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Milwaukee Admirals

Admirals Fall to Chicago 5-3

October 25, 2008 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Milwaukee Admirals News Release


Milwaukee, WI-After taking a 3-2 second period lead, the Milwaukee Admirals allowed three unanswered goals and fell to the Chicago Wolves 5-3 Saturday night at the Bradley Center.

The Ads got off to a slow start before redeeming themselves late in the period in front of a crowd of 3,864 fans. Just 1:40 into the game Wolves' right wing Junior Lessnard fired a slapshot from the right corner of the blueline. Between Lessnard and the net stood a scrum of players screening Milwaukee netminder Drew MacIntyre making it easy for the unseen puck to slip under his right arm and into the net. Jamie Rivers and Riley Holzapfel both notched assists on the goal.

Less than three minutes later Ads rookie Nick Spaling took advantage of a hooking penalty given to Chicago defenseman Arturs Kulda. Alexander Sulzer was lingering in the corner with the puck behind Chicago netminder Ondrej Pavelec when he spotted Antti Pilhstrom in front of the net and hit him with a one timer. The initial shot was saved, but the puck bounced right back to Sulzer who one-touched it to Spaling who was ready for pass number two from Sulzer. With cat like speed he one-timed it under the goalies pads for his first AHL goal.

Long-screened shots proved to be a problem for Milwaukee when Chicago defenseman Chad Denny fired yet another slapper from the left point. The knuckle puck was too much for MacIntyre to handle and it fluttered over his left shoulder untouched, giving the Wolves a 2-1 lead.

However Admirals wouldn't settle for a goal deficit before going into the locker room, especially if Josh Gratton had something to say about it. After taking an outlet pass from Cal O'Reilly, Gratton busted in down the left side of the Chicago zone and squeezed the puck under the legs of Pavelec for his second goal of the season. Apparently he wasn't finished with the play as he crashed into the boards with a Wolves backchecker, and a scrum ensued before being broken up by the men in stripes.

Milwaukee would take their first lead of the game at 16:52 when Defenseman Scott Ford blasted a slapshot from the blue line. The initial rocket from the point bounced off the boards behind the net at a perfect angle, finding assistant captain Geoff Peters on the other side of the goal for an easy open net tap in. It would be Peters' second goal in as many games.

Chicago was quick to comeback as just two minutes later Junior Lessard fired a slapshot from the side of the right circle at an angle that the team's math tutor wouldn't be able to measure. It beat MacIntyre blocker side, giving Lessard his second goal of the game. Grant Stevenson and Riley Holzapfel were credited with assists on the play.

The third period started off with the Wolves gaining momentum early on by taking advantage of a tripping penalty called on Teemu Laakso. Defenseman Grant Lewis whipped a cross ice pass that found its way through two Admirals defenseman to the tape of right wing Joe Motzko, who easily one-timed it past a diving MacIntyre. Jamie Rivers tallied his second assist of the night on the play as well.

The Admirals came within inches of tying the game back up when Pihlstrom received a one-timer from Mike Santorelli on a two-on-one. The crowd witnessed gravity being defied as Pavelec somehow dove to make a stick save that is sure to be seen in highlight reels, goalie camps, and Discovery channel's "Myth-busters."

With a power play and a 1:26 left in the game, Milwaukee pulled their netminder for the two man advantage, but came up empty handed. Grant Stevenson put in an empty netter to seal the deal with a 5-3 win for Chicago. The Admirals are now 0-1 against the Wolves, but have nine chances to get back at them before the end of the regular season.

Both O'Reilly and Antti Pihlstrom extended their respective scoring streaks to five games with an assist, while Spaling's goal gave him six points in his last four games.

The Admirals will take their longest break of the season this week before hosting the Grand Rapids Griffins next Friday, October 31st at 7:00 pm at the Bradley Center. The first 5,000 fans will receive Barack Obama/John McCain masks, courtesy of WisPolitics.com. For tickets fans should call Ticketmaster at (414) 276-4545 or log on to www.milwaukeeadmirals.com.

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