Admirals blank Marlies, 2-0

MILWAUKEE -- Jeremy Smith made 33 saves for his first shutout of the season and Mark Van Guilder posted two goals for the second consecutive game as the Admirals topped the Toronto Marlies 2-0 Friday night at the Bradley Center.

The Admirals jumped out to an early lead when Van Guilder scored his sixth goal of the season at 15:11 of the first. Linemate Ryan Flynn carried puck behind the Toronto net and then threaded a pass through traffic to Van Guilder, who let go a quick wrister for the goal. Gabriel Bourque added an assist on the play.

The second period saw no scoring, while each team failed in their only power-play opportunity. The Marlies outshot Milwaukee 9-3 in the frame.

Van Guilder gave the Ads an insurance goal with a short-handed tally at 6:37 of the third. Van Guilder deflected a Toronto pass at their own blueline and the puck squirted loose to center ice. He scooped it up and then skated in on a breakaway before beating Marlies’ netminder Brian Scrivens five-hole. It was the first shortie of the season for the Admirals, the last team in the league to score while on the penalty kill.

From there Smith, who made 15 of this 32 saves during the third period, anchored the defense as Milwaukee recorded their first shutout since they topped Peoria 3-0 on February 19th last season.

The two-goal game for Van Guilder was the third of his career and he now shows seven points (5g-2a) in his last seven games.

The Admirals travel to Rockford on Saturday night at 7:00 pm before returning to the Bradley Center on Sunday afternoon to host the Peoria Rivermen at 5:00 pm.