WAVE RETURNS TO WIN COLUMN AFTER DEFEATING RIVAL COMETS IN OVERTIME THRILLER AT PANTHER ARENA

The Wave were looking to bounce back after a pair of losses, including one to the Kansas City Comets on Friday January 17 in Missouri.

Final score: Milwaukee Wave 7, Kansas City Comets 6.
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The Wave struck first with a goal by Mikey Herrera and an assist by Alex Bradley at 11:30 into the first period, which is where the score would remain after one. Kansas City would respond in the second with two goals, including one short-handed, but the Wave would even the score on the same power play as the one that the Comets scored short-handed. The Wave would enter the half up 3-2 after a goal by Bradley, assisted by Isaac Pereyra.

The third saw the Comets take the lead briefly, but Ian Bennett got his 19th goal and would even things thanks to another assist from Bradley. The Comets broke the tie again in the fourth, taking a 5-4 against the Wave. Milwaukee would respond with two goals of their own, one by Max Ferdinand (assisted by Marcio Leite) and the other by Bradley (assited by Pereyra), giving the Wave a 6-5 advantage. Unfortunately, Kansas City was able to knot up the score by the end of regulation.

Overtime went almost the entire period without a score, but with just 20 seconds left in overtime, Angel Curiel hit a beautiful, high and booming kick to score the game winning goal, with an assist from Leite. Perhaps the more impressive storyline was that the entire second half in the hands of Wave backup goal keeper Matt Eisold, who filled in for regular starter Rafa Diaz, who took several shots to the face in the second period, including one which blooded his nose. Coach Olivero was unable to provide with an injury update on Rafa, so stay tuned to Wave social media for more information.

As for Eisold, he said he was more than ready for this moment, “I have been training for 4 years to keep my skills, both body and mind fresh, so I felt more than up to the challenge and was glad to be part this win.”

Coach Olivero said that he is proud of how the team has fought recently, especially considering two of the Wave’s last three games have gone to overtime. “I can’t stress how hard it is to win games in this league, and the team battled to the last minute to win what was a very important game for us,” he said.

The Wave (7-3) remain home to take on the Rochester Lancers (0-9) at UW- Milwaukee Panther Arena on Saturday, January 25 with a 6:07 pm start time. Join us and the ZOOperstars! The ZOOperstars! are hilarious inflatable characters that resemble sports figures, such as Clammy Sosa, Cow Ripken, and Ken Giraffey, Jr.

For tickets and more information visit MilwaukeeWave.com