ROSSI RECORDS THREE POINTS IN RETURN, IOWA WINS 4-3
Nov 29, 2022
SAN JOSE, Calif. – The Iowa Wild exploded for three first period goals Tuesday evening in San Jose, defeating the Barracuda by a 4-3 score. Marco Rossi had three points in his return to the Iowa lineup and Jesper Wallstedt recorded 30 saves in the victory.
San Jose opened the scoring at 2:50 of the first period when Andrew Agozzino intercepted a pass in the neutral zone and beat Wallstedt from a sharp angle.
The Wild responded quickly as Joseph Cramarossa netted his third goal of the season three minutes later. After receiving a diagonal pass from Daemon Hunt, Cramarossa pulled the puck to his backhand and tucked it past Strauss Mann (29 saves) at 5:52 of the first period. Rossi was credited with an assist on the goal.
Rossi picked up his second and third points in quick succession during the later stages of the opening stanza. Iowa took the 2-1 lead at 13:52 of the first period early in a power play when Joe Hicketts set up Rossi at the top of a left circle for a wrister under the glove of Mann. A shift later, Rossi set up Sammy Walker in the high slot for another power play marker, giving the Wild a 3-1 advantage at 15:27 of the first.
Iowa carried the 3-1 lead into the first intermission. San Jose led the shot count 12-10.
San Jose pulled within a goal at 4:38 of the second period. Ryan Merkley fed Luke Johnson down the left wing, who cut in on Wallstedt and slipped the puck under the netminder’s pads, cutting Iowa’s lead to 3-2.
The Wild regained the two-goal lead 38 seconds later. After Patrick Curry and Damien Giroux won a battle along the wall, Giroux snapped a cross-ice pass to Daemon Hunt. Hunt ripped a wrister under the bar from the top of the left circle for his first goal of the season.
After 40 minutes of play, the Wild had 4-2 lead and led the Barracuda 25-20 in shots.
Iowa kept San Jose off the scoreboard until the final minute of regulation when C.J. Suess batted a floating puck out of midair and into the net during 6-on-4 action with 58 seconds to play. The Wild were able to close out the 4-3 win thanks to 12 third period saves from Wallstedt.
The Wild and the Barracuda both ended the contest with 33 shots. Iowa went 2-for-6 on the power play while San Jose went 1-for-5 with the man advantage.
Iowa meets San Jose again on Wednesday, Nov. 30 at 9:00 p.m. CST at Tech CU Arena.
Iowa Wild hockey is presented by MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center. For more information, 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 memberships or premium tickets can be purchased by contacting the Iowa Wild Ticket Department at 515-564-8700 or tickets@iowawild.com. The 2022-23 season marks the 10th anniversary of Iowa Wild hockey. Fans can purchase season tickets for the 10th anniversary season at https://www.iowawild.com/wild-365.
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