GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- The Grand Rapids Griffins earned a point in front of a sellout crowd at Van Andel Arena on Sunday but fell to the Iowa Wild in overtime, 3-2. 

Amadeus Lombardi scored his first goal since returning from injury on Feb. 19 and Sheldon Dries posted his team-high 19th of the year. Austin Watson skated in his 800th professional game while Brogan Rafferty collected an assist in his 300th professional outing. Goaltender Sebastian Cossa manned the crease for Grand Rapids, saving 29 shots in the contest. Through 29 games (15-10-4), Cossa has maintained a .914 save percentage alongside a 2.34 goals-against average. 

Iowa earned the first tally of the game when Brendan Gaunce sent the puck past the glove of Cossa with 2:15 left in the first period. At 18:34, the Griffins suffered a penalty and the Wild marked their second tally just six seconds into the man-advantage, courtesy of Hunter Haight redirecting the puck home on the doorstep. However, Grand Rapids cut the deficit to one with 25 seconds left in the frame. Lombardi skated above the left circle and fired a shot toward the goalmouth, cashing in through the five-hole of Jesper Wallstedt. 

The Griffins killed off a pair of penalties in the middle frame and tied the game at two with just 18 seconds left in the period. Carter Mazur wound up for a slapshot in the right circle, but his stick snapped on contact. However, the puck drifted into the low slot and Dries collected it, juked out the goaltender and scored on the backhand.  

Grand Rapids generated multiple scoring chances in the third period, alongside three man-advantage opportunities, but failed to light the lamp, extending the game to overtime. The Griffins threatened to skate away with the win when Lombardi had a breakaway look 1:54 into the extra period, but Wallstedt turned it away. Then, at 2:27, Ben Jones skated into the right circle and snapped the puck past Cossa for the overtime-winner, as the Griffins fell 3-2.

Notes

• Grand Rapids dropped to 2-4 in the extra period this season.
• The Griffins are 4-11-2-0 when trailing after one period.
• Despite cashing in two power-play tallies on Friday, Grand Rapids finished 0-for-6 on the man-advantage tonight.
• The sellout crowd of 10,834 at Van Andel Arena marked the Griffins’ fourth sellout this year and their second straight dating back to Friday’s game against Lehigh Valley.

Box Score

Iowa 2 0 0 1 - 3
Grand Rapids 1 1 0 0 - 2

1st Period-1, Iowa, Gaunce 15 (Clarke, Cecconi), 17:45. 2, Iowa, Haight 14 (Gaunce, Clarke), 18:34 (PP). 3, Grand Rapids, Lombardi 10 (Buium, Rafferty), 19:35. Penalties-Sandelin Ia (hooking), 3:01; Watson Gr (tripping), 7:38; Sandelin Ia (tripping), 10:04; Tuomisto Gr (holding), 12:33; Shine Gr (roughing), 18:28.

2nd Period-4, Grand Rapids, Dries 19 (Mazur), 19:42. Penalties-Clarke Ia (broken stick), 8:21; Mazur Gr (hooking), 9:42; Tuomisto Gr (tripping), 14:30.

3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Sop Ia (high-sticking), 2:32; Didier Gr (tripping), 5:13; Johnson Ia (tripping), 8:40; Raška Ia (hooking), 11:04.

OT Period-5, Iowa, Jones 7 (Lambos, Clarke), 2:27. Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Iowa 11-9-11-1-32. Grand Rapids 15-10-14-1-40.
Power Play Opportunities-Iowa 1 / 6; Grand Rapids 0 / 6.
Goalies-Iowa, Wallstedt 7-11-2 (40 shots-38 saves). Grand Rapids, Cossa 15-10-4 (32 shots-29 saves).
A-10,834

Three Stars

1. IA Jones (overtime-winner); 2. IA Gaunce (goal, assist); 3. GR Lombardi (goal)

Record/Next Game 

Grand Rapids: 27-19-4-1 (59 pts.) / Tues., Feb. 25 at Texas 8 p.m. EST

Iowa: 17-30-3-1 (38 pts.) / Wed., Feb. 26 vs. Chicago 7 p.m. CST

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins