The Des Moines Report: Hotel California

“Welcome to the Hotel California, such a lovely place”- The Eagles
Previously on ‘The Des Moines Report’. The Wild would end the first half of the season with a loss that would snap their three game win streak. Also, three Wild members were on hand in Springfield for the annual All-Star Game festivities. Cal O’Reilly, Kaapo Kahkonen, and Head Coach Tim Army. On this edition, the Wild would get the second half rolling in sunny and beautiful California as they would play three games in Bakersfield, San Diego and finally in San Jose. Let’s get to it.

Game 46: @ Bakersfield
The Wild would get the second half going on a strong note thanks to a Gerald Mayhew goal in the first period after Will Betten found him alone in front to give the Wild a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes of play. However, three goals in the middle frame found the Wild trailing 3-1 going into the third period. In the third, Mason Shaw would pull the Wild to within a goal, but that’s as close as they got as the Condors would add an empty net for a 4-2 Bakersfield victory. Kahkonen would stop 29 of the 32 Condors shots he faced unfortunately picking up the loss. The power-play would go 1-for-3 while the penalty kill went 3-for-4.

Game 47: @ San Diego
The following night, the Wild would be back in action, this time against the Gulls from San Diego. Iowa would find themselves down 2-0 before Luke Kunin would jam one home in front of the net to cut the deficit to just one goal after the 1st period. No goals were scored in the second, but two goals early, and then an empty netter would give the Gulls a 4-1 victory and extend the Wild’s losing streak to three games. With the back-to-back Andrew Hammond would be between the pipes as he would turn away 30 of the 33 Gulls shots they threw his way. The power-play would go scoreless in their four opportunities while the penalty-kill went 4-for-5.

Making Moves:
While on their West Coast road-trip, the parent club would make some moves sending two of the top Iowa players up to Minnesota. Along with that move, they would recall C.J. Motte from Allen.

Game 48: @ San Jose
For the second time this road-trip, the Wild would get on the board first after a Louie Belpedio goal just passed the midway point. In the second, the Wild would continue to build their lead after a Mayhew and Colton Beck pair of goals 1:18 apart. The Barracuda would cut the Wild lead to two as the Wild would go to the third up 3-1. San Jose would pull within one late in the third, but a goal just 1:36 by Mayhew would seal the deal for a 4-2 Wild victory snapping their three game losing streak. Kahkonen would turn away 24 of the 26 Barracuda shots for the victory. The power-play would go 1-for-3 while the penalty-kill was successful in killing off all four of the San Jose chances.

Making Moves: Pt. 2

With Mikko Koviu being done for the year, JEEK would get the call-up.

Looking Ahead:

This weekend is a very special one at Wells Fargo Center. Friday night is the Local Heroes Night game, while Saturday night is the Pink the Rink game both against San Antonio. Those, however, are the only two times the Wild are in action in the coming week but both are games you want to be in attendance for.

Central Division Standings:

Stat Leaders: