Guerriero Lifts Admirals over Toronto
January 20, 2007 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Milwaukee Admirals News Release
Milwaukee, WI-Led by a 29-save performance by goaltender Karl Goehring and a Jason Guerriero goal with just 35 seconds to play, the Milwaukee Admirals knocked off a pesky Toronto Marlies squad 3-2 at the Bradley Center.
The Ads were coming off back to back games of poor showings in the opening period. In their first game of the week, Milwaukee was only able to put one shot on the Marlies in the opening twenty minutes, while in Friday night's contest, they allowed four goals against Rochester in the first period.
The Ads were able to avoid digging themselves into a first-period hole, as they finished the first stanza tied at one. However, Coach Claude Noel was not overly thrilled with his team's performance.
"I'm happy with the win," Noel said. "But I wasn't happy with the way we played in the first two periods."
While Noel felt his team put forth the effort, he didn't feel their execution met his standards.
"I didn't think we defend very well. I thought we spent too much time in our zone. I thought we cheated in some areas and we made it really difficult on ourselves."
The Admirals did execute enough to score first and take the early lead on the Marlies when Nolan Yonkman ripped a big shot on goaltender Justin Pogge who was able to make the initial save, but couldn't reach around his defense to clean up the rebound. As Pogge reached down, Rich Peverley skated in and flipped the puck over him and recorded the goal at 4:47 of the first period.
Unlike Sunday's game against the Marlies, when a shutout by Goehring made the Ads' first goal a game-winning one, Toronto prevented the Ads from taking the lead into the second when Wisconsin Badger alum Robbie Earl grabbed the puck off an unforced turnover in the Ads' own end and sent a screened backhander into the back of the net at 13:17.
Milwaukee would get the lead back when Alex Henry got his first goal of the season when he sent a shorthanded marker between the pipes at 9:14 of the second period. The Marlies evened it up early in the third stanza when Kris Newbury was able to put a shot over Goehring's left shoulder at 1:22.
As the final minute ticked off the clock, it looked as if the teams were heading into extra-play. But with thirty-five seconds left, the Ads were able to secure the win and send the Bradley Center crowd home after regulation. Noel described the game-winning goal to reporters after the game.
"Upshall redirected a shot on the goalie," he recalled. "And it went off the goalie to the corner. Peverley just turned around, fired it back to the net, and [Jason] Guerriero deflected it. It was a really good deflection. It was a very good play."
The Admirals will take this last-second win and hop on a plane to Houston for a three-game road trip that begins tomorrow.
"Houston," Noel explained, "Is sitting at home waiting for us."
The Admirals are in the middle of a stretch that sees them play seven games in nine days and Noel has already come up with a strategy for the rough schedule ahead.
"A lot of prayers," he jokingly proclaimed after the game.
The Admirals next home game in the upcoming week will be a match-up that will see them face the Iowa Stars. The Stars will be looking to close-in on the Admirals in the standings where they are two wins behind the Ads, while Milwaukee will be in search of their first win over Iowa this season.
American Hockey League Stories from January 20, 2007
- Guerriero Lifts Admirals over Toronto - Milwaukee Admirals
- Stars sunk by Rivermen - Iowa Chops
- Reitz back with Aeros, who host Milwaukee on Sunday - Houston Aeros
- Ak-Sar-Ben Knights Vanquish Americans, 2-1 - Abbotsford Heat
- Bulldogs rout Griffins - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Rivermen Defeat Iowa 5-4 on the Road - Peoria Rivermen
- Wolf Pack Trump Devils, 3-2 - Albany Devils
- Sound Tigers Get Another Sweet Win in Hershey - Bridgeport Islanders
- Sound Tigers rally to down Bears in shootout - Hershey Bears
- Bulldogs Upend Griffins Again, 5-1 - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Admirals Drop Heartbreaker in Wilkes-Barre - Norfolk Admirals
- P-Bruins Defeat Pirates 6-4 - Providence Bruins
- Kings Trade Munce To Tampa Bay - Manchester Monarchs
- Winger's Natural Hat Trick Powers Albany to 4-1 Win - Adirondack Phantoms
- Gilbert returned to Penguins - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Canucks Re-Assign Edler to Moose - Manitoba Moose
- Falcons Host Sharks Tonight at 7:05 PM - Springfield Falcons
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
