Third-period theatrics from forward Ryan Kuffner pushed the Iowa Heartlanders past the Kalamazoo Wings Friday night at Xtream Arena. The 25-year-old scored three goals in the frame, leading to a 4-2 Iowa win.

“That’s awesome,” Kuffner said of his hat trick. “The boys support me and kept me up when I missed a couple chances in the first, and they set me up for some good ones. None of them were just me, so I’m thankful for the boys.”

Before Kuffner made his run, the Heartlanders struggled. Iowa surrendered two goals to Kalamazoo in the first 10 minutes of the game.

“We were down 2-0, but I didn’t think we were playing bad,” Heartlanders head coach Gerry Fleming said. “We made a couple of mistakes and they ended up in the back of our net, but we stayed with it tonight. Overall, I thought we played really well.”

Big picture

With the victory, the Heartlanders ended their six-game losing streak and moved to 28-31-8-1 on the 2021-22 regular season. The Heartlanders have rallied back from a first-period deficit on three occasions this season.

The Heartlanders are tied for sixth place in the ECHL Central Division with the Indy Fuel, as both clubs own 65 standings points. With four regular season games remaining, the Heartlanders could finish fifth, sixth, or last in the division.

Iowa was eliminated from the Kelly Cup Playoffs on Wednesday evening.

Kozlowski returns to the crease

Friday’s game was Iowa goaltender Trevin Kozlowski’s first since Feb. 19. Though he allowed two early goals, he was strong for the rest of the night, recording 26 saves.

“It’s nice getting back out there and being with the guys and battling with them,” Kozlowski said. “It was a great atmosphere tonight, there was a lot of people in the stands, so it’s fun.”

The left-handed catcher is 9-10-2 with the Heartlanders this season.

Up next

The final home game of the Heartlanders’ season takes place Saturday at 7 p.m. against the Fuel. The Heartlanders are 15-14-5-1 at Xtream Arena, and any result but a regulation loss Saturday will ensure the Heartlanders finish above .500 inside their home rink.

Iowa is 3-3-1-0 against Indy this season.

The Heartlanders will wrap up their 2021-22 campaign in Texas. Iowa will take on the Allen Americans on April 13, 15, and 16. The Americans were the NHL’s Minnesota Wild’s minor league affiliate prior to the Heartlanders’ inaugural season in 2021-22.