DES MOINES, IA – The Iowa Wild (14-14-2-1, 31 points) defeated the Rockford IceHogs (10-14-2-3, 25 points) 4-1 in front of 6,517 fans on Monday night at Wells Fargo Arena.
Right wing Teemu Pulkkinen scored twice and added an assist to lead Iowa over Rockford. Iowa goalie Alex Stalock (9-7-2) stopped 22 of 23 for the victory.
Wild forwards Mario Lucia and Christoph Bertschy also scored, as Iowa improved to 8-10-0-1 at home this season. Rockford goalie Lars Johanson (5-8-1) made 18 saves as the Hogs saw their four-game point streak snapped. Iowa plays in Milwaukee at 7 PM CT on Wednesday night.
Rockford jumped out to a 1-0 lead by capitalizing off its second power play of the game. Defenseman Ville Pokka walked down the right side of the Iowa zone and snapped a wrist shot over the shoulder of Alex Stalock for the 1-0 lead. Defenseman Erik Gustafsson and forward Spencer Abbott each had an assist on Pokka’s second goal of the year. Iowa used its second power play of the game to even the scoreboard. Right wing Teemu Pulkkinen carried the puck into the Hogs zone, deep into the right-wing corner. Pulkkinen dropped the puck back for Alex Tuch, who found Mario Lucia with a one-touch pass to the high slot. Lucia rifled a wrist shot past the glove of goalie Lars Johansson for his fourth goal of the season and a 1-1 tie at 18:06 of the first period.
Iowa moved in front off a breakaway goal by Pulkkinen at 16:42 of the second period. The Wild forward blocked a shot at his own blueline and chased down the loose puck in the neutral zone. Pulkkinen moved in alone on Johansson and snapped in his 10th goal of the year for the 2-1 lead. The Wild made it a 3-1 moments later after Christoph Bertschy scored his second goal of the season at 18:40. Bertschy cut towards the high slot and rifled a wrist shot past Johnasson for the two-goal cushion. Forward Zack Mitchell and defenseman Mike Weber helped set up the team’s third goal of the night.
Late in the third period, Iowa sealed the victory with an empty-net goal by Pulkkinen at 18:15 for the 4-1 lead. Lucia added the lone assist on Pulkkinen’s 11th of the season.
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