Gaudreau nets 2, Milwaukee Admirals cruise by Rockford 7-4

MILWAUKEE -- The Admirals and Rockford IceHogs combined for 11 goals and 63 penalty minutes in an entertaining game that saw the Ads tie a season-high for goals in a 7-4 win on Friday night, Jan. 24 at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.

The win was the fifth straight at home for the Ads, who became the first team in the AHL to reach the 30 goal mark (30-8-4-2). Milwaukee didn’t have 30 wins last year until March 30.

Freddy Gaudreau led the Admirals offense with a pair of goals and an assist, while Daniel Carr chipped in a goal and two assists on the night. Eeli Tolvanen (1g-1a) and Alex Carrier (2a) also posted multi-point efforts as 12 different Admirals found their way onto the scoresheet.

The Admirals finished the night with three power-play tallies, which was their most in a game since putting up five PPG on November 13 against Chicago.

After Dylan Sikura started the scoring for Rockford, the Ads reeled off the next three with Gaudreau, Mathieu Olivier, and Miikka Salomaki finding the back of the net before the Hogs pulled within one at 3-2 on a goal by MacKenzie Entwistle with less than three minutes remaining in the first.

The second period saw the Ads pull out to a three-goal advantage as Gaudreau and Eeli Tolvanen scored just 19 seconds apart, both on the power-play, to make the score 5-2. However, Rockford didn’t quit, scoring the next two to get back within one with still half the game to play.

That would be as close as they get, though, as Rem Pitlick’s 14th goal of the season with 5:10 to go in the second gave the Ads a two-goal cushion again. Carr iced it when he roofed a backhand from directly in front of the Rockford net to make the score 7-4.

Troy Grosenick earned the win in net, stopping 23 shots to pick up his 16th win of the year.

The Admirals and IceHogs finish up their home-and-home series on Saturday night at 6 p.m. in Rockford before getting the next six days off for the AHL All-Star Break. The Ads aren’t back home until they host Grand Rapids on Wednesday, February 5 at 7 p.m.