Iowa Wild (31-14-3-3; 68 pts.) extended its win streak to seven games, setting a new franchise record, as the team ground out a 2-1 victory against the San Antonio Rampage (17-20-7-5; 46 pts.) Tuesday evening.
Iowa opened the scoring at 5:42 in the first period as forward Luke Johnson scored his second goal in as many contests. With the Wild on a power play, forward Sam Anas sent a cross-ice pass for Johnson standing at the top of the left circle. After a quick clutch move, Johnson rifled a shot past goaltender Ville Husso (27 saves) for his 10th of the season. Defenseman Brennan Menell also earned an assist on the play.
San Antonio answered with a power-play goal of its own as defenseman Joey LaLeggia registered his fifth tally of the year. LaLeggia caught a pass from defenseman Derrick Pouliot and wristed a shot from inside the left circle that beat goaltender Kaapo Kahkkonen (31 saves) glove side.
At the end of the first period, the score was tied 1-1 with Iowa owning a 15-6 shot advantage.
The two sides played a scoreless second period and heading into the third, it was still a 1-1 game with Iowa leading in shots 22-21.
Forward Gerry Mayhew gave the Wild a 2-1 lead at 9:28 in the third period, extending his AHL lead in goals to 10 with his 36th tally of the campaign. Down in the right corner, forward Nico Sturm directed a pass into the slot, where Mayhew tipped the puck into the top right corner of the net for the score. Menell was credited with his second assist of the night on the play.
Kahkonen stood tall throughout the rest of the third period and stonewalled the Rampage to a 2-1 victory when the final buzzer sounded. Iowa finished the night going 1-for-3 on the power play and 4-for-5 on the penalty kill. San Antonio owned the final shot totals 32-29.
With his assist tonight, Anas extended his point streak to six games, during which he’s amassed 13 points (4g, 9a). Along with the team’s franchise-record seven-game winning streak, the team extended its home winning streak nine games, continuing a club record, and its overall point streak to 10 games, one shy of the organization’s best mark.
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