DES MOINES, Iowa – Iowa Wild (24-25-4-4; 56 pts.) defeated the Rockford IceHogs (27-23-4-1; 59 pts.) in overtime by a final score of 5-4 in front of 8,042 fans at Wells Fargo Arena. Wild forward Mitchell Chaffee scored two goals, including the overtime winner, and registered an assist in the win.
With 54-seconds remaining in the first period, IceHogs forward Brett Connolly beat Wild goaltender Zane McIntyre (27 saves) on a rebound chance to give Rockford a 1-0 lead.
After a first period in which the IceHogs were the only team to score, Rockford led 1-0 over Iowa. The Wild led 13-9 in shots through one period.
Wild forward Adam Beckman blasted a rebound chance past Rockford goaltender Arvid Soderblom (43 saves) from the bottom of the left circle at 1:08 of the second period. His goal tied the game 1-1 and was assisted by Chaffee and Iowa forward Dominic Turgeon.
With the Wild on the powerplay, Chaffee accepted a pass from Wild defenseman Calen Addison, stepped into the top of the right circle and fired a wrist shot past Soderblom to give Iowa a 2-1 lead. Chaffee’s goal came at 7:51 of the second period and Addison and Wild forward Marco Rossi were credited with assists on the play.
A pass off the boards from Addison sprung Wild forward Bryce Gervais on a breakaway and Gervais capitalized at 11:25 of the second period to extend Iowa’s lead to 3-1. Addison recorded the lone assist on the play.
Rockford forward Evan Barratt scored on a wrist shot from the left circle at 13:08 of the second period to cut the Wild’s lead to 3-2.
Off an offensive zone faceoff win on the powerplay, Iowa forward Kyle Rau beat Soderblom from the slot at 17:31 of the second period to give the Wild a two-goal lead once again. Wild forward Mason Shaw tallied an assist on the play.
Following a second period in which five total goals were scored, Iowa led Rockford by a score of 4-2. The Wild outshot the IceHogs 14-11 in the second period and led 27-20 in shots through two periods.
At 7:01 of the third period, Barratt finished a chance directly in front of McIntyre to make the score 4-3 in favor of Iowa.
Connolly beat McIntyre on a one-timer at 16:56 of the third period to tie the game 4-4.
Iowa and Rockford could not break the 4-4 tie before the conclusion of the third stanza and the Wild and IceHogs headed to overtime. Shots in the third period were 18-11 in favor of Iowa and the Wild led 45-31 in shots through the end of regulation.
In overtime, Chaffee and Rossi broke free on a two-on-one chance and Chaffee ripped home the overtime winner from the top of the left circle at 2:16 of the period to lift Iowa to 5-4 victory. Iowa did not allow a shot in overtime as they outshot Rockford 3-0. The Wild outshot the IceHogs 48-31 in the game.
Iowa was 2-for-4 and Rockford was 0-for-3 on the power play on the night.
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