AHL Milwaukee Admirals

Leahy Rings the Bell in Admirals Win

Published on December 29, 2006 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Milwaukee Admirals News Release


Milwaukee, WI-The sound of bells will soon be ringing in the New Year throughout the world, but tonight the sound of cowbells rang in the Milwaukee Admiral's 16th win of the season. The Admirals' cowbell promotion with Potawatomi Bingo Casino, a spectacular performance from Ads' net minder Karl Goehring, and a 2-1 win in overtime sent the crowd home happy.

Goehring was less than a minute shy of recording his first shutout of the season. The goaltenders' 25-save performance and numerous breakaway saves kept Milwaukee in the game from the first drop of the puck until Patrick Leahy's overtime game-winning goal.

"He hasn't been anything short of unbelievable," explained Leahy after the game. "He's been huge for us over the past few weeks."

The first two periods finished without a trace of a goal from either team. Grand Rapids came the closest to recording a marker when a shot by Matt Hussey flew over Goehring's shoulder and off the crossbar in the 14th minute of the second period.

"I thought they gave us all we could handle," said a relived Admirals Head Coach Claude Noel. "We were fairly fatigued, and we had trouble handling their speed."

Both teams entered the third period looking to find the back of the net and find a way to be on the right side of the night's goaltending duel.

Admirals' forward Ramzi Abid, with the help of defenseman Kevin Klein, broke the scoreless drought when Abid deflected Klein's pass from the blueline with fifteen minutes remaining in the third.

As the clocked dropped closer to the final buzzer, Noel and his team grew more confident that their lone goal and the play of Goehring would be all they need to secure the win.

"We thought it would be enough to hold up," explained Noel. "Sure enough, our player deflected their shot into our net."

The Griffin's pulled goaltender Jimmy Howard for the extra man and, with less than a minute remaining, found the back of the Admirals' net for the first time all game. The goal was credited to Josh Langfeld at 19:21 in the 3rd, and it was the second game-tying goal the Admirals allowed with under a minute remaining in their last three games. This stat didn't escape Noel.

"This is not only the second time [in the last three games], but this is like the fifth time this year. We've got to do a much better job defending. That's an area we are going to cover in detail tomorrow [during practice]."

But unlike the overtime loss they suffered against Chicago on Wednesday, the Admirals overcame their last minute mistake with a big overtime goal from Leahy on the team's only shot of the extra session.

Goehring poke checked a rebound out to defenseman Alex Henry who was able to find Abid charging up the ice. Abid and Leahy took off on a two-on-one that sent fans to their feet screaming.

"We pretty much had a clear cut two on one from our own blueline," said Leahy as he explained his goal. "I was just trying to get in a spot were he could send it over and then put it in the net. He made a great pass and we were fortunate it went in. [The fans] got real loud when it went in and it was awesome."

The Admirals bench cleared to meet Leahy and celebrate his game-winning goal three minutes into the final session. Amongst the pack congratulating Leahy was Abid. Abid deserves some congratulations of his own. This marks the second home game in a row in which he has had a hand in each of the Admirals' goals. He is also riding a modest scoring streak that has seen him gather three goals and nine assists in seven games.

"He has managed to step up," said Noel of Abid's recent success. "He's made some huge contributions."

The Admirals have captured at least a point in all but one of their games this December and have a chance to earn revenge on for their only regulation loss of the month when they take on the Iowa Stars tomorrow night in Des Moines. The Stars topped the Admirals 4-1 on December 22nd.

Milwaukee will return home in the New Year and will play host to Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights at 7:00 on January 4th, followed by a rematch with the Chicago Wolves on Saturday, January 6th at 7:30 pm.

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American Hockey League Stories from December 29, 2006


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