AT THE BREAK: IOWA WILD MIDSEASON REPORT
Feb 8, 2023The hockey season is flying by in Iowa, and the Wild have 45 games in the rearview mirror. The season has been full of action and the remaining games promise to be just as exciting as the playoff push resumes. As the team gets some much-needed rest over the All-Star break, fans can take a break to look back at some of key moments from the first half of the season.
SCHOOL DAY GAME VERSUS GRAND RAPIDS
Entering the team’s annual School Day Game on Nov. 3, the Wild had yet to win at Wells Fargo Arena through the first four home games. Desperately needing a home victory, the Wild fed off the energy of 9,077 screaming kids to dispatch the Grand Rapids Griffins by a 6-3 score. The win kicked off a five-game point streak for Iowa (4-0-1-0).
JESPER WALLSTEDT SCORES AT CHICAGO
Iowa Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt entered the 2022-23 season with all of the expectations that come with being a highly-touted prospect. While the hockey world focused heavily on his technical abilities and potential ahead of his rookie season, no one expected what would come on Nov. 12 at Chicago.
With time winding down in the third period and the Wild leading the Wolves 4-2, Wallstedt gloved a dump-in and fired the puck the length of the ice and into the empty net. Wallstedt scored two days shy of his 20th birthday, becoming the youngest goaltender in American Hockey League history and first in the Minnesota Wild organization to do so.
SWEEP OF COLORADO
While the Wild planned to capitalize on a home-heavy schedule in December, the team struggled to open a seven-game homestand in the middle of the month. Iowa faced a formidable opponent following the holiday break in the form of the Colorado Eagles.
Damien Giroux emerged as the unlikely hero for the Wild on Dec. 28 against the Eagles. Giroux, who entered the game still in search of his first goal of the season, assisted on a first period goal by Dakota Mermis and scored a crucial shorthanded goal late in the second period.
Giroux wasn’t finished and tipped the eventual game-winner home with just 3:32 remaining as Iowa beat Colorado 5-3. The Wild swept the Eagles with a 2-1 win two nights later en route to a six-game home winning streak.
KICKING OFF THE STREAK
Iowa entered January with a schedule full of Central Division opponents and welcomed the Rockford IceHogs to Des Moines on Jan. 7. After trading goals in the opening period, the teams remained deadlocked at 1-1 throughout the rest of regulation. Marco Rossi and Nic Petan went to work to start overtime, setting up newly recognized team captain Dakota Mermis for the winner.
The Wild rode the momentum of the victory over the IceHogs to a six-game winning streak. Iowa has also picked up a point in 14 consecutive games beginning with the win over Rockford to tie the American Hockey League season-long point streak.
SAMMY WALKER AND JESPER WALLSTEDT NAMED ALL-STARS
When the American Hockey League announced selections for the 2023 AHL All-Star Classic, neither Sammy Walker nor Jesper Wallstedt came as a surprise to the Wild faithful. Walker entered the break leading Iowa in goals (21) and points (41), while Wallstedt won a frachise-record eight consecutive starts over December and January.
Walker also made team history in the first half, eclipsing the previous rookie goal record (19) and scoring nine power-play goals to break the previous rookie record (7). Wallstedt was named the AHL Goaltender of the Month for January; he won all six of his starts in January and allowed only seven goals on 165 shots, good for a 1.16 goals-against average and a .958 save percentage.