DES MOINES, Iowa – Iowa Wild (23-25-4-3; 53 pts.) dropped the first of a two-game weekend set against the Manitoba Moose (32-17-3-2; 69 pts.) by a score of 5-2 at Wells Fargo Arena on Saturday, Mar. 19. Iowa forwards Nick Swaney and Kyle Rau both recorded a goal and an assist in the loss.
Manitoba defenseman Simon Lundmark beat Wild goaltender Zane McIntyre (24 saves) from the top of the right circle to kick off the scoring at 10:26 of the first period. The Moose led 1-0 following Lundmark’s tally.
Moose forward Nicolas Jones pushed a backhand shot past McIntyre on a rebound chance at 17:39 of the first period. Jones’ goal extended Manitoba’s lead to 2-0.
After scoring twice in the opening period, Manitoba held a 2-0 lead over Iowa. Shots in the first period were 14-5 in favor of the Moose.
After an Iowa faceoff win and a shot from Rau, Swaney sprawled out to push the rebound chance past Moose goaltender Evan Cormier (27 saves) at 7:56 of the second period. His goal made the score 2-1 in favor of Manitoba and Rau and Wild forward Victor Rask recorded assists on the play.
With Manitoba on the power play, Moose forward Bobby Lynch beat McIntyre with a slap shot from the top of the left circle at 13:53 of the second period. His goal gave Manitoba a 3-1 lead.
With one-minute remaining in the second period, Rau deflected a shot from Wild defenseman Turner Ottenbreit past Cormier to make the score 3-2 in favor of the Moose. Ottenbreit and Swaney were credited with assists on the goal.
Moose forward Mikey Eyssimont scored on a breakaway chance with 31-seconds left in the second period to give Manitoba a 4-2 lead.
After a back-and-forth second period, the Moose held a 4-2 lead over Iowa as both teams went into the second intermission. Iowa outshot Manitoba 10-9 in the second period but trailed 23-15 in shots through two periods.
Moose forward Cole Maier scored from the bottom of the left circle at 8:47 of the third period to push Manitoba’s lead to 5-2.
The Wild pulled McIntyre for the extra attacker at 17:50 of the third period. Following an Iowa penalty at 18:23 of the third period, he was returned to the Iowa net for the remainder of the game.
The Moose prevailed by a final score of 5-2. Iowa led 14-6 in shots in the third period and both teams finished the game with 29 shots.
Manitoba was 1-for-5 and Iowa was 0-for-2 on the power play in the contest.
The Wild and the Moose play for the second time in as many days on Sunday, Mar. 20 at 3 p.m. CT.
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