The Milwaukee Admirals scored three unanswered goals to turn a 1-0 deficit to a 3-1 victory over the Peoria Rivermen on Sunday afternoon at the Bradley Center. The win was the seventh straight for the Admirals at home and sent them off on Christmas break on a high note.
Atte Engren earned his first win since December 3rd by stopping 29 Peoria shots, while Kyle Wilson and Chris Mueller each finished the game with a goal and an assist.
Peoria took a 1-0 lead into the locker room after the first, as Brett Sterling recorded the period's only goal when he jammed a loose puck by Engren at 8:59. T.J. Hensick and Derrick Nesbitt assisted on the play.
The Admirals picked up a pair of goals in the second to grab a 2-1 lead. Wilson evened the score at one with a six-on-five goal at the 10:13 mark of the period. With Engren out of the net on a delayed penalty, Wilson held the puck just below the left circle and fired a shot that went over the net. Mueller corralled the puck behind the net and sent it back to Wilson for a second try and he buried it top shelf over Peoria goalie Jake Allen.
Milwaukee grabbed the lead with 4:52 remaining in the second, just after a Jonathan Cheechoo’s boarding penalty expired. Victor Bartley slid the puck over to Taylor Beck, who sent a shot towards the net. Ryan Thang redirected the shot right over to Michael Latta, and he had plenty of room for his ninth goal of the year.
The Ads picked up an insurance goal with less then five minutes to play in the game when Wilson and Mueller came into the Peoria zone 2-on-1 and Wilson chipped it across to Mueller, who ripped a one-timer past Allen.
Peoria had a golden opportunity at the end of the game to at least get within one when Admirals Tyler Sloan went to the box for cross-checking at 16:58 and then Teemu Laakso was whistled for holding at 18:15. The Rivermen pulled Allen in favor of an extra attacker and had 43 seconds of 6-on-3 time and then 62 seconds of 6-on-4 time. However, Engren and the Ads held strong and didn’t give up another goal.
The Admirals are off the until after Christmas and don’t hit the ice again until they host the Rockford IceHogs on Monday, December 26th at 7:00 pm at the Bradley Center.