Griffins Score Twice in Third to Extend Wild Losing Streak
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – The Grand Rapids Griffins scored twice in the third period on Friday evening to defeat the Iowa Wild, 4-3. The loss was the fifth in a row for the Wild (0-3-2), leaving the team in the sixth in the Central Division. David Spacek had two assists for the Wild.
The game was scoreless through the first 14 minutes, but Kevin Conley put Iowa on top at the 14:15 mark. Ryan O’Rourke left a perfect drop pass for Conley, who fired a laser over the shoulder of Michael Hutchinson for his fifth of the season. Spacek earned his first assist of the night on the goal.
The lead held for just 38 seconds before Grand Rapids tied the score. Antii Tuomisto created a turnover inside the Iowa zone. Carter Mazur then picked up the loose puck, firing it by Jesper Wallstedt for his 13th of the year.
With 2:46 left in the first, Elmer Soderblom scored to send the Griffins to the first intermission on top by a goal. Amadeus Lombardi made a great pass to Soderblom at the right post. He was able to get off a shot before Wallstedt was able to slide over in time, netting his eighth goal of the year.
Only one goal was scored in the second, and that came off the stick of Michael Milne. At the 4:12 mark, Spacek gained control of the puck in the Iowa zone, quickly feeding it to Sammy Walker. He made a perfect pass into the neutral zone, sending Milne streaking down the left wing. Milne attempted to make a pass into the middle, but it hit off a Grand Rapids defenseman and past Hutchinson to knot the game at two.
In the third, Grand Rapids took the lead for good. The first goal came at 5:39, when Jonatan Berggren took a pass from Mazur and buried a shot just under the glove of Wallstedt. Almost exactly 10 minutes later Zach Aston-Reese scored his 10th goal of the season when he took a pass on a 2-on-1 break and beat Wallstedt with a backhand shot just inside the post.
With a little over one minute left, Iowa pulled their goaltender and were able to cut the deficit to one when Daemon Hunt scored his second goal of the season. Adam Beckman made a great pass into the slot where Hunt was able to redirect the puck by Hutchinson to make it 4-3. However, Iowa could not find the equalizer.
The Wild are off on Saturday, but head to Milwaukee on Sunday to take on the Admirals. The puck drops at 3:00.
by Robert Pannier
