WILD FINISH ICEHOGS IN OVERTIME 3-2 AT WELLS FARGO ARENA
Feb 13, 2021
Iowa Wild (2-1-1-0; 5 pts.) defeated the Rockford IceHogs (0-2-1-0; 1 pt.) in overtime Saturday night by a final score of 3-2 at Wells Fargo Arena. 4,118 Wild fans saw quite a hockey game, which included Iowa coming back from a 2-0 deficit, and an OT winner from forward Adam Beckman.
Rockford gained the edge early with a tally at 3:29 of the first period. Forward Brad Morrison sent the puck over the right shoulder of goaltender Dereck Baribeau (28 saves) to make it 1-0.
The second goal of the night came from Rockford at 13:37 of the opening stanza. Morrison doubled up his goal count tucking home a rebound off the pads of Baribeau. 2-0 IceHogs.
At the end of the first frame, Rockford led 2-0 and outshot Iowa 12-11.
Iowa opened the second period with jump and found an equalizer at 5:58 of the middle period. Gabriel Dumont’s one-time blast from the left circle beat goaltender Matt Tomkins (34 saves), which took the IceHogs’ lead down to 2-1. Forward Will Bitten and rookie defenseman Fedor Gordeev would collect the assists. Dumont’s team-leading fourth of the season tied him for the AHL lead in goals.
At 9:52 of the second frame, while skating four-on-four, forward Damien Giroux netted his first pro goal and tied the game at 2-2 after he slid home a rebound from a Beckman shot.
Through 40 minutes of action, the game was tied 2-2. Iowa outshot Rockford 18-8 during the second period and carried a 29-20 lead in total shots into the third frame.
The third period came and went without a goal. The contest went into overtime for the second consecutive game for Iowa.
3:12 into overtime, Bitten was hauled down on a breakaway presenting a penalty shot opportunity for the win in OT. He was denied by Tomkins on the shot, which kept the game headed towards a shootout. Bitten’s penalty shot in overtime was just the fourth in team history, and first since Feb. 9, 2020.
A shootout was not needed, as Beckman sent a bullet past Tomkins’ glove at 3:29 of OT, giving the Wild their first overtime win of the season, 3-2. Assists on the game-winner went to defenseman Josh Atkinson and forward Mason Shaw.
Both teams failed to score on the power play tonight. Iowa went 0-4 while Rockford finished 0-2 on the man-advantage. Final shots were 37-30 Iowa.
The Wild hit the road for two games next weekend taking on Central Division leaders, Chicago, at Tripahn Center Ice Arena in Hoffman Estates, IL.
Iowa Wild hockey is presented by MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center. For more information, please visit www.iowawild.com.
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