Milwaukee, WI- Mike Santorelli and Andreas Thuresson each posted a goal and an assist while Mark Dekanich turned aside 24 of 25 shots as the Admirals posted a 4-1 win over the Peoria Rivermen on Tuesday afternoon to secure their spot in the 2010 Calder Cup Playoffs. The Ads will either be the third or fourth seed in the West Division and play Texas or Chicago in the first round beginning next week.

After a scoreless opening period the Ads finally broke the tie at 4:40 of the second period. Mike Santorelli utilized his speed to bring the puck up the left side. Andreas Thuresson broke with him up the right side. Santorelli found Thuresson with a pass that Thuresson flipped past Peoria’s Ben Bishop for a 1-0 Milwaukee lead.

The Admirals clung to a tenuous 1-0 lead well into the third period. Milwaukee, looking for an insurance goal, turned up the heat on the Rivermen with their second goal of the contest. The Admirals Hugh Jessiman retrieved the puck deep in the Peoria zone and chipped a perfect backhand pass to a crashing Chris Mueller who beat Bishop for a 2-0 lead.

Mike Santorelli put added some cushion to the Milwaukee lead. Midway through the third he grabbed the puck from the right corner and raced into the front of the Peoria net before beating Bishop five-hole for a 3-0 lead.

Peoria provided some late resistance with a hard slapshot from Lars Eller that deflected off an Admirals player and found the back of the net. The power play goal trimmed Milwaukee’s lead to 3-1 with 3:13 remaining. But the Admirals skated hard to fend off the Rivermen’s late charge and iced their spot in the post-season with a Teemu Laakso empty net goal with 1:17 remaining.

The Admirals finish up the regular season with three games this week, beginning tomorrow night in Chicago. The Ads play their last two games of the season at home beginning on Friday, April 9 at 7:00 pm against the Wolves. Fans can buy tickets for the final regular season home games or for the first two playoff games by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Groups of ten or more people receive a minimum of $2 off of each ticket. For more information or to order group tickets call the Admirals office at (414) 227-0550.