Werner Helps Admirals Top Griffins

Milwaukee, WI— Milwaukee Admirals goaltender Mark Dekanich made 29 saves and forward Stephen Werner scored two goals, including the game-winner, as the Admirals topped the Grand Rapids Griffins 3-2 at the Bradley Center Tuesday night.

There was no scoring in the first 20 minutes and the Griffins controlled play for most of the period outshooting the Admirals 12-7. However, it was Milwaukee who had the best scoring opportunities. The first came when Ads defenseman T.J. McElroy made what looked to be an innocuous dump from center ice that careened off a Grand Rapids defenseman and was heading towards an open net as Griffins goalie Jimmy Howard was heading back to play the dump in. Howard reacted quickly and made a diving stick save just as the puck approached the goal line.

The second missed opportunity for the Admirals in the first was when Griffins winger Landon Wilson was whistled for roughing and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties at 16:46 of the first, giving Milwaukee four straight minutes of power-play time, but the Ads were not able to convert.

The Griffins kicked off the scoring when Wilson knocked in a loose puck on the right post during a 5-on-3 advantage at 16:02 of the second. Darren Helm and former Admiral Darren Haydar assisted on the play.

Milwaukee would tie the score just over two minutes later when Hugh Jessiman scored his second goal in as many games at 18:19. McElroy poked a loose puck out of the Admirals zone to center ice where Jessiman carried it over the blue line and fired a shot from the right point that clanked off of the far post and into the back of the Grand Rapids net. The assist for McElroy was his first point as an Admiral.

In the third period the Admirals grabbed their first lead of the game when Stephen Werner scored from the high slot during the team’s fifth power-play opportunity of the evening at the 2:13 mark. Robert Dietrich and Mike Santorelli assisted on the play. The Griffins would tie the score at two when Haydar fired a wrister over the shoulder of Dekanich with 9:28 left to play in the contest.

The Ads would respond just 12 seconds later and it was Werner again who gave them the lead. Following the face-off after Haydar’s marker, the Admirals got the puck deep into the Grand Rapids zone when forward Kelsey Wilson dug the puck from the corner and flipped a pass to Werner who took two strides to his right and fired a wrister of his own that beat Griffins netminder Jimmy Howard and wound up being the game winner.

Werner’s two markers tied a career high for goals in a game. Mike Santorelli chipped in two assists for the Admirals, who have won six of their last seven contests and all four games they have faced Grand Rapids this season.

The Admirals hit the road for a pair of games this weekend against the Iowa Chops before returning to the Bradley Center on Wednesday, November 26th at 7:00 pm versus the Peoria Rivermen. Fans can order tickets by calling Ticketmaster at (414) 276-4545 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Groups of ten or more people receive a minimum of $2 off of each ticket. For more information or to order group tickets call the Admirals office at (414) 227-0550.