The Milwaukee Admirals held onto their undefeated record so far this season as Magnus Hellberg led the Admirals to a shootout win over the Lake Erie Monsters on Saturday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
Admiral’s rookie, Garrett Noonan, scored his first professional goal tonight and it was the goal to tie Lake Erie and send the game into overtime. Both Brendan Leipsic and Pontus Aberg scored in the shootout, getting the win for the Admirals, 2-1.
Both Magnus Hellberg and Calvin Pickard stood strong throughout the first period of the game and resulted in a scoreless period.
A Lake Erie goal came late into the second period at 14:50. Hellberg was unable to get a hold of the puck through the traffic in front of the net. Paul Carey picked it up and found the back of the net to give Lake Erie the 1-0 lead.
The Admirals answered back about half way through the third period at 12:30. Garrett Noonan faked out a Lake Erie defender, waiting for him to move, and fired it into the net to tie the game 1-1.
The game went to the shootout after a scoreless battle in overtime. Hellberg stopped both of Lake Erie’s shootout attempts. Leipsic and Aberg each get one past Pickard for the Admirals win over Lake Erie 2-1.
The Admirals are still the only team in the AHL to have an undefeated record this season so far at 6-0. This is also the first time in Admirals history to start the season at 6-0.
“We’re happy with wins, there’s no question about it. We liked how resilient we were. We stuck together and we found our way,” said head coach Dean Evason.
The rookies continue to impress, three scored tonight alone, and Evason believes the early success comes from their strong leaders.
“You don’t know what they’re going to be like coming in, this is their first pro experience,” said Evason. “There are so many new things, so for our group to be playing the way they do I think is a huge credit to our leadership group. The Piskulas and Van Guilders, they’re showing them the way. I think that has allowed them to adapt and adjust real quickly and that translates to success”
“My line mates Watson and Van Guilder, two veteran guys, they kind of make my job easier, having heavy players down low and I am capitalizing on the small opportunities,” said Leipsic.
The Admirals will be home to battle the Iowa Wild once again this Wednesday, October 29th at 7pm.
