11.04.02 - Among the best teams in the AHL over the first three weeks of the 2002-03 season are the Admirals…both of them.

In Norfolk, Trent Yawney’s defending South Division champions have earned a point in the standings in every one of their games this season (8-0-1-2).

Their offense has been spread out, with eight different players accounting for the Admirals’ eight game-winning goals.

Mike Peluso leads the blue and gold with 14 points on 5 goals and 9 assists.

On the year, Casey Hankinson has scored a team-best six goals, and Peter White and rookie Igor Radulov have chipped in with five tallies apiece.

Norfolk’s defensive corps features former first-round draft picks Steve McCarthy and Johnathan Aitken, as well as Marty Wilford, who ranks among the AHL leaders with a plus-9 rating.

In the cage, second-year pros Michael Leighton (4-2-1) and Craig Andersson (4-0-0) have combined for a .925 save percentage.

On the other ship...the Milwaukee Admirals were the last team to fall from the ranks of the unbeaten and have still not suffered a regulation loss, sitting at 4-0-4-1 on the season.

Led by first-year AHL head coach Peter Horachek, Milwaukee is off to a quick start after missing the Calder Cup Playoffs a year ago.

The Admirals’ season-opening eight-game unbeaten streak ended with a 7-6 overtime loss to Chicago on Sunday.

October’s AHL Rookie of the Month Darren Haydar leads Milwaukee’s offense with seven goals and 13 points in nine games.

Former Calder Cup champion Cameron Mann (1999) and two-time Cup finalist and 1999 AHL scoring champion Domenic Pittis have added experience to the Admirals’ lineup.

On the defense, first-year player Andrew Hutchinson, an All-American at Michigan State, has joined former AHL All-Stars Bubba Berenzweig, Peter Smrek and Pascal Trepanier in shoring up Milwaukee’s blue line.

Both Admirals’ successes have been felt throughout their respective organizations.
In Nashville, the Predators’ lineup this season has already included Wyatt Smith, Greg Classen, Vern Fiddler, Mark Eaton and Adam Hall.

The Chicago Blackhawks have made NHL regulars out of Norfolk graduates Mark Bell, Kyle Calder, Shawn Thornton and NHL Rookie of the Month for October Tyler Arnason.

The Admirals’ ships are on a collision course as Milwaukee invades Norfolk on December 4, for the first of two battles this year.