Iowa Drops Preseason Opener to Rockford in 4-3 Decision
October 2, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Iowa Wild News Release
DES MOINES, Iowa - The Iowa Wild opened the preseason with a narrow 4-3 defeat to the Rockford IceHogs in a morning game at BMO Center. Matthew Sop scored twice for Iowa and Louka Henault recorded two assists.
Iowa opened the scoring when Will Calverley tipped a point shot from Henault through Mitchell Weeks (27 saves) at 8:12 of the first period. Dakota Raabe also earned an assist on the goal.
Rockford capitalized on a turnover with 51 seconds remaining in the opening frame when Brett Seney set up Frank Nazar with a back door feed that Nazar finished past Kyle McClellan (five saves).
The teams entered the first intermission tied at 1-1. Iowa outshot Rockford 13-6 in the opening 20 minutes.
William Rousseau (24 saves) replaced McClellan to start the middle frame.
The IceHogs took a 2-1 lead 2:45 into the second period when Ryder Rolston capitalized on an odd-man rush.
The Wild equalized just 1:13 later with another tip-in goal. Will Zmolek set up Henault for a one-timer that Sop tipped to the back of the net.
Matus Spodniak restored a one-goal advantage for Rockford when he corralled a rebound and tucked the puck past the right pad of Rousseau at 5:44.
Sop pulled Iowa even again with 2:06 to play in the second. Adam Raska forced a turnover along the wall and Jack O'Brien set up Sop in the high slot for a wrister over the blocker of Weeks.
The Wild outshot the IceHogs 25-20 through two periods and entered the break tied with Rockford at 3-3.
Rockford took the lead for good when Ethan Del Mastro poked a loose puck across the goal line on the power play with 8:36 remaining.
The IceHogs outshot the Wild 33-30. Iowa finished scoreless on three power play opportunities while Rockford went 1-for-3 with the man advantage.
Iowa and Rockford meet again for the second and final game of the preseason on Thursday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa.
The Iowa Wild open the 2024-25 regular season against the Manitoba Moose at Wells Fargo Arena on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 6 p.m.
Iowa Wild hockey is presented by Kwik Star. For more information on Iowa Wild hockey, please visit www.iowawild.com. Fans can purchase single-game tickets through the team's website at www.iowawild.com. Group tickets (10 or more), suites, Wild 365 memberships or premium tickets can be purchased by contacting the Iowa Wild Ticket Department at 515-564-8700 or tickets@iowawild.com. Season tickets for 2024-25 are on sale now. Fans can purchase season tickets for the upcoming season at https://www.iowawild.com/wild-365.
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