IOWA FALLS IN THE SHOOTOUT TO SAN JOSE 3-2
Feb 22, 2019-Wild increase point streak to eight games-
Iowa Wild (28-16-6-5; 67 pts.) fell in the shootout to the San Jose Barracuda (29-13-2-4; 64 pts.) by a score of 3-2 Friday night, extending the team’s point streak to eight games in the process.
San Jose opened up the scoring just 29 seconds into the contest as forward Dylan Gambrell notched his second goal in as many games. Defenseman Kyle Wood took a shot that deflected off Gambrell’s skate and past goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen (22 saves) for his 13th of the season. Forward Jeffrey Truchon-Viel recorded the secondary assist on the play.
At 13:44 in the first period, Wild forward Kyle Rau converted for his 16th goal of the season, tying the game at 1-1. Forward Cal O’Reilly took a shot from up high that was saved by Josef Korenar (24 saves) and bounced out to forward Gerry Mayhew. Mayhew pushed the puck to Rau on the doorstep, who then buried his 11th power-play goal of the year.
At the end of the first period, the score was tied 1-1 and the Wild had a 10-6 shot advantage.
Wild forward Matt Read gave the home squad a 2-1 lead less than a minute into the second period. Korenar attempted to clear the puck but defenseman Brennan Menell kept it in the zone. He then took a slap shot from the point and Read reached out to deflect the shot past Korenar for his 15th of the season. The assist was Menell’s 24th of the 2018-19 campaign.
San Jose tied the game at 2-2 at 14:04 as Gambrell netted his second goal of the contest. A shot from the point was blocked by a Wild defender, but the puck popped up in the slot and Gambrell knocked it out of midair and past Kahkonen for the tally. Forward John McCarthy and defenseman Jacob Middleton registered assists on the play.
Through two periods, the score was tied 2-2 and shots were 16-13 in favor of Iowa.
A scoreless third period pushed the Wild to its league-leading 21st overtime session and the sixth time in the last seven games Iowa needed an extra frame.
In overtime, the Wild got a full two minutes of a 5-on-3 power play but couldn’t convert and the game went to the shootout.
In the shootout, Gambrell scored the lone goal for the Barracuda, while forward Sam Anas and Read and O’Reilly couldn’t put one past Korenar, giving the visitors the 3-2 victory.
Despite the loss in the shootout, Iowa extended its point streak to eight games, the second longest such streak of the season for the team. Iowa went 1-for-4 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill. Final shot totals were 26-25 in favor of Iowa.
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.