Grand Rapids went Wild on Iowa for a 6-1 victory Wednesday night. Photo/Grand Rapids Griffins
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Grand Rapids Griffins went wild on the Iowa Wild Wednesday night in an impressive 6-1 victory. The Wild held a 1-0 halfway through the first frame, but the Griffins exploded for six unanswered goals.
Trevor Parkes earned his first two-goal game in the AHL while goalie Petr Mrazek has a record of 11-1 in his last 12 starts and lowered his goals allowed average to an even 2.00.
Gustav Olofsson scored the first tally of the game during a power play for the Wild at the 11:25 mark. After taking a pass on his backhand, he switched to his forehand and thread the shot between Mrazek’s blocker and the post for a 1-0 tally. This was Olofsson’s first professional game since finishing his season at Colorado College.
Two-and-a-half minutes later, Adam Almquist set up Parkes for his first goal when he let out a cannon of a shot that Wild goaltender Johan Gustafsson denied. Parkes grabbed the rebound and dropped it in the net and tied things up.
With 3:59 remaining, Mitch Callahan took a puck to the face that left him bloodied and missing teeth. It was waived off due to incidental goaltender screening, and he left the game under his own power but didn’t return.
Grand Rapids scored less than a minute later when Martin Frk took a pass from Andrei Nestrasil in the left circle and ripped the puck into the net at 16:43 for the 2-1 lead. Jordin Tootoo scored at the 4:36 mark of the second period off a standard wrist shot from the point.
Louis-Marc Aubry and Corey Emmerton each scored while Parkes also netted his second goal for the final tally of 6-1.
Grand Rapids (44-20-2-4) extends it’s lead in the Midwest Division by seven points over the Chicago Wolves with six games remaining in the season. The Griffins will play a weekend set at home against the Hamilton Bulldogs tonight and tomorrow, with both opening faceoffs at 7 p.m.
