Admirals roll as Pens run dry

Milwaukee scored six special-teams goals and cruised to an 8-4 win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in Game 2 of the Calder Cup 2004 Final on Wednesday night.

The Admirals take a 2-0 series lead to northeastern Pennsylvania for Game 3 on Friday night.

Milwaukee netted four power-play goals and two shorthanded markers on the night, and Simon Gamache, Mathieu Darche and Tony Hrkac paced the offense with a goal and two assists apiece.

The Ads’ eight-goal outburst marked the highest total in a Calder Cup Final game since Adirondack scored 10 times in a 10-7 victory over New Haven to clinch the championship in 1989.

The Penguins actually took a 1-0 lead on Guillaume Lefebvre‘s first goal in 32 games since Feb. 21.

But Andrew Hutchinson pulled Milwaukee even with 1:07 left in the first period, and the Admirals erupted for five goals in the second.

Vern Fiddler converted on a shorthanded breakaway 1:49 into the second to give Milwaukee a 2-1 lead, but the floodgates opened later in the period.

An apparent Matt Murley goal was waved off because of a goaltender intereference penalty against the Penguins. Tony Hrkac scored to give the Admirals a two-goal cushion, and Wilkes-Barre head coach Michel Therrien replaced goaltender Andy Chiodo with Sebastien Caron.

Brooks Orpik took an elbowing minor off the ensuing face-off, and Hutchinson quickly scored to make it 4-1. Just 2:04 later, Milwaukee captain Ray Schultz upped the lead to 5-1, and Simon Gamache made it 6-1 before the end of the session.

Mathieu Darche scored shorthanded 2:32 into the third period, which soon degenerated into a penalty-fest. The teams combined for 156 PIM in the contest.

Konstantin Koltsov and Patrick Boileau scored 1:24 apart to cut the lead to 7-3, and when Admirals coach Claude Noel called a timeout, Therrien began screaming across the partition separating the team benches and was issued a bench minor and ejected by referee Wes McCauley.

Brandon Segal scored on the ensuing power play to make it 8-3, as Milwaukee finished 4-for-9 with the man advantage. The Admirals are 6-for-13 on the power play in the series.

Game 2 boxscore