Our team was fantastic in the first round of the Calder Cup playoffs. I thought our game 4 victory over Rockford was one of our most dominant performances of the season. It’s great to move on to the West Division Finals against either Houston or Peoria. We have a little bit of time to rest up from a hockey standpoint and get some quality practice time.

I am also very pleased with the fan support we received throughout the first round. Our attendance for the first two games was up 9.7% over last season and is up 53% over the first round average of all years in the AHL playoffs. In addition, we had great crowds of Admirals fans in Rockford and at Major Goolsby’s for the road games. It means a lot to our players that there is such great support from our fans. Thank you!

It’s time to look ahead to the next round. We’ll either play Houston or Peoria. It’s going to be a tough series no matter which team it is. We’ll have eight days off between games which allows us to rest and practice and I am sure that Lane Lambert will have the guys ready to go. The first two games are April 30 and May 2, both at 7 pm. I’ve been asked about the Saturday game at 7 rather than 7:30. That has been done to protect us in case of overtime and potential travel the next day. The extra half hour will be a big help. The ticket prices are $22, $19 and $17 with kids prices for $12. That’s one dollar above the regular season prices and those will be the prices for the remainder of the playoffs per league playoff regulations. It’s a great price for playoffs in any sport and to experience playoff hockey is a lot of fun.

It’s an exciting time to be a member of the Admirals organization right now. We look forward to the next round!

Go Admirals!