MARCH WILDNESS

Iowa Wild 4 at GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 2

March 14, 2018

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Down 2-0 less than three minutes into the game, the Iowa Wild got off the mat before scoring three quick goals in the third period to claw out a 4-2 victory over the Grand Rapids Griffins on Wednesday at Van Andel Arena.

With the Griffins clinging to a one-goal lead through 40 minutes, two goals by Gerald Mayhew sandwiched Dante Salituro’s second of the night, all in a span of 1:54 to help solidify Iowa’s third-place position (29-18-9-5, .590, 72 pts.) over fourth-place Grand Rapids (32-23-1-6, .573, 71 pts.) in the Central Division race. The two teams entered the night with just one-one thousandth of a point separating their records.

The Griffins, now 1-4 since the blistering 21-4-0-3 stretch that lifted them into the playoff picture, will stage the second of a seven-game run against divisional foes on Friday when the fifth-place Rockford IceHogs come to town at 7 p.m., trying to close their two-point gap to Grand Rapids.

In the first of four pivotal meetings between these teams over a span of just 11 days, Ben Street got things started only 14 seconds in, as he took an Eric Tangradi feed from below the goal line and roofed it into Niklas Svedberg’s net from just outside the crease.

Matt Puempel’s 21st goal of the campaign doubled Grand Rapids’ advantage at the 2:36 mark. Rushing into the Iowa zone, Tangradi centered a pass to the left hashmarks that deflected off Puempel’s right skate blade and slid inside the left post.

Iowa’s Ryan White incurred a five-minute boarding major and a game misconduct for crushing Turner Elson into the boards several minutes later, setting the Griffins up with 4:29 of power play time once a penalty to Corey Elkins expired. But the visitors staunched the bleeding, killing off that major and maintaining the two-goal deficit through 20 minutes despite being outshot 15-6.

Street, Puempel and Tangradi each finished the opening period with two points on the ledger, while Elson never returned to the game.

The Wild pulled within one 10:36 into the second period thanks to Salituro’s first AHL goal of the season and second of his career, as he pounced on a rebound in the slot and slipped a backhand past Tom McCollum while falling to the ice.

Down 2-1 entering the third, the undermanned Iowa squad – who lost veterans Zack Mitchell and Ryan Murphy to Minnesota recalls this afternoon, saw White sent to the showers and lost former Griffin Matt Caito to injury following his thunderous center-ice hit on Dylan Sadowy – circled the wagons and rallied for the win.

Mayhew, the former Ferris State Bulldog, stuffed a backhand past McCollum at the right post at 5:09, before Iowa caught the Griffins in a line change to charge in on a 2-on-1 that ended with Salituro burying Kyle Rau’s drop pass at 6:38.

A fluky play increased Iowa’s margin 25 seconds later. As Mayhew attempted a shot from the right circle, the puck deflected off the stick of a sliding Joe Hicketts, caromed hard off the glass, cleared the crossbar and dropped inches from the goal line, where it was inadvertently knocked across by McCollum as he scrambled to locate it.

The Griffins pulled McCollum for an extra attacker with 2:18 remaining but could not get any closer, losing at home to the Wild in regulation for the first time in four games this season (3-1-0-0) and just the fourth time in 19 all-time meetings (14-4-0-1) in West Michigan.

Svedberg trumped McCollum in the save department, 30-29. Iowa (0-4) and Grand Rapids (0-3) both failed to convert on the power play.

Note: Fourteen seconds was the fastest goal by a Griffin to start a game since Dec. 27, 2014 vs. Iowa, when Andy Miele scored 14 seconds into an eventual 9-2 Grand Rapids victory at Van Andel Arena.

Three Stars: 1. IA Salituro (two goals); 2. IA Meyhew (two goals); 3. GR Puempel (goal, assist)