Mathieu Darche tipped home a Curtis Murphy shot from the point 13:01 into overtime to give Milwaukee a 2-1 victory over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in Game 1 of the Calder Cup 2004 Final on Tuesday night.
Game 2 is Wednesday at the Bradley Center.
The hard-fought battle was scoreless until Milwaukee’s Libor Pivko found the net on a drive from the high slot 6:06 into the second period.
Wade Flaherty made the lead hold up until Shane Endicott roofed a losse puck past the Admirals’ goaltender with just 7:07 left in regulation.
Darche got the game-winner during another Milwaukee power play, as the Ads went 2-for-4 on the night with the man advantage.
Flaherty finished the night with 35 saves. His counterpart, rookie Andy Chiodo, stopped 36 shots, including eight in OT.
It was the Penguins’ 10th overtime game of this postseason, extending their own record. The Admirals have now won their last five trips to overtime.
