Milwaukee is back to .500 at 10-10-2-1 after a lackluster second period in Charlotte.

Things looked good at 8:08 of the first when Chris Mueller broke an 0-for-15 power play skid with his 10th goal of the season to give the Ads a 1-0 lead.

After the first intermission, the Ads played a little too unselfishly. Too many times good entries into the offensive zone were negated by unwise passes instead of shots. Passing up those opportunities ended up costing Milwaukee big time.

Midway through the period Daniel Bang had a good look at the net but instead tried a spin pass that was intercepted. That started a 3-on-1 rush into the Admiral’s zone and Zac Dalpe tied it up at 9:07.

Two minutes and two seconds later, the Checkers took the lead thanks to another missed chance. Gabriel Bourque found himself on a 2-on-1, and his attempted pass was broken up. The follow-up shot was turned away and cleared.

Zach Boychuk found Tim Wallace on the ensuing possession and Wallace beat Magnus Hellberg short side from the bottom of the left circle.

The Admirals finished the period with a season-low two shots.

The shots came for the Admirals in the third, but Justin Peters stopped all ten he faced. At 11:45, Justin Faulk gave Charlotte a 3-1 lead to finish the scoring.

Hellberg lost his first AHL game in his second consecutive start to drop to 4-1. For the first time this season, his offense couldn’t get him at least three goals in support.

The Admirals didn’t do any more damage on the power play despite snapping the scoreless streak, but they again killed off three penalties.

On the bright side Milwaukee finished its three-game road trip, and will play 11 of its next 13 games at the Bradley Center. The stand starts Friday, as the IceHogs make their first trip to Milwaukee.

Without a doubt, the Ads want to give them a very rude welcome.