Iowa Falls to Grand Rapids 2-1
Published on February 25, 2018 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Iowa Wild News Release
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. - Iowa Wild (26-17-7-3; 62 points) dropped its first contest of the six-game road trip 2-1 to Grand Rapids Griffins (29-19-1-6; 65 points) Saturday night at Van Andel Arena. The loss snapped the Wild's eight-game point streak against the Griffins.
Grand Rapids earned the win thanks to two power-play goals in the second period. After a scoreless first period, the Griffins got on the board first at 12:06 in the middle frame. Grand Rapids defenseman Vili Saarijarvi ripped a shot on net, which deflected off the body of forward Matthew Ford. Ford's deflection bounced past Wild goaltender Niklas Svedberg (31 saves) and gave the Griffins a 1-0 lead.
The Griffins doubled its lead when forward Matt Lorito lofted home a shot after a scramble in front of Svedberg. An initial shot by forward Eric Tangradi was blocked by an Iowa defenseman and with bodies sprawled in front of the net, Lorito flipped the puck top shelf to take a 2-0 lead at 16:32 in the second stanza.
Grand Rapids goaltender Tom McCollum (22 saves) looked destined for his first shutout of the season until Wild forward Kurtis Gabriel rifled a shot past him at 19:57 in the third period. With Svedberg pulled, Gabriel and forward Ryan White entered the attacking zone on a 2-on-1. White fed Gabriel a pass, who one-timed the shot off McCollum's blocker and into the back of the net. It was Gabriel's second goal of the season and White's second helper in as many games. Defenseman Ryan Murphy earned his 20th assist of the season on the play as well.
The loss dropped Iowa into fourth place in the Central Division, while Grand Rapids climbed into second.
Iowa hits the ice Sunday for the second game of the back-to-back series with Grand Rapids. Puck drop against the Griffins is at 3:00 p.m. CT.
The Iowa Wild 2017-18 season is presented by Mercy Medical Center and runs from October through April. For more information, please contact the Wild office by calling 515-564-8700 or by visiting www.iowawild.com.
American Hockey League Stories from February 25, 2018
- Gulls Come up Short against Stockton - San Diego Gulls
- Klimchuk's Two-Goal Night Helps Heat Double up Gulls 4-2 - Stockton Heat
- Machovsky Wins First Start as Griffins Sweep Iowa - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Iowa Earns Point in 3-2 Shootout Loss to Grand Rapids - Iowa Wild
- Moose Fall to Chicago 5-2 - Manitoba Moose
- P-Bruins Top Pack 2-0 Behind McIntyre's Sixth Shutout - Providence Bruins
- Bears Fall Short in 3-2 Defeat at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton - Hershey Bears
- Johnson's Two Goals Push Penguins Past Bears, 3-2 - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Wolves Take Down Moose in Manitoba - Chicago Wolves
- McIntyre, Bruins Stop Wolf Pack 2-0 - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Gudlevskis makes season-high 38 saves to earn his third shutout of the season - Bridgeport Islanders
- Sound Tigers Shut out Charlotte 1-0 - Charlotte Checkers
- Predators Acquire Grosenick, Bollig from Sharks - Milwaukee Admirals
- Two Former Griffins Earn Medals at 2018 Winter Olympics - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Blue Jackets Assign Forwards Zac Dalpe, Markus Hannikainen to Monsters - Cleveland Monsters
- Comets Loan Michael Garteig to Kalamazoo, Release Mathieu Brodeur - Utica Comets
- Heat Add Goalie C.J. Motte on Pro Tryout - Stockton Heat
- O'Brien Signs NHL Deal with Ottawa - Belleville Senators
- Flames Sign Cody Goloubef to Two-Way Contract - Stockton Heat
- Game Preview: Bears Finish Week with Afternoon Contest at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton - Hershey Bears
- McNally Signs PTO with Wolves - Chicago Wolves
- Tiffels, Wydo and Josephs Assigned to Wheeling - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Shot-Heavy Roadrunners Held Scoreless against San Antonio - Tucson Roadrunners
- Over 7,000 Watch Back and Forth Condors Loss to Ontario - Bakersfield Condors
- Hayden, Hogs Drop Hershey in Overtime - Rockford IceHogs
- Iowa Falls to Grand Rapids 2-1 - Iowa Wild
- Forward Andrew Agozzino's Overtime Winner Gives Rampage a 1-0 Victory over Roadrunners - San Antonio Rampage
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.
