IOWA FALLS IN GAME 3 TO MILWAUKEE 3-1
Apr 25, 2019-Rau nets only goal for the Wild in the loss-
MILWAUKEE, WIS. – Iowa Wild (2-1) faltered in Game 3 of the Central Division Semifinals, falling to the Milwaukee Admirals (1-2) by a score of 3-1. Despite the loss, Iowa still holds the 2-1 series lead.
For the first time all series, Milwaukee jumped ahead of the Wild as the team scored 30 seconds into Thursday’s contest. Forward Cole Schneider sent a backdoor feed to forward Colin Blackwell, who knocked the puck past goaltender Andrew Hammond (20 saves) for his first goal of the postseason. Forward Yakov Trenin notched the secondary assist on the play.
At the end of the first period, Iowa trailed 1-0 but led in shots 10-7.
Milwaukee doubled its lead as forward Mathieu Olivier netted his first of the series at 8:43 in the second period. Defenseman Vince Pedrie took a shot from the left half-boards that was tipped by Trenin. Hammond made the stop but Olivier converted on the rebound for the score.
Through 40 minutes of play, Milwaukee led 2-0 and had a 19-16 shot lead.
Forward Kyle Rau broke through for the Wild at 13:23 in the final frame, scoring his third goal of the postseason. With the Wild on a power play, defenseman Brennan Menell shuttled the puck to O’Reilly at the top of the left circle. O’Reilly skated in to the faceoff dot then threaded a pass to Rau, who was standing on the back post. The pass bounced off of Rau’s stick, past goaltender Troy Grosenick (21 saves) and into the back of the net. All three players extended their point streaks to three games with the tally.
Just more than a minute later, Milwaukee responded to regain the two-goal lead. Forward Tyler Gaudet forwarded the puck to Trenin, who engaged in a 2-on-1 with forward Anthony Richard. Trenin crossed a pass to Richard, who beat Hammond high for his first of the series.
At the final horn, Milwaukee skated away with a 3-1 victory while outshooting the Wild 23-22. Iowa went 1-for-5 on the power play, marking the team’s third consecutive game with a tally on the man advantage. The Wild also went 6-for-6 on the penalty kill, including killing off two 5-on-3s.
Iowa continues to search for its first-ever Calder Cup Playoff series win, taking on the Admirals for Game 4 Friday night. Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m.
The Iowa Wild 2018-19 season is presented by MercyOne Des Moines 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.