The San Diego Gulls couldn’t overcome a tough first period on Friday night, falling 4-2 to the Iowa Wild at Wells Fargo Arena. Iowa stormed out of the gates with three unanswered goals in the opening seven minutes—two from Graeme Clarke and one from Connor MacEachern—to seize early control of the game. Despite a goaltending carousel and a sluggish offensive start, the Gulls battled back in the third period. Tyson Hinds put San Diego on the board with a blast from the point, and Judd Caulfield followed up with his 11th of the season to cut the deficit to one. But the Wild responded quickly, as Luke Toporowski netted the insurance marker to seal the win. Goaltender Damian Clara turned away 25 of 28 shots in relief for the Gulls, while Samuel Hlavaj made 23 saves for Iowa.
@New Jersey Devils
