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Like I said in my pre-game article, this was going to be a physical game. Here are photos of the five fights that broke out tonight:
The game started out rather slowly, but got more physical as the game went on. Trash talking led to pushing and shoving. Pushing and shoving led to cheap shots. Those cheap shots led to fighting and it was the story of the game tonight. But despite the physicality, the Wolves and Admirals did actually play hockey tonight. Here is how it all went down….
The game began with both teams playing defense back and forth. At point, Milwaukee put an extra forward on the ice and went with an empty net. But finally with 12 minutes left, the Admirals broke the ice first and scored off of an Austin Watson shot to take a 1-0 lead. Six minutes later, forward Darren Hayder smacked one past Admirals goalie Magnus Hellberg to tie the game at 1.
After that things started to get chippy with pushing and shoving by both teams but cooler heads would prevail. During the last couple of minutes both teams would trade shots but with no success. There would also be a little more pushing and shoving before the buzzer sounded.
The first period ended with Brett Sterling for the Wolves and Ryan Ellis for the Admirals in the penalty box. The period also ended in a 1-1 tie. For the first half of the period both teams defenses were playing hard and not giving up too many shots. Admirals winger Patrick Cehlin finally got one past Wolves goalie Matt Climie eight minutes into the second to take a 2-1 lead.
Kevin Connauton would get the Wolves back into it at with 4:30 remaining with a goal of his own on a power play. It was tied at 2 from there. With under a minute remaining, Wolves forward Guillaume Desbiens took a shot to the back of the head from Admirals defenseman Scott Ford. That caused two fights to break out within a 60 second span.
This led to penalties for Ford and a Wolves player Darren Archibald who retaliated. The second period would wind up in a 2-2 tie. The third period began with another set of penalties but less physicality. It wasn’t until the clock hit 12:28 that we would get another score. Milwaukee winger Daniel Bang snuck one past Matt Climie to take a 3-2 lead.
Then with 3:35 remaining, the Admirals would score again thanks to forward Juuso Puustinen. It was a power play goal and it gave the Admirals a 4-2 lead. The Wolves would try to fight back one last time thanks to a goal by defender Mark Matheson. It was his sixth goal of the season and it came with 53 seconds left on the clock.
The Wolves got one last shot with 10.6 left, but Admirals goalie Magnus Hellberg stopped it dead in it’s tracks to preserve the lead. On the ensuing face-off, the Wolves got the puck back and tried one last shot but Hellberg stopped it once again. Another fight broke out as the buzzer sounded.
Milwaukee gets to drive back up I-94 with 4-3 victory, snapping the Wolves two-game winning streak, and winning their fourth in a row against the Wolves. The Admirals now move past the Wolves in the Midwest Division standings. They improve their record to 34-25-4-3 with 74 points. They now hold seventh place in the Western Conference.
The Wolves drop to third in the division and eighth in the conference. Their record now stands at 32-24-5-4 and the loss keeps them stuck at 73 points. The Wolves finish this four game home stand with a record of 2-2-0-0. Both teams get to go home for the Easter holiday. The Wolves hit the ice again on Tuesday when they travel to San Antonio. Milwaukee will return to the state of Illinois on the same day when they travel to Rockford.
Here is the box score from tonight’s game:
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Crews are getting the ice ready and fans will be filing into the Allstate Arena shortly. The Wolves are in the midst of a two-game winning streak and hope to make it three games tonight. The Wolves last lost back on March 24th to the Milwaukee Admirals. Tonight, they will play these same Milwaukee Admirals for the second time in six days. Last week’s lost also took place here in Rosemont.
The Wolves are wrapping up a four game home stand tonight before hitting the road on Tuesday. The key to the Wolves recent success has been their offense. They have scored a combined nine goals in their last three games. Their defense has been a little shaky at times, but they have managed to find a way to win.
The Admirals have always played the Wolves tough. This year they are struggling against the Admirals with just a 2-5-0-2 record against them, including the March 24th game. Despite having the advantage against the Wolves, Milwaukee does trail overall in the standings.
The Wolves are second in the Midwest Division and seventh overall in the Western Conference with an overall record of 32-23-5-4. They have 73 points on the season and they trail first place Grand Rapids by nine points. Milwaukee is third in the division and eighth in the conference with a record of 33-25-4-3. They have 72 points on the season and only trail the Wolves by one single point.
So tonight’s game will have huge implications and could set the tone for the regular season. A win for Milwaukee could put them ahead of the Wolves in the standings. All the Wolves need to do is get one point for tonight’s game to stay ahead. Both teams are looking to go home for a Happy Easter after tonight, but it will not be easy.
I expect a lot of hard hitting, I expect physical play, and I also expect a few penalties. Both of these teams take it to each other out there on the ice and I don’t expect tonight’s game to be any different.
You can get game updates from me on Twitter @GabeSalgado82 #Q101Sports
The Admirals celebrate after scoring the game winning goal.
Most hockey games end in the three period regulation, tonight’s game took five periods to decide. Both teams were tied at two as the third period began.
The Wolves and Admirals were shooting at will in the final period but to no avail for the majority of it. The Wolves finally scored at the 16:31 mark when Zack Kassian rebounded a deflected shot from Guillaume Desbiens and turned it into his fifth goal of the season.
The Wolves lead 2-1 at that point. Then in the final two minutes, the Admirals would tie this game. Center Austin Watson scored his second goal of the game and won the player of the game award in the process.
The Wolves were unable to score before the end of regulation despite some desperate shot attempts in the final seconds of the third period.
In overtime it was a battle of the goaltenders as Wolves goalie Eddie Lock stopped both Admirals shots. The Wolves attempted a handful of shots on their end but couldn’t get close enough to the Admirals net.
The first shootout ended in a 1-1 tie with both goals courtesy of Zack Kassian for the Wolves and Austin Watson for the Admirals. Had Watson’s goal been scored in either the third period or overtime, it would have counted as a hat trick.
After five frames and the winner still undecided, both teams needed a one shot only second shootout to finally bring this game to a close. Anton Rodin failed to score for the Wolves. The Admirals would then put their hopes on the shoulders of defenseman Johnathan Blum.
Blum scored on what seemed like a missed shot, but the referees ruled that the puck had went into the net before bouncing back out off of the crossbar.
The Wolves did not question the officials judgement therefore the call was not reviewed. The Admirals break their four game losing streak by winning the shootout 2-1 and winning the game by the final score of 3-2.
The Wolves have now lost two in a row, with the worst part being that these were division games. The Wolves record now stands at 8-6-2-1. They drop down to third place in the Midwest Division behind both Grand Rapids and the arch-rival Rockford Ice Hogs.
Speaking of those Ice Hogs, the Wolves will meet them next Wednesday night after taking a few days off. The game will be here at the Allstate Arena with the puck dropping just after 7pm.
Here is the box score from tonight’s game: http://theahl.com/stats/game-summary.php?game_id=1010112
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On a side note: This week the NHL Lockout has forced the cancellation of the 2013 NHL All-Star game. There is no agreement in sight and no meetings are scheduled. With the way this lockout is going, we could see the first full season cancellation since the 2004-2005 NHL Lockout.
This could also be the second full season to be cancelled under current NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.
Both teams continue to trade goals after two periods. Milwaukee struck first when Admirals winger Daniel Bang slipped one past Eddie Lock to take a 2-1 lead just 90 seconds into the period.
The Wolves would answer back at the 8:56 mark when center Jordan Schroeder picked up his sixth goal of the season. Both teams would get numerous shots but the stalemate would remain.
The second period was both fight free and penalty free. I expect both teams to come out strong as we head into the third and final period.
Despite the four total goals scored, both teams continue to put out solid defensive efforts. The 8,318 here in attendance at the Allstate Arena are on the edge of their seats.
Here is the second period box score: http://theahl.com/stats/game-summary.php?game_id=1010112
You can follow me during period number three on Twitter @GabeSalgado82 #Q101Sports
Game three of this years “Amtrak Rivalry” between the Wolves and Admirals has not disappointed us yet. So far after just one period of play we have a defensive battle on our hands.
The Wolves scored on a power play at the 5:47 mark thanks to defenseman Brad Hunt. Nearly three minutes later, Admrials forward Juuso Puustinen would tie the game as he pulled a shot past Wolves goalie Eddie Lack.
Both teams so far have combined for 19 shots but only two goals between them. Both teams are also playing quite aggressively. There has already been one fight between these two squads.
Both teams have also combined for six penalty minutes, plus the officials have broken up numerous potential skirmishes between these I-94 rivals.
This was all just the first period, we still have two periods left. You can continue to follow me during the game on Twitter @GabeSalgado82 #Q101Sports
Here is the first period box score: http://theahl.com/stats/game-summary.php?game_id=1010112
With no end in sight to the NHL lockout, the Blackhawks are still on stand-by {for now}. As a result, the Chicago Wolves are the only hockey in town.
Tonight the Wolves will try to defend their home ice here at the Allstate Arena against their one of their arch-rivals, the Milwaukee Admirals.
This rivalry is known as the “Amtrak Rivalry” which the Wolves lead this series 24-16-2-2 all-time. That includes a .500 record against the Admirals this season.
This will be the third meeting between these two teams for 2012-2013. Milwaukee won game one back on November 9th by the score of 7-4. The Wolves got payback just last week with a 5-3 victory.
The Wolves will be playing with some anger tonight as they come off of a road loss in Grand Rapids last night. It was a nail biter til the end, with the Griffins pulling off the 4-3 victory.
Chicago’s record currently sits at 8-6-2-0 which puts them in second place in the AHL’s Midwest Division. The Admirals are currently fifth in the same division with a record of 6-8-1-1.
Milwaukee is licking their own wounds as they are 0-2-1-1 in their last four games. It should be a hell of a contest tonight as both teams look to get back into the win column.
The Wolves are looking to keep up their momentum against Milwaukee, while the Admirals are desperate to break their losing streak.
You can follow me during the game on Twitter @GabeSalgado82 #Q101Sports
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