The Iowa Heartlanders were not ashamed of their performance on Wednesday night at Xtream Arena, despite a 5-4 overtime loss to the Utah Grizzlies. 

“I think we got off to a fast start,” Heartlanders head coach Gerry Fleming said. “I thought we played well all game, to be honest with you. I thought it was one of our better games of the season. We ran into a hot goaltender, and they scored some timely goals.” 

Grizzly forward Benjamin Tardif scored the game-winning goal at 2:37 of overtime, allowing Utah to claw back from what was once a 3-1 deficit in the first period.

The Heartlanders struck first one minute into the game when forward Ryan Kuffner scored from the right circle to give Iowa the early advantage. A short 95 seconds later, Iowa defenseman Fedor Gordeev tallied his first goal since opening night.

The Grizzlies answered back early in the first period when forward Brian Bowen found the back of the net. But on the first power play of the night, Iowa forward Zach White extended the Heartlanders’ lead halfway through the first period.

Bowen scored again 12 minutes into the period. Then, before the first period closed, Grizzly forward Mason Mannek converted on a shot with about three minutes left to make the contest tied at three at the first intermission.

The second period went scoreless in its first half, but then Heartlander forward Kris Bennett recorded a goal from the left circle about halfway through the period to regain Iowa’s lead. But that didn’t last until the end of the period, as Mannek tallied a power play goal with 36.1 seconds left.

“I thought we did a great job on both sides of the puck,” Kuffner said. “I think a couple of breakdowns here and there early kind of cost us, and we were playing catch up for a little bit and a step behind the play for that second period, but other than that, the boys were flying.”

Big picture 

With the fall in overtime, the Heartlanders gained a point in the standings, moving to 17-21-6-1 on the 2021-22 campaign. 

Iowa moved back into last place in the ECHL Central Division with 41 points. The Indy Fuel, sixth in the central division, have 42 points.

The Heartlanders also showed promise against a solid goaltender. Grizzly goaltender Trent Miner entered the matchup fifth in the ECHL with a 2.30 goals against average in 15 games. His save percentage was at .921.

In-game goaltender switch

Hunter Jones started in the net for the Heartlanders on Wednesday, but he didn’t finish. Jones surrendered three goals on 11 shots in the first 20 minutes and was subbed out for Dereck Baribeau. 

Baribeau allowed two goals on 15 shots as the contest’s losing goaltender. 

“I just thought we needed a change,” Fleming said.

Both goaltenders are under contract with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild and have competed both with the Heartlanders and the AHL’s Iowa Wild in the 2021-22 season.

Up next

The Heartlanders and the Grizzlies will compete in the second of a three-game series between the clubs when they face off at 7 p.m. Friday at Xtream Arena.

Friday’s contest is Faith & Family Night. University of Iowa football defensive lineman Logan Lee and volleyball middle blocker Hannah Clayton will be guest speakers at the game.