MILWAUKEE 4, ROCKFORD 1
Winners of the West Division by a 15-point margin in the regular season, Milwaukee completed an impressive sweep of its division semifinal series with a 4-1 win over Rockford on Tuesday at the MetroCentre. Mike Santorelli (pictured) netted a hat trick for the Admirals, who will take on either Peoria or Houston in the division finals.
Santorelli assisted on Jed Ortmeyer’s first-period goal and then scored the next three for Milwaukee, two of which came in the third period to put the game out of reach.
Santorelli, who did not score in the first three games of the series, registered one hat trick among his 27 goals during the regular season.
Ortmeyer also finished with a four-point night by assisting on all three of Santorelli’s tallies.
Ryan Jones picked up a pair of helpers, and Milwaukee goaltender Drew MacIntyre earned the victory with 25 saves, surrendering just one goal for the fourth time in as many games.
Pascal Pelletier notched the IceHogs’ lone goal of the night.
The Admirals combined to outscore the IceHogs by a 13-4 margin in the four games and claimed their third straight postseason series victory by way of the sweep, dating back to 2006. Rockford has now dropped six consecutive postseason contests.
Milwaukee will hold home-ice advantage in the West Division Finals against the winner of the Peoria-Houston series, which is currently tied at two games apiece.
