MILWAUKEE—The Wolves took the ice against the Milwaukee Admirals on Wednesday night at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, the first of 12 showdowns between the Central Division rivals this season.
Gavin Bayreuther scored for the Wolves but it wasn’t enough as the Admirals skated to a 4-1 victory. It marked Chicago’s second consecutive loss after opening the 2025-26 American Hockey League season with a four-game points streak.
“We played pretty well,” Bayreuther said. “We’re a young team and it’s early in the season. Some guys have some big opportunities and are in some big positions they may not even realize. And we were playing a good, old, big, experienced Milwaukee team as they always are. But I think there are some good things we can take out of this. This early in the season, we have to stay positive and build off some of the good things.”
Milwaukee struck first when Ryan Ufko found the back of the net midway through the opening period and took a two-goal advantage early in the second on a tally by Zach L’Heureux. Late in the middle frame, Joakim Kemell’s power-play goal put the Admirals out in front 3-0.
Bayreuther trimmed the Wolves’ deficit to 3-1 in the early moments of the third period. On a Chicago rush into the offensive zone, the defenseman took a feed from Felix Unger Sorum and snapped a shot from between the circles that beat Milwaukee netminder Matthew Murray to the stick side. Unger Sorum’s assist extended his points streak to six games while Justin Robidas also recorded a helper on the score.
“I try not to force joining the rush—I probably should join it more,” Bayreuther said. “But down 3-0 at the time I’m just trying to get a spark and get the guys back into it, get some emotions and luckily I was able to score.”
The Admirals put the game away later in the third with another power-play goal, this one from Oasiz Wiesblatt.
Amir Miftakhov (23 saves) took the loss in goal for the Wolves while Murray (25 saves) earned the win for the Admirals.
Chicago dropped to 3-2-1-0 on the season while Milwaukee stands at 3-1-1-0.
Up next: The Wolves host the Toronto Marlies on Saturday night at Allstate Arena (7 p.m.).
For information on Wolves ticket plans for the 2025-26 season—everything from single-game tickets to Flex Packs to group outings—visit chicagowolves.com or call 1-800-THE-WOLVES.
