IOWA DROPS 4-1 DECISION TO GRAND RAPIDS

Jan 6, 2024

GAME REPORT 

DES MOINES, Iowa – The Iowa Wild fell to the Grand Rapids Griffins on Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena by a 4-1 score for the second straight night. Sammy Walker scored Iowa’s lone goal. 

Jonatan Berggren and the Griffins took a 1-0 lead 3:25 into the game when Berggren walked off the wall and tucked a shot under the blocker of Jesper Wallstedt (25 saves). 

Iowa nearly tied the game with seconds remaining in the period, but a Grand Rapids defenseman pulled the puck off the goal line to preserve the one-goal advantage. 

The Wild outshot the Griffins 12-7 in the opening frame. 

Grand Rapids added a second goal 5:17 into the second when Joel L’Esperance hammered a one-timer from the right hash inside the far post on the power play. 

Carter Mazur finished off a backdoor pass from Albert Johansson to put the Griffins up 3-0 at 8:51.  

Walker pulled Iowa back within two goals with a breakaway wrist shot under the blocker of Michael Hutchinson (29 saves) with 6:03 to play in the middle frame. 

Grand Rapids led 3-1 and held a 21-20 shot advantage through 40 minutes.  

Josiah Didier capped the scoring with a full-length shorthanded empty-net goal with 4:50 remaining. 

Iowa outshot Grand Rapids 30-29. The Wild went 0-for-4 on the man advantage while the Griffins were 1-for-3 on the power play. 

Iowa kicks off a five-game road trip on Friday, Jan. 12 at 9 p.m. with a visit to Pechanga Arena to take on the San Diego Gulls. 

For more information on Iowa Wild hockey, please visit www.iowawild.com. Fans can purchase single-game tickets through the team’s website at www.iowawild.com. Group tickets (10 or more), suites, Wild 365 memberships or premium tickets can be purchased by contacting the Iowa Wild Ticket Department at 515-564-8700 or tickets@iowawild.com. Season tickets for 2023-24 are on sale now. Fans can purchase season tickets for the upcoming season at https://www.iowawild.com/wild-365. 

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