WILD DEFEATS MONSTERS 6-1
Nov 11, 2017Iowa and Cleveland Face Off Again Sunday, Nov. 12 at 5 p.m.
DES MOINES, IA – The Iowa Wild (5-6-2-0, 12 points) defeated the Cleveland Monsters (5-4-2-0, 12 points) 6-1 in front of 9,034 fans on Saturday night at Wells Fargo Arena.
Six Iowa Wild players recorded multi-point nights in the team’s win over its division rival. Forward Zack Mitchell tallied two power-play goals and two assists to propel Iowa over Cleveland. Forwards Justin Kloos, Kyle Rau, Pat Cannone, Christoph Bertschy and Sam Anas each recorded two points, and Wild goaltender Steve Michalek earned his second win of the year in a 30-save victory.
Iowa opened the scoring by converting on the first power play of the game. Forward Zack Mitchell scored his second goal in as many games, putting Iowa on the board early at 4:09. After a pass from Sam Anas to the Cleveland blue line, Mitchell carried the puck up the right-wing side and beat Monsters rookie goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks (21 saves) high glove side from the circle, giving Iowa a 1-0 lead. Rookie defenseman Brennan Menell also added an assist on Mitchell’s power-play goal. At 10:22 of the frame, forward Justin Kloos scored his third goal of the season, extending Iowa’s lead to 2-0. On the play, defenseman Nick Seeler passed the puck from the Iowa zone to Anas at the Cleveland blue line. Anas carried the puck up the right-wing side, pulled Kivlenieks to the side and centered the puck from the circle to Kloos, who shot the puck into a wide-open net. The Monsters outshot the Wild 9-7 in the first 20 minutes of the game.
At 4:23 of the middle frame, forward Kyle Rau scored his third goal of the season off a penalty shot. The backhander beat Kivlenieks five-hole and made it a 3-0 game. Mitchell scored his second power-play goal of the night at 9:51 of the period, extending Iowa’s lead to 4-0. After a touch-pass from Rau, Mitchell scored from the low slot. Kloos also helped set up Mitchell’s fourth goal of the year. Cleveland outshot Iowa 11-8 in the second period.
Forward Pat Cannone scored his sixth goal of the season at 5:17 of the third period, making it a 5-0 game. Mitchell carried the puck around the net and centered it for Cannone, who beat Kivlenieks on the stick side. Christoph Bertschy also added an assist on the goal. At 13:45 of the period, forward Terry Broadhurst scored for Cleveland, going backhand to forehand to beat Wild goaltender Steve Michalek on the stick side. Forward Justin Scott added the lone assist on Broadhurst’s first goal of the season. Bertchy made it a 6-1 final score in favor of Iowa at 17:05 of the third period with help Cannone and Mitchell. The puck rebounded twice before Bertschy put it past Kivlenieks on the glove side. Iowa outshot Cleveland in the third period, 12-11.
Iowa and Cleveland face off again on Sunday, Nov. 12 at 5 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena for Pucks N Paws Night presented by Anderson Animal Hospital. The Wild welcomes the Grand Rapids Griffins on Friday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena for the Red Kettle Game with the Salvation Army.
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.
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