Admirals captain Cole Schneider scored with 4:07 left in regulation to lift Milwaukee to a 3-2 win over Manitoba in the opener of their best-of-five Central Division Semifinal series on Friday night.
Game 2 is set for Saturday evening in Milwaukee before the series shifts to Winnipeg for the final three games.
Coming off the first 30-goal season of his 10-year pro career, Schneider netted his first goal in 13 career Calder Cup Playoff games to give the Admirals their third one-goal lead of the night.
Devin Cooley (1-0), who got the start with Connor Ingram on NHL recall to Nashville, made 14 of his 40 saves in the third period to preserve the win.
Brayden Burke and Matt Donovan also scored for Milwaukee, and Tommy Novak recorded three assists.
C.J. Suess and Declan Chisholm scored for the Moose, who owned a 42-21 advantage in shots on goal.
Mikhail Berdin (0-1) made 18 saves in the loss.
Central Division Semifinals – Series “M” (best-of-5)
C2-Manitoba Moose vs. C3-Milwaukee Admirals
Game 1 – Fri., May 6 – MILWAUKEE 3, Manitoba 2
Game 2 – Sat., May 7 – Manitoba at Milwaukee, 7:00
Game 3 – Wed., May 11 – Milwaukee at Manitoba, 8:00
*Game 4 – Fri., May 13 – Milwaukee at Manitoba, 8:00
*Game 5 – Sun., May 15 – Milwaukee at Manitoba, 3:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern