It took them 64 minutes and 56 seconds to do it, but the Ads finally put away the Aeros in a game with major playoff implications.

Like a March Madness buzzer beater, Kyle Wilson corralled a rebound off the boards behind the goal-line and fired it past Matt Hackett to put the Ads up 3-2 with 3.1 seconds left in overtime, securing the pivotal second point.

Here’s coach Herbers’ overview of the big win and what it means for the Ads’ playoff plans.

The Ads took a timeout right after they were granted an OT powerplay that would remain for the rest of the extra period.

Here’s Herbers on the TO.

The Ads looked awfully lethargic for a team fighting for a playoff berth in the first two periods of play. The Aeros looked like their namesake, flying down the ice setting up break after break, while the Ads looked like they needed some postgame Herb Brooks-style gassers.

The special teams weren’t all that special, as the Ads looked sluggish, sloppy and predictable on the Fury, going 0-for-3 in the first two periods.

Even with a man advantage, the Ads had little hurry to their Fury, evidenced by the first goal they surrendered. Houston’s David McIntyre fired a shortie, beating Smitty top right shelf to give the Aeros a 1-0 lead halfway through the first period.

Here’s Herbers again on the breakdown that led to the early goal against.

Chris Mueller was Johnny-on-the-spot with the answer for the Ads, putting in a fat rebound off a Brodie Dupont shot attempt that went over the head of a flailing Hackett with 1:07 left before the first break.

The Aeros retook the lead a few minutes into the second period with a Chay Genoway goal. McIntyre picked up his second point of the night, feeding Genoway from behind the net to beat a screened Smith.

Dupont tied the game 5:22 into the third and picked up some much needed momentum for the Ads with his first goal and second point of the night. Mueller crashed down the boards and found Jon Blum, who centered a hard pass that Dupont redirected past Hackett. Mueller made a great read to find Blum, who held onto the puck and somehow mustered a pass that banked off Brodie’s stick into the net.  Good on Blum.

It was enough to force overtime, despite Houston outshooting the Ads 9-4 in the third period.  And then Kyle Wilson finally Furied The Fury to send the pickles into a frenzy.

Here’s Wilson’s postgame Q&A:

Notes:

-The game almost started with a Roscoe faceplant, but his handler warned the Ads mascot before he hit the ice with his skateguards still on.

-The Ads made a big statement with a win over a playoff-caliber team tonight after falling yet again to cellar-dwelling Rockford Sunday. This was a huge confidence boost with conference-leading Oklahoma City coming in Friday.

-Coach had good things to say about Dupont after his two points that kept the Ads in it.

Questions:

Have the past weekend and tonight’s win convinced you that the Ads have a real shot at the postseason?

What do you think of Blum lately? He’s still at -14, but was involved in two big Admirals goals tonight?

Will you ever look at a pickle the same way after tonight’s bad puns and over-the-top promotions?

If Milwaukee does not make the AHL playoff this season, it will be easy to point to one reason why–the Admirals’ abysmal record against Rockford.

On the sixth annual Pedigree Dog Day Sunday afternoon at the Bradley Center, the Ice Hogs made it seven in row over Milwaukee with a 3-2 shootout victory. With the win Rockford now owns a stunning 8-1-0-1 against the Admirals this season and the two points gained ties the Ice Hogs with Milwaukee at 71 in the Western Conference. Both squads stand four points behind the four-way log jam at 75, represented by the sixth through ninth place spots of Charlotte, Rochester, San Antonio and Peoria, respectively.

However, it wasn’t all negative for the Admirals as Brodie Dupont’s goal in the final minute of regulation earned Milwaukee five points out of a possible six on the weekend, making a return to the playoffs a much more feasible proposition than it was three days prior.

Here is Admirals coach Ian Herbers thoughts on the game:

Coming off the bus from Peoria the previous night Milwaukee (65 Games Played, 33-27-2-3–75 points) played desperate, but sluggish at the same time, allowing several odd man rushes against in the first few minutes. That pressure resulted in Rockford (68 GP, 32-29-2-5–71 points) scoring the game’s opening goal eight minutes in as former Admiral and Nashville Predator Wade Brookbank out-muscled his defender and goaltender Atte Engren to put away a loose rebound for his first goal of the season. Former Wisconsin Badger Brian Fahey appeared to make it 2-0 later in the period, but the goal was waved off as Engren was interfered with by a crashing Ice Hogs forward.

Regrouping from that point Milwaukee dominated the rest of the period, and got rewarded for it when Ryan Thang tied the game with 53 seconds left in the first period. It was Mark Van Guilder’s dogged effort that setup the gorgeous play, working his way out from behind the net to hit Thang on the back door with a backhand pass. All the former Golden Domer had to do find the empty net from down on one leg.

Despite a 10-8 deficit in shots during the second period the Ice Hogs were the better team, and a result Rockford restored their one goal lead at 2-1. Three minutes into the middle frame former 2008 11th overall draft pick Kyle Beach was the receiving end of text book setup of their own from Brandon Svendsen and newly minted Rockford forward Terry Broadhurst (recently of Nebraska-Omaha). Both the Admirals defense and Engren over committed to the Ice Hogs forwards in the corner, allowing Beach plenty of room for a one-timed blast.

From that point the Admirals showed plenty of desperation looking for the tying marker. Yet once again Rockford goaltender Carter Hutton foiled just about everything Milwaukee threw at him. As the Admirals took chances Engren made a few key saves of odd man rushes on the other end.

After both teams took timeouts Milwaukee finally got into Rockford’s zone with pressure in the final 40 seconds. The result was Jonathan Blum’s best play of the season in Milwaukee, as he made a seeing eye slap shot pass toward Dupont, which the red hot Admiral deflected into the gaping space of net on the right side of Hutton. Dupont’s equalizer with 31.4 seconds left earned Milwaukee its much needed point.

After a quiet overtime Rockford closed things out in the shootout as both Philippe Paradis and Rostislav Olesz made Engren look like a chew toy with slick moves.

It was certainly an eventful night for Milwaukee’s Finnish netminder:

Milwaukee’s second shooter Kyle Wilson scored on a smooth backhand fake to get the Admirals on the board, but Chris Mueller, Ryan Thang and Taylor Beck all failed to force extra shooters.

So Roundtable . . . Another start for Carter Hutton, and another win against Milwaukee (8-1-0 against the Admirals), but could Dupont’s last minute goal turn the corner for the Admirals confidence against Hutton?

How satisfied are you with five of six points this weekend?

Have your thoughts changed on Milwaukee’s chances for making the playoffs?

The Admirals got five out of a possible six points this weekend.  They forced overtime in the last minute this afternoon, but came up short in the shootout.  Another win in the season series for Rockford, this one was 3-2.

Jason Karnosky will be back a little later tonight with the full-gamer…  And if you were excited for the Trey Killian debut this weekend….it’s being pushed back to Wednesday.  We’ll make it worth your wait.

(No pressure, Trey…)

Remember that huge paddle save Jeremy Smith made last night against Ian Schultz?

Call it a momentum starter.

Jeremy Smith played VERY well and gave Jonathan Cheechoo nightmares all night long, as the Admirals handed the Peoria Rivermen their first shutout of the season.  2-0 was the final.

Aaron Sims tweeted that Cheechoo should have had five goals tonight.

Michael Latta recorded his first goal since coming back from his injury, and it turned out to be all the offense the Admirals needed.  His backhand of a rebound on the power play gave Milwaukee the lead they wouldn’t give up.

Something about the Admirals power play lately….they score quickly.  Took just 20 seconds last night.  They’ve had a few go in recently with shots from the point right off the faceoff.  Latta’s took just seven seconds tonight.

Joel Champagne had a wrister that went over Jake Allen’s glove with 8:03 left in the third period.  But Mark Van Guilder was the guy who made the play, as he pick-pocketed Mark Cundari.

Peoria’s power play has been good against the Admirals all season, but went 0-5 tonight.

Milwaukee wins the season series with a 7-5 record.  The Admirals won the first five, lost the next five, and then won the last two.

—————-

Scoreboard watching….

Rochester won in a shootout, and Lake Erie lost in a shootout.

Hershey did us a favor and came from behind to beat Charlotte in regulation.

Rockford did us another favor…winning their second game against Houston in as many days.  Carter Hutton was in net for both games…..so he might not be the guy we see tomorrow.  Or he might be.  We’ll see.  Just like Jeremy Smith might not be the guy we see tomorrow.  Or he might be.  We’ll see.  (Wow, what great hard-hitting analysis there….)

See you tomorrow for the matinee.  Anyone bringing their dog?

The Admirals kicked off their 3-in-3 with a much needed two points, as they held on to beat the Hamilton Bulldogs 3-2 Friday night at the Bradley Center.

Ian Herbers Google Maps High Level Overview:

Leading by a pair after two periods, the Admirals gave up a shortie, and almost gave up the game-tying goal while the Bulldogs had an extra attacker out there in the final minute.  Ian Schultz had the puck in the slot, but couldn’t get the shot off on his forehand.  So he spun around to try a backhand, and Smith made the stick-save of the year.

We asked Smitty about it…because you know…he was there when it happened.

The Admirals were able to FURY THE FURY early, as it took them just 20 seconds of their first power play to convert.  From the goal line at the near boards, Kyle Wilson fed a pass to Ryan Thang at the top of the near circle.  Thang had a good shooting lane, and his shot beat Bulldog goaltender Robert Mayer.

After going goal-less in his last 12 games, it was good to see Thanger contribute again.  His last goal was February 17th against Oklahoma City.

Chris Mueller made it a 2-0 lead with his 27th goal of the season, but Brodie Dupont did all the work.  Dupont got position on the defender and made a strong move to the net…but he fanned on his shot..or pass…of whatever he was trying to do.  But the puck bounced right to Mueller, who was crashing the net.

Mark Van Guilder made it a 3-0 lead int he second period, as a Victor Bartley shot from the bounced off Kevin Henderson in front of the net, and kicked right to Van Guilder at the left doorstep.

Coach Herbers talks about how important it is for guys like Thang and Van Guilder to contribute offensively.

But the Bulldogs got on the board with just under a minute left in the second period.  Ian Schultz finished a bang-bang play after a quick feed from Alain Berger from behind the net, seconds after a Scott Valentine penalty expired.

Then came the shorty 14:08 into the third.  Former Admiral Alex Henry was in the box, but the Bulldogs went on a 3-on-2 rush.  Mark Mitera tangled up and took down Jon Blum, and Blum either made contact with Smith or made him flinch or stumble for a moment.  Before Smith knew it, Brian Willsie had an open look in the slot, and scored the shorty.

But Smitty did make the big save in the final minute, and the Admirals got two huge points.

NOTES:

– So…..do you think Goal Monkey got an earful from the blimp folks after getting the blimp stuck in the netting above the glass on the south end?

– Also, we need to take a moment to make fun of our friend Scott Dorman.  Great guy.  Big fan.  He’s the guy that updates the info at theahl.com .  And we received our box score during the intermission, and it looked like this.  Your job — find the goof. (We got his permission first….he’s pretty amused by the whole thing too)

Oops.  But hilarious.

– I thought Blum was very good tonight.  Yeah, he was involved in the shortie, and on the ice for the other goal too…but I think this was one of his best overall games of the season.  Good with the puck, good at the offensive blue line, and good on the power play.  Bartley and Ford were pretty solid too, I thought

– Really physical game…and I think the Admirals held their own pretty well in that style.

– Big win…Rockford did the Admirals a favor by beating Houston.  Rochester lost in overtime.  And the other main teams ahead of them in the standings were idle.  So this was one of those games-in-hand wins that the Admirals NEEDED to get.

So Roundtable… Thoughts on the game?  Who would your three stars have been?  Who stood out in a good way?  Anyone stand out in a bad way?  Would you rather have Smitty in net tomorrow in Peoria or Sunday against Rockford?  If you thought the Ads were obviously the better team….was it because they played really well or because Hamilton didn’t?  Are you bummed that you didn’t get to see Blake Geoffrion in a Bulldog uniform? (incidentally….Blake has one goal in eight games for the Habs, but has been a healthy scratch in their last four games.)

Toronto Marlies forward Nazem Kadri had no interest in allowing the Admirals a second straight comeback win.

The former 2009 first-round draft pick’s game-winning goal with just over three minutes left in regulation thwarted Milwaukee’s attempt at back-to-back come from behind victories. Toronto spoiled St. Patrick’s Day for Milwaukee with 3-2 victory at Ricoh Coliseum.

It was Kadri’s second goal of the game. The first in the opening minute of the middle frame gave Toronto a 2-0 edge. After Admirals Mark Van Guilder and Scott Ford couldn’t handle a long rebound from Engren, Kadri buried the loose change.

The Marlies grabbed their first lead 13:51 into the first period as Ryan Hamilton scored his 23rd goal of the season by wiring a point blank blast past Admirals goaltender Atte Engren.

Admirals forward Brodie Dupont got Milwaukee back into the game with a goal 52 seconds before the end of the second period (his third on the weekend). Ryan Flynn setup the play, wrapping the puck around and taking a backhanded shot. Dupont fought his way through a pile of bodies to bang in the rebound. Kyle Wilson’s 18th goal of the year tied things at 2 piece with just over 12 minutes to play in the game. After Jon Blum hit Wilson in stride with a 150-foot stretch pass, Wilson turned to his side and slammed home a backhander on a beautiful effort.

However, unlike the night prior Milwaukee was unable to complete the heroics and pull off the win as Kadri closed the door on the Admirals comeback bid with his 2-on-1 deflection goal la.

Engren stopped 23 of 26 Toronto shots to take the loss, while Jussi Rynnas made 24 saves to earn the victory for the Marlies.

The loss drops Milwaukee to 31-27-2-2, good enough for 66 points. The Admirals remain in 11th place, five points behind eighth place Lake Erie.

To watch highlights of the game click here. To read the Milwaukee Admirals recap here. Finally, check out the official AHL game sheet here.

So Roundtable . . . Two out of four points on the weekend makes the road to the playoffs that much tougher. However, did you see any positives in the team’s resiliency all weekend? Or were these efforts too little to late?

The last 8 minutes of the third period, and then all of the overtime period…..bottle it.

Late in the third period, the Admirals scored two special teams goals to force overtime, and Taylor Beck had the game-winner to give the Ads the extra point in the standings — a 5-4 OT victory over the Lake Erie Monsters Friday night in Cleveland.

Entering the third period tied with the Monsters, the Admirals gave up a pair of goals in the first eight and a half minutes.  Things looked bleak.

And then the leadership stepped up.

Scott Ford scored shorthanded, crashing the net after a strong shorthanded play by Kyle Wilson.  And then Victor Bartley scored his second of the game four seconds into a power play with a shot from the slot off of the face-off, to tie the game back up at 4.

The Admirals dominated play the rest of the way.  In the OT, after a friendly carum kept the puck in the offensive zone, Taylor Beck was all alone in front of Cedrick Desjardins, and scored on a backhander up high.

Also notable?  Brodie Dupont scored his first as an Admiral on the power play in the second period, banging in the rebound of a Beck shot.  Beck finished with three points on the night.

Season-saver?  We’ll see.  Would have been nice to avoid giving one point to Lake Erie, but we needed the two for sure.  Another two points tomorrow against Kelsey Wilson and the Toronto Marlies would help.  (Toronto shutout Grand Rapids 2-0 tonight in GR)

Here is a montage of Aaron Sims’ goal calls from the game, for your listening pleasure.

UPDATE:  Scoring change.  Sorry Victor Bartley.  They gave the game-tying goal to Dupont on a deflection.  So Dupont had the two-goal night tonight, after not scoring at any is his first 25 games.

UPDATE #2:  Here’s some video!

http://p.castfire.com/2zBDO/video/907657/monsters_2012-03-16-230157.1057.m4v