Nov 9, 2024
ROCKFORD, Ill. – The Iowa Wild broke the third period open on Saturday night at BMO Center with three unanswered goals to beat the Rockford IceHogs by a 6-3 score. Liam Öhgren recorded a hat trick for Iowa while Luke Toporowski scored twice in his first game of the season.
Cole Guttman put Rockford on the board 4:33 into the first period with a turnaround finish past Dylan Ferguson (30 saves).
Öhgren tied the game 2:44 later when he collected a stretch pass from Travis Boyd and finished his breakaway with a shot under Drew Commesso (24 saves).
Toporowski stepped across the top of the right circle and beat Commesso to the glove side on a power play rush with 35 seconds remaining in the opening frame. David Spacek and Caedan Bankier picked up assists on Toporowski’s goal.
Each team finished the opening 20 minutes with nine shots.
Iowa extended its lead to 3-1 at 4:37 of the second period. Haight found Öhgren in the high slot, who collected his initial bid after it hit Travis Boyd in front and fired a shot inside the right post.
Guttman pulled the IceHogs back within one with a power-play goal at 19:52.
Iowa outshot Rockford 22-18 through two periods and carried a 3-2 lead into the break.
Brett Seney tied the contest 20 seconds into the final period, but Iowa responded with three goals to close out the game.
Toporowski put Iowa ahead for good with an unassisted goal at 1:39 when he drove the net and squeezed a backhand shot inside the near post.
Bradley Marek tipped a corner shot from Joseph Cecconi through Commesso 27 seconds later to make the score 5-2.
Öhgren wrapped the scoring on the power play when he slammed a centering feed from Devin Shore home with 8:50 to play. Bankier earned his second assist of the game on Öhgren’s hat trick goal.
Rockford outshot Iowa 33-30. The Wild finished 2-for-2 on the power play while the IceHogs went 2-for-3 with the man advantage.
Iowa returns to Wells Fargo Arena on Friday, Nov. 15 to host the Texas Stars on Hockey Fights Cancer Night.
Iowa Wild hockey is presented by Kwik Star. For more information on Iowa Wild hockey, 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
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