MILWAUKEE 3, TEXAS 2 (2OT)
Mike Bartlett (pictured) registered a goal and an assist for his first points of the playoffs, and Mark Van Guilder buried a rebound chance at 10:42 of the second overtime to send Milwaukee into the second round with a 3-2 win over visiting Texas on Monday at the Bradley Center.
The Admirals captured this division semifinal by a 4-2 margin and move on to battle Houston in the West Division Finals, beginning on Friday in Milwaukee.
On the winning sequence, Milwaukee forward Ryan Thang threw a shot on goal from the right face-off circle. Stars goaltender Richard Bachman made the initial stop, but Van Guilder was waiting for the rebound in the right slot and roofed it past Bachman.
Defenseman Brett Palin also assisted on the goal, which gave the Admirals their second consecutive overtime victory in this series.
Bartlett and Andreas Thuresson netted regulation goals for Milwaukee, which took leads of 1-0 and 2-1 in the first and third periods, respectively. The Stars answered both times on strikes by Colton Sceviour and Travis Morin, the latter tying it up at 2-2 with 7:14 gone in the third frame.
Bartlett and Thuresson each finished with a goal and an assist on the night, and Admirals rookie goaltender Jeremy Smith picked up the win after making 52 saves, including 19 during the two overtimes.
The Stars suffered a first-round elimination one year after reaching the 2010 Calder Cup Finals in their inaugural season. Milwaukee, meanwhile, will have a chance to avenge a seven-game loss to Houston in the 2009 West Division Finals.
West Division Semifinal – Series “G” (best-of-7)
W1-Milwaukee Admirals vs. W4-Texas Stars || Preview
Game 1 – Thu., Apr. 14 – MILWAUKEE 5, Texas 2
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 16 – Texas 3, MILWAUKEE 1
Game 3 – Tue., Apr. 19 – TEXAS 3, Milwaukee 2 (OT)
Game 4 – Wed., Apr. 20 – Milwaukee 3, TEXAS 2
Game 5 – Fri., Apr. 22 – Milwaukee 2, TEXAS 1 (OT)
Game 6 – Mon., Apr. 25 – MILWAUKEE 3, Texas 2 (2OT)
