IOWA SCORES SIX STRAIGHT GOALS TO TAKE 6-2 WIN IN PRESEASON OPENER
Oct 4, 2023ROCKFORD, Ill. - After falling behind early in the first game of the preseason, the Iowa Wild scored six consecutive goals en route to a 6-2 victory over the Rockford IceHogs. Nick Swaney led Iowa with a goal and two assists while Zane McIntyre stopped 18 shots in the win.
Michal Teply put Rockford up 1-0 with a power-play goal when he finished a backdoor feed from Brett Seney past McIntyre at 1:20 of the opening period.
Swaney tied the game with 5:40 remaining in the first when he tipped a Ryan O’Rourke point shot past Mitchell Weeks (29 saves). Ben Brinkman also earned an assist on the play.
Kyle Masters and the Wild took a 2-1 lead with 1:32 to go in the first. Swaney fired a shot on Weeks that sat loose for Masters to knock home. Brenden Miller picked up an assist on the goal.
Iowa entered the first intermission with a 2-1 lead and 12-9 shot advantage.
Casey Dornbach extended the Wild lead to two goals on the power play at 5:07 of the middle frame. Pavel Novak and Maxim Cajkovic combined to throw the puck toward the top of the Rockford crease for Dornbach to tip past Weeks.
Greg Meireles scored on a shorthanded breakaway with an assist from Joël Teasdale at 10:55 of the second period to give Iowa a 4-1 advantage.
Teasdale picked up a goal of his own on a delayed penalty 3:37 later with assists from Swaney and O’Rourke.
Iowa led 5-1 after 40 minutes and held a 23-13 shot advantage.
The Wild went up 6-1 at 7:54 of the third when Kevin Conley scored off a rebound opportunity. Masters and Brett Budgell earned assists on the goal.
Marcel Marcel scored with 6:10 to play to cut Rockford’s deficit to 6-2.
Iowa outshot Rockford 35-20. The Wild went 1-for-5 on the man advantage while the IceHogs were 2-for-4 on the power play.
Iowa hosts Rockford in the second and final game of the preseason at Wells Fargo Arena on Friday, Oct. 6 at 7 p.m.
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