IOWA SNAPS BAKERSFIELD’S RECORD WIN STREAK WITH 1-0 SHUTOUT
Mar 2, 2019-Wild goaltender Andrew Hammond stopped all 30 shots in first appearance since Feb. 2-
BAKERSFIELD, CALIF. – Iowa Wild (29-17-6-5; 69 pts.) ended the 17-game winning streak of the Bakersfield Condors (33-16-2-1; 69 pts.) with a 1-0 shutout Friday night.
Making his first appearance since Feb. 2, Wild goaltender Andrew Hammond (30 saves) stopped every shot he faced. The shutout was the second of the year for Hammond the seventh for the Wild.
Wild forward Dmitry Sokolov scored the lone goal in the contest, as he converted on the power play at 10:25 in the first period. After hopping off the bench to serve as an extra attacker, Sokolov received a pass from forward Gerry Fitzgerald in the right faceoff circle and blasted a one-timer past goaltender Shane Starrett (15 saves) to give the Wild the 1-0 lead. Defenseman Louie Belpedio recorded the secondary assist on Sokolov’s 11th of the season.
Both clubs saw lengthy 5-on-3 opportunities in the first period, but neither could find the back of the net. Sokolov’s tally came on Iowa’s third of four power-play opportunities in the contest.
At the end of the first period, Iowa led 1-0 but Bakersfield led in shots 14-5.
During the final 40 minutes of play, Bakersfield continued to press but couldn’t solve Hammond. The Condors outshot Iowa 16-11 in the final two periods, but Hammond made save after save. Iowa also killed off five penalties in the contest, the most since Jan. 11 at San Antonio.
The 1-0 win for the Wild was the team’s first since Feb. 4, 2016 vs. Cleveland and the first in regulation since Jan. 18, 2014 vs. Lake Erie. With the victory, Iowa is now 13-5-6-5 in one-goal games this season.
Iowa continues its 3-in-3 with a contest against the Ontario Reign Saturday evening. Puck drop is at 8:00 p.m. CT.
The Iowa Wild 2018-19 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.