IOWA SHUTS OUT MANITOBA 1-0 FRIDAY
Jan 24, 2020-Kaapo Kahkonen becomes franchise’s leader in wins with the victory-
Goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen (33 saves) earned his 33rd victory with the Iowa Wild (25-14-3-3; 56 pts.), becoming the franchise’s all-time leader in wins in the team’s 1-0 shutout of the Manitoba Moose (20-25-0-0; 40 pts.) Friday night.
Forward Nico Sturm scored the lone goal in the contest, notching his 10th tally of the season at 3:57 in the third period. Forward Gerry Mayhew took a shot from the top of the right faceoff circle and before it got to goaltender Mikhail Berdin (28 saves), Sturm popped the puck into the air. He then batted the puck on net, bouncing it off the crossbar and across the goal line for the score. Defenseman Keaton Thompson was credited with the secondary assist on the play.
Friday’s game was just the second time all season neither team scored in the first 40 minutes of the contest, the other being a 1-0 Wild win at Milwaukee on Nov. 1. Kahkonen’s shutout was his third of the season and the ninth of his Iowa career.
Final shot totals were 33-29 in favor of Manitoba. Iowa went 0-for-3 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill. Iowa has now killed off its last 17 penalties, with its last power-play goal allowed coming on Jan. 14 vs. Bakersfield.
With the win, Iowa is now 13-5-3-3 in one-goal contests and the team’s 13 victories are tied for the most in the AHL.
Iowa and Manitoba will meet again Saturday evening for the final game before the AHL All-Star Classic. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
The Iowa Wild 2019-20 regular 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.