Milwaukee Admirals Fall In Overtime to Manitoba Moose

The Admirals tied the game in the third period, but a penalty in overtime led to Manitoba's game winning goal.

The Milwaukee Admirals hosted game three of their best-of-five playoff series against the Manitoba Moose tonight. The Admirals won game one in decisive fashion but dropped game two in overtime to the Moose. Goaltenders Yaroslav Askarov and Oskari Salminen took their places in the Milwaukee and Manitoba nets respectively.

Game Recap

The big feelings between these two teams boiled over early as Anthony Angello and Nicholas Jones headed to their penalty boxes for roughing at 2:23. During the ensuing four on four, a turnover by Milwaukee's Egor Afanasyev gave the Moose a quick transition back in the zone. Askarov came way out of the net to play the puck, but Alex Limoges skated around the goaltender to score easily at 2:49. The Admirals struggled to shake off the early mistakes, and Angello ended back in the box for hooking at 4:53. The Admirals penalty kill was able to contain Manitoba's chances.

Milwaukee finally gained some offensive momentum on their first power play chance at 8:33, recording five shots on goal but no score. Their second attempt on the man advantage three and a half minutes later struggled to get set up in the offensive zone, and the teams returned to full strength.

Luke Evangelista finally got Milwaukee on the board at 16:06 with a tip in goal off a Kiefer Sherwood shot. The first period ended with a 10-7 Milwaukee advantage in shots on goal but a tie score of 1-1.

The middle twenty began with an early penalty on Angello for holding, but it was Milwaukee who recorded two shots on goal during their penalty kill while Manitoba didn't take a shot during the two minutes. Those were two of the Ads best chances before Manitoba took over the period with offensive pressure. An offensive flurry in front of Askarov resulted in a Moose player and the puck in the net with the goaltender. The official ruled it a good goal, and with no ability to review for goalie interference, the Moose went up 2-1.

Failed clearing attempts kept Manitoba pressuring Askarov, and turnovers in the neutral zone prevented Milwaukee from establishing much time in their own offensive zone. As the period wound down, Jeff Malott headed to the penalty box, but Milwaukee couldn't convert before the period ended.

The Admirals began the third period with nearly a minute of power play time remaining but couldn't convert on the opportunity. Milwaukee's brief offensive momentum back at five on five was interrupted by penalties on Wyatt Bongiovanni and Egor Aganasyev at 1:45 each for roughing.

Once the teams returned to full strength, the Admirals pressured Salminen and Kevin Gravel punched the puck past the goaltender to tie the game at 6:10. The Moose tried to answer back to retake the lead, but after sixty minutes of hockey the team remained tied and headed to overtime.

A high sticking penalty committed by Jordan Gross gave Manitoba a power play at 3:16 in overtime. Milwaukee managed the early pressure from the Moose. As the power play wound down, Wyatt Bongiovanni scored glove side on Askarov at 4:53 to give the Moose the 3-2 overtime win and a 2-1 lead in the best of five series.

Milwaukee will need to come away with a win Friday night as they play game four at 7:00 pm CST to stay alive in the series.

Game Notes

1. Stop taking penalties. Anthony Angello was a repeat offender and in overtime Jordan Gross was called for a high stick that ultimately led to the game winning power play goal.

2. The Moose outmuscled the Ads through much of this game. This is a physical series, but tonight Manitoba dominated the puck and board battles. Milwaukee needs to come away from the contact with the puck and no penalty.

3. Mistakes cost Milwaukee the game. The Admirals struggled to clear the zone, turned over the puck in the neutral zone, and struggled to connect on passes. Execution will need to improve if Milwaukee hopes to tie up this series and avoid elimination.