IOWA’S COMEBACK ATTEMPT FALLS SHORT AGAINST CHICAGO
Jan 1, 2018Wolves down Wild 2-1 in New Year’s Day matinee
DES MOINES, IOWA – Iowa Wild (15-11-6-2; 38 pts.) dropped its first game of 2018, falling to Chicago Wolves (15-12-5-2; 37 pts.) 2-1 Monday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena in front of 4,518 fans.
Chicago took advantage of a slow start by the Wild, as the Wolves scored both of its goals in the first seven minutes of the game. Wolves forward Tobias Lindberg opened the scoring just 2:39 in the game. Lindberg and forward T.J. Tynan went in on a short-handed 2-on-1. Tynan fed Lindberg the puck and his shot beat the sliding Wild goaltender Steve Michalek (27 saves) for the 1-0 lead.
The Wolves made it 2-0 when forward Mackenzie MacEachern found the back of the net with a shot from the left face-off circle at 6:55 of the first period. Tynan earned his second assist of the game on MacEachern's goal.
At the end of the first period, Chicago had a 2-0 lead and a 12-9 shot advantage.
The second period saw no goals for either side and Chicago entered the third period leading in shots 24-16.
The Wild broke Lagace’s shutout bid at the 9:45 in the third period when Wild forward Mario Lucia potted his third goal in two games, cutting Chicago’s lead in half. Lucia screened Lagace from a shot off Wild forward Colton Beck’s stick and corralled the rebound with his back facing the net. Lucia whipped around and fired a shot on net, which got through Lagace’s five-hole and across the goal line. With the goal, Lucia has six points (4g, 2a) in his last five games.
Trailing by one, the Wild pulled Michalek with more than a minute left in the game, but couldn’t get the game-tying goal.
The Wolves outshot the Wild 29-26 and Iowa went 0-for-6 on the power play in the game. Iowa will look for its first win of the calendar year Friday night in Milwaukee. Puck drop is at 7:00 CT.
The Iowa Wild 2017-18 season is presented by Mercy Medical Center and runs from October through April. For more information, please contact the Wild office by calling 515-564-8700 or by visiting www.iowawild.com.