Admirals force overtime, but fall to IceHogs

MILWAUKEE -- Down by two with less than three minutes to play, the Admirals scored twice to tie the game and force overtime before ultimately falling to Rockford 3-2 in OT on Saturday night at Panther Arena.

With 2:38 to go in the game and the Admirals trailing 2-0, Rockford’s Andreas Martinsen was whistled for slashing. The Ads pulled goalie Troy Grosenick in favor of an extra attacker, giving the team a 6-on-4 power-play, which they converted when Eeli Tolvanen unleashed a one-timer from the right dot that got under the arm of Hogs goalie Anton Forsberg for his eighth of the season.

Then with time winding down and Grosenick out of the net again, Vince Pedrie took a shot that deflected off of Yakov Trenin and into the Rockford goal with just 43 seconds to play to tie the score and force overtime.

In the extra session, Rockford Darren Raddysh was the only player to take a shot as he scored over Grosenick’s shoulder from tight quarters at the 1:27 mark.

Grosenick finished the night with a season-high 39 saves, including 15 alone in the third period, and helped Milwaukee kill off six Rockford power-plays.

Neither team was able to get on the board through the first two periods. The IceHogs were finally able to convert when Dylan Sikura found a loose puck in the slot and fired it past Grosenick at the 2:40 mark of the third period.

Just under ten minutes later William Pelletier would make it 2-0 Rockford with his fourth of the season. From the left circle, Pelletier tried to center the puck, but it deflected off the leg of an Admiral defender and into the net.

The Admirals are off until Wednesday when they will continue their franchise record-tying nine-game homestand by hosting the Texas Stars at 7 pm.