IOWA SUFFERS 5-2 LOSS TO GRAND RAPIDS
Mar 26, 2019-Brennan Menell set record for points in a season by a defenseman in the defeat-
Iowa Wild (34-22-7-5; 80 points) suffered a 5-2 loss Tuesday night at the hands of the Grand Rapids Griffins (38-19-6-4; 86 points).
Iowa forward Riley Bourbonnais recorded his first professional goal at 3:05 in the opening frame to give the home side a 1-0 lead. Forward Colton Beck took a shot from the top of the circles that missed the net, hit the boards and then bounced back out in front of goaltender Harri Sateri (17 saves). Bourbonnais batted the puck out of mid-air and under Sateri’s blocker for the tally. Defenseman Brennan Menell registered the secondary assist on the play, giving him 38 points on the year, a record for a Wild defenseman in a single campaign.
Grand Rapids tied the game at 1-1 at 7:47 in the first period as defenseman Brian Lashoff, fresh off a reassignment from Detroit, potted his first goal of the season. Lashoff ripped a shot from the point that beat goaltender Andrew Hammond (32 saves), who couldn’t see the shot through a screen. Forward Martin Frk and defenseman Dennis Cholowski earned the assists on the play.
At the end of the first period, the score was tied 1-1 with the Griffins owning a 14-9 shot advantage.
The Griffins took a 2-1 lead at 11:18 in the second period off a broken play. Frk took a shot that missed the cage completely, flying over the top of the net. The puck then hit the glass and bounced out in front, where forward Givani Smith whacked the puck out of mid-air over Hammond for his sixth of the season.
Just more than a minute later, the Wild evened the game at 2-2. While on a power-play, passing by forwards Kyle Rau and Sam Anas gave forward Mason Shaw the puck in front of Sateri. Shaw took a shot, banking it off a Griffins defender and past Sateri for his seventh of the season.
At 16:57 in the middle frame, the Griffins retook the lead as forward Chris Terry netted his 28th of the season. Defenseman Joe Hicketts had the puck in the left corner and tossed it to the far post. Terry then deflected the pass up and over Hammond’s glove for the score.
Through 40 minutes of play, Grand Rapids led 3-2 and outshot the Wild 30-17.
The Griffins added a pair of empty-net goals by forward Carter Camper at 18:36 and forward Matthew Ford at 19:21 in the third period to skate away with a 5-2 victory. Grand Rapids outshot the Wild 37-19 in the contest.
The Wild finished the game 1-for-3 on the power play and 0-for-4 on the penalty kill. With his assist on Shaw’s tally, Rau extended his home point streak to 10 games, second longest in the AHL, and he’s collected 19 points (10g, 9a) since his streak started on Jan. 14.
Iowa continues its five-game homestand with a contest against the Texas Stars Friday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
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.