Rocco Grimaldi plays for the Milwaukee Admirals against the Iowa Wild on Dec. 2, 2021. (Courtesy: Milwaukee Admirals)
MILWAUKEE - Rocco Grimaldi scored what has to be considered a leading candidate for "Goal of the Year" to break a 2-2 tie and guide the Milwaukee Admirals to a 4-2 victory over the Iowa Wild on Saturday night, Dec. 11 at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.
The win completed a two-game home sweep of the Wild and extended the Admirals' winning streak to a season-high four games.
With the score tied in the middle of the second period, Grimaldi took an outlet pass in the neutral zone from Grant Mismash and sped into the Iowa zone. When he reached the top of the circle he faked as if to cut to the middle, pulled a spin-o-rama and went upstairs over Iowa goalie Dereck Baribeau right shoulder.
The goal is his eighth of the season, which is tied for tops on the team, even though he has only played in 13 games for the Admirals.
Connor Ingram earned the win in net for Milwaukee, turning aside 23 of the 25 shots he saw from the Wild.
SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News
For the second straight night, the Admirals came out buzzing, scoring two goals in the first 7:50 courtesy of Michael McCarron and Mismash. McCarron got the first just 2:08 into the contest when he collected a loose puck in front of the Iowa net and stuffed it home for his third of the season. Cole Smith and Mathieu Olivier earned assists on the play.
Mismash made it 2-0 at the 7:50 mark of the opening frame. Jeremy Davies cut from the far boards to between the wheels and fired a shot that went over the net and caromed right to Mismash, who caught Iowa goalie Dereck Baribeau out of position, and beat him.
FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX6 News app for iOS or Android.
However, also for the second straight night, Iowa scored the next two goals to knot the game at 2-2. Marco Rossi fired a one-time from the right dot for a power-play marker at 11:13 and then was followed by Adam Beckman’s fourth of the season on a 2-on-1 rush with Kyle Rau.
Following Grimaldi’s goal, team captain Cole Schneider gave the Admirals some insurance with his eighth of the season at 6:44 of the third to push the Milwaukee lead back to two. Schneider collected a loose puck to the right of Baribeau and fired it home after a lengthy flurry of shots from the Admirals.
RELATED: Check out the new and improved FOX Sports app
A balanced offensive attack for the Ads was led by Mismash (1g-1a) and Davies (2a), while a total of 10 different Admirals found the scoresheet.
The Admirals and Wild will play for a third straight game in Des Moines on Tuesday night. The Admirals' next home game will be on Friday, Dec. 17 when they host the Chicago Wolves at 7 p.m.
West Bend man returns basketball team's money found on road
A West Bend Door Dash driver recently found $250 that had fallen off a truck. Police helped return it to a West Bend High School basketball team.
This browser does not support the Video element.
JJ Watt surprises teen injured in Waukesha parade
Tyler Pudleiner, 17, got the surprise of a lifetime on Thanksgiving morning – a "get well soon" message from Pewaukee native and NFL star J.J. Watt.