AHL Milwaukee Admirals

Admirals Can't Complete Comeback

Published on November 15, 2006 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Milwaukee Admirals News Release


Milwaukee, WI-A late rally by the Admiral's in the final period came up just short of tying the game and sending the match into extra time, during Wednesday night's contest at the Bradley Center. In the end the Admiral's lost 4-2 to the Houston Aeros, their first defeat since November 9th, ending a three-game win streak.

The Aeros are riding a streak of their own. Tonight's win was their fourth in-a-row, while coasting on the back one of the AHL's top goaltenders in Josh Harding. Harding leads all backstops in minutes played. His 2.30 GAA and his .928 save percentage are the league's best amongst goaltenders starting ten games or more.

The Admirals started Karl Goehring opposite of Harding tonight. Goehring was undefeated in his two career starts against the Houston franchise, boasting a 1.15 GAA and .996 save percentage against the Aeros.

The Admirals started strong and out shot the Aeros early. They put the heat on Harding for the first seven minutes, including an Alex Henry shot that rang off the crossbar and when Ramzi Abid slipped the puck through Harding's legs, but just shy of the angle needed to send puck to the back of the net.

The Admiral's lost their early momentum at 9:01 into the period when Minnesota Wild prospect, Benoit Pouliot, backhanded a pass from the trapezoid to Ben Thompson who lifted the puck past the stick side of Goehring.

The Admiral's entered the second period down 1-0 and couldn't find a way to regain the tenacity they had in the game's opening minutes.

Four and a half minutes into the second, Shane Endicott stepped onto the ice after serving a hooking penalty. He was on just in time to see Joel Ward set up Josh Olson for an even strength goal.

Six minutes later, Houston's Pouloit added another at 10:04 when the Admiral's turned the puck over in their own end. Pouloit got the breakaway marker after the puck bounced off the back of an Admiral's skate. He attacked the net from Goehring's glove side, but put the shot on Goehring's other shoulder. Goehring stopped the shot initially, but an odd spin and barely enough momentum sent the puck on a slow roll just past the goal line.

Before the period ended Ramzi Abid found himself in a hand to hand battle with Clayton Stoner. Abid sent Stoner back to the locker room with a cut under his eye and his team back into the locker room with some much needed enthusiasm.

"(The fight) is not something we do by design," explained coach Claude Noel in post-game interviews. "I think he wanted to stir things up."

The emotion is just what the Admirals needed. Noel noted his team looked "lethargic" and "non-emotional" in the first forty minutes, but as the Admirals left the locker room after the second intermission they were full of energy despite being down 3-0.

With only 2:09 off the clock, Alexander Radulov backhanded a shot off the skate of a Houston defenseman and past Harding and brought more life to the Admiral's bench.

But as momentum built, Kelsey Wilson and Bracken Kearns each took penalties six minutes into the period, giving Houston a two-man advantage and putting Milwaukee's backs against the wall.

Noel wasn't thrilled with the penalties, "We shot ourselves in the foot regarding momentum." But the league's best penalty-kill squad did their job once again, allowing few shots and no goals.

The Admiral's recovered and scored again at 10:18 when Rich Peverley sent a pass from behind the net to Abid who had set up camp in front of Harding.

The Admirals did all they could to get the tying goal in the remaining nine minutes, but were unsuccessful. In the process, they allowed an empty net marker from center ice by ex-Admiral Bryan Lundbohm, his first of the season.

The Admirals hit the road for games in Peoria and Omaha this weekend, but will return to the Bradley Center next Tuesday night to battle the Iowa Stars at 7:00 pm. Fans can purchase tickets by calling Ticketmaster at (414) 276-4545 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Groups of ten or more people receive a minimum of $2 off of each ticket. For more information or to order group tickets call the Admirals office at (414) 227-0550.

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American Hockey League Stories from November 15, 2006


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