HOGGAN'S HEROES

DES MOINES, Iowa – Goals from Martin Frk and Evgeny Svechnikov helped the Grand Rapids Griffins overcome a two-goal deficit, but the Iowa Wild responded with a pair of late tallies in a 4-2 decision on Friday at Wells Fargo Arena.

Alex Tuch led all skaters with three points (1-2–3), netting what proved to be the game-winning goal to earn first-star accolades while Steve Michalek turned aside 31-of-33 shots to earn the victory. The result extended the Wild’s point streak to a franchise record-tying 10 consecutive games (7-0-3), matching a 5-0-3-2 run lasting from Jan 15-Feb. 7, 2014.

Iowa (25-19-5-1) withstood early pressure and grabbed the lead 3:54 into the opening period. After Tuch lost control of the puck driving the net, Maxime Fortunus gained possession and sent a sharp-angle shot from the bottom of the right circle that grazed Eddie Pasquale’s blocker-side shoulder and trickled inside the left post.

The hosts added to their lead when Mike Weber held Frk’s clearing attempt at the left point before sending a pass across to Mike Reilly for a snapshot off the right post and in past a screened Pasquale at the 17:49 mark.

Pasquale made a pair of highlight-reel saves to keep the deficit at two with just over four minutes gone in the middle frame. Teemu Pulkkinen set up Tuch for a one-timer at the left circle forcing a kick save from Pasquale, but Tuch grabbed his own rebound and seemed to have the goal at his mercy only to be denied by the Grand Rapids netminder’s outstretched catching glove.

Frk put the Griffins (30-14-1-2) on the scoresheet when he took a backhanded feed from Tomas Nosek at the right circle and lifted a heavy wrist shot into the top right corner for his team-leading 17th goal of the campaign with 9:45 left in the second stanza.

Svechnikov restored parity for Grand Rapids 1:18 into the third. After Michalek was unable to corral Nathan Paetsch’s slapshot from the right point, Svechnikov pounced on the rebound in front and guided the puck into an open net. The goal pushed Svechnikov’s point streak to nine straight games, logging 11 points (4-7–11) in that stretch.

The Wild regained the lead on their second power play opportunity of the final frame. While Svechnikov served a tripping minor, Tuch’s initial effort from the top of the right circle was blocked by Dan Renouf, but the puck hopped right back onto Tuch’s stick for a shot inside the left post with 12:22 remaining.

The Griffins threw the kitchen sink at Iowa, pulling Pasquale for the extra attacker and putting six forwards on the ice following a timeout with 1:32 on the clock. However, the strategy backfired when Pulkkinen added an empty-netter with 43 seconds remaining.

Iowa finished 1-for-4 on the power play while Grand Rapids came up empty in a 0-for-4 performance. Pasquale blocked 26-of-29 shots in defeat.

The Griffins have a rematch against the Iowa Wild on Saturday with puck drop from Wells Fargo Arena set for 8 p.m. EST.

Notes: Paetsch played in his 800th professional game, logging the primary assist on Svechnikov’s goal…Nosek has registered an assist (0-5–5) in four consecutive outings while Frk has earned points (3-3–6) in four straight…Grand Rapids is 22-6-0-1 all-time against the Wild, including an 11-3 record at Wells Fargo Arena.

Three Stars: 1. IA Tuch (game-winning goal, two assists); 2. IA Michalek (W, 31 saves); 3. IA Reilly (goal)