Glens Falls, NY - The Adirondack Flames lost a tough one on Wednesday evening as they were shutout by the Iowa Wild by a 4-0 final score at the Glens Falls Civic Center.
Despite 28 shots on net, 16 of which in the first period, the Flames failed to put the puck behind Iowa netminder Darcy Keumper, who earned his first AHL win and shutout of the season. Offensively for the Wild, Jon Blum, Brett Sutter, Guillaume Gelinas and Michael Keranen all scored in the victory, while Brett Bulmer and Stephane Veilleux each added a pair of assists.
The Wild jumped out in front at the 10:28 mark of the opening period when Guillaume Gelinas beat Joni Ortio with a wrist shot from the top of the far circle. While playing with the man-advantage, Iowa cycled the puck around the offensive zone, and when it made its way to Gelinas, he let a shot go through traffic and into the net. The goal, which was Gelinas’ second of the season, came on the power play and was assisted by Veilleux and Bulmer.
Iowa doubled its lead at 9:05 of the second period, when Jon Blum wristed a shot by Ortio from the blue line. Much like the Wild’s first goal of the evening, the puck made its way through heavy traffic in front, and eluded Ortio. The marker, which was Blum’s sixth of the campaign, came on the power play and was assisted by Veilleux and Justin Faulk.
The visitors extended their lead to three at 15:35 of the middle frame when Brett Sutter scored his seventh goal of the season. As the Flames worked to break out of their defensive zone, Iowa was able to keep the puck in the zone. Michael Keranen then found Sutter all alone in front, who made a quick move to beat a sprawling Ortio. Keranen and Bulmer were both credited with assists on the goal.
The Wild added their fourth and final goal of the evening with 1:04 remaining in the second period when Keranen beat Ortio for his eighth goal of the year. Keranen received the puck from Blum, raced down the left flank and roofed a shot over Ortio’s shoulder from a bad angle in tight. Blum and Tyler Graovac were credited with the assists on the tally.
While no goals were scored in the final period of play, goaltender Doug Carr dressed in relief of Ortio for the remaining 20 minutes. Carr turned aside all eight shots sent his direction during the third.
The Flames return to the Civic Center ice on Friday, when they will kick off a back-to-back with the Utica Comets. Friday’s game is a Flames Friday, presented by Labatt.. Pre-game specials will also be available at JP Bruno's from 5-6 p.m. Tickets are still available for that night, and all remaining Flames home games. Visit the Flames box office, call 518-480-3355, or order online at glensfallscc.com.
Adirondack Flames Hockey • Fired Up