The Admirals scored three straight goals in the third period to defeat the Houston Aeros at the Toyota Center Tuesday, 5-4.

The win gives the Admirals sole possession of first place in the West Division. Milwaukee has 73 points, two points better than the second-place Aeros.

Goalie Anders Lindback earned the win in his AHL debut. Lindback, playing his first season in North America, stopped 31 shots. He has played 21 games in the NHL with Nashville.

Matt Halischuk scored the final two goals for Milwaukee in a wild third period. The game was tied at two after two periods. Patrick O’Sullivan scored his second goal of the game on a breakaway after a blocked shot deflected off defenseman Justin Falk at the Houston blue line. O’Sullivan’s goal was scored at 1:16 of the third period.

Houston’s Warren Peters tapped in a rebound of an O’Sullivan shot at 3:58 of the third period to give the Aeros a 4-2 lead. The goal completed a stretch of four straight goals for the Aeros.

The Admirals got within one just 21 seconds after the Peters goal. Mark Van Guilder carried the puck out of the Milwaukee zone on the right wing. As he gained the Aeros line, he fed Brett Palin at the left circle. Palin’s shot hit the back of the net for his third goal of the season.

Milwaukee’s Halischuk tied the game on the power play with his tenth goal of the season. Aaron Johnson passed the puck to the Admirals forward at the right circle. Halischuk’s shot bounced off the blocker of goalie Anton Khudobin, then off an Aeros defenseman into the net.

Halischuk scored the game-winner at 9:43 of the third period. Chris Mueller sent the puck from the left wing behind the Houston goal. Gabriel Bourque fought through a check and fed a pass into the crease for Halischuk to bury and complete the comeback.

The Admirals built a 2-0 lead in the first period. Milwaukee went on the power play just 24 seconds into the game when Houston’s Colton Gillies was penalized for elbowing. On the power play, Blake Geoffrion fired a shot from the right circle. The shot was blocked by Aeros defenseman Justin Falk but came to Andreas Thuresson in the slot. Thuresson fired the puck through the legs of Aeros goalie Khudobin at 1:19 for his seventh goal of the season, second on the power play. Geoffrion and Grant Lewis recorded the assists.

The Admirals took a 2-0 lead at 10:20 of the first period. Halischuk knocked the puck away from Aeros forward O’Sullivan at the Houston blueline with a body check. Mueller scooped up the loose puck and fired a shot from the right circle that went off a defender’s stick past Khudobin. The goal, unassisted, was Mueller’s 17th of the season.

Houston got on the board with a power play goal at 12:40 of the first period. O’Sullivan’s slapshot from the right point found the net under the left pad of Lindback.

The Aeros tied the game with 46 seconds left in the second period. Nate Prosser flipped the puck across the Milwaukee blueline. Palin knocked it down but Houston’s Jean-Michel Daoust picked it up and passed to the right circle. Brandon Buck fired a quick shot into the net to knot the game.

The Admirals visit Oklahoma City in a 7:05 pm start Wednesday, February 23. Milwaukee’s next home game is Friday, February 25 when they host the Chicago Wolves at the Bradley Center with a special post-game concert by the Dropkick Murphys. Fans can purchase tickets by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000 or logging on to milwaukeeadmirals.com. Group discounts are available starting with just ten people and get a minimum of $2 off the face value. For more information or to purchase group tickets fans can call the Admirals office at (414) 227-0550 or visit milwaukeeadmirals.com. Don’t forget to follow the Admirals on Twitter (@mkeadmirals) and on Facebook!