AHL Milwaukee Admirals

Ellison Leads Admirals Past Rivermen

March 14, 2008 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Milwaukee Admirals News Release


Milwaukee, WI-Admiral great Tony Hrkac wore both 21 and 26 during his five seasons with the Admirals. Friday night the team honored him by retiring his number 26, but it was number 21 that had the biggest impact on the game. Matt Ellison, who sports Hrkac's former number 21, had a hand in each of the Admirals tallies, scoring twice and adding an assist to lead the team to a 3-2 win over the Peoria Rivermen at the Bradley Center.

Each of the Admirals goals gave them the lead, including Ellison's game winner with less than eight minutes to play in the game. With a Milwaukee power-play recently expired, John Vigilante held the puck behind the Peoria net and found an open Ellison in the slot. The Duncan, BC native fired a one-timer over the right shoulder of Rivermen netminder Ben Bishop and into the back of the net.

The Admirals were able to limit the Peoria's scoring chances the rest of the way, thanks in part to a hooking penalty to Rivermen forward Julian Talbot at the 16:13 mark of the third. Bishop was pulled in favor of an extra attacker with a minute to go, but Peoria was unable to establish the zone and Milwaukee had their fifth consecutive win.

With each goal he scores Ellison establishes a career-high, and his two markers this evening give him 23 on the season which is also tops on the Admirals roster. Cal O'Reilly chipped in a pair of assists and now has 68 points on the year, good for third best in the AHL. Vigilante added a goal and an assist on the evening, while Pekka Rinne stopped 18 of 20 shots to earn his league-leading 32nd win of the season.

The Admirals took a 1-0 lead at the 17:52 mark of the first period when Ellison lit the lamp on assists from O'Reilly and defenseman Alex Henry, but Peoria would answer with a power-play tally just 1:24 into the second. Vigilante put Milwaukee back on top with a PPG of his own at the 7:36 mark of the second, but the Rivermen evened the score again when Micki DuPont notched his ninth goal of the year just less than five minutes into the third.

The Admirals have a rare Saturday off before hosting the Rivermen again on Sunday afternoon at 4:00 pm at the Bradley Center. The first 5,000 fans will receive a set of Admirals Trading Cards, courtesy of Pepsi. Sunday afternoon's affair is a Foley and Lardner Family Day & Skate where fans can get four tickets, four hotdogs, and four sodas for just $40 and then after the game those fans who bring their skates can take a few laps around the Bradley Center ice.

The Foley and Lardner Family Day packages must be ordered 24-hours in advance. The Admirals office, located at 510 W. Kilbourn Ave, will be open on Saturday, March 15th from 10:00 am until 3:00 pm.

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American Hockey League Stories from March 14, 2008


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