Milwaukee's primed and pumped for the playoffs. No, not the NBA Playoffs, where the top-seed Bucks stormed through their first round en route to a postseason rematch with the Boston Celtics.
I'm talking about the AHL and the Major Arena Soccer League playoffs, where the Milwaukee Admirals and Milwaukee Wave are each in the hunt for their own respective titles – the Ads sailing toward their first championship since 2003-04, the Wave roaring at their first as members of the MASL.
Let's begin with the latter: The Wave joined the MASL for the 2014-15 season and quickly made themselves a notable force, making the Eastern Conference finals each of the last two seasons. Unfortunately, that's as far as they got both seasons as well, losing to the Baltimore Blast each time. Perhaps the third time will be the charm, however, as the Wave are back in the Eastern Conference finals – and back facing the dreaded Blast.
Unlike last year, however, the Wave will have the home field advantage against the Blast, playing the final matchup at the UWM Panther Arena on Sunday afternoon at 2:05 p.m. Or, at least they've have the home field advantage if Milwaukee shows up in full force to cheer their squad into their first MASL championship.
Then there's the Admirals, where things are a bit more dire. After an impressive late regular season charge, winning 10 of their final 11 games, the Ads struggled in the first two games of their five-spat series with the Iowa Wild, losing by a combined 13-1 on the road. (Part of this is due to the Wild, as the developmental squad for an NHL team that didn't make the playoffs, got first-year players from their professional affiliate, while the Ads didn't since their NHL big brother, the Nashville Predators, made the postseason and were just eliminated Monday night.)
However, the series now tilts back to Milwaukee as the UWM Panther Arena will host Games 3 and 4 Thursday and, if hopefully necessary, Friday night at 7 p.m. They're both must-win games, but crazier things have happened – just look at the NHL playoffs!
For tickets to any of the upcoming games, visit either the Wave's official website or the Admirals' official website. And get ready to show your support for Milwaukee's other postseason powerhouses. We all know Fear the Deer, but don't forget to rave for the Wave and, uh, go mad-mirals for the Admirals? We'll workshop it.
As much as it is a gigantic cliché to say that one has always had a passion for film, Matt Mueller has always had a passion for film. Whether it was bringing in the latest movie reviews for his first grade show-and-tell or writing film reviews for the St. Norbert College Times as a high school student, Matt is way too obsessed with movies for his own good.
When he's not writing about the latest blockbuster or talking much too glowingly about "Piranha 3D," Matt can probably be found watching literally any sport (minus cricket) or working at - get this - a local movie theater. Or watching a movie. Yeah, he's probably watching a movie.
