Admirals ice the Rampage, 3-1

MILWAUKEE -- Goalie Jeremy Smith stopped 33 shots and Ryan Flynn scored twice to give the Milwaukee Admirals a 3-1 win at San Antonio Saturday.

Smith improved to 7-0 in seven lifetime starts against San Antonio. Milwaukee has won three straight and continues to climb in the AHL’s Western Conference.

The Admirals scored on the team’s first shot on goal at 3:40 of the first period. Flynn carried the puck from behind the Rampage net to the bottom of the left circle, turned and shot the puck past goalie Jacob Markstrom into the San Antonio net for his seventh goal of the season. Kevin Henderson and Teemu Laakso recorded the assists.

The Admirals claimed a two-goal lead as Kyle Wilson deflected Scott Ford’s shot from the right point past Markstrom for his 22nd goal of the season. Ford and Ryan Thang recorded the helpers.

San Antonio finally got on the board with 1:24 remaining in the second period when former Admirals forward Bracken Kearns slapped his 20th goal into the net after a scramble in front of Smith.

Flynn added an empty-netter, his second goal of the game, with 27 seconds to play to ice the win. Admirals forward Chris Mueller was able to wrestle the puck from Rampage defenseman Tyson Strachan and passed to Flynn for the goal, his eighth goal of the season.

Milwaukee continues its seven-game road trip with a visit to Houston Sunday. The next, and final, Admirals home game of the season is Sunday, Apr 15 as the Charlotte Checkers visit the Bradley Center at 3pm.