DES MOINES, Iowa – The Iowa Wild opened a weekend series against the San Jose Barracuda with a 4-1 win at Wells Fargo Arena on Saturday night. Travis Boyd and Michael Milne each recorded a goal and an assist while Jesper Wallstedt turned aside 31 shots in the victory.
Ben Jones scored the fastest goal in Iowa Wild history when he pounced on a San Jose turnover and beat Yaroslav Askarov (32 saves) just 15 seconds into the game.
The Wild doubled the lead with 11 seconds remaining in the opening frame. After Hunter Haight sent the puck wide for Travis Boyd, Boyd threw a centering pass in front that Milne slammed home.
Iowa outshot San Jose 15-10 in the first period and carried a 2-0 advantage into the break.
Graeme Clarke pulled a puck through a defender’s skates and set up Brendan Gaunce in the left circle for a finish along the ice at 4:54 of the second period. Daemon Hunt also earned an assist on Clarke’s goal.
The Wild outshot the Barracuda 24-19 through 40 minutes.
Colin White batted a rebound out of the air to break the shutout at 12:23 of the third period.
Boyd wrapped the scoring with a goal on the empty net with an assist from Milne with 1:05 to play.
Iowa outshot San Jose 36-32. The Wild and Barracuda each finished 0-for-5 on the power play.