Admirals 3, Wolves 2
A Chicago Wolves' comeback attempt fell just short against the Milwaukee Admirals, which came away with a 3-2 victory over the Wolves in an AHL game Tuesday night at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.
The Wolves closed a 3-0 deficit to 3-2 with two third-period goals, but it could not get the game-tying goal, even after pulling goalie Matt Climie with one minute to play.
Milwaukee outshot Chicago 32-17 for the game, and the Admirals pounced on the Wolves (36-28-5-4) early, scoring 9:13 into the first period on the power play. Center Zach Hamill fired a shot from the corner that ricocheted off a Wolves defenseman and over Climie's left leg into the mesh.
Climie helped keep the deficit at one, even though the Admirals (38-28-4-3) outshot Chicago 12-3 for the period.
The Admirals capitalized on a Wolves error at center ice in the second period when left wing Joshua Shalla picked a Chicago forward's pocket and raced back down the ice to score a goal at 8:29.
Wolves forward Darren Archibald tried to give his team a spark by challenging Milwaukee defenseman Scott Ford on the ensuing face off.
Chicago applied pressure on Milwaukee to open the final period, but the Admirals still got the first goal of the period. Left wing Kevin Henderson outworked the Wolves defense in the corner, dug out the puck and narrowly fit it in between Climie and the goal post at 3:18 to give the Admirals a commanding 3-0 advantage.
Moments later, Wolves forward Brett Sterling ended Milwaukee's shut out hopes while on the power play when he rifled a shot past goaltender Magnus Hellberg at 7:33. It was Sterling's 24th score of the season.
Chicago left wing Bill Sweatt followed up with another marker, blasting a point shot that got through three Milwaukee defenders and past Hellberg at 13:17. That made it 3-2, but that was as close as the Wolves could get.
