DES MOINES, IA – After allowing a tying goal late in the third, Cleveland’s Lake Erie Monsters battled through a grueling overtime period to defeat the Iowa Wild in a shootout on Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, IA by a 3-2 final score.
With the win, the Monsters improved to 5-2-0-2 overall this season and with 12 points and a .667 points percentage, remain alone in third place in the AHL’s Central Division standings.
In his first appearance for Iowa this season, Grayson Downing started the scoring at 3:58 of the opening period, but the Monsters battled back to tie the game at one on a Michael Paliotta power-play goal at 17:41 of the first, assisted by Alex Broadhurst and Daniel Zaar. Broadhurst then combined with Ryan Craig to set up the middle frame’s lone score, a Michael Chaput power-play marker at 12:35 that gave Lake Erie their first lead.
After a hard-fought third period slid by mostly scoreless, Iowa’s Kellan Lain tied the game at two at 15:57, and after a goalless overtime frame, the Monsters and Wild headed for a three-round shootout for the second time this season. Lake Erie’s Sonny Milano provided a first round conversion for the Monsters that proved, after three straight stops from Monsters goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, to be the decisive tally in a 3-2 Lake Erie win.
Thanks to a 35-save performance in regulation, Korpisalo improved to 2-0-2 this season for the Monsters while Wild backstop Leland Irving took the shootout loss despite 33 stops.
Next up for the Monsters, it’s a Sunday afternoon rematch vs. the Wild with live coverage underway from Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines at 4 pm on ESPN 850 WKNR and the Monsters Hockey Network.
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