Coralville, Iowa — The Iowa Heartlanders fell to the Kalamazoo Wings, 5-1, Wednesday at Xtream Arena. Kalamazoo scored three times in the third period.
Zach Okabe scored the game-winning goal at 5:16 of the second to give Kalamazoo the lead for good, 2-1. Luke Pavicich made 24 saves for the win. Riley Mercer made 28 saves on 33 shots for the Heartlanders in defeat.
Kalamazoo opened the scoring 2:50 into the match. Ryan Cox snuck a shot past Mercer, tallying his fourth goal of the season.
Iowa evened the game with a shot from the left point by Stevie Leskovar, his first as a pro, 3:04 into the second period. Kalamazoo responded with Okabe’s eventual game winner two minutes later, regaining the lead for the Wings.
Kalamazoo scored back-to-back special teams goals to make it 4-1 in the first seven minutes of the third. Hunter Strand scored short-handed 5:58 into the frame. Jayden Lee followed up with a power-play goal 1:18 later. Nolan Walker put a bow on the evening with a four-on-four goal for the Wings with two minutes left, giving Kalamazoo a 5-1 lead.
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