Hagel Nets Teddy Bear Goal, but Ads Cruise to 5-2 Victory

ROCKFORD IL. – Brandon Hagel scored a goal in the first period to unleash a flurry of teddy bears on Teddy Bear Toss night, but it was all Milwaukee from there as the Admirals coasted to a 5-2 win over the Rockford IceHogs Saturday night at the BMO Harris Bank Center.

The Admirals netted the game’s first goal 4:08 into the opening frame when Lukas Craggs beat IceHogs netminder, Kevin Lankinen, for the first goal of his AHL career.

However, just under two minutes later, Matthew Highmore disrupted a play inside Rockford’s blue line to spring Hagel on a break the other way. Hagel turned on the afterburners, blew by a Milwaukee defender and shelfed a snap shot over Grosenick’s shoulder to even the score and trigger the tossing of 4,369 stuffed animals onto the ice.

With the goal, Hagel now leads the team with seven tucks over his last 16 games sine Oct. 30.

Nearing the second intermission, though, Steven Santini notched his first of the season to put the Admirals back on top, 2-1.

Both Tommy Novak and Mathieu Oliver lit the lamp for the visiting team in the second period to increase the score to 4-1. Anthony Richard then added to the Admirals’ lead 3:18 into the final 20 to put the game out of the Hogs’ reach.

Philipp Kurashev potted his third of the campaign with 3:53 remaining in the third to bring Rockford within three goals, but it was too little, too late as the clock ran out on Rockford’s comeback effort.