Rossi's Hat Trick Powers Wild to 6-2 Win Over Gulls
March 18, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Iowa Wild News Release
San Diego, Calif. - After the San Diego Gulls tied the game early in the second period, Marco Rossi responded with his first professional hat trick to power the Iowa Wild to a 6-2 road victory. Jesper Wallstedt made 34 saves in the win.
Brandon Baddock handed Iowa a 1-0 advantage 10:29 into the contest with a breakaway finish over the blocker of Gage Alexander (17 saves).
Mike O'Leary doubled the lead for the Wild with 6:36 remaining in the first period. O'Leary picked up a clearance by Damien Giroux and snapped a shot over the shoulder of Alexander.
Iowa carried the 2-0 lead into the first intermission. The Wild outshot the Gulls 13-3.
Michael Del Zotto pulled San Diego within a goal with a power-play marker 5:43 into the second period.
Brent Gates Jr. tied the game 1:15 later when he finished off a give-and-go with Brayden Tracey from the right circle.
Rossi restored Iowa's lead with 6:56 to play in the second with a power-play goal. O'Leary freed a puck up for Nic Petan in the corner, who snapped the puck out to Rossi at the point. Rossi walked in and wired a wrister over the glove of Alexander to record his 14th goal of the season.
Iowa entered the second intermission with a 4-2 lead thanks to a goal with three seconds to play in the middle stanza. Petan fed a puck up the wall for Simon Johansson, who snapped a shot pass to the front of the net for Rossi to deflect home.
San Diego held a 22-19 shot advantage through two periods of play.
Rossi completed the hat trick 11:46 into the third period. Mitchell Balmas forced a turnover along the wall and threaded a pass through the seam for Rossi to finish past the blocker of Alexander.
Petan capped the scoring with an empty-net goal at 17:12 of the third to complete a three-point night.
The Gulls outshot the Wild 36-23. Iowa went 1-for-3 on the power play while San Diego was 1-for-5 with the man advantage.
Iowa wraps up a four-game road swing against San Diego at Pechanga Arena on Tuesday, Mar. 21 at 9 p.m.
Iowa Wild hockey is presented by MercyOne. For more information, 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 2023-24 are on sale now. Fans can purchase season tickets for the upcoming season at https://www.iowawild.com/wild-365.
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