DES MOINES, IA – The Iowa Wild (10-26-2-3, 25 points) were defeated by the Stockton Heat (14-16-1-1, 30 points) 7-4 in front of 4,879 fans at Wells Fargo Arena on Sunday evening. Stockton center Derek Grant scored one goal and added four assists for five points, pushing the Heat past Iowa. Heat goalie Joni Ortio (8-8-0) stopped 24 of 28 shots in the win. Defensemen Brett Kulak, Dustin Stevenson as well as forwards Kenny Agostino, Austin Carroll, Turner Elson, and Emile Poirer each added a goal for
Stockton Heat
Stockton. Iowa goalie Leland Irving (6-14-3) made 27 saves on 33 shots in the defeat. Forwards Jordan Schroeder, Zack Mitchell, Marc Hagel, and Grayson Downing each scored a goal in the Wild loss. Iowa travels to Rockford on Jan. 22 for a game against the IceHogs at 7 P.M.
Wild forward Jordan Schroeder opened the scoring at 4:16 of the first period, giving Iowa an early 1-0 lead. Forwards Christoph Bertschy and Grayson Downing each tallied an assist on the goal. Downing dumped the puck to Bertschy behind the net. Bertschy sent a no-look pass to the front of the net and Schroeder one-timed it through goalie Joni Ortio’s five-hole for his 10th goal of the season. Heat defenseman Brett Kulak scored at 19:05 of the first, tying the game 1-1. Center Derek Grant tallied the lone assist on the power-play goal. Grant won an offensive-zone faceoff to Kulak at the right point. Kulak took a slapshot from the right circle, beating Irving on the glove side for his second goal of the season.
Heat defenseman Dustin Stevenson scored at 1:12 of the second period, giving Stockton a 2-1 lead. Forwards Emile Poirer and Derek Grant each tallied an assist on the goal. Grant backhanded a pass to the front of the net from the right of the goal. A wide-open Stevenson one-timed a shot into the back of the net for his first goal of the season. Stockton forward Kenny Agostino scored at 3:39 of the period, grabbing a 3-1 lead. Forward Drew Shore and defenseman Jakub Nakladal each tallied an assist on the goal. Iowa failed to clear the puck out of the zone and Agostino beat Irving with a wrist shot for his ninth goal of the season. Heat forward Derek Grant scored at 15:40 of the second, extending Stockton’s lead to 4-1. Right wing Hunter Smith tallied the lone assist. Smith carried the puck into the offensive zone down the right side and slid the puck to Grant, springing him on a breakaway. Grant moved the puck to his backhand and beat Irving through the five-hole for his 17th goal of the season.
Iowa forward Marc Hagel scored at 1:44 of the third period, making it a 4-2 game. Forward Jordan Schroeder tallied the lone assist on the goal. Schroeder carried the puck into the offensive zone on a 2-on-1 advantage. Hagel took a pass from Schroeder and one-timed a shot past Ortio for his first goal of the season. Heat forward Austin Carroll scored at 2:44 of the period, extending the Stockton lead to 5-2. Carroll caught Irving out of position, beating him on the glove side for his fourth goal of the season. Iowa forward Zack Mitchell scored at 6:07 of the period, cutting the Heat lead to 5-3. Forwards Jordan Schroeder and Grayson Downing each tallied an assist on the play. Schroeder fed a pass to Mitchell just inside the blueline. Mitchell blasted a slapshot from the right point, beating Ortio for his 13th goal of the season. Heat forward Emile Poirier scored at 17:34 of the third period, giving Stockton a 6-3 lead. Forwards Derek Grant and Morgan Klimchuk each tallied an assist on the goal. Poirier took a one-timer from the bottom of the right circle, beating Irving for his sixth goal of the season. Wild forward Grayson Downing scored at 18:06 of the period, cutting the Heat lead to 6-4. Defenseman Chistian Folin and forward Zack Mitchell each picked up an assist on the play. Downing took a pass from Mitchell and snapped the puck past Ortio from the right circle for his 11th goal of the season. Stockton center Turner Elson added an empty-net goal at 19:39 of the period for his fifth goal of the season, putting the game out of reach at 7-4. Grant tallied an assist on the goal, giving him five points on the night.
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