Grand Rapids, MI— Jordan Oesterle scored the game-winning goal as the Milwaukee Admirals defeated the Grand Rapids Griffins 5-4 in overtime Tuesday at Van Andel Arena.
The game was originally scheduled for Mar. 13, but dangerous ice conditions after a power outage forced the game to be postponed.
Milwaukee never had a lead in the contest until Oesterle scored the overtime winner. It was his 11th goal of the season and his fourth game-winner. During 3-on-3 play in the OT session Oesterle had the puck in front of the Griffins net. As the goalie sprawled for the puck, Oesterle was able to hold until the net opened. He snapped the puck into the goal for his second straight game-winning goal. Austin Roest and Ryder Rolston assisted on the winner.
The Admirals Magic Number to clinch a playoff spot dropped to 16. That’s a combination of points earned by the Admirals and lost by the Iowa Wild.
The teams alternated scoring goals in the first period with the Griffins scoring first. Carter Mazur deflected a shot from the point past Admirals goalie Matt Murray at 1:10 of the first period.
Milwaukee tied the game with a power play goal at 4:14 of the first frame. Joey Willis fed a pass from the left boards to David Edstrom at the bottom of the left circle. Edstrom took a stride toward the net, then passed the puck to the right post for Oasiz Wiesblatt to slam into the goal. It was Wiesblatt’s 12th goal and his eighth on the power play.
Grand Rapids reclaimed the lead at 5:15 when defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka’s shot from center point found the back of the net.
The Admirals tied the game 2-2 at 15:47 of the first period with another power play tally. Massimo Rizzo held the left point and tossed the puck to the right circle. Isaac Ratcliffe settled the puck and snapped a pass to the left post for Kyle Marino to tip into the cage. Marino’s fifth goal of the season was also his first scored while his team was on the man advantage this year.
The Griffins took a 3-2 lead at 2:14 of the second period when John Leonard scored a shorthanded goal for the Griffins. It was his 30th goal of the season and his eighth in seven games against the Admirals.
Milwaukee’s Ratcliffe evened the score at 3-3 when he scored his sixth goal of the season at 16:07 of the second stanza. Ratcliffe picked the puck off the left-wing boards and rushed to the goal, sliding the puck into the net past goalie Sebastian Cossa. Andrew Gibson and Cole O’Hara picked up assists.
Austin Watson scored with a slap shot from the point at 3:08 of the third frame to reclaim a one-goal lead for the Griffins, but M Milwaukee’s Joey Willis tied it again at 4-4. Willis skated off the right wing boards in the Griffins Zoe and snapped a wrist shot past the glove of Cossa. It was his fifth goal of the year. Marino and Tanner Molendyk recorded the helpers.
The Admirals will host Henderson at Historic Panther Arena Fri., Mar. 27 and Sat., Mar. 28.
The Boston Bruins have signed forward James Hagens to an amateur tryout agreement with the AHL’s Providence Bruins.
“We’re very excited to have James join the Bruins organization and take this next step,” said general manager Don Sweeney. “James is an important part of our future, and this is a great opportunity for him to get immediate experience at the professional level in Providence and continue his development.”
The 19-year-old Hagens was selected by Boston with the seventh overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. He led the Hockey East conference in scoring with 47 points (23 goals, 24 assists) in 34 games at Boston College as a sophomore this season. In 2024-25, Hagens was named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team after recording 37 points in 37 games.
A native of Hauppauge, N.Y., Hagens has represented the United States in two IIHF World Junior Championship tournaments (2025, 2026) and two IIHF U-18 Men’s World Championships (2023, 2024), winning gold medals at the 2025 World Juniors and the 2023 U-18 events.
Winnipeg, MB – The Tucson Roadrunners (29-23-9-0) extended its winning streak to four games and completed the series sweep over the Manitoba Moose (29-24-5-1) with a 4-1 win on Monday at Canada Life Centre.
Tucson overcame an early deficit with four unanswered goals, led by a two-goal performance from Austin Poganski. He tied the game just three minutes after Manitoba opened the scoring, then netted the eventual game-winner on the power play 53 seconds into the second period.
Scott Perunovich doubled Tucson’s lead midway through the second period, and finished with a goal and an assist for a two-point night. Andrew Agozzino also recorded a multi-point night with two assists, both coming on Poganski’s goals.
Six Roadrunners recorded at least one point in the victory. Julian Lutz scored his fifth goal of the season at 5:48 of the third period to extend the lead to 4-1. The rookie trio of Daniil But, Owen Allard and Dmitri Simashev each tallied an assist, while Robbie Russo and Michal Kunc also contributed helpers.
Goaltender Matthew Villalta stopped 20 of 21 shots to earn his second consecutive win and 16th of the season.
With the win, Tucson remains in eighth place in the Pacific Division with 67 points, now three points behind San Diego for the final playoff spot.
Monday’s victory marked the final meeting of the season between the two teams, with Tucson and Manitoba splitting the series 2-2-0-0 — each winning both games on the road.
HIGHLIGHTS
TEAM NOTES
For the second game in a row, the Roadrunners scored its fastest goal of the season to begin a second or third period this season after Austin Poganski scored on the power play at 0:53 of the second period. The previous fastest was Daniil But’s power-play goal at 0:59 of the second period at Manitoba on Mar. 21.
Tucson has scored four or more goals in each of its last five games, dating back to March 11 vs. Henderson, totaling 25 goals (5.00 per game) over that span.
The Roadrunners are now 12-6-0-0 in their last 18 road games, dating back to 1/2 at CGY, and 16-11-2-0 overall this season.
Tucson is 9-0-0-0 when leading after two periods on the road (15-0-3-0 overall).
The Roadrunners are 10-0-1-0 when scoring four or more goals on the road (20-0-3-0 overall).
Tucson is 8-3-1-0 in Game 2’s on the road.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Monday’s victory was Matthew Villalta’s 65th as a Roadrunner, one shy of tying Adin Hill for first all-time in franchise history (66). It also marked his 125th game with Tucson, tying Ivan Prosvetov for second all-time in franchise history.
Austin Poganski recorded his second multi-goal game of the season and team-high 13th multi-point gameafter scoring his 19th and 20th goal of the season. He also tallied the game-winning goal for the second game in a row and now leads Tucson with four.
Monday’s pair of goalsextended Poganski’s point streak to a season-high five games, dating back to Mar. 11 vs HSK, tallying nine points (6g, 3a) in that span. He has both found the back of the net and recorded a multi-point game in four of his last five games.
Poganski’s second-period power-play goal marked his fifth power-play tally of the season, tying his career high of five in a season (2023–24 Tucson; 2018–19 San Antonio).
Scott Perunovich recorded his 10th multi-point game of the season with a goal and an assist after tallying his team-high 33rd assist of the season on Austin Poganski’s first-period goal, and his eighth goal of the season in the second period to put Tucson ahead 3-1.
Perunovich now sits two assists shy of tying Jamie McBain for the most in a single season by a Roadrunners defenseman (35 in 2016-2017) and two points shy of tying Kyle Wood and Jamie McBain for the most points by a Roadrunners defenseman in a single season (43).
Wednesday’s performance also extended Perunovich’s assist and point streak to three games, dating back to Mar. 15 vs SJ, tallying five points (1g, 4a) in that span.
Among all AHL defensemen, Perunovuch now ranks tied for fourth in assists (33) and fifth in points (41).
Andrew Agozzino recorded his 17th and 18th assist of the season on both of Austin Poganski’s goals. His first helper marked the 375th assist of his AHL career.
Monday also marked Agozzino’s eighth multi-point game and fourth multi-assist game of the season.
Agozzino also extended his point streak to a season-high five games, dating back to Mar. 11 vs HSK, tallying 11 points (5g, 6a) in that span. He has recorded a multi-point game in four of his last five games.
Daniil But recorded his 17th assist of the season after collecting the primary assist on Austin Poganski’s second-period power-play goal. Monday’s helper extended But’s point streak to four games, dating back to Mar. 14 vs SJ, tied for his longest of the season, tallying nine points (4g, 5a) in that span.
With 16-17–33 in 34 games, But ranks third among qualifying AHL rookies in points-per-game (.97).
Dmitri Simashev tallied his 26th assist of the season on Julian Lutz’s third-period goal to extend his assist streak to a team season-high five games, dating back to Mar. 11 vs HSK, tallying six assists in that span.
Among AHL rookie defensemen, Simashev ranks first in points-per-game (0.94), tied for second in assists (26) and third in points (34).
Robbie Russo recorded an assist for the second-straight game after tallying his ninth of the season on Scott Perunovich’s second-period goal. He now has four assists in his last four games, dating back to Mar. 11 vs HSK.
(From left to right) Scott Perunovich, Austin Poganski, Dmitri Simashev, Andrew Agozzino and Daniil But combined for three goals and five assists for eight points in Tucson’s 4-1 win over Manitoba on Monday. (Photo: Manitoba Moose)
THE RUNDOWN
FIRST PERIOD
Tucson fell behind 7:15 into the contest as Jaret Anderson-Dolan set up Danny Zhilkin with a dazzling backhand pass. Zhilkin fired a one-timer from inside the right faceoff circle that beat Matthew Villalta glove side to give Manitoba a 1-0 lead.
The goal capped a 5-1 shot advantage for the Moose through the opening five minutes. Despite the early pressure, Tucson responded with a strong penalty kill shortly after, not allowing a shot on Manitoba’s power play.
The successful penalty kill gave Tucson a spark and Austin Poganski tied the game at 1-1 three minutes later, deflecting home a low shot-pass from Andrew Agozzino that beat Moose goaltender Domenic DiVincentiis high on the glove side.
Tucson returned to the penalty kill at 14:30 and successfully weathered the man advantage, allowing four shots but keeping the game even with help from Villalta.
The Roadrunners earned a power play at 19:06 and generated a pair of shots, both from Poganski, but DiVincentiis stood tall to keep it tied 1-1 after 20 minutes, with Manitoba holding a 13-8 edge in shots.
SECOND PERIOD
Tucson’s late man advantage in the first period carried over into the second and Poganski scored his second goal of the game on the power play just 53 seconds into the middle frame. Poganski redirected Daniil But’s slap shot from the top of the crease to give Tucson a 2-1 lead.
Tucson’s penalty kill remained strong, denying Manitoba on another power play at 5:30 and holding the Moose without a shot for the second time in the game.
Following Poganski’s goal, the Roadrunners controlled the pace, holding a 6-2 shot advantage early in the period and generating multiple Grade-A chances, though they were unable to extend the lead through the midway point.
However, Tucson’s sustain pressured was too much for Manitoba and Scott Perunovich pushed the lead to 3-1 at 12:23. Robbie Russo and Owen Allard helped free a loose puck that found Perunovich, whose shot from along the goal line slipped through the pads of DiVincentiis.
Tucson continued to dictate play in the latter half of the period, outshooting Manitoba 9-4 in the period. The Moose were given another power-play opportunity, but the Roadrunners once again held them without a shot and carried a 3-1 lead into the third period.
THIRD PERIOD
The Roadrunners were unable to convert on the power play early in the final frame, but Julian Lutz extended Tucson’s lead to 4-1 shortly after at 5:48. Lutz deflected Dmitri Simashev’s shot from the left point past DiVincentiis to give the Roadrunners a three-goal cushion.
Tucson locked things down defensively from then on, allowing just three shots over the final 14 minutes to secure the 4-1 victory.
UP NEXT
The Roadrunners will return home to host the Ontario Reign in a two-game set on Friday and Saturday. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m. AZT.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that Henderson Silver Knights forward Raphael Lavoie has been selected as the Howies Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending March 22, 2026.
Lavoie tallied five goals and three assists for eight points in four games last week as Henderson continued to climb up the Pacific Division standings.
On Tuesday evening, Lavoie recorded two goals and an assist in the Silver Knights’ 6-5 win at Calgary, and he added a goal and an assist in Wednesday’s 8-2 win over the Wranglers as Henderson completed a perfect road trip with its sixth straight victory. Back home on Saturday, Lavoie notched an assist in a 6-3 loss to Texas before scoring two more goals in a 7-2 win over the Stars on Sunday.
Lavoie ended the week having picked up points in seven consecutive outings (9g, 6a), and since the All-Star break he has tallied 13 goals and 10 assists while the Silver Knights have gone 13-3-0-2.
Lavoie has totaled 22 goals and 19 assists for 41 points in just 34 games with Henderson this season, his sixth pro campaign and second with the Vegas organization. Selected by Edmonton in the second round of the 2019 NHL Draft, the native of Chambly, Que., has registered 110 goals and 89 assists for 199 points in 278 career AHL contests with Henderson and Bakersfield, and has skated in 17 games in the NHL with the Oilers and Golden Knights.
ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Iowa Wild scored four unanswered goals in the third period to rally and take a 6-4 win over the Chicago Wolves at Allstate Arena on Sunday night. Dylan Gambrell posted a hat trick while Nicolas Aubé-Kubel recorded three assists in the victory.
Gambrell collected his own rebound and beat Amir Miftakhov (18 saves) 3:43 into the game to give Iowa a 1-0 lead. David Spacek assisted on the opening goal.
Ryan Suzuki snuck a wrister between Cal Petersen (six saves) and the near post at 4:18 to tie the game.
Ronan Seeley beat Petersen through a screen on the power play at 17:17.
William Rousseau (20 saves) replaced Petersen for the final 40:53 following a spearing major to Iowa’s goaltender.
Iowa and Chicago took nine shots apiece in the opening 20 minutes.
Evan Vierling found the back of the net on the power play 3:58 in the middle frame to extend Chicago’s lead to 3-1.
Aubé-Kubel set up Gambrell at the top of the crease at 9:36 to pull the Wild back within a goal.
Charles Alexis Legault deflected a centering feed from Nikita Pavlychev over Rousseau at 12:09 to restore a two-goal lead for the Wolves.
Chicago outshot Iowa 19-17 through two periods.
Rasmus Kumpulainen scored his first AHL goal 3:56 into the third period when he tipped Roman Schmidt’s point shot under Miftakhov. Aubé-Kubel picked up a secondary assist on Kumpulainen’s goal.
Schmidt and Kumpulainen combined to set up Caedan Bankier for a game-tying wrister past the glove of Miftakhov at 9:52.
Aubé-Kubel redirected Spacek’s point shot on goal and Riley Heidt buried the rebound to give Iowa the lead for good with 6:45 remaining.
Gambrell completed the hat trick at 16:43 of the third period. After Jean-Luc Foudy sent the puck off the wall, Gerry Mayhew threw a spinning backhand feed that Gambrell deflected inside the far post.
Chicago outshot Iowa 30-24. The Wild finished 1-for-4 with the man advantage while the Wolves went 2-for-5 on the power play.
Iowa hosts Chicago at Casey’s Center on Wednesday, Mar. 25 at 7 p.m.
LOVELAND, CO. – Colorado scored three straight goals to erase a 2-0 deficit but surrendered the game-winning goal 3:20 into sudden-death overtime, as the Eagles fell to the Coachella Valley Firebirds 4-3 on Sunday. Eagles forward Jayson Megna led the offense with a pair of tallies, but Coachella Valley forward Oscar Fisker Molgaard notched two goals and two assists, including the game-winner, to lead all skaters on the ice. Goalie Victor Ostman earned the win in net, making 24 saves on 27 shots.
Coachella Valley would strike first, as forward Lleyton Roed stuffed home a rebound at the top of the crease, putting the Firebirds on top 1-0 at the 8:32 mark of the first period.
A 2-on-1 rush would then set up Coachella Valley defenseman Ty Nelson to light the lamp with a wrister from the left-wing circle, pushing the Firebirds advantage to 2-0 with 6:39 remaining in the opening frame.
Colorado would jump on the scoreboard when Megna darted into the zone and buried a shot from the left-wing circle, trimming the deficit to 2-1 just 37 seconds into the second period.
A power play late in the middle frame would see forward Alex Barre-Boulet drive down the end line before curling to the top of the crease and tucking home a wrister, tying the game at 2-2 with 1:39 remaining in the period.
Still deadlocked at 2-2 as the puck dropped on the third period, the Eagles would flip the script on the penalty kill, as Megna netted a shorthanded goal on a breakaway at the 7:37 mark of the final frame, putting Colorado on top, 3-2.
Coachella Valley would respond just 5:12 later when Fisker Molgaard lit the lamp with a shot from the side of the net, evening the score at 3-3.
As the game shifted to sudden-death overtime, the Firebirds would cap off a 2-on-1 rush when Fisker Molgaard collected a pass at the side of the crease before steering the puck into the back of the net, giving Coachella Valley the 4-3 victory at the 3:20 mark.
Miner suffered the loss in net, allowing four goals on 35 shots. Colorado finished the afternoon going 1-for-3 on the power play and a perfect 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.
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