IOWA DOWNED BY SAN JOSE 5-3
Feb 27, 2019-Wild’s point streak ends at eight games-
Iowa Wild (28-17-6-5; 67 pts.) saw its eight-game point streak snapped as the team fell to the San Jose Barracuda (30-14-2-4; 66 pts.) by a score of 5-3 Tuesday night.
The Wild took a 1-0 lead at 16:08 in the first period as forward Mitch McLain netted his eighth of the season. Forward Matt Read was on the right side of the net and threw the puck toward goaltender Josef Korenar (30 saves), who kicked it out into the slot. McLain picked up the rebound and buried it into the open net for the Wild’s 35th first goal on the year. Forward Dmitry Sokolov recorded the secondary assist for his 12th of the season.
At the end of the first period, Iowa led 1-0 and outshot the Barracuda 17-9.
San Jose recorded the team’s second shorthanded goal in as many games as defenseman Nicholas DeSimone tied the game at 1-1 at 3:02 in the second period. Forward Dylan Gambrell won an offensive zone draw straight back to DeSimone, who took a slap shot that beat goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen (27 saves) over his glove for the tally.
Forward Cal O’Reilly regained the lead for the Wild with his 10th goal of the season at 5:32 in the middle frame. Forward Gerry Mayhew carried the puck into the zone and hit O’Reilly with a drop pass in the slot. O’Reilly then snapped a shot over the blocker of Korenar, extending his point streak to three games and giving the Wild a 2-1 advantage.
Through 40 minutes of play, the Wild led 2-1 and owned a 24-19 shot advantage.
After trailing 2-1, San Jose recorded four consecutive goals to turn that deficit into a 5-2 lead. Forward Cavan Fitzgerald started the goal streak by tying the game at 1:27 in the final frame, beating Kahkonen high-glove side.
Gambrell then recorded his fourth goal against the Wild this season just more than two minutes later, redirecting a pass from forward TJ Hensick past Kahkonen’s pads for his 15th of the season. Forward Jeremy Roy added to the total when his shot from the point deflected off a Wild player’s stick and into the back of the net to give the home team a 4-2 lead. Roy’s goal proved to be the game-winner.
San Jose capped off its scoring barrage at 11:17 in the third period as forward Jonathan Martin deflected took a long-range shot that found the net for his 10th of the season. Martin’s goal was the fourth tally by the Barracuda in a 9:50 span.
The Wild cut into San Jose’s lead with Mayhew’s team-leading 19th goal of the season, which came at 18:22 in the final frame. Forward Gerry Fitzgerald barreled toward Korenar and got a shot off before crashing into the net. The net stayed on its pegs and with the puck laying in the crease, Mayhew cashed in to bring the game to 5-3.
Mayhew’s tally was the last of the contest as the Barracuda downed the Wild 5-3. The loss snapped Iowa’s eight-game point streak. The Wild finished the game leading in shots 33-32 and went 0-for-3 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.
Iowa continues its season-high six-game road trip with a contest Friday night against the Bakersfield Condors, who currently have the longest active winning streak in the AHL at 17 games. Puck drop is at 9:00 p.m. CT and can be streamed for free on Facebook Watch as the AHL’s Game of the Week.
The Iowa Wild 2018-19 season is presented by MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center and runs from October through April. For more information, please contact the Wild office by calling 515-564-8700 or by visiting www.iowawild.com.