Yaroslav Askarov made his triumphant return and the kids led the charge as the Milwaukee Admirals evened the series with Grand Rapids 1-1 in a 5-2 win on Monday night. We’ve got stars, takeaways and one big question for the Admirals as they head into Game 3!
Three Stars
Troy Grosenick was very good for the Admirals against Texas, but struggled in his first outing against the Griffins. Head Coach Karl Taylor made the risky choice to go back to Yaroslav Askarov, who played two games against Texas, went 0-2, and allowed eight goals on 42 shots. Askarov bounced back and made 27 of 29 saves for the Admirals, leading them to a 5-2 win. He allowed only one goal at even strength, the other coming on the power play, and faced a barrage in the third period to stand tall. A heck of a comeback for Askarov.
Joakim Kemell has been quiet in the postseason so far, and didn’t have the rookie season that some people were expecting of him. With a two assist night, he doubled his postseason points total to four in seven games, including one power play assist and also assisting on the insurance goal to make it 4-0 Admirals (they would go on to win 5-2).
Zach L’Heureux doesn’t know how to stop scoring. In addition to his two power play goals in the preview series, he added a shorthanded goal in this game which would end up being the game winner. He now has 12 points in seven games this post season, seven of which are goals, and he’s shooting at 63.5%. It was his second game winning goal of the playoffs, and he continues to lead his team and the league in both goals and points.
Two Takeaways
Bend, Don’t Break
The Admirals were up 4-0 by 3:27 of the third period. Grand Rapids would score two quick goals with under five minutes left (at 15:34 and 16:50), and outshot the Admirals in the third period 11-7. The Admirals held on, and scored the empty net goal with under a minute left, putting the dagger in Grand Rapids’ comeback attempt. It would have been easy, and perhaps expected, if the Griffins, who have been strong against the Admirals all season, had pushed to force overtime, but the Admirals held up under a lopsided third period. The Admirals didn’t make it easy on themselves, taking six minor penalties (five power play opportunities for Grand Rapids), but they weathered the storm admirably, and now they take a 1-1 series tie to Grand Rapids on Wednesday.
Scoring By Committee
L’Heureux is leading the way for the team in scoring as a whole, but this game was a great example of scoring by committee. All five of Milwaukee’s goals came from a different scorer, they had a PPG, an SHG and an ENG, and of the 13 points handed out to the Admirals for both goals and assists, ten different Admirals made it to the scoresheet, including players like Jasper Weatherby, who had a goal and an assist for his first postseason points. Other slumps broken were Egor Afanasyev, who scored his first goal of the postseason, and Cal O’Reilly, who scored his first point by assisting on Marc Del Gaizo’s goal.
One Question
Can This Team Win On The Road?
The Amirald this postseason at 4-1 at home, and 0-2 on the road. They’re about to go into Grand Rapids for two games, and to keep their postseason hopes alive, they need at least one win. On the other side of the equation, the Griffins are 1-1 at home, with a 5-1 loss to Rockford, and a 4-3 OT win, also against Rockford. The Admirals have bounced back from adversity in the preview series, can they close it out on the road, or will they bring a tied series back to Milwaukee for a winner takes all Game 5?
