Admirals Advance to Western Conference Finals After Series Win Over Stars

For the first time in 17 years, the Milwaukee Admirals are headed to the Calder Cup Playoffs' Western Conference Final - punching their ticket after a decisive 5-2 victory over the Texas Stars in a winner-take-all Game Five battle at HEB Center on Sunday.

"I thought we played great," Admirals Head Coach Karl Taylor said. "[Texas] pushed in the second period and obviously were desperate to not have their season end… It was a gutsy effort from the whole group. Guys were battling, blocking shots and lots of people were stepping up in critical moments. We're really proud of the whole group."

After falling in double overtime two nights earlier, Milwaukee came out of the gate hard on Sunday, scoring four straight goals in the first period thanks to a pair from forward Joakim Kemell and one each from defensemen Adam Wilsby and Marc Del Gaizo.

"We were fortunate to get off to a good start there, scoring four goals right away," Del Gaizo said. "We were kind of holding onto it in the second and third periods, and were maybe a bit passive. But that's going to happen. When the other team is down by four goals, they're going to push. And we were able to get the win, so that's all that matters."

Texas indeed mounted a challenging pushback, tallying once in the second period and again on a shorthanded breakaway midway through the third.

But goaltender Yaroslav Askarov - who's started each of the Admirals 10 postseason contests thus far - kept Milwaukee firmly in the lead, stopping a postseason-high 37 shots in the effort.

"I'd say that was his best game in the postseason," Taylor said. "What a moment for him. It's Game Five, an elimination game, do-or-die, and that was definitely his best effort. I thought we did a really good job in front of him, but he made a couple of timely saves for us in the second period that we needed to stem the tide. And that's what you're hoping for from your goalkeeper. The young man played really well today and he should be really proud of his effort and really proud of this situation and moving forward."

Forward Egor Afanasyev put one into the empty net for extra insurance and 28 seconds later the Ads clinched their third conference final berth since joining the American Hockey League in 2001.

"It's huge," Del Gaizo said. "Last year we lost in the division finals to Chicago, and to punch our ticket through to the conference final is huge for our group. We're really confident and we're just really excited for the opportunity to play Coachella in Palm Springs."

Starting Thursday, the Ads will look to continue their postseason momentum against a brand-new foe in the Coachella Valley Firebirds, who advanced to the conference final on Friday in their debut AHL season.

Milwaukee, who did not face Coachella Valley during the 2022-23 regular season, has their work cut out for them as they look to collect four wins against the second-best team in the American League.

"This is a big moment for the team, but we're only halfway there," Taylor said. "We've got two more rounds to go, hopefully. And we'll have to dig in and look at [Coachella Valley] to get prepared for that series. But we're going to enjoy tonight and then really get to work."

Fans can catch all the action by joining the Preds at Ford Ice Center Bellevue for Calder Cup Playoffs Watch Parties,

purchasing an AHLTV Playoffs All-Access subscription

or following the

.

See below for the full Western Conference Finals schedule:

Game One: Milwaukee at Coachella Valley; Thursday, May 25 at 9 p.m. CT
Game Two: Milwaukee at Coachella Valley; Saturday, May 27 at 9 p.m. CT
Game Three: Coachella Valley at Milwaukee; Monday, May 29, 6 p.m. CT
Game Four: Coachella Valley at Milwaukee; Thursday, June 1, 7 p.m. CT
\Game Five: Coachella Valley at Milwaukee; Saturday, June 3 at 6 p.m. CT
\Game Six: Milwaukee at Coachella Valley; Monday, June 5 at 9 p.m. CT
\Game Seven: Milwaukee at Coachella Valley; Wednesday, June 7 at 9 p.m. CT
\If necessary