This weekend, the Power headed to Peoria, Illinois to face the Mustangs in a two-game series. The two teams last met at the beginning of December; Peoria took a 4-1 victory on their first night in Milwaukee, then pulled out an overtime win the following day. The Power had only beaten the Mustangs once this season, but had several close opportunities to take another win.
The Power started Spencer Northway in goal on Friday evening. Unfortunately for the Power, Peoria was the first to get a point on the board at the 7:46 mark. Less than 30 seconds later, the Mustangs gained the momentum and extended their lead to two. Despite having some scoring changes on the power play, the Power left the period scoreless.
The second period would also be in favor of Peoria. While Milwaukee was able to kill off their two penalties, the Mustangs continued to have themselves a successful game with three goals in the second. Going into the third, the Power had a five-goal deficit. However, they didn’t give up just yet. Max Erstad scored at the 6:44 mark with assists by Nate Stone and Vince Palade. They kept it a clean period with just one minor penalty towards the end of the game. Erstad’s goal was Milwaukee’s only one of the night, and Peoria took a 5-1 win.
On Saturday night, the Power switched up goalies and put in Kaden Grant, which was his first appearance with the team. The game began with a high-scoring first period. The Mustangs were first to score just over five minutes in, then picked up another goal less than a minute later. This pushed the Power to fight back, and Max Erstad scored his second goal of the weekend. Mason Ausmus was credited for the assist. After a slashing minor against Milwaukee, Peoria extended their lead back to two goals. Now a 3-1 lead for the Mustangs, Michael Dalaly turned right back around and scored a power play goal. Easton Nick and Konrad Clements were credited for the assists. In the final few minutes of the period, Peoria picked up two more goals and left the first with a 5-2 lead.
The second period brought more goals for the Mustangs and several penalties against the Power. Peoria recorded another goal to extend their lead by four, forcing Milwaukee to swap goalies and put Austin Bartell in net. Not long after the switch, the Mustangs scored once more, making it a 7-2 game. During the second, the Power had seven penalties against them. However, Milwaukee successfully killed them all off, stopping Peoria from racking up any power play goals. While the Power had control over penalty kills in the second, they weren’t able to carry that energy over into the third. The Mustangs began the period with a four-minute power play and scored twice during it. These two goals were the final ones of the game, and Peoria took a whopping 9-2 win.
This week, the Power will need to recover from their rough weekend away and prepare for their matchup against the Rochester Grizzlies. The Grizzlies are currently on a three-game winning streak and have already secured themselves a playoff spot. Milwaukee hasn’t been able to pick up a win against them all season and will need to work extra hard for this upcoming series. The Power will be in Rochester for these games, which take place on Friday, Jan. 28 and Saturday, Jan. 29. Be sure to tune in to Hockey TV to see them play out!
Story by Julia Woodcock
