The Iowa Wild got their road trip started the right way Saturday night, leaning on a strong performance from Riley Mercer and timely scoring to beat the Milwaukee Admirals 3-1 at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.
Mercer finished with 28 saves, and Iowa got multi-point nights from Dylan Gambrell, who had two assists, and Justin Kirkland, who posted a goal and an assist.
Iowa struck first just 2:49 into the game. Jack Peart sent a shot off the end wall, Caedan Bankier tracked down the loose puck and lifted it past Isak Posch for the opening goal.
Milwaukee answered on the power play at 11:26 of the first when John Farinacci redirected a shot past Mercer to even things up.
The Wild reclaimed the lead in the second period, and Mike Koster delivered the go-ahead goal. With the teams skating 4-on-4, Koster worked into the high slot and beat Posch with a shot to the blocker side. Kirkland and Gambrell picked up the assists.
Kirkland then gave Iowa some breathing room 4:15 later, tipping in Arthur Kaliyev’s one-timer for the insurance marker. Gambrell earned his second assist of the period on the play.
Mercer shut the door from there, stopping all nine Milwaukee shots in the third period to help finish off the win.
Milwaukee held a 29-24 edge in shots, while Iowa went 1-for-4 on the power play. The Admirals were 1-for-3 with the man advantage.
Iowa continues the trip Sunday, Nov. 8, with a visit to the Rockford IceHogs at BMO Center at 4 p.m.
In Other News...
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Instead, the finish turned cruel. Tampa Bay erased the cushion late in the third period and forced overtime before Nikita Kucherov ended it on the power play for a 4-3 Lightning victory, with Jake Guentzel driving the comeback with two goals and an assist. For Minnesota, the point streak reached eight games, but the collapse left Shabanovs effort feeling like a footnote instead of the headline. [Read more 🡒]
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Wild Collapse Just Made One Goaltending Decision Even Tougher
Minnesotas latest loss only sharpened the questions in net. The Wild let a two-goal lead slip away in a 4-3 overtime defeat to the Lightning, with Calvin Pickard in goal and finishing with 30 saves, a performance that still wasnt enough to protect a game Minnesota had in hand twice. It was the kind of result that leaves a coaching staff looking hard at every option, especially when the margin for error is already thin.
Filip Gustavssons recovery from hip surgery is part of that equation, and his return would give the Wild another experienced option behind Jesper Wallstedt, who has been carrying a heavy load. Gustavsson is approaching an important checkpoint in his rehab, and once he gets through that process, Minnesota will have to sort out how its goaltending picture really fits together. For now, though, the collapse in Tampa only made the decision tree more complicated. [Read more 🡒]