milwaukee admirals

The Milwaukee Admirals are an American Hockey League team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Founded: January 24, 1970

Formerly Known As: Milwaukee Wings

Arena: Bradley Center

Uniform colors: Blue and red

Logo design: An admiral

Calder Cups won: 2004

NHL Affiliation: Nashville Predators

Franchise history

The Admirals first took to the ice in the winter of 1970 as an amateur club known as the Milwaukee Wings. They lost their first game on January 25 when the Madison All-Stars beat them 17-7. They got their first win five days later when they defeated the Milwaukee Winter Club 10-8. The next year the team was sold by the original owner Reed Fansher to a group of investors. One of the investors, Edwin J. Merar, owned an appliace store. The team was renamed the Admirals after a brand of refrigerators sold in Merar's store. Beginning with the 1973–74 season the Admirals joined the newly formed United States Hockey League. Their first season in a league was not particularly successful as they ended the season in last place in their division. They won only 11 games, lost 35 games, and tied 2 games that season. The Admirals won the USHL league championship in 1976, winning seven straight games in the league's playoffs. In the off-season, the team was purchased by former Chicago Blackhawks announcer Lloyd Pettit and his wife, Jane Bradley-Pettit. For the 1977–78 season the Admirals joined the International Hockey League as the USHL was becoming a strictly amateur league. The Admirals appeared in the IHL's Turner Cup finals only once (1983), where they lost to Toledo in six games. They stayed a part of the IHL until it joined the American Hockey League for the 2001–-02 season when the two leagues merged. They won their first Calder Cup in 2004 when they defeated the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.