On an evening six years in the making, the Iowa Wild rolled to a 7-0 victory over Milwaukee in their playoff debut, the opener of their Central Division semifinal series at Wells Fargo Arena.
Game 2 is set for Tuesday night.
The Wild, who missed the playoffs in each of their first five seasons of existence, got two goals from Kyle Rau and a goal and an assist each from Sam Anas, Cal O’Reilly, Luke Kunin and Gerald Mayhew.
Andrew Hammond made 29 saves for his first pro playoff shutout.
Milwaukee, which finished the regular season by going 14 straight games without a regulation loss, suffered its 12th consecutive defeat in postseason play, tying an AHL record held by the Buffalo Bisons (1950-54). The Admirals’ most recent playoff win was a 2-0 decision over Texas on Apr. 27, 2013.
Central Division Semifinals – Series “F” (best-of-5)
C2-Milwaukee Admirals vs. C3-Iowa Wild
Game 1 – Sun., Apr. 21 – IOWA 7, Milwaukee 0
Game 2 – Tue., Apr. 23 – Milwaukee at Iowa, 8:00
Game 3 – Thu., Apr. 25 – Iowa at Milwaukee, 8:00
*Game 4 – Fri., Apr. 26 – Iowa at Milwaukee, 8:00
*Game 5 – Mon., Apr. 29 – Iowa at Milwaukee, 8:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern