Iowa Falls 3-2 in Overtime in Game 1 of Central Division First Round
April 20, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Iowa Wild News Release
ROCKFORD, Ill. - After the Iowa Wild and Rockford IceHogs required overtime in Game 1 of the Central Division First Round Wednesday night, Rocco Grimaldi scored at 3:59 of the extra frame to hand Rockford a 3-2 win.
Iowa got on the scoreboard 3:26 into the contest. After Tanner Kaspick sent the puck up the wall to Dakota Mermis, Mermis fired a shot through traffic that hit the post behind Arvid Soderblom (29 saves). Mitchell Balmas pounced on the rebound in the left circle and buried the follow-up effort into an empty net.
David Gust tied the game at 1-1 with a one-timer past Jesper Wallstedt (28 saves) from above the circles just 18 seconds later.
Brett Seney put the IceHogs up 2-1 with 2:05 left in the first when he swatted the rebound of a shot by Isaak Phillips into the back of the net.
Rockford carried the 2-1 lead and a 13-8 shot advantage into the first intermission.
Steven Fogarty knotted the game back up with a power-play goal 4:14 into the middle frame. Nic Petan pulled the puck out of a tangle of skates along the wall and found an open Fogarty, who walked in and fired a wrister past Soderblom. Joe Hicketts earned a secondary assist on the play.
The teams entered the second intermission tied at 2-2. The IceHogs held a 21-16 lead in shots through 40 minutes.
Neither team was able to break the deadlock in the third period, which sent the game to overtime.
Grimaldi scored 3:59 into overtime with a shot under the blocker of Wallstedt from the right circle.
The Wild and IceHogs each had 31 shots. Iowa went 1-for-1 on the power play while Rockford was 0-for-2 with the man advantage.
Iowa hosts Rockford at Wells Fargo Arena Friday, Apr. 19 at 7 p.m. in Game 2 of the Central Division First Round.
• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...
American Hockey League Stories from April 20, 2023
- Checkers Even Series in Epic 2 OT Thriller - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Checkers Stay Alive with Double Overtime Win in Game 2 - Charlotte Checkers
- Abbotsford Canucks vs Bakersfield Condors Game 2 Preview - Abbotsford Canucks
- Zamula Undergoes Successful Shoulder Surgery - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Tye Kartye Named AHL's Most Outstanding Rookie - Coachella Valley Firebirds
- Coachella Valley's Tye Kartye Voted Winner of Dudley (Red) Garrett Memorial Award for 2022-23 - AHL
- Wolf Pack Set to Host First Calder Cup Playoff Game Since 2015 - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Syracuse Crunch Sign Defenseman Chris Harpur to PTO - Syracuse Crunch
- Griffins' 2023-24 Home Opener Set for October 13 - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Roadrunners Drop Game One 5-1 at Acrisure Arena, Firebirds Lead Series 1-0 - Tucson Roadrunners
- Firebirds Clip Roadrunners in Game One of Calder Cup Playoffs, 5-1 - Coachella Valley Firebirds
- Max Sasson and Jack Rathbone Power Canucks to 3-0 Victory for First Ever Playoff Win - Abbotsford Canucks
- Rydahl Plays Hero in Eagles' 3-2 Overtime Win Over Ontario - Colorado Eagles
- Grimaldi Gives Hogs Game 1 Win with OT Winner - Rockford IceHogs
- Iowa Falls 3-2 in Overtime in Game 1 of Central Division First Round - Iowa Wild
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
