Iowa defeat Monsters, 4-2

DES MOINES, IA – The Iowa Wild (26-22-5-2, 59 points) defeated the Cleveland Monsters (24-21-2-4, 54 points) 4-2 in front of 3,593 fans on Monday night at Wells Fargo Arena. Iowa forward Grayson Downing tallied a goal and an assist to help lead the Wild to victory over the Monsters. Forwards Zac Dalpe, Kurtis Gabriel and Teemu Pulkkinen also scored in the Iowa win. Iowa forward Alex Tuch also tallied two assists in the win. Wild goalie Alex Stalock (16-12-6) stopped 36 of 38 shots for the victory. Monsters goalie Brad Thiessen (2-4-1) stopped 36 of 39 shots in the loss. Defenseman Blake Seibenaler and forward Alex Petan each scored for the Monsters in defeat. Iowa heads to Chicago for a two-game visit starting on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 7 PM.

Iowa opened the scoring at 17:39 of the first period. Wild forward Grayson Downing scored his seventh goal of the season on a shorthanded penalty shot, giving Iowa a 1-0 lead. Downing beat Monsters goalie Brad Thiessen on the stick side.

Iowa forward Zac Dalpe scored his second goal of the year at 13:11 of the second period, extending Iowa’s lead to 2-0. The goal was set up by defensemen Hunter Warner and Nick Seeler. Warner’s pass from the blueline found Dalpe cutting towards the high slot. At 14:48 of the period, Monsters defenseman Blake Siebenaler made it a 2-1 game. Siebenaler’s third goal of the season was assisted by defensemen Marc-Andre Bergeron and John Ramage. Siebernaler redirected Bergeron’s shot to beat Wild goalie Alex Stalock on the glove side.

Iowa forward Kurtis Gabriel extended Iowa’s lead to 3-1 at 13:47 of the third period. Gabriel’s seventh goal was set up by forwards Alex Tuch and Grayson Downing. Monsters forward Alex Petan scored at 15:47 of the third period, making it a 3-2 game. Petan’s second goal of the season was unassisted. Teemu Pulkkinen scored an empty-net goal at 19:30 of the third period for a 4-3 final. Pulkkinen’s 18th goal of the season was assisted by Tuch.