Admirals Strike Late in Game Three to Take Series Lead

May 17, 2023

CEDAR PARK, Texas – The Texas Stars, American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, surrendered a late goal in a 4-3 loss to the Milwaukee Admirals in Game Three of the Central Division Finals and fell behind 2-1 in the best-of-five series Wednesday night.

 

Milwaukee struck first in Wednesday’s contest when Isaac Ratcliffe beat Matt Murray with a shot near the top of the slot at 14:30 of the opening stanza.

 

Ben Gleason tied the game 1-1 in the second period at the 5:19 mark when he charged up the middle of the ice and into the slot, where he ripped a wrist shot that eyed the top-right corner. The Admirals reclaimed a 2-1 lead when Joakim Kemell tapped in a pass from behind the net off a pass by Jimmy Huntington.

 

The Stars tied the game 2-2 in the third period when Dawson Barteaux buried his first-ever AHL playoff goal by capitalizing on a rebound at 3:46. Alexander Petrovic gave Texas its first lead of the night just 26 seconds later when his shot from the top of the zone sailed past Yaroslav Askarov. With 6:34 left in regulation, Egor Afanasyev evened the score again 3-3 by cleaning up a rebound near the right dot. Ratcliffe struck a second time for the Admirals when he tipped in the eventual game-winning goal with 1:01 left to play. With the 4-3 victory in Game Three, Milwaukee took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series.

 

Askarov earned the win in goal for the Admirals after making 23 saves on 26 shots. For the Stars, Murray came down with the loss after making 25 stops while facing 29 shots.

 

Game Four at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park is set for Friday at 7:00 p.m. while Game Five, if necessary, will be played Sunday night. Tickets to Game Four can be purchased by visiting TexasStars.com.

 

Photo Credit: Andy Nietupski / Texas Stars

 

Game Info	Shots	Goaltenders	3 Stars (Ubeo Business Services)
Boxscore	TEX: 26	W: Askarov (MIL)	1: Ratcliffe (MIL)
Photo	MIL: 29	L: Murray (TEX)	2: Petrovic (TEX)
Video			3: Afanasyev (MIL)