WILD WIN THIRD STRAIGHT, BEAT GRIFFINS 5-2
Jan 11, 2023
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Sammy Walker and Nic Petan combined for a crucial goal that gave the Iowa Wild a late second period lead over the Grand Rapids Griffins Wednesday night, and the Wild never looked back en route to a 5-2 victory. Walker, Petan, and Michael Milne each recorded a goal and an assist, while Zane McIntyre made 32 saves for Iowa in the win.
Iowa opened the scoring at 6:06 of the first period when Adam Beckman forced a turnover at the Grand Rapids blue line. Beckman walked into the Griffins zone alone and rifled a shot from between the circles past Alex Nedeljkovic (19 saves) to give Iowa a 1-0 lead.
The Wild extended their advantage to 2-0 at 11:02 of the first period on the power play. After Joe Hicketts sent the puck down into the left circle for Walker, Walker found Petan with a cross-ice pass for a one-timer over the glove of Nedeljkovic.
Iowa carried the 2-0 lead into the first intermission. Grand Rapids led the shot count 11-8.
The Griffins found the back of the net at 13:36 of the second period when Kyle Criscuolo tucked a wraparound chance behind McIntyre.
Chase Pearson tied the game with a shorthanded goal with 1:48 to play in the middle frame. After receiving a long clearance from Nedeljkovic, Pearson pulled the puck to his backhand as he cut across the Iowa crease and slipped the puck past the left pad of McIntyre.
Iowa responded with 15 seconds remaining in the second when Steven Fogarty sprung Walker through the neutral zone for a two-on-two rush alongside Petan. Walker dropped the puck off for Petan and cut to the net, where Petan found him for a tap-in goal that gave the Wild a 3-2 lead heading into the second intermission.
The Griffins held a 23-13 shot advantage over the Wild after 40 minutes of play.
Milne earned Iowa’s first penalty shot of the season 8:47 into the third period when he received a pass from Patrick Curry, spun through center ice, and got hooked from behind. Milne snapped a forehand shot underneath Nedeljkovic to convert the ensuing penalty shot and restored a two-goal lead for the Wild.
Milne’s line struck again at 16:24 of the third. Damien Giroux threw a pass to the front of the net for Milne, who saw his initial effort turned aside by Nedeljkovic. Curry pounced on the rebound to score his first goal in an Iowa Wild uniform and seal the victory against his former team.
Iowa went 1-for-2 on the man advantage and killed off both Grand Rapids power plays. The Griffins outshot the Wild 34-24.
The Wild and the Griffins meet again at Van Andel Arena on Friday, Jan. 13 at 6:00 p.m. CST.
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