Ads round out the weekend on a high note; win 3-1 over the Heat

Michael Latta drops Heat forward David Eddy during a first period melee at 02/17/2013 game vs. Abbotsford

MILWAUKEE – Michael Liambas scored his first AHL goal (which was the game-winner, mind you), and Taylor Beck and Kevin Henderson each scored goals enroute to Milwaukee’s 3-1 win over the Abbotsford Heat. Magnus Hellberg got the start, making 23 of 24 saves on the night.

Milwaukee wasn’t the only team that struggled this weekend, as Abbotsford fell (HARD) 7-2 at Rockford last night.

Last night’s 8-2 loss was something we’d certainly like to block from recent memory. However, I do want to quickly make a few statistical notes that resulted from those power-play goals the Ads gave up before I dive into tonight’s game recap:

• Coming into last night’s contest, Charlotte was ranked 7th on the power-play league-wide. After scoring a league-most five power-play goals in a single game this season, the Checkers have now moved into 3rd, while Milwaukee fell a spot to 28th on the penalty kill.
• The last time Milwaukee allowed four goals on the man-advantage was 02/17/2007 at Iowa.
• The four goals the Admirals allowed in the second tied a season high for goals against in one period.

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s chat about tonight’s game, shall we?

Special teams continued to be an issue for the Admirals early in the game, as Milwaukee was awarded two power-plays on which resulted in 1:05 worth of 5-on-3 advantage. The team only managed to put 1 shot on goal during the power-play, but hey, they got some passing practice in for it wasn’t a complete waste.

Tyler Ruegsegger sent a wrister just inside the left pipe to give Abbotsford a one-goal advantage going into the first intermission.

Kevin Henderson evened things up at the beginning of the second with a beaut of a goal on Heat netminder Barry Brust. Henderson screamed up the middle and sent an absolute rocket through the crease.

It wouldn’t be until the third period when another goal would hit the scoreboard, as Admirals newcomer Michael Liambas scored his first as an Ad to give Milwaukee the 2-1 edge midway through the third frame. Liambas popped the puck over Brusts’ left pad from the bottom of the crease to mark his first point as an Admiral.

When we were interviewing Liambas about his game-winning goal, Juuso Puustinen made a cameo appearance in the background of the interview.

“I was telling him PASS TO ME, PASS TO ME, but no! He had to be the hero tonight!”

For as physical of a player as he is, Liambas is a man of few words… very few words. Not a bad thing, especially because you can tell this has been a really special time in his career and that he isn’t taking this opportunity with the Admirals for granted.

“Words can’t really explain it, i’m just taking in the moment and just going to enjoy it.”

With Brust on the bench, Taylor Beck had an open net, that just happened to be dead center to a clearing attempt me made from in front of the Admirals bench. Celebration ensued, which was QUITE the change from what we saw after last nights game.

And now, we get a little break from the BMOBC. The Admirals hit the road and won’t return to home ice til March 1st.

Other game news and notes: Both Juuso Puustinen and Taylor Beck were back in the lineup after missing games due to injury. They both contributed goals in Tuesdays 2-1 win over Abbotsford.