IOWA FALLS TO MANITOBA 4-3
Jan 6, 2018DES MOINES, IOWA – Iowa Wild (15-12-6-3; 39 points) fell 4-3 to the league-leading Manitoba Moose (25-6-2-2; 54 points) Saturday night at Wells Fargo Arena.
Wild forwards Justin Kloos, Kyle Rau and Gerry Mayhew each scored for Iowa, while defenseman Zach Palmquist recorded three assists for a multi-point game in the loss. Wild forward Sam Anas also recorded a multi-point night with two assists.
At the 33-second mark of the first period, Moose forward Patrice Cormier opened the scoring with his 15th goal of the season when he knocked a loose puck past Wild goaltender C.J. Motte (22 saves). Fellow linemate and forward Brendan Lemieux helped give the visitors an early 1-0 lead.
Defenseman Sami Niku extended Manitoba’s lead to 2-0 at 14:54 of the opening frame with his sixth goal of the season. On the play, forward Michael Spacek centered the puck to a charging Niku, who beat Motte stick side from the slot. Forward Mason Appleton also grabbed a helper on the even-strength goal.
After the first 20 minutes of play, Manitoba owned a 15-7 shot advantage and a 2-0 lead on the scoreboard.
Manitoba forward Brody Sutter gave the Moose a 3-0 lead at 2:41 of the middle frame with his second goal of the year. After a turnover in the Iowa zone, forward Jimmy Lodge carried the puck through the slot and slid it to Sutter at the right goal post, who then beat Motte glove side.
Kloos put Iowa on the board with his 10th goal of the season at 8:39 of the second period to make the score 3-1. Kloos knocked in a rebound past goaltender Eric Comrie (29 saves) beating him glove side. Palmquist and forward Cal O’Reilly recorded assists on the goal.
At 17:24 of the second period, the Moose capitalized on the power play with a goal from Spacek. After the puck got caught up in the right-wing circle, Spacek got ahold of it in the slot and his slap shot beat Motte. Appleton and forward Nic Petan each added the helpers on the man-advantage goal.
With 45.8 seconds left in the middle frame, Rau notched his 10th goal of the season for Iowa when he deflected a slap shot from Anas past Comrie for a power-play tally. Palmquist picked up an assist Rau's goal, which helped the club cut the deficit to 4-2.
Three of the four goals scored between the two teams in the second period were on the power play, and after 40 minutes, shots favored Iowa, 23-20.
At 9:40 of the third period, Mayhew made it a 4-3 game with this seventh goal of the season. Palmquist banked the puck off the end boards and Mayhew, who was just above the goal line, put his stick between his legs and snuck the puck past Comrie short side. Anas also added an assist on the goal for his second of the night.
Iowa outshot Manitoba 9-6 in the third period and finished the game outshooting the Moose 32-26. Iowa went 2-for-6 on the power play, while Manitoba went 1-for-5.
The Wild hosts Cleveland Monsters on Sunday, Jan. 7 at 5 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena for Kids Winter Fest/Princess Day presented by the Pinky Swear Foundation.
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 iowawild.com.