DES MOINES, Iowa – The woes of the Iowa Wild continued on Tuesday evening as the team fell to the Tucson Roadrunners for the second straight time, and suffered their fourth straight loss. With the loss, the Wild fell to third in the AHL’s Central Division for the first time this season. Adin Hill stopped all 30 shots he faced for his eighth win and 60th of his AHL career.
Adin Hill: Stopped 30 Shots for His Ninth Career Shutout
Iowa outshot Tucson in the first period, 11-8, but it would be the Roadrunners who would light the lamp first. With a little over three minutes left in the frame, Kyle Capobianco made a great pass out of his zone to Michael Chaput at the Wild blueline. Chaput passed the puck to Michael Bunting, who moved in on Iowa goaltender Mat Robson, but the puck was knocked off his stick. Unfortunately, for the Wild, it came right to Chaput, who beat Robson with a wrist shot glove side for his 10th goal of the year.
Tucson extended their lead to two in the second. Just over five minutes into the period, the Roadrunners came out of their end on a 3-on-2 break. Jeremy Gregoire carried the puck into the Iowa zone, firing a wrist shot that Robson kicked away. However, the rebound came to Jon Martin, who was crashing the net. He knocked it in for his ninth goal of the year.
That was all the support that Adin Hill needed. The Tucson goaltender recorded his ninth career shutout as he stymied Iowa all night long, stopping all 30 shots he faced. This was on full display in the third when the Wild were buzzing around the Tucson goal. Matt Register’s shot was saved, but Sam Anas had two great rebound opportunities that Hill denied.
Mat Robson: Stopped 25 of 27 Shots
Despite taking the loss, Robson was sharp in net. He stopped 25 of 27 shots, lowering his goal against average to 3.00. Robson snapped a streak of four straight games where he allowed four or more goals in each contest.
This was a very clean contest as well. Only five penalties were called in the game, all in the second period. Iowa was 0-2 on the power-play as they were shutout for the second time this season. Their four-game losing streak is the longest since the team lost eight straight at the end of last season.
The Wild (12-10-4) head back to the road, traveling to California to take on the Ontario Reign (11-11-2) on Saturday. Both teams are in third in their division. Ontario enters the contest 3-7-0 in their last 10 games, while Iowa is 3-6-1 in their last 10. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 8:00 CT.
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