The Milwaukee Admirals find themselves in a familiar position after Wednesday’s devastating 1-6 loss to the Texas Stars in game three of the Central Division Finals.
Texas dominated the early game, outshooting Milwaukee 12-8 in the first period. Kole Lind, assisted by Kyle Looft and Justin Hryckowian, secured the first goal for the Stars just shy of four minutes into the game.
Milwaukee struggled with special teams in game two. The Admirals went 0-3 on the power play and failed to find the back of the net with a two-man advantage early in the second period.
Curtis McKenzie took the Stars to a two-goal lead securing a goal with last few minutes of the second period, assisted by Cameron Hughes and Kyle Capobianco.
Milwaukee’s Mequon native, Spencer Stastney, cut the goal deficit to one at six minutes into the third period. Stastney’s goal, assisted by Keiffer Bellows and Ozzy Weisblatt, marked his second of the postseason.
Texas overtook the late game, scoring four goals in the third period. Capobianco and Jack Becker earned goals on Milwaukee’s goaltender Matthew Murray less than a minute apart. Magnus Chrona replaced Murray for the remainder of the contest. Hughes and Hryckowian netted the last two goals for Texas. Hryckowian earned his goal on a Texas Stars power play.
The Admirals earned 34 penalty minutes within the last three minutes of regulation play. Kyle Marino earned a high-sticking penalty. Navrin Mutter joined Marino in earning a misconduct for continuing altercations. Thirty seconds later, Jake Lucchini also earned himself one. Finally, Weisblatt earned a penalty for slashing, which granted the Stars their power play goal.
Milwaukee’s second-year captain Kevin Gravel said, “We’re not happy with our game tonight, and we’ll learn from it.” Gravel said that he’s confident his team will bounce back as they have many times.
The Admirals’ elimination position is unfamiliar to head coach Karl Taylor and the team. Since joining the Admirals coaching staff in 2018, Taylor is 15-4 in playoff elimination games. Taylor said, “Now, we have to go to game five again… I’m not quite sure why we always do it this way.”
The Admirals are in a must-win situation when they return to the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena for game four on Friday, May 23. If Milwaukee secures the win, they force game five on Sunday, May 25.