Iowa double-up Griffins, 4-2

DES MOINES, IA  – The Iowa Wild (15-28-3-3, 36 points) defeated the Grand Rapids Griffins (26-18-1-1, 54 points) 4-2 in front of 10,097 fans on Friday night at Wells Fargo Arena. Iowa scored four-unanswered goals over a span of 13:16, ending a 10-game winless streak against Grand Rapids. Wild forward Christoph Bertschy scored two goals and added an assist for a three-point night and forward Jordan Schroeder extended his point streak to seven games, breaking the Iowa Wild franchise record. Iowa goalie Steve Michalek (3-0-0) stopped 35 of 37 shots in the victory. Forwards Tyler Graovac and Zack Mitchell added a goal each in the Wild win. Grand Rapids goalie Tom McCollum (5-9-0) made 24 saves on 28 shots in the Griffins’ first loss at Wells Fargo Arena in franchise history, dropping their record to 8-1-0-0 in Des Moines. Defenseman Ryan Sproul and forward Tomas Nosek added a goal each in the Grand Rapids loss. Iowa hosts Grand Rapids on Saturday for a rematch at 7 p.m.

Forward Tomas Nosek gave the Griffins a 1-0 lead scoring shorthanded just 8:47 into the first period. Nosek picked up a loose puck behind the net, sneaking it inside the right post with a wraparound for his eighth goal of the season. Wild forward Christoph Bertschy scored at 10:09 of the period, tying the game 1-1. Defenseman Gustav Olofsson and forward Zack Mitchell each earned an assist on the power-play goal. Olofsson received the puck from Mitchell and fed a pass to Bertschy at the left point. Bertschy one-timed a slap shot through the five-hole of goalie Tom McCollum for his ninth goal of the season. Iowa forward Tyler Graovac scored at 12:43 of the period, giving the Wild a 2-1 lead. Bertschy and forward Colton Beck each tallied an assist on the goal. Bertschy led a rush up ice and fired a shot on net. Goalie Tom McCollum made the initial save but Graovac picked up the rebound and swept the puck into the open net for his third goal of the season.

Wild forward Zack Mitchell scored at 1:21 of the second period, extending Iowa’s lead to 3-1. Defensemen Gustav Olofsson and Maxime Fortunus each tallied an assist on the goal. Standing in the slot, Mitchell redirected a Fortunus shot past McCollum for his 17th goal of the season. Bertschy scored his second goal of the night at 3:25 of the period, giving Iowa a 4-1 lead. Forwards Grayson Downing and Jordan Schroeder each picked up an assist on the power-play goal. Downing skated into the offensive zone down the left boards before firing a shot off of McCollum’s leg pad. The rebound bounced onto Bertschy’s stick and he wristed the puck past McCollum for his 10th goal of the season.

Griffins’ defenseman Ryan Sproul scored at 2:34 of the third period, cutting the Iowa lead to 4-2. Forwards Mark Zengerle and Tomas Nosek each tallied an assist on the goal. Sproul and Zengerle passed the puck back-and-forth along the blueline, setting up a one timer for Sproul. The defenseman one-timed a slap shot from the point, beating Michalek on the blocker side for his fifth goal of the season.