IOWA EARNS 6-5 OVERTIME WIN AGAINST COLORADO
Oct 26, 2018Iowa Wild (4-2-0-0; 8 pts.) and the Colorado Eagles (4-1-2-1; 10 pts.) played a back-and-forth affair Friday night in a game that was tied four different times throughout the contest. But the Wild prevailed 6-5 in overtime to extend the team’s home winning streak to four games.
A faceoff violation to Colorado’s Andrew Agozzino with 38 seconds remaining in the final frame put Iowa on the power play through the end of regulation and to start the overtime period. Early in the extra period, the Wild patiently moved the puck in the offensive zone until the puck ended up on forward Justin Kloos’ stick. Kloos one-timed a pass from forward Cal O’Reilly past goaltender Spencer Martin (28 saves) to give the Wild the 6-5 overtime victory. Forward Kyle Rau notched the secondary assist on the play.
A burst of scoring opened the game as both teams combined for six goals in the first 13:30 of the contest.
Iowa opened up the scoring at 3:27 in the first period as Kloos jumped on a loose puck in the slot and beat Martin on the right side of the net. Kloos’ goal, assisted by Rau and Sam Anas, marked the fourth consecutive home game and fifth time in six games Iowa recorded the first goal of the game.
Colorado tied the game up at 1-1 with a goal by Agozzino at 6:28 in the opening frame. On a 4-on-3 power play, forward Sheldon Dries sent a shot on net, which squeaked through the five-hole of Andrew Hammond (50 saves). Agozzino pushed the puck over the line for his second goal of the season.
At 7:05 in the first period, the Wild took the lead once again on a tip-in goal from forward Luke Kunin. Defenseman Eric Martinsson sent a slap-pass to Kunin in the slot, who redirected the puck into the back of the net for his second tally of the year. Earning the secondary assist was defenseman Brennan Menell.
Fifteen seconds following Kunin’s goal, the Wild doubled its lead. Forward Gerry Fitzgerald entered the attacking zone and sent a pass to forward Mason Shaw on the left side of the ice. Shaw immediately hit Fitzgerald with a give-and-go pass, with Fitzgerald cutting through the slot to the front of the net. Fitzgerald snapped a shot into the open net to give the home squad a 3-1 lead as defenseman Matt Bartkowski drew a helper on the play.
Just 19 seconds after Fitzgerald’s goal, Colorado got back on the board with a goal from defenseman David Warsofsky. Warsofsky took a shot from the point, which tipped off forward Cody Bass but was stopped by Hammond. The rebound went all the way back to Warsofsky on the point and his second slap shot found the back of the net. His goal cut Iowa’s lead to 3-2 and ended a stretch of three goals in 34 seconds.
Colorado then knotted the game at 3-3 with a goal from Ryan Graves at 13:30 in the first period. Graves, sitting at the left point, took a slap shot that beat Hammond over his blocker shoulder, giving the defenseman his first goal of the 2018-19 season. Forwards Ty Lewis and Josh Dickinson recorded assists with Graves’ tally.
With no more scoring in the first period, the opening frame ended with the score tied at 3-3 and Colorado outshooting Iowa 23-7.
Forward Gerry Mayhew gave Iowa the lead for the third time in the game at 13:27 in the second period. On the penalty kill, Kloos iced the puck, leading to a successful forecheck by Colton Beck. With Beck circling the zone, Mayhew snuck behind the Colorado defense and tipped the incoming pass through Martin’s five-hole for his second score of the season.
After 40 minutes, Iowa held a 4-3 lead while Colorado held a 38-18 shot advantage.
Colorado evened the game up at 4-4 at 11:58 in the final frame as Bass recorded a goal to go with his earlier assist. Colorado had an odd-man rush and tic-tac-toe passing led the puck to Bass’ stick. Bass snapped a shot over Hammond’s glove for his first goal of the season as defenseman Mark Alt and forward Igor Shvyrev recorded assists.
The visitors took their first lead of the game less than 30 seconds later as Agozzino potted his second score of the game. Agozzino corralled a shot from forward Logan O’Connor in the right corner and banked a shot off Hammond’s left skate and into the net.
Iowa brought the game back even when Kunin netted his second goal of the game just one minute later. On the power play, defenseman Louie Belpedio took a shot from the blueline that was blocked by a Colorado player. Shaw, in the slot, picked up the loose puck and fired it on net, but his attempt was saved by Martin. On the doorstep, Kunin picked up the puck and buried it into the open net to tie the game at 5-5.
The game remained tied until Kloos’ goal at 1:20 in the extra frame gave Iowa the win. Through four games at home, Iowa has averaged 5.4 goals per game and has earned eight of a possible eight points.
The two teams will rematch tomorrow night at Wells Fargo Arena for Social Media Night. Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m.
The Iowa Wild 2018-19 season is presented by Mercy 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.