WILD RALLY LATE, FALL TO GRIFFINS IN OVERTIME, 6-5
Nov 5, 2021
DES MOINES, Iowa – Iowa Wild (4-2-1-0; 9 pts.) fell to the Grand Rapids Griffins (3-4-0-1; 7 pts.) in overtime by a score of 6-5. The Wild scored two goals in the final five minutes of regulation to tie the game before falling in the extra period.
Grand Rapids defenseman and former member of the Iowa Wild from 2017 to 2019, Ryan Murphy, opened the scoring at 10:05 of the first period to give Grand Rapids a 1-0 lead.
Wild forward Will Bitten found Iowa defenseman Jon Lizotte with a cross-crease pass for a goal on the power play at 14:51 of the first period. The goal made the score 1-1 and it was Lizotte’s first tally in a Wild uniform.
At the conclusion of the first stanza, the score was tied 1-1 and the Wild held a 10-8 lead in the shot column.
The Wild remained hot on the power play in the second period as Mason Shaw scored 47-seconds into the period on the man advantage. The goal was set up by Iowa forwards Marco Rossi and Nick Swaney. Rossi’s assist extended his current point streak to four games. Following Shaw’s goal, the Wild held a 2-1 lead.
After breaking through the Griffins defense at 11:25 of the second period and drawing a penalty, Shaw took and missed a penalty shot on Grand Rapids goalie Calvin Pickard (28 saves), after a failed attempt at finishing five-hole. The score remained 2-1, Wild.
Griffins forward Taro Hirose scored his first goal of the season at 17:52 of the second period, beating Wild goaltender Andrew Hammond. Hirose’s marker knotted the score 2-2.
At the end of the second period of play, the game was tied at two but Iowa held the edge in shots, 19-15, after outshooting Grand Rapids 9-7 in the second frame.
After a five-minute boarding penalty and a subsequent game misconduct was taken by Wild forward Cody McLeod, Shaw deposited his second goal of the game at 1:46 of the third period. Wild defenseman Dakota Mermis sprung Shaw from the Wild zone and Shaw carried the puck all the way into the left circle before beating Pickard just inside the right post. The shorthanded marker was his sixth point in the last four games.
Griffins winger Riley Barber found an opening on the power play at 3:04 of the third period to tie the game by a score of 3-3.
Six minutes and 46 seconds later, the Griffins struck again. This time, forward Turner Elson got free in the Wild zone and finished an even strength chance at 9:50 of the third period to give the Griffins a 4-3 lead.
The nephew of Grand Rapids General Manager Pat Verbeek, Hayden Verbeek, netted the Griffins’ fifth goal of the game at 12:08 of the third period. Verbeek’s effort gave Grand Rapids a two-goal lead, as they were on top 5-3.
Not long after Verbeek’s goal, Rossi scored on the power play with the extra attacker at 15:12 of the third period to pull the Wild within one. Iowa defenseman Joe Hicketts assisted on the goal which brought the score to 5-4 in favor of the Griffins.
With time winding down and the Wild in need of a goal to force overtime, Iowa center Dominic Turgeon deflected a Hicketts point shot for his first goal of the season at 18:06 of the third period. Turgeon’s goal tied the game at five goals for each side as the game plunged towards overtime.
After the third period, the Wild and the Griffins left regulation tied 5-5. The Wild led in the shot column 32-25 after outshooting the Griffins 13-10 in the third stanza.
The Griffins began the overtime period with the man advantage due to a tripping call on the Wild late in the third period. Iowa staved off a few good chances by Grand Rapids on the power play and returned to even strength.
At 2:39 of the overtime period, Griffins forward Jonatan Berggren capitalized on a pass from Elson to give Grand Rapids a 6-5 victory.
Shots in the overtime period were in favor of the Griffins, 3-1. In total, the Wild outshot Grand Rapids 33-28. Iowa scored on three of their four chances on the power play and also added a shorthanded goal in the game. The Griffins, however, scored just one time on five power play chances in the contest.
Next up, the Wild battle the Milwaukee Admirals in Milwaukee on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021 at 6 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.
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