IOWA FALLS TO CHICAGO 7-3
Mar 18, 2018Wild closes out three-in-three stretch against Rockford Monday night
ROSEMONT, ILLINOIS – Iowa Wild (30-19-9-5; 74 points) dropped the middle game of a three-in-three stretch Sunday afternoon by a score of 7-3 to Chicago Wolves (34-20-7-2; 77 pts.). The team’s seven goals allowed is tied for the most this season.
Iowa’s three goals came off the sticks of forwards Colton Beck, Pat Cannone and Kyle Rau. Chicago opened up the scoring with goals by defenseman Jason Garrison at 6:20, forward Keegan Kolesar at 8:23 and forward Teemu Pulkkinen at 16:57 in the first period, putting the Wild into a 3-0 deficit before the end of the first period.
Iowa jumped on the board at 18:22 in the opening frame, when Chicago goaltender Max Lagace (25 saves) rimmed the puck around the boards, throwing it right to forward Sam Anas along the right wall. Anas immediately fired the puck on net and Beck deflected it into the cage to cut Chicago’s lead to 3-1.
Cannone pulled Iowa within one when he potted his 15th goal of the 2017-18 campaign at 4:31 in the second stanza. Below the goal line, forward Kurtis Gabriel won a board battle and sent the puck to forward Dante Salituro. Salituro found Cannone at the right face-off dot and he wristed his shot past Lagace stick-side for the score.
Chicago answered Cannone’s tally with three consecutive goals by Pulkkinen, his second of the game, at 7:15, forward Tobias Lindberg at 14:02 and forward Tomas Hyka at 18:06 in the second period.
Rau put Iowa back on the board at 3:31 in the third period. Defenseman Carson Soucy received a pass from forward Cal O’Reilly at the blue line and laid into a slap shot, which was blocked by a Chicago defender. Soucy followed his shot and put a second chance on net, which was tipped by Rau and found twine. Rau’s mark put the score at 6-3 and was his 16th of the season. Chicago capped off its scoring with forward Stefan Matteau’s tally at 4:02 in the third period.
Wild goaltender Steve Michalek stopped 19 saves in the game, his first regulation loss since Feb. 18. With his assist on Rau’s goal, O’Reilly is now tied for fourth in AHL in helpers this season (40) and is six off of the lead. He and Anas are tied for ninth in the AHL in points with 52.
Iowa completes its three-in-three stretch with a home game against Rockford Monday. Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m.
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.