IOWA WILD MOVES INTO FIRST PLACE WITH 6-0 WIN AGAINST MILWAUKEE
Nov 16, 2018In the 200th home game in franchise history, Iowa Wild (10-4-1-0; 21 pts.) defeated the Milwaukee Admirals (9-6-3-0; 21 pts.) by a score of 6-0. The victory marked the third consecutive shutout for goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen (38 saves) and his 207:55 of gameplay without allowing a goal is the longest such streak in Iowa Wild history.
Kahkonen broke the previous shutout streak at the 10:04 mark in the first period, eclipsing Alex Stalock’s old record of 157:51.
Neither team found the net in the first frame, as Milwaukee outshot Iowa 10-6 in the first 20 minutes.
Playing in his 100th AHL game, forward Gerry Mayhew notched his fourth tally of the 2018-19 campaign on a breakaway. An errant pass by the Admirals went directly to Mayhew, who had a straight path to goaltender Tom McCollum (27 saves). Mayhew’s shot hit McCollum’s pads then trickled over the goal line to give Iowa a 1-0 lead. His unassisted goal came at 2:11 in the middle frame.
Forward Colton Beck potted his fourth goal of the season at 17:36 in the second period, giving the Wild a 2-0 lead. Forward Kyle Rau took the initial shot on McCollum, who made the save. But the rebound went to Beck, who banged it home for the goal. Forward Sam Anas earned the secondary assist on the play.
Through 40 minutes, Iowa had a 2-0 lead, but Milwaukee led in shots 22-19.
The Wild exploded for four goals in the third period, all coming during a 6:43 stretch of play. Forward Mitch McLain started off the scoring barrage at 4:57 in the third period when he batted a puck out of mid-air. A shot by forward Mike Liambas bounced off his skate and into the air, where McLain swung his stick and knocked it into the back of the net for his third goal of the season. Forward Dmitry Sokolov also earned a helper on the tally.
Rau added his first goal of the game when he gave Iowa a 4-0 lead at 8:12 in the final frame. McLain slid a pass to Rau, who sliced through the Milwaukee defense before rifling a shot into the top-left corner for his fifth goal of the season. Defenseman Matt Bartkowski notched his fourth assist of the year on Rau’s score.
Fresh off his stint with Minnesota, forward Matt Read scored his second goal of the season to make it 5-0 Wild. Defenseman Louie Belpedio took a slap shot that was saved by McCollum. Forward Mason Shaw corralled the rebound and pushed the puck to Read on the far post for an easy tap-in on the power play.
Rau notched his second goal and third point of the game just 35 seconds later in a goal almost identical to Read’s. Tic-tac-toe passing from forward Sam Anas to center Cal O’Reilly left Rau all alone on the back post. A quick pass by O’Reilly and Rau buried the puck to give Iowa the 6-0 lead. His goal was the second power-play goal of the game for Iowa.
Iowa closed out the four-game stretch at Wells Fargo Arena with a 6-0 victory, earning back-to-back shutouts against Milwaukee for the first time in franchise history. The win also moved the team into first place in the Central Division, first in the Western Conference and fourth in the AHL.
The game featured 106 penalty minutes combined by both teams, including five misconducts (Read, Liambas, Hunter Warner, Jeremy Gregoire, Connor Brickley). Iowa went 7-for-7 on the penalty kill and is 32-for-33 (97 percent) in its last seven games.
Iowa hits the ice Saturday in a road contest against the Chicago Wolves. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 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.