IOWA FALLS 3-2 IN OVERTIME IN GAME 1 OF CENTRAL DIVISION FIRST ROUND

Apr 19, 2023

GAME REPORT 

ROCKFORD, Ill. – After the Iowa Wild and Rockford IceHogs required overtime in Game 1 of the Central Division First Round Wednesday night, Rocco Grimaldi scored at 3:59 of the extra frame to hand Rockford a 3-2 win. 

Iowa got on the scoreboard 3:26 into the contest. After Tanner Kaspick sent the puck up the wall to Dakota Mermis, Mermis fired a shot through traffic that hit the post behind Arvid Soderblom (29 saves). Mitchell Balmas pounced on the rebound in the left circle and buried the follow-up effort into an empty net. 

David Gust tied the game at 1-1 with a one-timer past Jesper Wallstedt (28 saves) from above the circles just 18 seconds later. 

Brett Seney put the IceHogs up 2-1 with 2:05 left in the first when he swatted the rebound of a shot by Isaak Phillips into the back of the net. 

Rockford carried the 2-1 lead and a 13-8 shot advantage into the first intermission. 

Steven Fogarty knotted the game back up with a power-play goal 4:14 into the middle frame. Nic Petan pulled the puck out of a tangle of skates along the wall and found an open Fogarty, who walked in and fired a wrister past Soderblom. Joe Hicketts earned a secondary assist on the play. 

The teams entered the second intermission tied at 2-2. The IceHogs held a 21-16 lead in shots through 40 minutes. 

Neither team was able to break the deadlock in the third period, which sent the game to overtime. 

Grimaldi scored 3:59 into overtime with a shot under the blocker of Wallstedt from the right circle. 

The Wild and IceHogs each had 31 shots. Iowa went 1-for-1 on the power play while Rockford was 0-for-2 with the man advantage. 

Iowa hosts Rockford at Wells Fargo Arena Friday, Apr. 19 at 7 p.m. in Game 2 of the Central Division First Round. 

Iowa Wild hockey is presented by MercyOne. For more information, please visit www.iowawild.com. Fans can purchase single-game tickets through the team’s website at www.iowawild.com. Group tickets (10 or more), suites, Wild 365 memberships or premium tickets can be purchased by contacting the Iowa Wild Ticket Department at 515-564-8700 or tickets@iowawild.com. Season tickets for 2023-24 are on sale now. Fans can purchase season tickets for the upcoming season at https://www.iowawild.com/wild-365. 

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