McIntrye Dominates in Wild Shootout Victory
DES MOINES, IA – It took a little time after shuffling between St. Paul and Des Moines, but Zane McIntyre is back into a groove, allowing one goal on 38 shots to lead the Iowa Wild to a 2-1 victory over the Grand Rapids Griffins on Monday afternoon. McIntyre has now allowed three total goals over his last two games. Nick Swaney scored a power-play goal a little less than six minutes into the third to tie the score and Nic Petan was the only player to deliver in the shootout to give Iowa their fifth straight victory.
Austin Czarnik had the only goal of the contest through the first 45 minutes, scoring 6:26 into the game. Alex Chiasson started moving in on goal before dropping a pass just above the crease. Czarnik scooped it up, wristing a shot past McIntyre for his 10th goal of the season.
Both McIntyre and Grand Rapids starter Victor Brattstrom were outstanding through the first two periods, as McIntyre stopped 23 shots while Brattstrom kicked aside 18.
In the third, Iowa earned a power-play a little less than four minutes into the frame and scored with just seconds left on the man advantage. Dakota Mermis passed the puck to Swaney at the right face-off circle, who drilled a wrist shot over the shoulder of Brattstrom for his ninth goal of the year.
Neither team could take the lead in the remaining 14 minutes of the final period, sending the game to overtime. Both teams struggled to generate offense through the seven-minute session, as each club only had one shot. With the score still tied, the game went to a shootout. Petan scored in the second round, producing the only goal, giving the Wild a 2-1 victory.
With the victory, McIntyre moved to 9-7-1 while lowering his goals-against average to 3.07. After allowing 16 total goals over a four-game span (December 16-January 3), the netminder has now allowed just three goals on his last 72 attempts.
The win was the fifth in a row for the Iowa Wild (18-14-4) who moved into fourth place in the Central Division. The Wild will begin a two-game set against the Milwaukee Admirals (21-13-2) starting on Friday. The puck drops at 7:05.
by Robert Pannier
