Wild Beat Griffins 5-2, O'Leary Records Four Points
March 3, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Iowa Wild News Release
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Mike O'Leary assisted on all three of Iowa's first period goals and added an empty-net tally as the Wild beat the Grand Rapids Griffins 5-2 at Van Andel Arena Friday night.
Riley Sawchuk gave Grand Rapids a 1-0 lead 5:37 into the game when he one-timed a pass from Dominik Shine past Zane McIntyre (29 saves) on a two-on-one rush.
Brandon Baddock tied the contest at 1-1 just 1:07 later when he deflected a point shot by Simon Johansson through Victor Brattstrom (26 saves). O'Leary was also credited with an assist on the play.
Sammy Walker put Iowa up 2-1 at 8:44 of the first period. After O'Leary circled the Grand Rapids zone and fired a shot toward the net, Walker corralled the rebound and punched it past a sprawling Brattstrom.
Iowa's scoring onslaught continued with 7:50 remaining in the opening frame. O'Leary and Adam Beckman combined to set up Turner Ottenbreit at the point, who blasted a slap shot through a screen and under Brattstrom.
Donovan Sebrango pulled the Griffins back to a 3-2 deficit with a one-timer off a feed from Taro Hirose 25 seconds later.
Iowa carried the 3-2 lead and an 11-9 shot advantage into the first intermission.
The two teams played a scoreless second period in which Grand Rapids outshot Iowa 13-6. The Wild led 3-2 entering the third but trailed 22-17 in shots.
Nic Petan provided Iowa with a crucial goal with 11:37 remaining. After Beckman and Steven Fogarty battled to put the puck on the Grand Rapids net, the rebound kicked into the left circle for Petan, who buried a shot into the empty cage to make the score 4-2.
O'Leary iced the game for Iowa with an empty-net goal at 17:20 with an assist from Ottenbreit. O'Leary became the first Wild skater to record four points in a game this season with the goal.
Iowa and Grand Rapids each finished with 31 shots and both teams went 0-for-3 on the power play.
The Wild and Griffins match up again on Saturday, Mar. 4 at 6 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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