Watson wires winner for Admirals

The Milwaukee Admirals remained perfect three games into its 2016-17 American Hockey League with a 2-1 win at Allstate Arena Wednesday (Oct 19) against the host Chicago Wolves.

Austin Watson, a 24-year-old forward from Ann Arbor Michigan broke a 1-1 draw near the midway mark of the second period as he plays toward a return to the Nashville Predators who selected him in the First Round (18th Overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. Last season Watson played 57 games with the Predators.

His goal stood up as the game winner, thanks in part to a 30-save effort from Juuse Saros in goal for the Ads.

Wolves’ only goal came from Kenny Agostino who notched his first for the organization after coming over from the Stockton Heat where he played last season. A Fifth Round (140th Overall) selection of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Agostino graduated from Yale University in 2014 and played with the Calgary organizations after being dealt there as part of a trade for Jarome Iginla the previous year and signed on with the St. Louis Blues as a Free Agent this past summer.

The Wolves lead lasted just 39 seconds though as Trevor Smith scored the equalizer for the Ads. Smith is an AHL vet who played with the Toronto Marlies and the Toronto Maple Leafs for much of the previous couple of seasons before a brief stint with SC Bern in Switzerland last season.

Phoenix Copley got the start for the Wolves, turning aside 28 of 30 Milwaukee chances.

This Weekend in the AHL

There is one AHL game on tap Thursday, but no Midwest based teams will be in action. On Friday: The Rockford Ice Hogs will look to break into the win column, but it will be tough as the team travels to Grand Rapids to meet the 3-0 Griffins at the Van Andel Arena and the Iowa Wild will play host to the Charlotte Checkers at the Wells Fargo Center

On Saturday, a Central Division championship series rematch will take place with the Cleveland Monsters in town to face the Grand Rapids Griffins and the Checkers will stay on to play a second game against the Wild in Des Moines. The BMO Harris Bank Center in Rockford will host the Rockford IceHogs against the Admirals and the Chicago Wolves will travel to the AT&T Center in San Antonio to play the host Rampage.

The Wolves will stay on to play the Rampage in San Antonio on Sunday while the Monsters will be in Rockford for its third meeting already with the IceHogs.