A slow first period proved to be the difference-maker for the Iowa Heartlanders in their 5-2 loss to the Kalamazoo Wings on Friday night.

The Heartlanders surrendered three goals in the opening period and couldn’t complete the comeback effort in front of 1,809 fans at Xtream Arena.

“We made three mistakes,” said Heartlanders head coach Gerry Fleming regarding the first period. “I thought the guys were going to come out. We had a good skate this morning. We had good meetings, but we came out flat. That’s unacceptable. From the drop of the puck, you got to be ready, and tonight it wasn’t the case.”

Although the Heartlanders and the Wings ended the first period with nine shots each, Kalamazoo found gaps in Iowa’s defense and kept control of the puck.

Kalamazoo forward Zach Jordan finished the night with his first career hat trick. Jordan opened the scoring in the first period, and Wings forward scored Kalamazoo’s second goal just 30 seconds later.

A silver lining for the Heartlanders came from forward Ryan Kuffner, who scored two goals following his activation from reserve. Kuffner scored in both the second and third period.

“It’s always nice to see that when you come off injured reserve and you get a couple of goals,” Fleming said.

Kuffner found the back of the net for the first time since he recorded the Heartlanders’ first goal in franchise history on Oct. 22. 

Big picture

Following three consecutive wins, the Heartlanders dropped to 15-19-5-1 and remain in last place in the ECHL Central Division standings. Iowa lost by more than a goal for the first time since Jan. 2, when they fell at the Indy Fuel, 4-1.

There are 32 games left for the Heartlanders in the 2021-22 regular season.

Smith continues hot January

Jake Smith added to his impressive stat line when he was credited with the primary assist on one of Kuffner’s goals.

The assist extended his point streak to 10 games, which started when he tallied a goal and an assist at the Rapid City Rush on Jan. 8. The forward has 10 goals and 10 assists in the first month of 2022.

Smith was named the ECHL Player of the Week on Jan. 19 after racking up four goals and two assists from Jan. 10-16. He is the first skater in franchise history to earn the honor.

Up next

The Heartlanders will face the 20-16 Wings again at Xtream Arena on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Iowa will dress in special jerseys for the Heartlanders’ Marvel Theme Night.

“We’re going to have to find a way to bounce back,” Fleming said.