Wild rout Rockford, 5-1

ROCKFORD, Ill, – The Iowa Wild (22-19-4-1, 49 points) defeated the Rockford IceHogs (14-23-5-3, 36 points) 5-1 in front of 5,944 fans on Saturday night at the BMO Harris Bank Center. Rookie Alex Tuch scored twice and goalie Alex Stalock made 34 saves as the Wild racked up its seventh straight road victory. Stalock improved to 13-10-4 and helped Wild move to 13-7-2-0 on the road this season.  Forward Zack Mitchell also scored and added an assist in the victory. The Wild now have points in 10 of its last 11 games (8-1-2-0). Defenseman Maxime Fortunus and Teemu Pulkkinen also scored for Iowa. Hogs goalie Jeff Glass (2-4-1) stopped 24 of 29 shots in defeat. After the All-Star Break, Iowa plays in Cleveland on Friday at 6 PM CT.

After a scoreless first period, Iowa claimed the game’s first lead at 4:02 of the second period. Rookie Alex Tuch picked off a pass in the Rockford zone and moved in alone on goalie Jeff Glass. Tuch’s first shot was stuffed, but he was able to corral the rebound and shuffle it past Glass for his 10th of the year and a 1-0 Iowa lead. The Hogs countered at 6:26 of the period, Hogs forward Mark McNeill centered for Jeremy Langlois, who tipped the puck past Alex Stalock for the 1-1 score. Langlois’ third goal of the season was also set up Gustav Forsling. Iowa moved back in front at 11:01 off Teemu Pulkkinen’s team-leading 13th goal of the season. Defenseman Mike Weber ripped a shot from the blueline and Pulkkinen redirected the shot past Glass for the 2-1 lead. Defenseman Zach Palmquist added an assist on the tally. The Wild made it a 3-1 game at 14:01, when defenseman Maxime Fortunus ripped a shot from the top of the right-wing circle that trickled through the pads of Glass. Defenseman Gustav Olofsson and forward Zack Mitchell each had an assist on Fortunus’ second goal of the season.

In the third period, Iowa added to its lead with a power-play tally by Zack Mitchell at 11:47. The Wild worked the puck around with Sam Anas and Mario Lucia setting up Mitchell’s fifth goal of the season for the 4-1 lead. Iowa rookie Alex Tuch added his second unassisted goal of the game at 13:39 for his 11th of the season and a 5-1 final.