March 31, 2023

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Milwaukee Admirals won their sixth-consecutive game in a 6-3 contest over the Grand Rapids Griffins on Friday at Van Andel Arena.

Danny O'Regan's goal in the third was his 300th point in the AHL and was assisted by Carter Mazur, his first point as a pro. Dylan St. Cyr (seven saves) made his pro debut after subbing in for fellow Spartan John Lethemon in the second frame. St. Cyr is the son of Manon Rheaume, who competed in two ECHL seasons, two IHL campaigns from 1992-95 and was the first woman to appear in a NHL preseason game with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1992.

The Admirals started red hot, rifling home a trio of goals to open the first. John Leonard began the flurry with a power-play tally at 3:42. Tim Schaller lit the lamp at 9:38 with a backhander past Lethemon on the doorstep and was followed by Jordan Gross’ one-timer from the top of the right circle with 3:10 remaining to take a 3-0 edge. Seth Barton kept the contest within striking distance, firing a rocket of a shot just inside the left post with 1:16 to go for his first goal of the season.

Donovan Sebrango (3:37) and Wyatt Newpower (17:14) each sparred with a Milwaukee skater in the second, trying to provide a spark for Grand Rapids. The Admirals got the best of the Griffins, as Isaac Ratcliffe scored on a power play at 5:31 and at 7:04 to expand their lead to 5-1. St. Cyr subbed in after Ratcliffe's second tally.

Grand Rapids fed off of a raucous crowd in the third to attempt to rally back from four goals down. Drew Worrad tallied his second goal of the season at 5:37, tucking the puck under the right pad of Yaroslav Askarov on the doorstep. O’Regan scored from the same spot 1:10 later, tapping in Joel L’Esperance’s rebound in the crease to make it 5-3. However, Anthony Angello shut the door with 2:52 left with an empty-netter.

Notes
- Grand Rapids wore retro uniforms in honor of the 2013 Calder Cup Championship Celebration.
- Tonight was the Griffins’ fifth sellout of the season, the fourth since Jan. 21.
- St. Cyr is also the seventh goaltender to man the Griffins’ pipes this season, breaking the franchise record for most goalies used that was set in 2005-06.
- Grand Rapids had a season high 46 shots on the night.

Box Score
Milwaukee 3 2 1 - 6
Grand Rapids 1 0 2 - 3

1st Period-1, Milwaukee, Leonard 14 (Ratcliffe, Sanford), 3:42 (PP). 2, Milwaukee, Schaller 8 (Ratcliffe, M. Del Gaizo), 9:38. 3, Milwaukee, Gross 9 (McKeown, Rueschhoff), 16:50. 4, Grand Rapids, Barton 1 (Weatherby, Spezia), 18:44. Penalties-Felhaber Mil (tripping), 0:49; served by Bliss Gr (bench minor - too many men), 3:07; Bouchard Mil (slashing), 19:28.

2nd Period-5, Milwaukee, Ratcliffe 4 (Gross, Sanford), 5:31 (PP). 6, Milwaukee, Ratcliffe 5 (Wilsby, Rueschhoff), 7:04. Penalties-Mutter Mil (fighting), 3:37; Sebrango Gr (fighting), 3:37; served by Andreasson Gr (bench minor - too many men), 5:18; Apap Mil (fighting), 17:14; Newpower Gr (fighting, game misconduct - aggressor), 17:14.

3rd Period-7, Grand Rapids, Worrad 2 (Bliss, Lashoff), 5:37. 8, Grand Rapids, O’Regan 15 (L’Esperance, Mazur), 6:47 (PP). 9, Milwaukee, Angello 10 17:08 (EN). Penalties-Ratcliffe Mil (slashing), 6:06; Bouchard Mil (boarding), 12:13; Sidorski Mil (tripping), 18:38.

Shots on Goal-Milwaukee 11-7-7-25. Grand Rapids 14-17-15-46.
Power Play Opportunities-Milwaukee 2 / 2; Grand Rapids 1 / 5.
Goalies-Milwaukee, Askarov 25-13-4 (46 shots-43 saves). Grand Rapids, Lethemon 1-3-2 (17 shots-12 saves); St. Cyr 0-0-0 (7 shots-7 saves).
A-10,834

Three Stars
1. MIL Ratcliffe (two goals, two assists); 2. MIL Gross (goal, assist); 3. GR O’Regan (goal).

Record / Next Game
Grand Rapids: 27-31-4-4 (62 pts.) / Sun., April 2 at Rockford 5 p.m. EDT
Milwaukee: 39-20-3-2 (83 pts.) / Sat., April 1 vs. Laval 6 p.m. CDT

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins