MILWAUKEE – Jake Lucchini scored the game-winning goal 62 seconds into overtime to lift the Admirals to a 2-1 win over the Iowa Wild in their first game of the new year.

Magnus Chrona stopped 31 shots in net for Milwaukee to pick up his seventh win of the season, while Joakim Kemell also lit the lamp for the Ads.

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Milwaukee fired 39 shots on goal, their second-highest total this season and the third straight game they have topped the 30-shots plateau.

The Admirals dominated the early going, outshooting the Wild 17-5 through the first 15 minutes of the game. Kemell would give the Ads a 1-0 lead with his eighth goal of the season at the 14:59 mark of the opening frame. Kemell grabbed a loose puck on the Milwaukee blueline and skated in on a two-on-one before sending a snapshot over the glove of Iowa goalie William Rousseau.

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The Wild knotted the game at one at 8:30 of the second period when Matthew Sop found a loose puck near the Ads net and managed to poke it past netminder Chrona.  

The score remained the way until a minute into overtime when Marc Del Gaizo won a puck battle along the far boards in the Iowa zone and found a streaking Lucchini, whose wicked wrister beat Rousseau glove-side to secure the win. It was the eighth goal of the season for Lucchini and his second career OT winner.

The Admirals continue their five-game home stand when they host Grand Rapids at 6 p.m. Saturday. The first 4,000 fans will take home a retro Admirals winter hat.

The Milwaukee Brewers were one of the best teams in the National League in 2024.

Milwaukee didn’t enter the season with very high expectations, but it certainly surprised people. The Brewers won 93 games and finished atop the National League Central standings to the surprise of many. Milwaukee made some serious changes before the season with Craig Counsell opting to leave the team to manage the Chicago Cubs. The Brewers also traded Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles.

While this is the case, the Brewers shined. Milwaukee has an exciting, young roster and seems to be building something special.

The 2025 season should be a fun one. Milwaukee surely will get great play from expected parties like Christian Yelich and William Contreras. But there will be other players to look out for. MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy pegged lefty Aaron Ashby as the player most likely to breako ut in 2025.

“Ashby has already had two mini-breakouts, one in 2022, when he signed a five-year contract extension, and another late last season when he returned from two tough years of injury to become a lights-out reliever. The Brewers hope that Ashby will build on the confidence of last year, when he delivered a 1.98 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 13 2/3 relief innings in September, and that he’ll benefit from a normal, healthy offseason.

“Pitching coach Chris Hook has said he would love to see Ashby compete for a return to the rotation. As a fallback, the Brewers know they have a terrific lefty reliever who was so good he might even figure into the closer conversation.”

He’s just 26 years old but was in the 83rd percentile in fastball velocity despite overcoming injuries. He had a 2.86 overall ERA in 14 appearances — including two starts. The Brewers have been great at developing pitching. Maybe they can get Ashby right for the 2025 season.

More MLB: Why Brewers Should Sign Ex-Red Sox Starter To $60 Million Deal

Associated Press

Portland Trail Blazers (11-21, 13th in the Western Conference) vs. Milwaukee Bucks (17-15, fifth in the Eastern Conference)

Milwaukee; Saturday, 8 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Portland will attempt to end its seven-game road slide when the Trail Blazers face Milwaukee.

The Bucks are 11-6 in home games. Milwaukee has a 9-7 record in games decided by 10 points or more.

The Trail Blazers are 3-14 on the road. Portland has a 3-2 record in games decided by 3 points or fewer.

The Bucks are shooting 47.7% from the field this season, 0.4 percentage points lower than the 48.1% the Trail Blazers allow to opponents. The Trail Blazers are shooting 44.5% from the field, 0.7% lower than the 45.2% the Bucks’ opponents have shot this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Giannis Antetokounmpo is averaging 32.4 points, 11.7 rebounds, six assists and 1.5 blocks for the Bucks.

Jerami Grant is scoring 15.0 points per game and averaging 3.6 rebounds for the Trail Blazers.

LAST 10 GAMES: Bucks: 6-4, averaging 111.3 points, 43.2 rebounds, 26.1 assists, 9.0 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 47.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 109.2 points per game.

Trail Blazers: 3-6, averaging 110.8 points, 43.8 rebounds, 24.5 assists, 7.2 steals and 4.6 blocks per game while shooting 46.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 119.2 points.

INJURIES: Bucks: AJ Green: day to day (calk).

Trail Blazers: Matisse Thybulle: day to day (ankle), Jerami Grant: day to day (face).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.