Milwaukee Admirals and Their Fans Are Simply One Big Family

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Photo by Gregory Harutunian

Milwaukee Admirals fans

Fans watch the Milwaukee Admirals play the Chicago Wolves

There is an amusing symmetry to watch an ice hockey game indoors, while the cold wind and snow swirl outside the building. It’s even a neater trick when up to 6,000 people bond into an extended family for several hours. This is what the Milwaukee Admirals minor league hockey team and their fans are doing, even beyond the season.

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Photo by Gregory Harutunian

Milwaukee Admirals' Matt Murray

Milwaukee Admirals' Matt Murray watches the pre-game skatearound

Initially organized as an independent team in 1970, the Admirals have been part of the American Hockey League for the last quarter-century. The historic UMW Panther Arena, where the 36-home game schedule is played over six months, just seems like the perfect place. The Bucks even celebrated their 1971 NBA Championship here. There were also concerts by Led Zeppelin and Jethro Tull in 1973.

“The Panther Arena is just an intimate place, not a bad seat in the house … the staff, administration, team and the fans feel like a family,” said Charlie Larson, the team’s vice-president of communications. “It’s heart-warming from a staff perspective. These are hockey people that see each other regularly, get to know each other, make friends.”

Put the Puck

For the uninitiated, ice hockey is similar to soccer rules with opposing goals, blue lines, center lines, face-off circles, offside calls, penalty infractions, tempers flaring … basically, a hockey team tries to put the puck in the opposing net on a roughly 200-foot long ice surface, and a soccer team runs for miles on a field doing the same thing kicking a ball.

It’s fast-paced, competitive and done on a shoe supported by a centered blade of steel. Of course, this cuts into the ice surface and regularly brings out the “Skeleton Crew,” a group with an amazing choreography, comparable to ballet, to scoop up the shavings without running into each other.

The festive atmosphere, when the play stops, is hard to match: a remote-controlled zeppelin flies around the arena dropping coupons on the crowd; audience participation games on the scoreboard; and between period antics that are surreal. This evening’s opponent was the Chicago Wolves, bringing a great rivalry and an inherent aggression.

Action on Ice

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Photo by Gregory Harutunian

Milwaukee Admirals

A puck scramble by the Milwaukee Admirals' net

“We keep coming back to the Admirals games every time, it’s a lot of fun, the action on the ice, and the between period things keep us entertained, “said Cory Sepanski, who travels with his wife, from Kenosha. “This is our first year as partial season ticket holders. I love hockey.”

Even the people directing aisle traffic, love being there. “I’ve worked as an usher for 19 years at the Bradley Center, and 6 years here,” said Harriet Nuetzel-Nelson. “I find it to be an exciting game and a job I love doing. I love the crowds and the people … t’s never a dull moment!”

Just then, as she spoke between periods, a lucky fan got “slingshotted,” from one end of the ice to the other, like a bowling ball into 10 placards arranged like bowling pins. There are three periods lasting 20 minutes in each game. Whenever the P.A. announcement comes, “There is one minute remaining in the period,” the crowd says in unison, “Thank you!”

Voice of the Admirals

A Milwaukee broadcast legend, like Eddie Doucette and Bob Uecker, is Aaron Sims, the “Voice of the Admirals” for 21 years. Currently on WOKY (920 AM), his stories are just as interesting as his “in-game play-by-play.”

“It’s a great ownership, I have a good relationship with the players … I most enjoy the newer players since they have interesting stories, like we all do,” Sims said. “One memory is when we had a Romanian player, who explained the difference between communism and capitalism to me, and what it did to his family’s business.

“The opportunity to meet people, and the players, is just fascinating stuff,” he said. “I look forward to it, and it really keeps things fresh.”

Defenseman and team captain, Kevin Gravel, is also thrilled. “I’ve been around hockey a long time, this is my 12th year, you kind of just learn to stay in the moment, and enjoy it,” he said. “Other guys kind of tell you, it goes so fast…don’t get me wrong, you got to find enjoyment in the grind, working through the good and the bad with your teammates.

“I grew up about three hours north of Milwaukee, in the Upper Peninsula, so I’m very familiar with the city,” Gravel said. “Both of my children were born here, we have family in all the time, and I’ve played a lot of places. In my opinion, Milwaukee ranks right up there, a great fit, and I’ve been blessed to be able to play in a city like this one.”

Larson noted that playing in MKE has its advantages and a place in the hockey world, with the Nashville Predators being their National Hockey League affiliate. “We play in the American Hockley League, which is the best in the world,” he said. “Players that are on our roster play here and go on to Nashville.

“Look at those NHL teams … our best players are dotted with them, our best players are on their teams in that league,” Larson said. “Our owner, Jon Greenburg, stresses to all our personnel that ‘you are family,’ and wants to keep that feeling. It shows with a place that is fun, cost-effective and reasonably priced, and friendly. You are family.”

For more information on the Milwaukee Admirals, go to their website (milwaukeeadmirals.com).