Iowa rallies for road win

WINNIPEG, MB – The Iowa Wild (8-23-2-3, 21 points) defeated the Manitoba Moose (9-16-1-3, 22 points) 4-3 in a shootout in front of 8,438 fans at the MTS Centre on Friday night. The Iowa Wild never led throughout the evening, erased multiple deficits and claimed a come-from-behind shootout victory on the road. Iowa Captain Maxime Fortunus scored 8:21 into the third period, capping a Wild comeback and tying the game 3-3 – eventually forcing overtime. Forwards Zack Mitchell and Tyler Graovac netted shootout goals and goalie Leland Irving stopped both Moose attempts to secure the road win. Irving (5-12-3) finishing with 25 saves in regulation for the victory. Graovac and Kurtis Gabriel each picked up a regulation goal in the club’s fifth road win of the season. Moose forward Darren Kramer collected the Gordie Howe hat trick, as the two teams split the two-game set in Winnipeg. Manitoba goalie Eric Comrie (7-8-3) turned aside 35 in regulation and did not make a save in the shootout defeat. Iowa heads to Milwaukee for its next game on Jan. 9 at 7 p.m.

Manitoba jumped out to a 1-0 lead at 5:45 of the first period. Catching Iowa on a line change, Moose forwards Kelly Zajac and Darren Kramer created an odd-man rush. Zajac set up Kramer for the finish and his first goal of the year sailed past Irving for the game’s first goal. Defenseman Josh Morrissey added an assist on the goal. The Moose held the puck in late in the first, creating the team’s 2-0 lead at 14:31 of the opening frame. Defenseman Brenden Kichton sent the puck to the Iowa crease. Kramer got a piece of it and Jimmy Lodge finished off the play for this first goal of the year and a 2-0 lead. Iowa’s Kurtis Gabriel helped cut his team’s deficit in half at 17:47. Gabriel scooped up an errant puck in the high slot of the Moose zone. He snapped a wrist shot inside the post and past Comrie for his third goal of the campaign, cutting the Manitoba lead to 2-1.

Manitoba regained its’ two-goal advantage at 8:46 of the second period. The Moose worked the puck in the Iowa zone with John Albert and Matt Fraser playing the puck to the Wild net. Albert’s shot inadvertently banked off the skate of Patrice Cormier, who was set up in front of the Iowa cage providing a screen. Cormier’s fifth goal of the year made it 3-1 Manitoba. Iowa used the game’s first power play to pull within a goal late in the second period. Defenseman Gustav Olofsson found center Brett Sutter down low, along the Manitoba goal line, to the left of goalie Eric Comrie. Sutter slipped a pass between the circles for a streaking Tyler Graovac. The Wild forward lifted a wrist shot over the shoulder of Comrie for his first goal of the season and a 3-2 deficit at 19:02.

Iowa tied the game 8:21 into the final period, as Captain Maxime Fortunus jammed in a rebound for his second goal of the year and a 3-3 game. The Wild worked the puck around and pressed the Moose net with Grayson Downing and Zack Mitchell working the puck low and Fortunus jamming a loose puck past Comrie to tie the game.

After a scoreless overtime, Iowa bested Manitoba 2-0 in the shootout to earn the extra point. Mitchell snapped a shot past Comrie and Graovac slipped a shot between the Manitoba goalie’s pads. Irving stopped Scott Kosmachuk and Nic Petan on the Moose’s attempts, preserving the win.