GAUNCE’S HAT TRICK LIFTS IOWA TO 5-4 WIN OVER ROCKFORD IN FINAL GAME OF 2024
Dec 31, 2024ROCKFORD, Ill. – Brendan Gaunce netted a hat trick in his return to the lineup as the Iowa Wild defeated the Rockford IceHogs 5-4 at BMO Center on Tuesday night. Travis Boyd, Joseph Cecconi, and David Spacek each recorded two assists while Samuel Hlavaj stopped 28 shots in the win.
David Jiricek scored his first goal in an Iowa uniform 1:19 into the game. Cecconi and Ryan Sandelin combined to send the puck up to the point for Jiricek to blast past Drew Commesso (26 saves).
Gaunce doubled the lead at 4:47 on the power play. Following an exchange between Boyd and Spacek at the point, Gaunce stepped to the top of the left circle and beat Commesso under the glove.
Iowa outshot Rockford 9-4 in the opening 20 minutes.
Zach Sanford and Brandon Baddock found the back of the net 2:07 apart to tie the game in the back end of the middle frame, but Gaunce answered with a pair of power-play goals.
Gaunce finished off a 2-on-1 backdoor feed from Boyd at 17:09 to put the Wild ahead for good. Spacek also earned an assist on Iowa’s third goal.
Liam Öhgren and Hunter Haight combined to find Gaunce on the rush 1:10 later to make the score 4-2 heading into the break
The Wild led 23-16 in shots after two periods.
Cavan Fitzgerald hammered a power-play one-timer inside the far post to pull Rockford back within a goal with 8:52 to play.
Caedan Bankier found his own rebound and squeezed a shot across the goal line from a sharp angle at 13:55 to give Iowa a 5-3 lead. Cameron Crotty and Cecconi assisted on Bankier’s goal.
Colton Dach scored for the IceHogs with Commesso pulled in favor of the extra attacker with 1:22 remaining, but Iowa held off Rockford down the stretch to complete the win.
Rockford outshot Iowa 32-31. The Wild went 3-for-7 on the power play while the IceHogs finished 2-for-5 with the man advantage.
Iowa continues its road trip on Thursday, Jan. 2 against the Chicago Wolves at Allstate Arena.
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