Admirals snap 4-game losing streak by beating Wolves, 4-3

CHICAGO -- Goalie Magnus Hellberg stopped 30 shots to lead the Milwaukee Admirals to a 4-3 win in a shootout over the Chicago Wolves Saturday night at Allstate Arena.

The win stopped a four-game winless skid for the Admirals. It also gave Milwaukee a 2-1 lead in the Amtrak Rivalry.

Milwaukee tied the game late when Austin Watson redirected a Ryan Ellis shot into the net with 2:43 remaining in regulation. Juuso Puustinen also recorded an assist. The goal was Watson’s second of the game.

The Admirals needed the goal to force overtime because Chicago had scored just 46 seconds earlier when former Admiral Darren Haydar swatted a puck out of mid-air from the left corner to Zack Kassian above the crease. Kassian buried the shot to give the Wolves a short-lived lead.

Watson’s goal forced the overtime where nothing was decided. In the shootout, Hellberg stopped five of six, while Watson and Jon Blum scored for the Admirals.

Chicago grabbed a lead when defenseman Brad Hunt scored a power play goal at 5:47 of the first period. Wolves forward Zack Kassian passed the puck from the left corner to Hunt in the right circle for the one-timer that beat Hellberg.

The Admirals tied the game at 8:05 of the first period. Defenseman Joonas Jarvinen held the left point and the puck ricocheted to Daniel Bang. Bang fired a shot that was stopped by Wolves goalie Eddie Lack, but the rebound popped into the slot for Puustinen. Puustinen’s putback was deflected into the net by Watson for his sixth goal of the season.

Milwaukee took the lead when Bang’s wristshot from the right circle beat the Wolves goalie low inside the left post. It was Bang’s third goal of the season with assists by Watson and Blum.

The Wolves tied the game at 8:56 of the second period when Jordan Schroeder’s wrister from the left circle beat Hellberg inside the right post.

The Admirals conclude a season long seven-game road trip Sunday afternoon in Grand Rapids. The Ads host Chicago on Friday, November 30.