Nov. 4, 2022

DES MOINES, Iowa - In dramatic fashion, the Grand Rapids Griffins defeated the Iowa Wild 5-4 in overtime on the behalf of Jonatan Berggren’s penalty-shot goal at Wells Fargo Arena on Friday.

Berggren was awarded a penalty shot when former Griffin Joe Hicketts knocked the cage from its foundation 1:16 into the overtime period. The Swedish forward took full advantage, shifting the puck from right to left and beating his fellow countryman Jesper Wallstedt in net with a shot over the diving goaltender for the 5-4 win.

Pontus Andreasson recorded two assists in the Griffins’ victory and Taro Hirose extended his point streak to five with the game-tying tally in the final period. Berggren led the way for Grand Rapids with three points (1-2—3). The Griffins notched a season-high 40 shots and it was just the second time this season Grand Rapids has outshot their opponent (40-26).

Joel L’Esperance kicked things off by scoring from the crease at 10:04 in the first as Jared McIsaac found him with a pass from the slot and the Brighton, Mich., native slid the disc just behind the pads of Wallstedt. Sammy Walker knotted things up on a one-on-one opportunity with Victor Brattstrom (22 saves) with 5:40 left as the Wild were shorthanded.

Only two seconds after a power play for Grand Rapids had expired, Donovan Sebrango gave the Griffins a 2-1 lead with a rifle of a shot into the top shelf from the left circle at the 16:00 mark on the behalf of a cross-ice feed from Andreasson.

Continuing to find his teammates in the right place, Andreasson slipped the puck to Givani Smith in front of the cage and Smith snuck it through the five-hole of Wallsetdt to increase the lead to two with 1:37 remaining in the first. Smith’s goal was his first of the 2022-23 campaign.

The Wild rebounded in the second stanza with three goals in the first 11:47 of play from Mitchell Chaffee (1:15), Tanner Kaspick (10:28) and Ty Ronning at 11:47 with his fourth goal of the series to take a 4-3 lead. After 20 shots in the first, the Griffins were held to just nine in the middle frame.

With 4:47 left in the contest, Hirose played the part of the hero with a goal from the slot to tie things up at four apiece. The Wild had a chance to escape with a win on a power-play opportunity beginning at 16:45 in the third period, but the Griffins’ penalty kill fought off Iowa to force overtime.

Berggren secured the comeback victory in overtime on a penalty shot and now has points in four consecutive outings (4-3—7). Tonight was the first time since 2012 and the second time ever that Grand Rapids had won in overtime on a penalty shot, with the first coming from Doug Janik against the Rochester Americans on April 10, 2012.

Notes
- Trenton Bliss made his season debut for Grand Rapids after playing three games and recording two points (1-1–2) with the Toledo Walleye (ECHL).
- Simon Edvinsson is now tied for first in assists among rookies with a helper on Smith’s first-period goal with seven.
- The Griffins’ penalty kill finished the night fending off six of the Wild’s seven power-play opportunities.

Box Score
Grand Rapids 3 0 1 1 - 5
Iowa 1 3 0 0 - 4

1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, L’Esperance 4 (McIsaac, Berggren), 10:04 (PP). 2, Iowa, Walker 5 14:20 (SH). 3, Grand Rapids, Sebrango 2 (Andreasson, Kampfer), 16:00. 4, Grand Rapids, Smith 1 (Andreasson, Edvinsson), 18:23 (PP). Penalties-Bliss Gr (boarding), 6:19; Giroux Ia (interference), 6:34; Mermis Ia (interference), 9:50; L’Esperance Gr (slashing), 11:28; Fogarty Ia (interference), 13:58; served by Curry Ia (bench minor - too many men), 17:01.

2nd Period-5, Iowa, Chaffee 2 (Beckman, Sustr), 1:15. 6, Iowa, Kaspick 1 (Hunt, Ronning), 10:28. 7, Iowa, Ronning 4 (Cramarossa, Swaney), 11:47 (PP). Penalties-Edvinsson Gr (holding), 2:48; L’Esperance Gr (cross-checking), 10:54; Andreasson Gr (tripping), 13:08; Lacroix Gr (unsportsmanlike conduct), 14:31; Cramarossa Ia (unsportsmanlike conduct), 14:31.

3rd Period-8, Grand Rapids, Hirose 2 (Berggren), 15:13. Penalties-Ronning Ia (holding the stick), 5:33; Edvinsson Gr (holding), 9:09; Worrad Gr (tripping), 16:45.

OT Period-9, Grand Rapids, Berggren 4 1:16 (PS). Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-Grand Rapids 20-9-9-2-40. Iowa 11-11-4-0-26.

Power Play Opportunities-Grand Rapids 2 / 5; Iowa 1 / 7.

Goalies-Grand Rapids, Brattstrom 2-0-0 (26 shots-22 saves). Iowa, Wallstedt 0-0-3 (40 shots-35 saves).

A-6,213

Three Stars
1. GR Berggren (game-winning goal, two assists); 2. GR Andreasson (two assists); 3. IA Ronning (goal, assist).

Record / Next Game
Grand Rapids: 5-4-0-0 (10 pts.) / Sat., Nov. 5 at Rockford 8 p.m. EDT
Iowa: 2-3-1-2 (7 pts.) / Sun., Nov. 6 at Rockford 4 p.m.

Photo by Tim Garland/Wild