked hard, but if he doesn't learn to at least battle with his fists every now and then, opponents are going to take advantage of him his whole career.

The Lightning see Mihalik as a career NHL defenseman? Then get him some fighting lessons. I'm not a fan of fighting simply for fighting's sake, but it's still a part of the game and when you're 6 foot 7, you need to be able to stand up for yourself.

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Geez, no chance to catch my breath before I hop back up on my soapbox. We're at the second intermission and with less than a second left in the middle stanza, Norfolk's Steve Downie CRUSHED Manchester leading scorer Trevor Lewis high in the Admirals zone. Monarch Davis Drewiske immediately tried to fight Downie, but No. 24 wouldn't drop his gloves and just laughed at him. Then more Manchester players wanted a piece of Downie, who just skated away and Drewiske got the only penalty, a roughing minor.

Replay shows the hit was, at least in my opinion, to be totally clean. Lewis came into the Norfolk zone and cut across the top with his head down and Downie lined him up and smashed into him with a lowered shoulder. No high elbow, no knee stuck out, none of that. Scott Stevens was revered for hits just like that, so why is this one different?

Sure, Manchester wants Downie off the ice. He's making them look foolish with two goals in a 2-2 game and several other good chances. But it's insulting to me as a hockey fan that a good, clean hit now brings an automatic challenge to fight. I asked Admirals radio man Pete Michaud about the play and he saw it the same way I did. I'd like to think I would see it identically if a Manchester player had laid out an Admiral.

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Former Admirals wing Michael Blunden has been traded by the Chicago Blackhawks to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Blunden will report to AHL Syracuse. He's been labeled a bust by one Blackhawks beat writer.

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Saturday night's game story is up.

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Get well soon wishes go out to Admirals GM Mike Butters, who checked himself out of a hospital last night so he could watch the game in person. Butters was struck with kidney stones at about 4 a.m. and said the experience was incredibly painful, which echoes what everyone else I know who's had them has said. Butters planned to check back into the hospital after the game, so it's not just hockey players who are tough, but ex-hockey players as well.

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You read this story out of the Rockford paper about how the fans there are embracing the Blackhawks' recent rise and you have to wonder what could have been here in Norfolk if Chicago hadn't pulled up stakes.

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Sounds like a wild night recently during the Richmond Renegades game. From the Richmond Times Dispatch:

The blood-letting started early last night between Richmond and Knoxville.

There were four fights in the first 12 seconds, one of them resulting in a shovel full of blood that had to be scooped up at the Knoxville blue line before play resumed in front of 3,280 at the Coliseum.

The bleeding was courtesy of several blows to the face of Knoxville's Jared Siganuk by Matt Withers :04 into the Southern Professional Hockey League game.

When they finally got around to playing, the third-place Renegades scored the first two goals, then hung on to post a 5-4 shootout victory over the second-place Ice Bears.

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Just in case you needed any more confirmation that those AHL players who earn NHL promotions aren't always those the most deserving, here's news that Vladimir Mihalik has again been recalled by the parent Tampa Bay Lightning.

I don't agree with the Scope boo birds who think Mihalik is the worst rearguard on the team. But he hasn't played very well lately and he's looked quite awkward at times, tripping over his feet and dropping to the ice at odd moments. He reminds me of a Great Dane puppy.

Personally, I'd like to see Daryl Boyle get a shot with the Bolts, but I'm guessing that because he's not a high draft pick and because he's not 6 foot 7, he's been passed over. Never mind that Mihalik often doesn't actually play like he's 6-7.

Also in the link above, Paul Szczechura gets props for his defensive play. I think we can put him in the ex-Admirals category for good.

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Admirals captain Zenon Konopka on the season so far and what lies immediately ahead:

``Obviously, it hasn't gone as planned but I don't think it's time to panic, either. I think we have everything in place to make a run and reach the playoffs.

``I don't think Hershey wants to see us in the playoffs as the fourth seed. We've played them pretty physical against them and I don't think they'd want to have to play a whole series against us. It's going to be easier said than done, but I've been in this positions before and I'm sure we'll get there.

``There's no teams that really scare us in our division but I think it's really about how we play and how much we cut down on mistakes. If we do that, we're going to win. Over the next eight games, we have to take six or seven of them.''

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The St. Petersburg Times reports Lightning backup goaltender Olie Kolzig is still not practicing because of his arm injury. Which means the Admirals must ride the up and down ways of Mike McKenna, because Karri Ramo remains with Tampa Bay as Kolzig's replacement.

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An excerpt from an Albany Times Union interview with River Rats captain Tim Conboy, whose team is wallowing around in the AHL East Division basement with the Admirals:

Q: How good can this team be?

A: The sky is the limit. We still have more than half the season left. With the turnaround we have had recently, we could just keep it running the whole year. You never know, we could end up winning the division.

Q: Or even beyond that.

A: Exactly.

Q: Tell me something most people don't know about you.

A: I used to figure skate. I don't think anyone knows that. I can take the heat for it. I learned to skate when I was little and I did it for four years. When my hockey teammates started to make fun of me, it was time to hang it up. I had a little costume and was in a few shows with my sister. I stopped when I was like 11, 12 years old.

Q: Worst bus trip you've ever been on?

A: When I played in Cleveland, we had a 12-hour trip to Omaha (Neb). We left the morning of the game at 3 a.m. and got there at 4 p.m. We lost. Bad. It was pretty terrible. After being on a bus for 12 hours you go a little crazy.

Q: Worst rink to play in in the AHL?

A: Binghamton. I hate playing there. They always have problems with the ice. They have had problems with fog. The fans are right on top of you, the corners are tiny. It's an old rink.

Q: Favorite thing about playing at the Times Union Center.

A: There are a lot of things I like about it. We have great fans who support us even if it's a Tuesday at 3 p.m. They will be screaming and cheering for us.

Tim's obviously drunk a little bit too much Kool-Aid. First off, I'll eat this laptop if the River Rats win the division, and second, the Times Union Center is dirty, ugly and some of the smallest crowds I've ever seen for a hockey game have been in its confines.

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ROCKFORD GOALTENDER COREY CRAWFORD NAMED REEBOK/AHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that Rockford IceHogs goaltender (and former Admiral) Corey Crawford has been named the Reebok/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Jan. 11, 2009. Crawford stopped 95 of 97 shots in three appearances, going 2-0-1 with a 0.67 goals-against average and a .979 save percentage for the IceHogs last week.

Crawford began the week with an impressive relief appearance on Wednesday at Grand Rapids, allowing one goal on 38 shots as Rockford rallied from three goals down to earn a point in a 6-5 shootout loss. On Friday, he turned aside 34 of 35 shots in a 3-1 win over Chicago, his fourth win over the defending Calder Cup champions this year and the 100th victory of his AHL career. And on Saturday, Crawford made 24 saves for his first shutout of the season as the IceHogs defeated Toronto, 1-0.

In recognition of his achievement, Crawford will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming IceHogs home game.

Crawford is 12-5-2 with a 2.59 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage in 20 games for Rockford this season, his fourth professional campaign. A second-round draft choice (52nd overall) by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2003, Crawford now has a record of 101-67-10 with six shutouts in 183 career AHL appearances. The 24-year-old Montreal native has also seen action in seven NHL contests with Chicago, getting his first NHL win and shutout vs. Anaheim on Mar. 5, 2008.

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The Rochester Americans are batting around the idea of staging an outdoor game in the future. Maybe the Admirals can be the opponents? Nah, that will go to Syracuse, I'm pretty sure.

Rochester's a nice town and all, but the setting for an outdoor game ain't gonna hold a candle to this, the Kontinental Hockey League's recent All Star Game in Red Square. Another shot here, with St. Basil's in the background.

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Latest Admirals notebook is up on the Lightning site.

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Former AHL penalty minutes maven Dennis Bonvie is opening a cafe in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. No word on whether they'll be serving punch.

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There's a question out there about whether a higher than should be normal percentage of MLB players have ADD. I can tell you of one former Admiral who the coaches were sure had it - Igor Radulov. He was a different cat, that's for sure.

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Cool retrospective of uniforms from the movie ``Slap Shot''.

[triswykes]

Vladimir Mihahlik played 11 minutes in last night's Tampa Bay victory at Los Angeles. Paul Szczechura played 12 minutes and David Koci, who I didn't even know was due back this soon, played two and had a fight. Guess his broken hand must be feeling better.

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Sure wouldn't have guessed this news below was coming. Quick's a great skater, but Rumble didn't think he was ready for the AHL three months ago and now he's in The Show? Heck, Saturday, he had several breakouts where he held the puck far too long and ended up throwing a prayer up the boards towards center ice.

I'm all for giving young prospects a taste of the NHL to motivate them, but I think this happened far too soon. If Quick gets hurt on this recall, the Lightning will have no one to blame but themselves.

Lightning Recall D Kevin Quick from Admirals

TAMPA BAY, FL – The Tampa Bay Lightning, NHL parent club of the Norfolk Admirals, have recalled defenseman Kevin Quick on an emergency basis from the Admirals, it was announced today by Lightning Executive Vice President and General Manager Brian Lawton. This is Quick's first career NHL call-up.

Quick, a 6-foot-0, 175-pound defenseman, has appeared in 14 games with Norfolk this season, going scoreless with four penalty minutes and a +3 rating. Quick also appeared in 18 games with the now-defunct Augusta Lynx of the ECHL, scoring two goals and four assists with ten penalty minutes.

The 20-year-old native of Buffalo, New York, made his professional debut with Norfolk last season, registering four assists and six penalty minutes in 18 games. In 32 career AHL games – all with the Admirals – Quick has four assists and ten penalty minutes.

Prior to joining Norfolk last season, Quick had two goals and two assists in 21 games with the University of Michigan Wolverines. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the third round (78th overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft out of The Salisbury School in Connecticut.

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Former Admirals captain Ajay Baines has seven points and a minus-4 rating in 37 Iowa Chops games. Which makes me assume he's been relegated to a checking line role.

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Former Admiral Junior Lessard is headed to play with Bridgeport after being traded by the parent Atlanta Thrashers.

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Flyers center Daniel Briere will be slumming with the AHL Phantoms this week while rehabbing an injury.

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Those of you interested in college hockey might want to hear about this below from the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Brandon Bochenski and Matt Smaby both played at North Dakota. For The Herald to speak out this way is a huge deal in that state, but a major roadblock is that the Sioux' relatively new arena has something like 10,000 indian head logos in it. The alum who funded the building made that a requirement.

The Grand Forks Herald on Sunday ran an opinion story saying that North Dakota should change its Fighting Sioux nickname and drop its logo, the head of an Indian.

It’s time, the paper, said if the school wants to become a member of the Summit Conference. Officials of that conference won’t talk to UND until the nickname controversy is settled.

“No, use of the nickname and logo were not intended to offend anyone.

“But offense is in the eye of the offended, and offenders often overlook that,” according to the editorial.

Which continued this way: “Enthusiasm for the nickname and logo has erodedto the point that change is politically possible.

“That change ought to come. Without delay.”

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Hershey broadcaster John Walton notes that:

Alexandre Giroux scores a goal in his 11th straight AHL game Sunday. Tim Leone of the Patriot-News and Jason Chaimovitch at the AHL league office both pointed out an interesting fact to me yesterday. The league record for a player scoring goals in consecutive games is 14. That was set back in 1987, when a player from the Moncton Golden Flames set the mark between January 24 and February 21.

Just a guy named Brett Hull. No big deal or anything. When you're starting to be talked about in the same circles as Brett Hull when the conversation turns to goal scoring, you're on some kind of roll. If Giroux scores Wednesday against Albany, he'll only be two games short of tying Hull. MUCH easier said than done, but if he can keep it going, what a weekend it could be at Giant Center this Saturday and Sunday.

Walton also points us towards this story about former Manchester and Hershey coach Bruce Boudreau, now the Washington Capitals' bench boss, of course. Wonder if the Monarchs wish they hadn't canned him a few years back?

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Albany River Rats beat man Phil Janack, who is small but wily, has an interesting notebook item about enforcer Trevor Gilles.

Gillies is getting closer to being completely symptom-free from a scary incident where his unprotected head slammed into the ice following a fight with Wilkes-Barre's Paul Bissonnette on Dec. 20. He has not skated since the incident.

"Right now we're just being safe with what I do until I get back to a hundred percent," he said. "I felt good on some days and not so good on other days. I think I was doing a little too much early on and I had to stop and take a step back and get rested. Hopefully, it won't be that much longer before I'm out there again."

In his 10th pro season, Gillies was felled not by a punch but by the impact of hitting the ice with the 230-pound Bissonnette on top of him. The two had stopped throwing when they went down, and Gillies had to be helped from the ice and needed staples to close the wound on the back of his head.

"It's the first time it's happened in 10 years," Gillies said. "I'm thankful it turned out to be nothing too serious."

Don Sanderson, a 21-year-old defenseman for the Whitby Dunlops in Canada's Senior AAA league, the highest level of amateur hockey in the country, died on Jan. 2 after three weeks in a coma. Sanderson was injured when his helmet came off during a fight and he fell and struck his head on the ice, similar to Gillies.

"My heart goes out to him and his family," Gillies said. "When I'm back, I'll be doing my thing, whether it's a big hit or keeping the locker room loose or sticking up for a teammate. I'll be more than willing to do that again."

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Former Admirals netminder Ryan Munch is now a Syracuse Crunch. Cruncher? Crunchee? Well, he's playing in Syracuse and let's leave it at that.

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It just occurred to me that Kevin Quick (below) has probably been flying across the country most of the day. I can't imagine we'll see him in the lineup tonight at San Jose if that's the case. Can you imagine making your NHL debut against the Sharks on the road? Oh no, isn't that Joe Thornton bearing down on me?!

At the same time, we should be happy for the kid and I imagine he's beyond excited. Being from Buffalo, I hope his parents were able to get across the continent to see him make his NHL debut. If so, it couldn't have been cheap on such short notice.

In other Bolts news, Matt Smaby has been put on injured reserve by them with a lower body injury and Olie Kolzing tells the St. Petersburg Times he'll be ready to go after a full practice with the team. Should that be the case, Karri Ramo will presumably be on his way back to Norfolk in the near future.

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THIS WEEK ON THE ADMIRALS HOUR

Tune in to the Admirals Hour on Thursday evening at 6:00 p.m. on ESPN Radio 1310 WGH-AM. "The Voice of the Admirals" Pete Michaud will be joined in the studio by Admirals Center Bracken Kearns. If you have a question for the show, please call (757) 497-1310 during the show or email keith@norfolkadmirals.com prior to 2:00 on Thursday afternoon.