IOWA STUNNED BY ONTARIO IN 5-4 OVERTIME LOSS
Mar 2, 2019-Wild forward Kyle Rau records his second hat-trick of the season in the contest-
ONTARIO, CALIF. – Iowa Wild (29-17-7-5; 70 pts.) fell to the Ontario Reign (19-25-5-2; 45 pts.) in overtime by a score of 5-4 Saturday evening.
Forward Kyle Rau gave the Wild a 1-0 lead just 1:19 in the first period for the team’s league-leading 37th first goal. Defenseman Nate Prosser ripped a shot from the blueline that was tipped by forward Colton Beck before being saved by goaltender Peter Budaj (33 saves). Rau picked up the rebound and slammed it home for his 17th of the season.
The Wild doubled its lead when Mason Shaw potted his fifth of the season at 3:48 in the opening frame. On an odd-man rush, Rau fed a pass to Shaw on the back post. He jammed the puck past Budaj’s right pad for the tally. Defenseman Hunter Warner notched his sixth assist of the year on the play.
At the end of the first period, Iowa led 2-0 while Ontario led in shots 17-10.
Ontario recorded its first goal of the contest at 14:54 in the second period. Forward Carl Grundstrom drove to the front of the net from the left side of the ice but was stopped by goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen (49 saves). After Kahkonen’s save, forward Brett Sutter tapped in the rebound to cut Iowa’s lead to 2-1.
Through 40 minutes of play, Iowa led 2-1 while Ontario had a 26-23 shot advantage.
Rau continued his path toward a hat-trick with his second of the game at 4:01 in the third period while on the man advantage. Winger Gerry Mayhew forwarded a pass to Rau in the offensive zone as Rau cut across the ice to the net. After a quick forehand-backhand move, Rau lifted the puck past Budaj to give the Wild a 3-1 lead. Forward Cal O’Reilly earned the secondary assist.
Rau then completed his three-goal, four-point night at 8:30 in the final stanza. Standing at the back post on the power play, Rau caught a pass from O’Reilly and lasered a shot over the glove of Budaj for his 19th of the season, tying Mayhew for the team lead. Defenseman Brennan Menell registered the secondary assist on Rau’s second hat-trick of the season.
With 4:17 remaining in the third period and leading 4-1, Wild forward Mike Liambas was assessed a match penalty for charging, giving the Reign an extended power-play. Ontario pulled Budaj and proceeded to score three goals in a 1:56 span to tie the game at 4-4.
Forward Zack Mitchell pulled Ontario within two when he scored his ninth of the season at 17:05 in the third period. Sutter then made it a one-goal game at 18:45 for his 15th of the season and his second of the game. Forward Matt Luff then potted his ninth of the season to tie the game at 4-4 at 19:01 in the final frame.
In overtime and still on the power play due to Liambas’ major penalty, forward Matt Moulson beat Kahkonen high glove side to give the home side a 5-4 victory, ended a scoring spree of four goals in 3:28 of gameplay.
Final shot totals were 54-37 in favor of Ontario. Iowa went 2-for-3 on the power play, while Ontario went 4-for-3 on the man advantage.
Iowa and Ontario face off again Sunday evening with a 5:00 p.m. CT scheduled puck drop.
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.