Heartlanders' spirited comeback forces OT, but Nailers win, 5-4

Coralville, Iowa – The Iowa Heartlanders overcame a three-goal deficit to force overtime against the Wheeling Nailers, but the comeback fell short in a 5-4 loss Sunday afternoon at Xtream Arena. After trailing, 4-1, the Heartlanders scored three straight, with two coming with less than five minutes to go. Brendan Robbins tied the game for the Heartlanders with less than three minutes to go, set up when Justin Wells purposely sent a shot wide to ricochet off the boards.  Bobby Hampton scored the game-winning goal with 56.2 seconds left in overtime on a short-side snipe.Iowa earned five of a possible six points against Wheeling this weekend. The Heartlanders’ next four games are on home ice, the first of which is Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. against the Indy Fuel.James Sanchez scored the first goal of the game for the Heartlanders. On the power play, Sanchez took a wide-open shot from the left circle for his fifth power-play goal of the season. Tanner MacMaster earned an assist on the play and had points in all three games this weekend. -Steven Leonard tapped in a shot at net front for Iowa’s second goal in the final half of the second period. It was Leonard’s third goal in three games with Iowa. Kevin McKernan scored off the rebound to pull Iowa within one with less than five minutes to play.The Heartlanders outshot the Nailers, 37-24, and 18-9 since the start of the third period.Bailey Brkin earned the win for Wheeling, saving 33 of 37 shots including all four in overtime. Darion Hanson started for Iowa, allowing three goals on eight shots. He was replaced by Corbin Kaczperski five minutes into the second period. Kaczperski took the loss, stopping 14 and allowing two goals.Box ScoreView the team’s full promotional schedule at iowaheartlanders.com/promotions. The Heartlanders continue the home stand Feb. 22, Feb. 24 and Feb. 25 vs. Indy for Iowa’s Diversity Awareness Series, celebrating how sports bring us together. The Heartlanders will demonstrate their commitment to create and environment that fosters inclusion for all. Games take place Wed., Feb. 22 vs. Indy at 7:05 p.m., Fri., Feb. 24 at 7:05 p.m. vs. Kalamazoo and Sat., Feb. 25 at 7:05 p.m. vs. Kalamazoo.Single-game tickets, group ticket options, partial plans and season ticket memberships are available for Heartlanders home games at Xtream Arena.  Call 319-569-goal or visit iowaheartlanders.com/tickets for more information.