Askarov backstops Admirals to win
Askarov backstops Admirals to win (Courtesy: Milwaukee Admirals Flickr)
MILWAUKEE - Yaroslav Askarov stopped 34 shots, including 29 in the first two periods alone, to help backstop the Admirals to a 3-2 win over the Texas Stars on Tuesday night at Panther Arena.
Marcus Nurmi scored twice in a 2:11 span late in the third period to help flip a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead and give the team their fourth win of the year already when trailing after two periods. The victory also pushed the team’s record in the month of November to 9-3 as they begin a season-long five-game roadtrip on Thursday.
After a scoreless first period Kiefer Sherwood put the Ads up 1-0 with his eighth goal of the season at 2:25 of the second. Spencer Stastney dumped the puck behind the Texas goal and Sherwood arrived at it at the same time as goalie Anton Khudobin. Sherwood gain control and fired the puck towards the front of the net where it deflected off a Stars’ defenseman and into the net.
However, the Stars scored the next two goals to gain a 2-1 advantage. The first came when Matej Blumel finished off a pretty passing play at 8:10 and the second was courtesy of Alex Petrvic’s sixth of the season with just under five minutes to play in the sandwich frame.
The Admirals come out buzzing in the final period, but it looked like Khudobin might be up to the challenge as he turned aside the first 14 shots of the period he saw. However, Nurmi finally broke through on the team’s 15th shot of the third when he collected the rebound of a Mark Del Gaizo shot and slid the puck five-hole.
Then just over two minutes later Roland McKeown found Nurmi on the left post with a slap-pass the he directed into the net to give the Ads the lead.
The Stars pulled Khudobin for the final 1:45 of the game, but the Askarov and the Ads defense clamped down to shut the door on the Stars chances.
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The Ads will kick-off their five-game roadtrip when they visit the Manitoba Moose on Thursday, December 1st at 11 am. Their next home game isn’t until Wednesday, December 14th at 7 pm at Panther Arena against the Rockford IceHogs.