WILD TAMES GRIFFINS 4-2
Nov 17, 2017Iowa Heads to Rockford on Wednesday, Nov. 22 at 7 p.m.
DES MOINES, IOWA – The Iowa Wild (8-6-2-0, 18 points) defeated the Grand Rapids Griffins (8-8-0-1, 17 points) 4-2 in front of 5,623 fans Friday night at Wells Fargo Arena.
With tonight’s victory, the Wild’s win streak extends to five games. It is also the club’s sixth win this month (6-1-0-0), which sets a new record for wins in the month of November, passing last year’s squad which recorded five victories.
With two points in tonight’s battle, forward Zack Mitchell has recorded 15 points over his last eight outings, including four points in his last two contests. Forwards Kyle Rau and Christoph Bertschy each tallied a goal and an assist, and Wild goaltender Steve Michalek earned the win, making 28 saves.
At 10:59 of the first period, forward Zack Mitchell opened the scoring for Iowa with his fifth goal of the season, his fifth tally in as many games. On the play, forward Christoph Bertschy carried the puck behind the Griffins net and passed it behind to Pat Cannone who was at the left post. Cannone then centered the puck to Mitchell, who beat Griffins goaltender Tom McCollum (23 saves) on the glove side and gave the Wild a 1-0 lead. Neither team took any penalties in the first 20 minutes of play. Grand Rapids led the period with eight shots, while Iowa finished the period with seven, and at the first intermission, it was 1-0 Iowa.
Forward Kyle Rau extended Iowa’s lead to 2-0 at 12:57 of the second period with his fourth goal of the year. Defenseman Ryan Murphy centered the puck from the right side, and Rau, who was charging towards the Griffins net, deflected puck to beat McCollum glove side. Defenseman Nick Seeler also added an assist on the even-strength goal. Grand Rapids cut the deficit in half 18 seconds later off forward Turner Elson’s sixth goal of the season. Elson beat Michalek high stick side to make it a 2-1 game. Forwards Evgeny Svechnikov and Axel Holmstrom each helped the Griffins get on the board. A minute and a half later, forward Landon Ferraro extended Iowa’s lead to 3-1 with his second goal of the season. He beat McCollum on the stick side with a wrist shot from the slot. Rau and Cal O’Reilly each helped set up the goal.
Griffins winger Tyler Bertuzzi made it a 3-2 game at 8:34 of the third period on a power play, beating Michalek stick side. Forwards Ben Street and Matt Lorito each assisted Bertuzzi’s third goal of the season. Bertschy then extended the Wild’s lead to 4-2 at 16:04 of the third frame. He carried the puck up the left-wing side and snapped a wrist shot from the circle to beat McCollum high glove side. Rookie defenseman Brennan Menell and Mitchell drew the assists on Bertschy’s third goal of the year.
Tonight’s victory marks the Wild’s fourth straight win at home, which sets a team record.
After road games in Rockford and Chicago, Iowa hosts the Milwaukee Admirals on Tuesday, Nov. 28 at 7 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena for Tacos, Trivia and Tallboys night.
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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