ICEHOGS EDGE WILD 2-1 IN HOME OPENER
Oct 9, 2026DES MOINES, Iowa - The Rockford IceHogs rode a third period go-ahead goal to a 2-1 win over the Iowa Wild at Casey’s Center on Friday night. Viking Gustafsson Nyberg scored his first professional goal in a contest that featured 56 penalty minutes between the two teams.
Iowa outshot Rockford 10-6 in a scoreless opening frame.
The IceHogs broke through 6:58 into the second period when Gavin Hayes elevated a backhand shot over William Rousseau (14 saves).
The Wild carried a 21-13 shot advantage into the second intermission.
Gustafsson Nyberg tied the game 59 seconds into the third period. After Mason Shaw fired a point shot to the net, Gustafsson Nyberg jumped on the rebound and fired the puck past Stanislav Berezhnoy (26 saves) from the left circle.
Jiri Felcman scored the winner at 11:22 with a shot through traffic in front of Rousseau.
Iowa outshot Rockford 27-16. The Wild went scoreless on five power plays while the IceHogs finished 1-for-5 with the man advantage.
Iowa and Rockford complete their weekend series on Saturday, Oct. 10 at 6 p.m. at Casey’s Center on Kids Opening Night. The first 1,500 kids (12 and under) will receive a Crash visor presented by Buff City Soap and STAR 102.5, while all fans in attendance may participate in a postgame autograph session.
Iowa Wild hockey is presented by Kwik Star. For more information on Iowa Wild hockey, visit www.iowawild.com. Season tickets for 2026-27 are on sale now. Fans can purchase season tickets for the upcoming season at https://www.iowawild.com/wild-365.
Visit http://www.iowawild.com/pressbox for the latest news and information from the team including press releases, game notes, multimedia content, and daily statistics.
Iowa Wild home games are played at Casey’s Center. Iowa Wild games are now streaming on AHLTV on FloHockey. Fans can visit FloHockey.tv now to create a free account, purchase subscriptions for the 2026-27 season, and watch all Iowa Wild games online.