Milwaukee Admirals fall 5-2 to San Diego Gulls

MILWAUKEE -- Admirals forward Colin Blackwell scored twice for Milwaukee but it wasn’t enough as they couldn’t slow down the hottest team in the AHL, losing 5-2 to the San Diego Gulls Saturday night at Panther Arena.

It was the 13th consecutive game that San Diego has earned a point (11-0-2) and it was the fourth straight home loss for the Ads.

After missing the past 17 games with an injury, Blackwell got the first goal of the game when he used his speed to split two San Diego defenders and then deeked Gulls goalie Kevin Boyle for his fifth goal of the year just 2:21 into the game.

However just 15 seconds later the Gulls tied it up when Troy Terry cleaned up Sam Steel shot on the right post. San Diego took a 2-1 lead with 3:55 left in the opening frame courtesy of a Sam Carrick.

Blackwell struck again 9:13, courtesy of some nifty power-play passing. Emil Pettersson controlled the puck on the halfwall and sent a pass to Yakov Trenin along the goalline. Trenin sent a no-look backhand pass to an open Blackwell in the slot and he sent a one-timer top shelf.

Unfortunately for the Admirals, just as happened after the first goal, the Gulls struck back quickly, scoring 16 seconds later on a tally by Matt Berry giving them a lead they would not relinquish.

San Diego picked up two more in the sandwich frame, the first from Adam Cracknell at 12:45 and the second by Max Jones at 14:21, to pump their lead to 5-2 and that would end the scoring for the night.

The Admirals head out on a four-game road trip beginning Monday night in Winnipeg. They will return home when they kick off nine straight at home on Tuesday, January 22 at 7 pm at Panther Arena. Fans can purchase tickets by calling the Admirals office at (414) 227-0550, or online at www.milwaukeeadmirals.com.

Be sure to follow the Admirals on Twitter (@mkeadmirals) and Facebook (/mkeadmirals).