Milwaukee, WI – The Admirals kicked off their two-game set against the Charlotte Checkers with a commanding 4-1 victory, fueled by stellar goaltending from Matt Murray and Cal O’Reilly’s three point night.

After a scoreless first, the Admirals grabbed the momentum courtesy of a fight between the Ads Kyle Marino and Charlotte’s Trevor Carrick with Marino coming out on top. Shortly thereafter, O’Reilly got the Admirals on the board 6:28 into the second when he buried a backdoor rebound off Jack Matier’s shot during four-on-four play to make it 1-0.

Early in the third, Charlotte tied the game when former Admirals John Leonard scored just after a Milwaukee penalty expired  to level the score at one.

Roughly a minute later Ryder Rolston answered for the Admirals, finding a lane on the outside, turning the corner on the Checkers’ defense, and sniping a shot top shelf on Ken Appleby to quickly regain the lead at 2-1.

Milwaukee sealed the deal late in the game with a pair of empty-net goals. Captain Kevin Gravel scored the first with 1:47 remaining and then Jake Lucchini added the second at 18:59 to secure the 4-1 victory.

O’Reilly’s goal and two assists on the night made it four straight multi-point games for the 38-year old, during which he has tallied five goals and five assists for a total of 10 points. In addition, Gravel and Lucchini each had two point nights while Rolston’s goal extended his scoring streak to six games.

Goaltender Matt Murray was phenomenal, making 42 saves and shutting down Charlotte’s relentless offensive attack for his third straight win and 12th on the season.

The Admirals will look to carry this momentum into tomorrow’s rematch with the Checkers at 6 pm at Panther Arena as they continue their five-game homestand.