DES MOINES, Iowa – Iowa Wild (31-28-4-5; 71 pts.) beat the Grand Rapids Griffins (31-32-6-2; 70 pts.) by a final score of 5-2 at Wells Fargo Arena on Tuesday, Apr. 19. Wild forward Marco Rossi recorded a goal in the win, giving him 51 points on the season and the record for the most points recorded in a single season by an Iowa Wild rookie.
Wild forward Nick Swaney caused a turnover directly in front of Griffins goaltender Victor Brattstrom (23 saves) and lifted the puck into the Grand Rapids net at 7:29 of the first period. His goal was unassisted, and it gave Iowa a 1-0 lead.
Swaney’s tally was the only goal scored in the first period and the Wild held a 1-0 lead at the conclusion of the period. Grand Rapids led 7-6 in shots after the first stanza.
At 13:48 of the second period, Rossi slammed home a rebound to extend Iowa’s lead to 2-0. Assists on the play were credited to Wild defenseman Turner Ottenbreit and Swaney.
A wrist shot from Iowa forward Kyle Rau deflected off Griffins defenseman Wyatt Newpower and past Brattstrom at 16:21 of the second period to give the Wild a 3-0 lead. Wild forward Mason Shaw and Wild defenseman Kevin Czuczman recorded assists on Rau’s goal.
With 17-seconds remaining in the second period and Grand Rapids on the power play, Griffins forward Jonatan Berggren beat Wild goaltender Zane McIntyre (28 saves) with a one-timer from the bottom of the right circle to cut Iowa’s lead to 3-1.
After the Wild and the Griffins combined to score three total goals in the second period, Iowa carried a 3-1 lead into the second intermission. The Wild outshot the Griffins 13-10 in the period and led 19-17 in shots through two periods.
Grand Rapids forward Kyle Criscuolo scored on a wrist shot from the left circle at 2:17 of the third period to make the score 3-2 in favor of Iowa.
Wild forward Nick Swaney cut in front of the Griffins net and created a rebound chance for Shaw who ripped a shot past Brattstrom to give Iowa a 4-2 lead at 12:27 of the third period. Shaw’s goal came at 4-on-4 and Swaney and Wild defenseman Calen Addison recorded assists on the play.
Down 4-2 with less than one-minute remaining in the third period, the Griffins pulled Brattstrom for the extra attacker.
With 28-seconds left in the third period, Swaney accepted a feed from Rau in the Griffins defensive zone and scored on the empty net to give Iowa a 5-2 lead. Rau and Shaw assisted on Swaney’s second goal of the game.
Iowa held their lead through the end of regulation and sealed a 5-2 victory. Grand Rapids outshot Iowa 13-8 in the third period and 30-28 in the game.
The Wild were 0-for-5 and the Griffins were 1-for-2 on the power play on the night.
Up next for the Wild is a second consecutive home contest as they face the Texas Stars at Wells Fargo Arena on Friday, Apr. 22 at 7:00 p.m. CT.