MILWAUKEE -- Brodie Dupont scored the game-tying goal with less than a minute to play in the third period, but the Milwaukee Admirals eventually fell to the Rockford IceHogs 3-2 in a shoot-out Sunday afternoon at the Bradley Center. The Ads still picked up a point in the game, which featured hundreds of dogs for the six annual Pedigree Dog Day, to earn five of a possible six on the weekend.
Sunday’s loss made it seven in a row against the IceHogs and eight overall including two shootout losses.
The Hogs started off hot scoring the first goal of the game for the sixth time in the last seven matchups.
The play seemed to be the result of a lot of traffic in the crease that distracted Atte Engren from tracking the Wade Brookbank shot at 8:04 into the first period.
Rockford appeared to jump out to 2-0 lead, scoring on an open net after Brody Dupont crashed into Atte Engren, but the referees determined the play was dead before the goal was scored.
Still scoreless as the final minute was winding down of the first period, Admirals forward Ryan Thang evened the contest up 1-1 on a quick one-timer from Mark Van Guilder with 53 seconds on the clock. After digging the puck from behind the net Van Guilder found Thang crashing the net on the weak side and dealt him a pass through the slot in which Thang beat Rockford goalie Carter Hutton low blocker side.
The game didn’t stay tied for very long as Rockford scored early in the second period. Rockford winger Brandon Svendsen found fellow forward Kyle Beech alone at the top of the slot and Beech beat Engren with a quick snapshot low blocker side at the 3:01 mark in the second.
Later in the second the Ads would find themselves with an open net opportunity after an onslaught of their shots took Hutton off his skates. However, the Ads just couldn’t get a shot through the traffic in front of the net.
With little to show on offense in the third period it seemed as the Ads were all but finished. However, with 31 seconds left regulation Dupont would give the Admirals hope after he tipped in a Jon Blum shot from the point to tie the game at two. It was the second Ads goal inside a minute of play in a period and it sent the game into overtime.
A scoreless overtime sent the game to a shootout that would ultimately leave the Hogs on top of the Ads for a seventh straight contest.
Rockford’s Philippe Paradis was the first to score in the shootout on a backhander through Engren’s five-hole, before Kyle Wilson answered back for the Ads with a backhander of his own that he put over the glove of Hutton to even the match up.
Yet it was Rostislav Olesz of the IceHogs that would get the game winner on a backhanded shot put in the top shelf over the glove shoulder of Engren.
The Admirals return to action on Wednesday night when they host the Houston Aeros at 7:00 pm at the Bradley Center.