RAU LEADS WILD TO 4-3 VICTORY OVER ICEHOGS
Feb 25, 2022
DES MOINES, Iowa – Iowa Wild (21-21-3-3; 48 pts.) defeated the Rockford IceHogs (21-19-3-1; 46 pts.) by a score of 4-3 in front of 8,314 fans at Wells Fargo Arena on Friday, Feb. 25. Wild forward Kyle Rau recorded a goal and two assists on the night to take sole possession of second place all-time in Iowa Wild franchise history in both points and assists.
Wild forward Joseph Cramarossa beat IceHogs goaltender Arvid Soderblom (25 saves) with a spinning wrist shot from the left circle at 3:07 of the first period to give Iowa a 1-0 lead. Wild forward Mitchell Chaffee recorded the lone assist on the goal.
After a shot by Rau was stopped by Soderblom, Chaffee collected the rebound and pushed the puck to Wild forward Marco Rossi. Rossi shoveled a backhand shot into the Rockford net to extend Iowa’s lead to 2-0. His goal came at 14:36 of the first period and assists were credited to Chaffee and Rau.
Iowa held a 2-0 lead over Rockford as both teams headed into the first intermission. The Wild outshot the IceHogs 10-9 in the first stanza.
Wild forward Victor Rask deflected in a one-time shot off the stick of Wild forward Nick Swaney 59-seconds into the second period to give Iowa a 3-0 lead. Swaney and Rau recorded assists on what was Rask’s first goal as a member of the Iowa Wild.
As a Rockford shot trickled toward the goal line behind Wild goaltender Zane McIntyre (22 saves), IceHogs forward Michal Teply pushed the puck in to make the score 3-1 in favor of the Wild at 11:42 of the second period.
Iowa carried a 3-1 lead into the second intermission. Shots in the second period were 10-7 in favor of the Wild and Iowa led 20-16 in shots through two periods.
Rockford forward Josiah Slavin beat McIntyre with a one-timer from the bottom of the left circle at 4:18 of the third period to make the score 3-2 in favor of Iowa.
As Soderblom headed to the Rockford bench for the extra attacker, Rau fired a shot from the Wild zone into the open net to give the Wild a 4-2 lead at 17:32 of the third period. Rask and Wild defenseman Turner Ottenbreit were credited with assists on Rau’s goal.
With IceHogs forward DJ Busdeker serving a penalty for high-sticking, Slavin beat McIntyre from the top of the right circle to make the score 4-3 in favor of Iowa at 18:05 of the third period.
The IceHogs pulled Soderblom for the extra attacker at 18:46 of the third period. However, Rockford could not beat McIntyre to tie the game and the Wild prevailed by a score of 4-3. Both teams recorded nine shots in the third period and Iowa outshot Rockford 29-25 in the game.
Iowa was 0-for-3 and Rockford was 0-for-2 on the power play on the night.
Next for Iowa, a road matchup with the Grand Rapids Griffins on Mar. 4 at 6:00 p.m. CT.
Iowa Wild hockey is presented by MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center. 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. The 2022-23 season marks the 10th anniversary of Iowa Wild hockey. Fans can purchase season tickets for the 10th anniversary season at https://www.iowawild.com/wild-365.
###