The Iowa Heartlanders finally turn the overtime tide

Matt Murphy’s breakaway purpose Sunday afternoon provides membership a second consecutive 4-3 OT win over Cincinnati

Heartlanders’ ahead Cole Stallard (20) battles with Cincinnati’s Josh Burnside (3 in the course of the Heartlanders dwelling hockey recreation towards Cincinnati on Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022, at Xtream Area in Coralville, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

CORALVILLE – They’re coin flips, actually.

Any hockey recreation that goes to a 3-on-3 time beyond regulation or a shootout actually is a 50-50 form of deal.

Heads, you win. Tails, you lose.

It went heads twice in a span of about 16 hours this weekend for the Iowa Heartlanders, and it feels prefer it has rejuvenated their season.

Defenseman Matt Murphy stole a puck alongside the boards round middle ice, skated in on a breakaway and scored three and a half minutes into OT Sunday afternoon to present the Heartlanders a 4-3 win over the Cincinnati Cyclones at Xtream Area. Make that one other 4-3 time beyond regulation win over Cincinnati at Xtream Area, after Brendan Robbins’ purpose about 5 minutes into further time Saturday evening despatched the house followers dwelling blissful.

“Clearly it wasn’t the beginning we needed, the primary six video games of the yr,” stated Iowa Coach Derek Damon. “However the subsequent seven video games, we’ve been taking part in actually good hockey. It’s simply that we haven’t been in a position to recover from the hump.”

Contemplate that hump gotten over. Lastly.

The Heartlanders (3-8-2-1, 9 standings factors) performed three consecutive video games wherein the coin flip got here up tails. They misplaced two weeks in the past in time beyond regulation to Wichita, final week in a shootout to Kalamazoo and Wednesday evening in OT to Kalamazoo.

They have been in a position to collect 5 standings factors this week in a brutal four-games-in-five-days stretch wherein they misplaced in regulation Friday nigh at Indianapolis. Yeah, they’re nonetheless in final place within the ECHL’s Central Division, however they’re taking part in improved hockey.

“What I’m so impressed with these guys is their willingness to compete and their never-give-up angle,” Damon stated. “For us to struggle again and get third-period targets the final two nights towards the most effective workforce within the league simply reveals that these guys have huge, huge hearts.”

A Cole Stallard purpose with 5:56 left in regulation Saturday evening tied issues at 3 after Cincinnati (10-1-2-1, 23) had scored a third-period purpose to go forward. Sunday afternoon, Cincinnati scored a go-ahead purpose early within the third interval, however Iowa tied it on a purpose from newcomer Griff Jeszka.

The Heartlanders host Kansas Metropolis on Wednesday evening, then hit the highway for 5 straight in Canada (at Trois-Rivieres and Newfoundland).

“We’re constantly in video games,” Damon stated. “The best way we play, our construction, we set this up so we are able to compete each evening. The place even when we don’t have our greatest recreation, we are able to fall again on our system, and it’ll give us an opportunity to win each evening.

“We’ve obtained guys that may skate, and we have to defend exhausting. Our construction in our D-zone, the way in which we play in our D-zone, we wish to defend exhausting after which we wish to get the puck and go north, put the puck in areas the place we are able to (go get it). There are some groups which can be actually expert, and so they can depend on particular person gamers. We depend on a collective group evening in and evening out.”

Feedback: (319)-398-8258, jeff.johnson@thegazette.com