MILWAUKEE -- Colin Blackwell’s third period goal tied the game late in the third period to help the Admirals earn a point in a 3-2 shoot-out loss to the Grand Rapids Griffins on Saturday night at Panther Arena.
The point brought the Ads within two of Texas for the fourth and final playoffs spot in the Central Division with 11 games to play in the regular season.
For the fourth time in the past five games the Admirals were the first team to find the back of the net as Phil Di Guiseppe tallied his first goal as a member of the team. The play started when Yakov Trenin pulled the puck out of the left corner and headed back to the net when he was pulled down to his knees. However, he still managed to chip the puck front to a crashing Di Guiseppe, who scored five-hole.
That lead would last only until 3:52 of the second period when the Griffins Libor Sulak sent a wrister from the bottom of the left circle over the shoulder of Ads netminder Troy Grosenick.
The Griffins would take the lead at 2-1 with just under 11 minutes to play in the middle frame courtesy of Matt’s Puempel’s 23rd goal of the year.
The Admirals would respond in the third period, peppering Griffins goalie Harri Sateri with 14 shots and tied things up on Blackwell’s ninth goal of the season with 6:16 remaining the game. The play started when Blackwell took a pass from Anthony Richard and started down the slot. He didn’t have anything so he circled back around the left faceoff circle and then fired a wrister from between the wheels, beating Sateri high, stick side.
Playing in his first pro games, defenseman Zach Osburn earned an assist on the Blackwell tally.
The score stayed that way through the rest of regulation and through overtime, setting the way for a shoot-out that saw Puempel pick up the lone tally and giving the Griffins the win.
The Admirals are off until next Friday night when they begin a three-game stretch against the Rockford IceHogs, who are one point ahead of them in the standings, by hosting them here at Panther Arena at 7 pm.
Fans can purchase tickets by calling the Admirals office at (414) 227-0550, or online at www.milwaukeeadmirals.com.
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