ANOTHER WILD COMEBACK

DES MOINES, Iowa – Tallies from Tyler Bertuzzi and Ben Street erased a two-goal, third-period deficit before Martin Frk scored on the power play 1:34 into overtime to guide the Grand Rapids Griffins to a 3-2 victory over the Iowa Wild on Wednesday at Wells Fargo Arena.

The Griffins’ Western Conference-leading 0.697 points percentage is tied with the 2013-14 (25-10-1-2, 0.697) edition for the second-best record in franchise history after 38 games, trailing only the 2000-01 (29-6-3, 0.803) squad. The result also gives Grand Rapids its 11th win in 14 games and a 4-0-0-1 record against Iowa on the season series.

The visitors had the edge in momentum in a scoreless opening period, with the best chance coming when Eric Tangradi sent a backhanded pass to Mitch Callahan at the right circle for a wrist shot into the outstretched catching glove of Alex Stalock at the 16:43 mark.

Chances were also few and far between in the middle frame, though Iowa (18-19-3-1) came close on the power play near the halfway point courtesy of a Colton Beck wrist shot from the top of the right circle that grazed Cal Heeter’s catching glove and the crossbar.

The Wild broke the scoreless tie on the man advantage 1:34 into the third. Alex Petan sent a pass from the left corner to Gustav Olofsson at the left point for a wrist shot past a screened Heeter. Sam Anas capitalized on another power play to give the hosts a two-goal edge. Seven seconds into a Matt Caito hooking minor, Anas received a pass from Olofsson at the right point before working his way down to the right circle and placing a wrist shot in the top left corner at the 8:31 mark.

Bertuzzi responded 29 seconds later to put the Griffins (25-10-1-2) on the scoresheet when he raced towards the goal mouth to redirect Frk’s centering pass off the left post and in to snap an eight-game goal drought.

Street rescued a point for Grand Rapids with 5:38 remaining in regulation. Aggressive forechecking paid off as Street took the puck off Zach Palmquist's stick at the left circle and lifted a sharp-angle shot over the blocker-side shoulder of Stalock.

The Griffins opened the extra session with Callahan, Street and Robbie Russo while Iowa countered with Pat Cannone, Mike Reilly and 2013 Calder Cup champion Teemu Pulkkinen. The visitors were gifted a power play when Stalock was called for holding the stick 30 ticks in, negating a potential Wild 3-on-1. With under a minute left in the 4-on-3, Russo fed the puck across to Frk at the top of the left circle for a one-timer that rocketed past Stalock for his 13th goal of the campaign with 3:26 on the clock.

Grand Rapids finished 1-for-5 on the power play while the Wild capitalized on 2-of-3 chances. Heeter blocked 23 shots for his sixth win in seven starts. Stalock turned away 37 shots in addition to receiving an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty following Frk’s heroics.

The Griffins return to Van Andel Arena on Friday to begin a five-game home stand against the Chicago Wolves at 7 p.m.

Notes: Nine of Frk’s 13 goals this season have come on the man advantage…Grand Rapids has netted a power play marker in eight consecutive games and 13 of the last 14…Street has earned points in five straight contests and has 11 points (7-4–11) in his last eight overall...Four of the past five meetings between the Griffins and Wild have been decided by a single goal...Grand Rapids is 3-1 in overtime this season.

Three Stars: 1. GR Frk (overtime-winning goal, assist); 2. IA Olofsson (goal, assist); 3. IA Stalock (OTL, 37 saves)