3
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Milwaukee
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Veteran forwards Daniel Carr, Frederick Gaudreau and Cole Schneider produced four points apiece to pace the league-leading Milwaukee Admirals to a 7-3 victory over the Chicago Wolves Friday night at Allstate Arena.
Forwards Tye McGinn, Brandon Pirri and Lucas Elvenes scored and forward Keegan Kolesar added two assists for the Wolves (21-20-3-2), who played catch-up throughout both teams’ first game since the AHL All-Star Break.
“It was one of those games,” said Wolves head coach Rocky Thompson. “I didn’t think we played terribly, to tell you the truth. But that happens sometimes. Give them credit. I thought (Troy) Grosenick made some big saves early in the game for them and allowed them to get their lead.”
The Admirals (32-8-4-2) bolted to a 2-0 lead 6:31 into the night as forwards Gaudreau and Carr scored 55 seconds apart. Gaudreau cleaned up a rebound just outside the crease while Carr — the AHL’s Most Valuable Player last year while playing for the Wolves – kept the puck on an odd-man rush and snapped a shot top-shelf for his 18th goal.
The Wolves slashed the lead in half on McGinn’s rebound goal at 17:25 of the first. Defenseman Dylan Coghlan wristed a shot from the right faceoff dot that Milwaukee goaltender Grosenick stopped, but the puck trickled just beyond his right skate and McGinn reached into the crease to knock it home.
Milwaukee pushed the lead to 4-1 early in the second period with a pair of goals 27 seconds apart. Schneider’s pass teed up Tommy Novak for a blistering one-timer at 4:26, then Schneider notched a power-play tally when he banked a centering pass off a defenseman’s skate at 4:53.
Pirri answered by ripping a one-timer past Grosenick for a power-play goal at 6:48, but Milwaukee’s Eeli Tolvanen responded eight seconds later when he took advantage of a Wolves turnover to make it 5-2.
Elvenes cut the margin to 5-3 at 13:24 of the second when he set up in the slot and fired home a rebound after Grosenick denied McGinn’s wraparound attempt. Schneider’s second goal of the period gave Milwaukee a 6-3 lead at 17:24.
Grosenick (17-4-2) finished with 29 saves while Wolves goaltender Garret Sparks (5-14-3) stopped 25 shots.
The Wolves host the Manitoba Moose at 7 p.m. Saturday and the first 2,500 fans to enter Allstate Arena receive an Oscar Dansk bobblehead, courtesy of Atturo Tires.
