MILWAUKEE – Rookie Samuel Blais netted two goals to help the Chicago Wolves top the Milwaukee Admirals 5-2 for their third consecutive Amtrak Rivalry victory.
Veteran left wing Brett Sterling notched two points – a goal and an assist – while center Wade Megan picked up his league-leading 14th goal – a short-handed tally – as part of the Wolves’ 15th victory of the season.
In his third consecutive start, goaltender Phoenix Copley (7-4-2) turned aside 17 shots for the win.
The Wolves (15-11-3-2) opened scoring 2:20 into the first period when Sterling snapped a shot from the middle of the right circle past Admirals netminder Marek Mazanec (9-6-3) for the 1-0 lead.
Milwaukee (17-8-2-1) knotted the game at 6:33 of the middle frame when center Trevor Smith tallied his third goal of the season against Chicago.
However, the Wolves answered on the power play when Sterling took a shot from near the top of the right circle and Blais tipped the shot from the slot side of the same circle at 17:16.
Blais nabbed his second marker of the night just before the midway point of the third period, taking advantage of a Milwaukee turnover in its defensive zone. The 20-year-old wrangled the puck and took a point-blank shot from the slot that beat Mazanec to put the Wolves up 3-1.
With Milwaukee pressuring on the power play, Megan grabbed the puck and skated to the middle of the left defensive circle for a nearly 200-foot shot that hit the empty net at 17:23.
The Admirals scored on the power play shortly afterward as Vladislav Kamenev chipped the puck over Copley for Milwaukee’s second goal of the game. However, Ivan Barbashev delivered the final blow with an empty-net goal in the last 30 seconds.
Admirals goaltender Mazanec stopped 22 of the 25 shots he faced in the loss.
The Wolves travel to BMO Harris Bank Center for another Illinois Lottery Cup showdown with the Rockford IceHogs on Wednesday (Dec. 28). Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m., and the game will stream live on AHLLive.com.
Chicago returns to Allstate Arena on Friday (Dec. 30) for its third Amtrak Rivalry contest in four games with Milwaukee. Puck drop and The U Too broadcast are set for 7 p.m. For ticket information or complete 2016-17 game and broadcast schedules, visit ChicagoWolves.com.
