Admirals Fall to Firebirds, 3-1, in Game 2 of Western Conference Finals

Ozzy Wiesblatt scored and Troy Grosenick made 31 saves, but the Milwaukee Admirals ultimately dropped Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals to the Coachella Valley Firebirds by a 3-1 decision on Friday at Acrisure Arena.

The result sees the Nashville Predators’ AHL affiliate leave Palm Springs empty-handed and eager to pull themselves back into the series in front of their home crowd, starting with Game 3 on Tuesday. 

“They won their home games, and it would have been nice to get a split coming out of here, so that’s disappointing,” Admirals Head Coach Karl Taylor told Admirals Play-by-Play Announcer Aaron Sims after the game. “And I don’t know about you, but we’ve been here lots. This is a very determined group, we’ll get some rest and we’ll get ready for Tuesday. You’re always learning, you’re always focused on what you’re doing and how you can do things better. We’re going to be in our home crowd for three games and we’ve just got to focus on Game 3. They held serve and now we’ve got to go home and be excited for Game 3 and find a way to win Game 3, simple as that.”

QUICK HITS

Cashing In

Scoring once on 32 shots and coming up empty-handed on three different power play opportunities, the Admirals departed Palm Springs on Friday knowing they’ll need to ramp up their offensive production if they hope to climb back into the best-of-seven series.

“We need to be in those positions to collect those pucks and find ways,” Taylor said. “We had a 3-on-1 and didn’t get a shot, and you can’t have those things happen in this type of game this time of the year. It’s execution. So as a group, it gets harder and it gets richer the further you go along because the teams get better and better. Your margins are tighter. You’ve got to score on your 14 chances for, where during the regular season you maybe get 23 or 24 and you’ve got some more room to play with. So we need to do a better job executing.”

Predators defensive prospect Marc Del Gaizo led the Admirals on Friday with four shots on goal. 

Prospect Points

Despite Friday’s result, Predators prospects and Admirals rookies Fedor Svechkov and Ryan Ufko both appeared on the scoresheet after factoring on Wiesblatt’s second-period goal.

Svechkov and Ufko now have seven points each (3g-4a and 1g-6a, respectively) in the first 12 Calder Cup Playoffs games of their careers.

UP NEXT

The Western Conference Finals return to Panther Arena when Game 3 arrives on Tuesday. 

Puck drop is at 7 p.m. CT, with the game available to stream with a subscription to AHLTV.