Admirals set viewing parties as playoff series with Manitoba heads to Winnipeg

Milwaukee has officially reached the Calder Cup Playoffs, and the Admirals are treating the Manitoba matchup like more than a road series. With all three Round 1 games set for Winnipeg, the club lined up viewing parties in Wisconsin as the postseason push shifts from the rink to the city’s gathering spots.

Game 1 is scheduled for Wednesday, April 22 at 7 p.m. at Major Goolsby’s and Steny’s Lake Country. Game 2 follows on Friday, April 24 at 7 p.m. at Major Goolsby’s, and if the series reaches a third game, Game 3 will be shown Sunday, April 26 at 2 p.m. at Major Goolsby’s and Steny’s Lake Country. Each party will feature food and drink specials along with raffle prizes, giving fans a place to keep the playoff energy alive while the Admirals play on the road.

The setup matters because this is not a routine spring appearance. Milwaukee is in the postseason for the sixth straight season and the 20th time since joining the American Hockey League in 2001. The Admirals and Manitoba Moose are meeting in the Calder Cup Playoffs for the third time in the past five years, and this first-round series is being played entirely in Winnipeg because of travel distance and because the Moose finished as the higher seed.

Karl Taylor’s run behind the bench is part of why the club can frame this as a real playoff event rather than a single-night watch. Milwaukee has qualified for the playoffs in every season of Taylor’s tenure, and he has guided the Admirals past the first round in four straight postseasons, a franchise record. Taylor has coached 55 playoff games for Milwaukee, the most in team history, and the Admirals reached the Western Conference Finals in both 2023 and 2024.

The playoff berth itself was secured with a 2-1 win over the Iowa Wild on April 12, when Isaac Ratcliffe scored both goals and Matt Murray made 32 saves. Jordan Oesterle helped fuel the late-season surge with nine goals and 24 points over a 21-game stretch from February 15 through April 4, then finished the regular season with 14 goals and 46 points in 66 games. That production gave Milwaukee a finishing kick that now carries into a playoff bracket with real history behind it.

This is also Milwaukee’s first best-of-three playoff series since 2002, when it beat Rochester in the opening round. The Admirals went on to win the Calder Cup in 2004 and reached the Finals again in 2006, reminders that this franchise has long been built for runs that can stretch well beyond one round.