DES MOINES, IA – Vinni Lettieri scored with 1 :44 left in regulation to force overtime, and the Iowa Wild scored the only goal in the shootout as Iowa defeated the Chicago Wolves, 4-3. Littieri scored two goals and Jesper Wallstedt stopped 21 shots to earn the victory.

Iowa got onto the board first, scoring 3:33 into the contest. Just after the Wild power-play ended, Jake Lucchini passed the puck to Steven Fogarty. He dished the puck to Lettieri at the right face-off circle, who blew a one-timer by Adam Scheel for his third goal of the season.

Chicago tied the score just past the 10-minute mark when Rocco Grimaldi scored on the power-play. Vasily Ponomarev took a shot that deflected off the leg of an Iowa defenseman and right to Grimaldi. He beat Wallstedt for his 11th goal of the year.

The score remained tied through the first intermission, but Chicago took the lead 8:09 into the second. Zach Jordan moved the puck to Nathan Sucese, who fired a wrist shot that found the upper corner for his fifth goal of the year.

The Wild were trailing after two, but Sammy Walker scored his third goal of the season 7:33 into the third to knot the game at two. Jujhar Khaira won a battle for the puck along the wall, firing it to Lucchini at the right face-off circle. He waited for Walker to position himself in front of the net before sending a pass that Walker tipped by Scheel.

The score remained tied for just 37 seconds before Ponomarev put the Wolves back on top. He gained control of the puck, moving behind the net before using a wraparound attempt to deliver his third goal of the season.

The Wild were down once again, but managed to tie the score with less than two minutes left in the contest. While on the power-play, Iowa pulled Wallstedt for the extra attacker. That allowed Petan to pass the puck to Dakota Mermis at the point. Mermis sent a pass to the left face-off circle to Lettieri, who blew a one-timer by the Chicago netminder for his second goal of the game.

Neither team could score in the extra session, sending the game to a shootout. That is where Lettieri came up big once again, scoring the only goal in the shootout.

The victory moves the Iowa Wild to 10-11-2, moving them to points ahead of the Rockford IceHogs and Manitoba Moose in the Central Division. The Wild will have an opportunity to extend their advantage when they travel to Rockford to take on the IceHogs (9-10-2) for two games starting on Friday evening. The puck drops at 7:00.

Gamesheet

by Robert Pannier