IOWA BLANKS MILWAUKEE 3-0
Jan 26, 2019-Goaltender Andrew Hammond earns first shutout of the season in the win-
MILWAUKEE, WI – Goaltender Andrew Hammond (31 saves) earned his first shutout in an Iowa sweater as the Wild (24-13-4-3; 55 pts.) defeated the Milwaukee Admirals (21-17-6-1; 49 points) by a score of 3-0 Friday night.
Iowa scored its AHL-leading 29th first goal as forward Will Bitten potted his fifth tally of the season just 31 seconds into the contest. Forward Gerry Mayhew carried the puck into the zone before shuttling the puck to forward Cal O’Reilly, who then skated deep into the Admirals’ zone. Down low, O’Reilly threaded a pass to Bitten in the slot, which deflected off him and past Milwaukee goaltender Troy Grosenick (24 saves) for the score. With their assists, both O’Reilly and Mayhew extended their point streak to four games.
Bitten’s score was the only one of the first as the Wild led 1-0 while Milwaukee outshot the visitors 11-3.
A scoreless second period saw the Wild head into the third with a 1-0 lead. Milwaukee led in shots 19-14.
Forward Sam Anas gave the Wild a 2-0 lead at 7:15 in the third period, extending his point streak to four games with his eight of the season. While on the power play, O’Reilly feathered a pass across the slot to Anas in the right face-off circle. Anas wristed a shot top-shelf over Grosenick’s shoulder to double Iowa’s lead. Defenseman Brennan Menell notched his 21st assist of the season with the secondary helper.
Forward Matt Read iced the game with an empty-net tally at 19:47 in the final frame. Forward Joel Eriksson Ek recorded the primary assist, extending his point streak to six games, and defenseman Carson Soucy added the secondary helper.
Iowa closed the game 1-for-1 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill. Milwaukee finished the contest outshooting the Wild 31-27.
With the win, Iowa jumped into first place in the Central Division. The victory also marked the team’s fifth win streak of three games or more.
The Wild travels to Rockford to take on the IceHogs in the last game before the All-Star break. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
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.