March 18, 2023

MILWAUKEE - Devin Cooley stifled the Grand Rapids Griffins with a number of stellar saves to secure a 2-1 win for the Milwaukee Admirals on Saturday at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.

Cooley made several impressive saves and 27 total in the contest, including a gloving down Jasper Weatherby’s shot with 13 seconds left while the Griffins had a six-on-four chance. Pontus Andreasson was the lone Griffin to light the lamp, scoring his 10th goal of the season. Matt Luff added his 17th assist of the year on Andreasson’s goal while Brian Lashoff recorded his third helper.

The Griffins and Admirals traded goals in a fast opening period that included 22-combined shots. Andreasson found the back of the cage first, firing a shot from far behind the left circle and past the glove of Cooley at 5:15. Zach Sanford and John Leonard combined to tie the game at 8:13, as Leonard found Sanford on the doorstep to allow him to shoot the puck behind Alex Nedeljkovic’s right pad.

Nedeljkovic and Cooley locked down to prevent scoring in the second frame, including Cooley robbing Riley Sawchuk from just inside the left circle with a diving save at 6:23. The Griffins’ penalty kill fended off the first power-play opportunity for either team starting at 15:31 with Nedeljkovic stopping a pair of shots.

Cooley was massive in Milwaukee’s penalty kill during the final stanza, making a number of diving saves to keep the game tied. Tye Felhaber sent home the game-winner between the pads of Nedeljkovic at 14:44 on a tough angle from the bottom of the left circle and in front of the goal line. The Griffins pulled Nedeljkovic at 17:25 and went on the power play at 19:17 after a delay of game penalty on TIm Schaller, providing a golden opportunity to send the game to overtime. However, the Admirals only allowed one shot and held on for a 2-1 victory.

Notes
- Nedeljkovic was solid in net, saving 23 of 25 shots.
- Grand Rapids had its first game without a power-play goal in six outings, only recording 2:43 of man-advantage time in the loss.

Box Score
Grand Rapids 1 0 0 - 1
Milwaukee 1 0 1 - 2

1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, Andreasson 10 (Luff, Lashoff), 5:15. 2, Milwaukee, Sanford 12 (Leonard, Ratcliffe), 8:13. Penalties-No Penalties

2nd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Shine Gr (interference), 15:31.

3rd Period-3, Milwaukee, Felhaber 2 (Mutter), 14:44. Penalties-Rueschhoff Mil (hooking), 0:15; Schaller Mil (delay of game), 19:17.

Shots on Goal-Grand Rapids 10-8-10-28. Milwaukee 12-8-5-25.
Power Play Opportunities-Grand Rapids 0 / 2; Milwaukee 0 / 1.
Goalies-Grand Rapids, Nedeljkovic 12-9-3 (25 shots-23 saves). Milwaukee, Cooley 13-7-1 (28 shots-27 saves).
A-5,521

Three Stars
1. MIL Cooley (W, 27 saves); 2. GR Nedeljkovic (L, 23 saves); 3. MIL Sanford (goal).

Record / Next Game
Grand Rapids: 25-28-4-3 (57 pts.) / Sun., March 19 vs. Milwaukee 5 p.m.
Milwaukee: 34-20-3-2 (73 pts.) / Sun., March 19 at Grand Rapids 4 p.m. CDT

Photo by the Milwaukee Admirals