HOUSTON 2, MILWAUKEE 1
Krys Kolanos scored the game-winning goal and netminder Anton Khudobin stopped 27 of 28 shots as Houston grabbed Game 1 of the West Division Finals with a 2-1 road win over Milwaukee at the Bradley Center on Thursday.
The Aeros handed the division-champion Admirals their first loss of the postseason. Milwaukee, which swept Rockford in the opening round and hadn’t played since Apr. 21, will look to even the series when Game 2 faces off on Saturday night.
Houston’s power play, which clicked a lethal 32.3 percent of the time in its seven-game upset of Peoria in the first round, wasted little time in converting on Thursday.
Defenseman Tomas Mojzis scored on the Aeros’ first opportunity at 2:58 of the opening period, with assists going to fellow blueliner Maxim Noreau and Corey Locke.
Kolanos made it a 2-0 game with under five minutes to play in the second frame, tallying his third goal of the playoffs.
That proved to be the decisive tally when Andreas Thuresson finally put Milwaukee on the board with 2:46 remaining in regulation. The Admirals were unable to find the equalizer in the closing minutes.
Khudobin, a rookie, improved to 5-3 in the playoffs and has surrendered two or fewer goals in six of his last seven contests.
Drew MacIntyre made 22 saves in net for the Admirals and took his first loss of the playoffs.
West Division Finals – Series “L” (best-of-7)
W1-Milwaukee Admirals vs. W3-Houston Aeros || Preview
Game 1 – Thu., Apr. 30 – Houston 2, MILWAUKEE 1
Game 2 – Sat., May 2 – Houston at Milwaukee, 8:00
Game 3 – Tue., May 5 – Milwaukee at Houston, 8:05
Game 4 – Thu., May 7 – Milwaukee at Houston, 8:05
*Game 5 – Fri. or Sat., May 8 or 9 – Milwaukee at Houston, 8:35
*Game 6 – Mon., May 11 – Houston at Milwaukee, 8:00
*Game 7 – Wed., May 13 – Houston at Milwaukee, 8:00
