Minnesota Wild Prospects Score Five Unanswered, Down Chicago
September 16, 2022 – American Hockey League (AHL) – Iowa Wild News Release
CHICAGO – After falling behind 2-0 early in the second period, prospects from the Minnesota Wild scored five unanswered goals to take down the Chicago Blackhawks prospects at Fifth Third Arena.
Jesper Wallstedt (35 saves) was stellar in net for Minnesota. The 19-year-old netminder kept the Wild in the contest, stopping 16 of 17 shots in the first period and holding the Blackhawks scoreless for the final 37:53 of play.
Facing a 2-0 deficit early in the second period, Sam Hentges pulled the puck through the skates of a Blackhawks defender and beat netminder Jaxson Stauber (27 saves) high to pull Minnesota within one.
With Minnesota on the power play midway through the period, Hentges beat Stauber high once again, but his effort careened off the bar and into the left circle. Caedan Bankier slammed the puck home along the ice to knot the contest at two.
The power play unit broke the tie just 3:47 into the third, providing the eventual winning goal. Adam Beckman scored the first of three Minnesota third period goals with assists from Carson Lambos and Marco Rossi.
Josh Pillar gave the Wild breathing room with a tally just 1:39 later. The forward snapped a shot past Stauber, off the post, and in at 5:26 of the third with helpers from Kevin Conley and Kyle Masters.
Wallstedt shut the door moments later, denying Evan Barratt point blank on a two-on-one opportunity. The Swede ultimately stopped 35 of 37 Chicago shots in his debut in a Minnesota Wild uniform.
Vladislav Firstov netted an insurance goal with 8:13 to play in the third. Conley picked up an assist on the final goal for his second point of the night. Hentges and Lambos also had two-point games.
Chicago took an early lead on the first shot of the game thanks to an early wrister from Colton Dach just 23 seconds into the contest. Cole Guttman got on the board for the Blackhawks 2:07 into the second with assists from Josiah Slavin and Nolan Allan.
Minnesota went 2-for-2 on the power play and 1-for-1 on the penalty kill.
The prospects will face off again at Fifth Third Arena on Sunday, Sept. 18 at 1 p.m.
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