IOWA’S COMEBACK BID FALLS SHORT IN 5-4 OVERTIME LOSS TO MANITOBA
Mar 3, 2018Wild forced overtime with three unanswered third period goals
WINNIPEG, MANITOBA – Iowa Wild (26-17-8-4; 64 points) scored three unanswered goals in the third period to force overtime, but fell to Manitoba Moose (35-15-4-3; 77 points) 5-4 in Winnipeg Saturday night.
Trailing 4-1 heading into the third period, Wild forward Zack Mitchell notched his 12th goal of the season with a snipe from the top of the left circle. Mitchell received a pass from defenseman Viktor Loov and rifled home the shot at 0:29 in the final frame to bring the score to 4-2.
At 5:04 in the third period, forward Cal O’Reilly scored his 10th of the season to cut Manitoba’s lead to 4-3. Manitoba goaltender Steve Mason (18 saves) lost his stick and forward Kyle Rau, who was below the goal line, threw a pass to O’Reilly in the slot. With a clean look, O’Reilly roofed the puck over Mason’s glove for the tally. O’Reilly currently sits at 45 points (10g, 35a), one point shy of the Wild’s franchise record for points in a single season.
Wild forward Sam Anas tied the game at 4-4 at 9:21 in the third period, recording the third consecutive goal for the visitors. With forwards Justin Kloos and Gerry Mayhew battling behind the net, the puck found its way to Anas, who was at the bottom of the left circle. He flipped the puck over Mason’s glove for his team-leading 20th goal of the season and to erase Manitoba’s three-goal lead.
With the team’s tied at 4-4, the contest headed into overtime.
In the extra frame, consecutive penalties by O’Reilly and Loov gave Manitoba a 5-on-3, where Moose forward Brendan Lemieux beat Wild goaltender Niklas Svedberg (28 saves) to clinch the second point for the home team.
Manitoba opened the scoring at 5:45 in the first period, the ninth time in 10 games Iowa’s opponent has recorded the first goal. With Wild defenseman Zach Palmquist in the box for tripping, the Moose won a face-off with the puck going straight to forward Michael Spacek’s stick. Spacek ripped a shot on net and beat Svedberg for the 1-0 lead.
Just more than a minute later, Manitoba doubled its lead with a goal by Lemieux. With the puck along the left half-boards, Lemieux drove toward the net and slipped the puck between Svedberg’s legs to give the Moose a 2-0 lead.
At the end of the first period, the Wild were down 2-0 while the Moose held an 11-4 shot advantage.
Wild forward Ryan White got Iowa on the board with his goal at 6:05 in the middle frame to cut his team’s deficit to 2-1. Defenseman Alex Grant launched a slap shot on net, and after an initial save by Mason, forward Pat Cannone deflected his shot off White and into the back of the net.
Twenty-one seconds after White’s goal, Spacek notched his second tally of the game for the Moose to take a 3-1 lead. Moose forward Cam Maclise gave Manitoba its largest lead of the game when he scored at 9:39 in the second period to take a 4-1 advantage against Iowa.
Despite the overtime loss, Iowa maintained its fourth place position in the Central Division. The team faces off against Manitoba once again Sunday, with a 2:00 p.m. puck drop.
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.