Admirals win sixth straight by topping Monsters, 2-1

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Making his first start of the season Magnus Hellberg stopped 25 of 26 shots he faced, both shoot-out attempts, and a penalty shot to guide the Admirals to a 2-1 shoot-out win over Lake Erie on Saturday night.

The win moved the Admirals to 6-0 on the season, setting a new franchise record for most consecutive wins to start the season. The Ads remain the only undefeated team in the AHL.

For a while it didn't look that the Ads would even get to overtime to earn a point, much less the win. Lake Erie's Paul Casey put the Monsters up 1-0 with just over five minutes left in the first period when he jumped on a loose puck in front of the Milwaukee net an lifted one past Hellberg.

The score stayed that way until late in the third period when Garrett Noonan's first pro goal leveled the score at one. Noonan's tally came off a slapper from the right point that found its way through traffic and then by Lake Erie goalie Calvin Pickard with 7:19 to play in the game.

After an entertaining but scoreless overtime period the two team's went to a shoot-out. Milwaukee's Brendan Leipsic started things off when beat Pickard high glove side. Misses by the Monsters Mike Sgarbossa and Colin Smith sandwiched a miss by the Admirals Niklas Arvidsson, Pontus Aberg had the puck on his stick with the chance to get the win. The rookie forward start left, came between the dots, deeked once and then lifted a forehand just over Pickard's outstretched pad.

The win not only gave the team the best start in franchise history, but it marked their first six-game winning streak since December of 2008.

Hellberg moved his all-time record in shoot-outs to 6-1, allowing just four goals in 31 attempts.

The Admirals will go for lucky number seven on Wednesday night when they host the Iowa Stars at the BMO Harris Bradley Center at 7 pm.