MILWAUKEE – A 3-0 deficit proved too much for the Grand Rapids Griffins to overcome Thursday, as the Milwaukee Admirals turned on the jets early and cruised to a 4-2 victory at the Bradley Center.

After falling in its final visit to Milwaukee (33-25-3-2) of the 2007-08 campaign, Grand Rapids (26-30-2-5) looks to fare better in its last stop in Cleveland Saturday, where a meeting with the Lake Erie Monsters at 7:30 p.m. awaits.

Nolan Yonkman forced a Grand Rapids turnover in the neutral zone that sparked the Admirals’ first goal of the evening. Yonkman poked the puck free and played it ahead to Rich Peverly, who zipped a wrist shot from the top of the right wing circle under Adam Berkhoel’s right arm at 2:03.

Milwaukee added to its lead later in the first during its second power play opportunity of the game. Cal O’Reilly skated into the slot, took a drop feed from Antti Pihlstrom and relayed the puck to a streaking Matt Ellison on his right. Ellison went far side, finding the net past Berkhoel’s right shoulder to give the Admirals a 2-0 edge heading into the break.

Milwaukee came out in the middle frame picked up where it left off, extending its lead to 3-0 at 4:44. The Admirals played the puck in front of the Grand Rapids net, and the disc deflected off a Griffins defender and came to a rest behind Berkhoel. Peverly had no trouble filling the cage from less than a foot away for his second tally of the contest.

Darren Helm, sending a rebound back on net from the lower part of the right wing circle, put the Griffins on the board 2:17 before the second intermission. From the left corner, Garrett Stafford found Ryan Oulahen at the left point and Oulahen fired a shot to set up Helm’s goal.

After the Admirals dumped the puck into the Grand Rapids zone early in the third, Stafford was knocked from his feet while giving chase. That allowed Milwaukee to center the puck, where Kelsey Wilson put the Admirals on top 4-1 at 2:14. The Griffins kept within striking distance as Kyle Quincey’s power play laser from the right point off the draw at 15:22 brought Grand Rapids back within two.

Berkhoel vacated the net with just over a minute remaining, but Grand Rapids could not draw any closer with the extra attacker. Berkhoel finished the game with 15 saves, while his Milwaukee counterpart, Pekka Rinne, recorded 29 stops. Stafford had two assists for the Griffins, his seventh multiple-point outing of the season.

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