IOWA TAKES DOWN GRAND RAPIDS WITH 5-4 WIN ON HOME ICE
Mar 27, 2021
DES MOINES, IA - Iowa Wild (5-9-2-0, 12 pts.) defeated the Grand Rapids Griffins (8-4-2-0, 18 pts.) in their second matchup of the weekend by a final score of 5-4 in front of 4,027 people at Wells Fargo Arena. Forward Connor Dewar scored twice and added an assist and defenseman Ryan O’Rourke tallied his first professional goal in the win.
The Wild opened the scoring with 42 seconds left in the first period. Dewar sent a blast from the left circle that beat goaltender Pat Nagle (16 saves) under the blocker to make it 1-0. Forward Mitchell Chaffee and O’Rourke collected the assists on the goal.
At the end of the first period, Iowa led 1-0 but were outshot by Grand Rapids 13-3.
The Wild struck again at 3:16 of the second period. Defensemen Calen Addison labeled the top left corner from the slot to extend the lead to 2-0 with the assists going to forwards Tyler Sheehy and Cody McLeod.
At 6:06 of the second stanza, Grand Rapids forward Patrick Curry sent a one-timer on the power play past Wild goaltender Joel Rumpel (36 saves) to make it 2-1 Iowa.
Just 13 seconds later at 6:19, the Griffins struck again with a shot from forward Tyler Spezia that got through Rumpel’s legs to tie it 2-2.
O’Rourke scored his first professional goal at 7:05 of the second period with a slap shot from the blue line that caromed off traffic in front and into the back of the net. Dewar grabbed the lone assist to give Iowa a 3-2 lead.
The Wild doubled their lead at 12:32 of the middle period. Forward Gerry Mayhew sent a puck towards the net that deflected off a stick and then forward Gabriel Dumont’s face and into the net. The unorthodox goal made it 4-2 with forward Mason Shaw collecting the secondary assist.
At 18:14 of the second period, Grand Rapids’ forward Givani Smith scored the Griffins’ second power play goal of the night with a shot from the right circle, making it 4-3.
After the second stanza finished, the Wild led 4-3 but again trailed in shots during the period 15-10.
Spezia tied the game at 10:03 of the third period with a backhand shot from in tight in front of the Wild net, bringing the score to 4-4.
The Wild pushed back ahead with a goal late in the third period at 16:25. Forward Damien Giroux sent a centering feed to Dewar whose shot from the slot beat Nagle for his second goal of the evening. Defensemen Matt Bartkowski grabbed the second assist on the game-winning tally, marking the 100th AHL assist of his career.
Iowa held the lead through the final buzzer to secure the win on home ice, 5-4. In the third period, Grand Rapids led in shots 12-8 and finished the night ahead 40-21 in total shots. Iowa went 0-3 on the power play while Grand Rapids went 2-4 on the man-advantage.
The Wild face the Texas Stars on Tuesday, Mar. 30 at 7 p.m. at H-E-B Center in Cedar Park, Texas, to begin a four-game road swing.
Iowa Wild hockey is presented by MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center. For more information, please visit www.iowawild.com
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