Admirals strike late to drop Wolves 2-1

ROSEMONT - Milwaukee's Vladislav Kamenev knocked home a rebound with 2:12 left to lift the Admirals to a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Wolves on Sunday afternoon in an Amtrak Rivalry clash at Allstate Arena.

Forward Jeremy Welsh scored midway through the second period to give the Wolves (28-29-5-3) the lead, but the Admirals (40-21-3-1) rallied with two goals in the third period.

"We didn't play great today," said Wolves head coach John Anderson. "They took the play to us a bit. If we had been a little more judicious with the puck, maybe the outcome would have been different."

The Wolves opened the scoring at 10:43 of the second period with Welsh's power-play goal. Ty Rattie zipped a pass from the right point to the left point for Jordan Schmaltz, who gunned a shot on net that Welsh redirected past Admirals goaltender Marek Mazanec.

Milwaukee made it 1-1 57 seconds into the third. Adam Payerl claimed a Wolves turnover, skated into the right circle and sent a pass across the slot to Kevin Fiala for a quick strike from close range.

The Admirals took the lead with 2:12 to go when center Vladislav Kamenev backhanded a rebound past Wolves goaltender Pheonix Copley. Kamenev set up just outside the crease when Copley stopped Stefan Elliott's shot from the high slot. The rebound dropped to the ice and Kamenev used his reach to knock it home.

The Wolves pulled Copley for an extra attacker with 1:31 left and enjoyed a 6-on-4 advantage for the final 27 seconds, but couldn't find the equalizer.

Mazanec (18-14-4) posted 19 saves to pick up the win while Copley (12-15-3) rejected 35 of 37 shots, which included Felix Girard's penalty shot at 12:41 of the second.

The Wolves host Charlotte at 7 p.m. Wednesday for a critical Central Division showdown at Allstate Arena.