IOWA BANKS TWO POINTS WITH 3-1 VICTORY AGAINST MILWAUKEE
Dec 29, 2018-Forward Joel Eriksson Ek records two goals in the win-
Iowa Wild (17-8-4-3; 41 pts.) secured a 3-1 victory against the Milwaukee Admirals (16-12-5-1; 38 pts.) Saturday evening. The win kept Iowa in second place of the division, just three points shy of the Chicago Wolves for first place.
Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek scored the first goal of the game at 14:03 in the opening period in his first game with Iowa this season. On the power-play, Eriksson Ek received a pass from forward Dmitry Sokolov and snuck a shot under the blocker of goaltender Troy Grosenick (28 saves). Defenseman Brennan Menell recorded his 17th assist of the season, which ranks second on the team, and with his goal, Eriksson Ek has now recorded a point in each of his last five AHL games.
At the end of the first period, Iowa led 1-0 while Milwaukee earned a 14-6 shot advantage.
Neither team managed to find the back of the net by the end of the second period and heading into the third, the score was 1-0 in favor of Iowa with Milwaukee outshooting the Wild 25-21.
Iowa found the back of the net once again as Eriksson Ek notched his second goal of the contest at 14:59 in the third period. Down in the left corner, forward Landon Ferraro fed Eriksson Ek a pass in the slot. Eriksson Ek caught the pass and immediately rifled the puck past Grosenick. Eriksson Ek’s multi-goal effort was the first of his career and now gives him 11 points (6g, 5a) in 10 AHL games.
Milwaukee scored its first and only goal at Wells Fargo Arena this season when defenseman Matt Donovan beat goaltender Andrew Hammond (30 saves) over his shoulder for his 10th goal of the season, coming at 16:18 in the final frame. Earning an assist on the play were forwards Jeremy Gregoire and Joe Pendenza.
For the second time in as many games, forward Matt Read capped off the win with an empty-net goal, this one coming at 18:04 in the third period. Read caught a pass from forward Gerry Mayhew in the neutral zone and buried his shot from the right face-off dot for his seventh of the season. With the goal, Read now has a three-game point streak and seven points (4g, 3a) in his last six games.
The Wild earned the 3-1 victory with each team taking 31 shots. Iowa went 1-for-4 on the power play and 5-for-5 on the penalty kill.
With the victory, Iowa now has a five-game winning streak against the Admirals at Wells Fargo Arena, dating back to Jan. 20. In those games, the Wild has outscored Milwaukee 20-4 and its goaltenders have posted a 0.80 goals against average and a .973 save percentage.
Iowa concludes its five-game homestand with a New Year’s Eve contest against the Central Division-leading Chicago Wolves. Puck drop is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. and following the game there will be a postgame fireworks show.
The Iowa Wild 2018-19 season is presented by Mercy Medical Center and runs from October through April. For more information, please contact the Wild office by calling 515-564-8700 or by visiting www.iowawild.com.