Milwaukee Admirals top Grand Rapids Griffins 3-1; 5th consecutive victory

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Goalie Troy Grosenick stopped 29 shots to lead the Admirals to a 3-1 win over the Grand Rapids Griffins Sunday, March 31 at Van Andel Arena.

The win was Milwaukee’s fifth straight and moved the Ads into a tie for fourth place in the Central Division with Texas. Both teams have 77 points. The Admirals are 6-0-1-1 in the last eight games.

The win was Grosenick’s 20th of the season. He returned to the Admirals Saturday night after a brief recall to parent club Nashville.

The Admirals scored a pair of second period goals to finally get on the score sheet against Griffins goalie Patrik Rybar. Rybar had recorded two consecutive shutouts against the Admirals this season. Milwaukee’s first goal was scored on the power play when Colin Blackwell pushed a loose puck into the net for his 12th goal of the season at 14:53 of the second frame. It snapped a shutout streak of 206:50 for Rybar against the Admirals this season. Adam Helewka and Eeli Tolvanen picked up the assists on Blackwell’s seventh power play marker of the season.

The Admirals made it 2-0 when Miikka Salomaki slid a shot from the slot under the legs of Rybar at 16:09 of the second period. Matt Donovan and Alex Carrier picked up the assists.

Grand Rapids Turner Elson scored a power play goal at :48 of the third period to put the Griffins on the board and make the score 2-1 in Milwaukee’s favor.

The Admirals added an empty net goal from Cole Schneider at 19:22 of the third period. It was a power play goal assisted by Laurent Dauphin and Jarred Tinordi. The goal was Schneider’s 18th in the AHL this season and fifth with the Admirals.

The Admirals return home Wed., April 3 against San Antonio at UWM Panther Arena.