Admirals Stave Off Elimination in Decisive 7-2 Win Over Firebirds

Milwaukee, Wis. - They’re not done yet. 

Fedor Svechkov had the first three-point outing of his postseason career and five other Admirals skaters cracked the scoresheet as Milwaukee routed the Coachella Valley Firebirds, 7-2, in a must-win Game 4 on Thursday.

“There's a lot of desperation in the room,” Admirals Head Coach Karl Taylor said. “Elimination games can be difficult, but this is a group that is really tight. There's four teams left in our league, and all the teams are good teams. All the teams are close. You don't get to play hockey in June unless your team is tight. And our group is the same as the other teams, and they don't want it to end.”

“We know what we're capable of, and we’ve got a heck of a group in there,” Admirals forward Philip Tomasino said. “Ever since I've been here, we've been through so much together and we know what we're capable of. We can beat any team in this league, but again, they're a really good team and we’ve got to continue to do the things that we did well tonight… You see that when we do the right things, good things happen. So, we’ve just got to try and continue playing that same game on Saturday.”

The result, earned on the 20th anniversary of Milwaukee’s first Calder Cup championship win, sees the Nashville Predators American Hockey League affiliate force Game 5 at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena on Saturday.

QUICK HITS

That’s So Svech

While Predators 2021 first-round pick Fedor Svechkov had already been a force for the Admirals this postseason, Thursday may have featured the rookie forward’s best showing yet. 

Scoring twice on the power play, then picking up an assist, Svechkov recorded the first three-point performance of his fledgling Calder Cup Playoffs career.

Svechkov’s four power-play goals in the postseason are the most among his Admirals teammates, his 10 points (6g-5a) the second most.

First-Round Points

In addition to Svechkov, Milwaukee’s series-extending win on Thursday was fueled by a cadre of Predators first-round picks.

Joakim Kemell (17th overall, 2022) scored his second goal of the postseason and picked up his eighth assist.

Zach L’Heureux (27th overall, 2021) padded Milwaukee’s lead with under a minute to go in the middle frame, scoring his AHL-leading 10th goal of the postseason.

Philip Tomasino (24th overall, 2019) added more insurance with less than seven minutes remaining in regulation, burying a loose puck for his fifth goal of the postseason.

Tomasino additionally recorded his first assist of the postseason factoring on L'Heureux's goal, while L’Heureux picked up his sixth assist and his league-leading 16th point factoring on Tomasino's goal.

Elimination Record Stays Perfect

Following Thursday’s win, Milwaukee’s elimination record this postseason remained untarnished and improved to 5-0.

Of course, the Admirals will look to make that 6-0 when they return to the ice on Saturday.

“I think it's kind of business as usual,” Admirals netminder Troy Grosenick said. “We know what to expect, we know the standard and our identity doesn't change day-to-day. You’re not always going to have your A-game, but if we stick to our standard, stick to the identity, you know, for most of the 60 minutes, we have a good chance to beat anybody in this league. We felt like we did that tonight and we'll go out and do it again on Saturday.”

UP NEXT

Puck drop for Game 5 at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena is set for 6 p.m. CT, with the game available to stream with a subscription to AHLTV.