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Milwaukee Admirals

Admirals able to ride the storm out

March 2, 2007 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Milwaukee Admirals News Release


Milwaukee, WI - Coming off a win against Houston on Sunday in what was Claude Noel's 300th game as head coach of Milwaukee, the Admirals were looking to secure their first pair of back-to-back wins since January 24th. Their efforts proved fruitful as the Ads buried the Hamilton Bulldogs in a shootout that decided the 3-2 game.

Despite being down players Maxim Lapierre, Andrei Kostitsyn, and goalie Jaroslav Halak, all of whom have helped Hamilton to their pair of victories this season against Milwaukee, the Bulldogs didn't lack bite and stayed in the game right up until the end.

With the shootout tied 2-2, Chris Durno made his fourth round shot count when he fired the puck over the leg pad of Bulldog goalie Yann Davis, setting up a dramatic 5th and final shot for Hamilton to tie the game.

Making the scene more intense was the fact the final Bulldog shot belonged to their leading scorer Duncan Milroy.

Milroy's shot missed wide and was only successful at drawing a booming standing ovation from the 11,000 plus Admirals fans in attendance, the team's largest crowd of the season.

"A two game winning streak," noted Coach Claude Noel through a smile. "We haven't seen that since the middle January!"

But it was a long road getting to the thrilling moment as both teams traded chances and goals in regulation.

"[Hamilton's] a pretty good team," he said of tonight's opponent. "We were concerned about their speed. We were out shot, but I thought we played a pretty good all-around game."

Rich Peverley got things started five minutes into game when he carried the puck into the opposing end during his team's first power play. With his players crashing hard on the net, Peverley was able to slip a casual shot past Danis for the opening marker.

Hamilton pulled ahead with a pair of special teams goals. Their first came eight-seconds into their second power play chance when Mathieu Biron slipped one past goalie Pekka Rinne that he would have probably liked back, tying the game with thirteen minutes left to play in the opening period.

They added a short handed marker when defenseman Ville Koistinen, playing the high point on the power play, ripped a shot off the shin pads of Matt D'Agostini who was able to turn the folly into a breakaway goal eleven minutes into the first.

"It wasn't a great play on his part," said Noel. "You've got to get yourself in a shooting lane, and he wasn't really in a shooting lane. The guy was there."

Noel went on to explain, "When you're the high guy there, you've got to get the shot through. You can't be hitting the guy's pads, because there is nobody backing you up."

The Ads entered the final period down by a goal, but Hamilton's lead in the final session was short lived as Chris Durno scooped the puck out of the corner and sent a pass through the slot, setting up an effortless game-tying goal by Jason Guerriero two minutes into the third stanza.

The Ads came close to falling behind minutes later when Milroy's third period shot hit the post before striking the back of Rinne's shoulder. Thanks to a lucky spin, the frozen rubber disk rolled over the front of Rinne's shoulder where he was able to cover up, avoiding the catastrophe of it hitting his back and flying backwards into the net.

However, the win came and Milwaukee was happy to earn the full points as they continue to jockey for a playoff position in a competitive division.

"What's it going to take to make the playoffs," asked Noel rhetorically. "That's really the question. Every point that we get is a point that we need."

"You can't afford to fall behind," he added. "This is our playoffs. For us, there are no guarantees."

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