March 25, 2023

DES MOINES, Iowa - Iowa Wild’s netminder Zane McIntyre closed the door on all 27 shots from the Grand Rapids Griffins, as the home team took a 3-0 victory on Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena.

McIntyre has been a problem for the Griffins all season, as the eighth-year pro posted a 5-1-0 mark, a 2.15 goals against average and a 0.932 save percentage against Grand Rapids. The Griffins’ penalty kill finished 4-for-4 but the Wild matched Grand Rapids with four kills of their own. Grand Rapids finished the season series against Iowa with a 3-5-1-1 record. The Griffins remain within eight points of the Rockford IceHogs for the final playoff spot in the Central Division.

Iowa struck first 4:32 into the contest when Nic Petan notched his 20th goal of the season on a 3-on-2 break from the slot. The Griffins were outshot 6-0 in the opening 9:09 of play, but gathered moment as the period drew to a close and finished the frame with a 9-7 shot deficit.

Grand Rapids’ penalty-kill unit was on display in the second, killing off 1:10 of a 5-on-3 power play for the Wild. Just minutes after regaining full strength, netminder John Lethemon pulled off a miraculous save on Patrick Curry on the doorstep at the right post with 12:55 remaining in the frame.

However, Turner Ottenbreit doubled Iowa’s lead to two during a delayed penalty call when he collected a rebound at the right circle and smashed home his fourth of the season at 7:19. Three of Ottenbreit’s four goals this campaign have come against the Griffins, which include two tallies this weekend.

With a do-or-die mentality, Grand Rapids came out firing in the final period and outshot Iowa 17-10. However, it was the Wild who would score the lone goal in the frame. The Griffins pulled Lethemon for an extra attacker with three minutes remaining and Petan registered his second goal of the game at 18:54 with an empty netter to seal the 3-0 victory for Iowa.

Notes

• Joel L’Esperance, Danny O’Regan and Pontus Andreasson all saw their two-game goal streaks come to an end. O’Regan was held without a point for just the second time in the past nine outings (4-5—9).
• Despite the defeat, Grand Rapids still has points in seven of its last 11 games (5-4-1-1).
• The Griffins were shut out for the fourth time this season, with half of those coming against the Wild.
• Grand Rapids remained without Cross Hanas, Elmer Soderblom, Albert Johansson, Jared McIsaac and Victor Brattstrom due to injury, and Austin Czarnik, Matt Luff, Simon Edvinsson and Alex Nedeljkovic due to recall by Detroit.

Box Score
Grand Rapids 0 0 0 - 0
Iowa 1 1 1 - 3

1st Period-1, Iowa, Petan 20 (Fogarty), 4:32. Penalties-Shine Gr (fighting), 1:20; Mermis Ia (fighting), 1:20; Johansson Ia (hooking), 7:14; served by Tyutyayev Gr (bench minor - too many men), 16:08.

2nd Period-2, Iowa, Ottenbreit 4 (Swaney, Petan), 7:19. Penalties-Worrad Gr (tripping), 3:22; Shine Gr (slashing), 4:12; Hunt Ia (slashing), 15:25; Lashoff Gr (cross-checking), 18:08.

3rd Period-3, Iowa, Petan 21 (Ottenbreit), 18:54 (EN). Penalties-Baddock Ia (hooking), 3:20; O’Rourke Ia (hooking), 12:20.

Shots on Goal-Grand Rapids 7-3-17-27. Iowa 9-13-10-32.
Power Play Opportunities-Grand Rapids 0 / 4; Iowa 0 / 4.
Goalies-Grand Rapids, Lethemon 1-2-1 (31 shots-29 saves). Iowa, McIntyre 15-11-4 (27 shots-27 saves).
A-6,707

Three Stars
1. IA Petan (two goals, assist); 2. IA McIntyre (SO, W, 27 saves); 3. IA Ottenbreit (goal, assist)

Record / Next Game
Grand Rapids: 27-30-4-3 (61 pts.) / Wed., March 29 vs. Chicago 7 p.m.
Iowa: 31-24-5-5 (72 pts.) / Sat., April 1 vs. San Diego 6 p.m. CDT

Photo by Tim Garland/Wild