Pressure situations are nothing new for the Milwaukee Admirals, who will be playing their fourth sweep of the last three postseason games today.
The head coach Karl Taylor knew his team was in contention, so it was no surprise that the Central Division Finals came down to Game 5.
“It’s hard to win this time of year,” Taylor told reporters after Friday night’s 4-2 loss to Milwaukee in Game 4. “It’s disappointing but the good thing is that we have another game to play.”
The Admirals built a 2-0 lead in the second half of Game 4 but couldn’t extend it, failing to score in three minutes and 11 seconds of 5-on-3 power play time. Grand Rapids pulled out the win with four straight runs in the third period.
“They are a good team. They backed off,” said Taylor. “We played a smart, mature game. And unfortunately we didn’t.
“There are five teams left out of 32. We are happy to play [tonight].”
Joel L’Esperance was midway through the Griffins’ Game 4 comeback, scoring the tying goal on the power play with 10:27 left.
“We got some emotions, and we got some big goals at a big time,” the Michigan native told reporters after the game.
“We have an endless team here. We can lose by two or three goals and we know we have a chance.”
During the second half on Friday, the head coach Dan Watson he reminded his team to stay focused.
“Now it’s time for us not to get too high,” he said, looking ahead to today’s decider. “Make sure we stay on the level. What we talked about after the game is to remember the feeling, to remember the emotions, to remember the intensity. Remembering how hard it was.”
L’Esperance followed his coach’s words. “You don’t want to ride that long, but you want to hold on to that feeling we had.”
“You want to talk about a strong Game 4?” Watson said. “Just wait until Game 5 in their building.”
― with files from Patrick Williams
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