Admirals Sink Rivermen 5-2
Published on March 16, 2008 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Milwaukee Admirals News Release
Milwaukee, WI-On the day before St. Patrick's Day it was only fitting that Admirals forward Cal O'Reilly, full name Callahan Patrick O'Reilly, would post a three-point night to help Milwaukee sink the Peoria Rivermen 5-2 and extend their season-long winning streak to six games on Sunday afternoon at the Bradley Center.
O'Reilly's goal, a short-handed, empty-netter with less than two minutes to play in the game, sealed the win for Milwaukee after things got a little tense for the Admirals. Seemingly in control with a 4-1 lead the Ads' Kevin Ulanski was whistled for tripping at 15:26 of the third and a minute later Cody Franson was sent to the box for cross-checking giving Peoria a two-man advantage.
The Rivermen then pulled goaltender Marek Schwarz in favor of an extra attacker to make it 6-on-3 and the gamble paid off when Trent Whitfiled sent a slapper past Milwaukee goalie Pekka Rinne. The goal trimmed the lead to 4-2 and the Rivermen still had 1:25 of 6-on-4 time. After Peoria was able to establish the zone, Rivermen winger Nikolay Lemtyugov fired a shot that went wide of the Milwaukee net. O'Reilly was able to corral the rebound and fired the puck from just above the face off dots the length of the ice and into the Peoria net.
While O'Reilly's goal came shorthanded, it was on the strength of the team's four power-play tallies that they were able build their lead. The first of which came at the 11:42 mark of the first period when Josh Langfeld picked up his 17th goal of the season on a beautiful tic-tac-toe play. Jason Guerriero was stationed behind the Peoria net and sent a pass to O'Reilly just to the left of Schwarz. O'Reilly immediately chipped the puck to Langfeld on the right post who scored before Schwarz could move back to his right.
Peoria would even the score at one 8:24 into the second when Mike Glumac tipped a Jean-Guy Trudel shot past Milwaukee netminder Pekka Rinne.
The Admirals would get the lead back 3:35 later when Mark Matheson found Mike Santorelli back door for the team's second PPG of the night and Langfeld made it 3-1 with his second goal of the game at 19:05 of the stanza during a five-on-three advantage.
Milwaukee pushed the lead to 4-1 when Antti Pihlstrom scored his 22nd tally of the season on assists from Santorelli and Franson. Franson fired a shot from just inside the blueline that Schwarz saved, but he didn't control the rebound and Pihlstrom pounced on the puck for an easy goal.
O'Reilly and Santorelli each had a goal and two assists and Josh Langfeld scored twice to pace the Milwaukee offense, while Rinne made 30 saves to earn his league-leading 33rd win of the season.
The Admirals six-game winning streak is the longest since the team won seven in a row from October 28th to November 16th, 2005. The team has also scored at least one power-play goal in each of their last seven games and in 11 of their previous 12 contests.
The Admirals have four days off until they finish their six-game homestand on Friday, March 21st when they host the Iowa Stars at 7:00 pm at the Bradley Center. The first 3,500 fans through the gates on Friday will take home a pair of Admirals boxer shorts, courtesy of Jockey. Fans can order tickets by call the Admirals office at (414) 227-0550 or by logging onto www.ticketmaster.com.
American Hockey League Stories from March 16, 2008
- Admirals Sink Rivermen 5-2 - Milwaukee Admirals
- Falcons Fall To Rampage 3-2 - Springfield Falcons
- Potulny Gives Philly 2-1 Win Over Pirates - Adirondack Phantoms
- Rampage soar over Falcons, 3-2 - San Antonio Rampage
- Moose Beat Bears To Extend Streak To Six - Manitoba Moose
- Admirals Power Play Sinks Rivermen 5-2 - Peoria Rivermen
- P-Bruins Fall to Penguins in Shootout 2-1 - Providence Bruins
- New Ice, Old Story for Sharks in 4-1 Loss - Worcester Sharks
- Devils Edged Out by Monarchs, 1-0 - Albany Devils
- Marlies Hold Off Griffins' Rally Bid, 3-2 - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Quick Win For The Monarchs - Manchester Monarchs
- Wolves Bring Back Painchaud - Chicago Wolves
- Worcester Sharks sign center Oren Eizenman to PTO - Worcester Sharks
- Marlies to Hold Equipment Sale on Saturday - Toronto Marlies
- Falcons Host The Rampage On Sunday - Springfield Falcons
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