DES MOINES, IOWA – Goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen stopped all 20 shots he faced, earning his second consecutive shutout as Iowa Wild (9-4-1-0; 19 pts.) defeated the Milwaukee Admirals (9-5-3-0; 21 pts.) by a score of 3-0. Kahkonen’s shutout comes in his home debut and marks the third consecutive win for the Finnish goaltender.
Iowa jumped out to a 1-0 lead with an individual effort from forward Luke Kunin. After the puck squirted out into the neutral zone, Kunin beat the Milwaukee defender in a foot race to go in on goaltender Tony Grosenick (28 saves) all alone. Kunin then rifled a shot over Grosenick’s glove on the breakaway for his fourth goal of the season and to give the Wild a 1-0 lead. Kunin’s unassisted goal came at 15:30 in the first period.
After one period of play, Iowa led 1-0 while outshooting Milwaukee 11-7.
Forward Gerry Fitzgerald doubled Iowa’s lead when he tipped a shot from defenseman Carson Soucy through Grosenick’s five-hole at 9:41 in the second period. Forward Mason Shaw slid Soucy a drop pass at the blueline and Soucy directed a shot on net. Fitzgerald then deflected Soucy’s shot in the slot past Grosenick for his fifth goal of the 2018-19 campaign.
Through 40 minutes, Iowa held a 2-0 lead and outshot Milwaukee 20-14.
Soucy added to Iowa’s lead when he lasered a shot into the top-right corner of the net at 12:23 in the third period. At the left faceoff circle, Shaw pulled up before making a quick pass to Soucy. Soucy then one-timed a shot over Grosenick’s glove for his first goal of the season to give the Wild a 3-0 lead. Forward Mitch McLain earned the secondary helper on the play.
When the final buzzer sounded, the Wild skated away with the 3-0 victory. Through four games, Kahkonen sports a 0.99 goals against average and a .962 save percentage, both the best marks in the league for a qualified goaltender.
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