Milwaukee Admirals top Oklahoma City Barons; end skid

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Goalie Magnus Hellberg stopped 31 shots to lead the Milwaukee Admirals to a 4-2 win over the Oklahoma City Barons Tuesday night.

The win snapped a five-game losing streak for Milwaukee. The game also marked the return of longtime Admirals defenseman Scott Ford to the lineup. Ford signed a PTO contract earlier in the day.

Hellberg faced 16 shots in the third period and was able to stop 14. He allowed a pair of goals to Barons center Bogdan Yakimov.

The Admirals scored the first goal of the game at 13:18 of the second period. With the teams playing 4-on-4 hockey, Admirals forward Kevin Fiala carried the puck out of Milwaukee’s defensive zone into the Barons zone. He fed a pass to the slot for defenseman Johan Alm who jumped into the play. Alm returned the pass to Fiala in the right circle and he slapped a shot into the net for his eighth goal of the season.

Mark Van Guilder scored a breakaway shorthanded goal at 16:41 of the second period to give the Ads a 2-0 advantage. Barons center Jason Williams tried a slap shot from the middle of the Admirals blue line. His stick snapped and Van Guilder was off to the races, where he deposited a backhander into the goal for his ninth goal (first shorthanded) of the season.

Milwaukee upped the lead to 3-0 when Barons defenseman Dillon Simpson turned the puck over behind his goal. It ended up on the stick of Triston Grant who slid the puck into the net for his 11th goal of the season at 18:15 of the second period. Fiala and Colton Sissons were awarded assists.

Oklahoma City center Yakimov spoiled the shutout with a goal at 11:59 of the third period. Yakimov added another at 17:38 of the third period.

Austin Watson added an empty-netter with 42.1 seconds remaining, his 21st goal of the season. Rich Clune recorded the assist.

The Admirals conclude the six-game road trip at Grand Rapids Fri., Mar. 20.

Milwaukee returns to the BMO Harris Bradley Center to host Texas Sat, Mar. 21 at 7pm.