Eastman debuts with two goals in 5-2 loss

Coralville, Iowa – Austin Eastman scored twice in his Iowa Heartlanders debut, but the Landers fell to Wheeling, 5-2, Wednesday at Xtream Arena.Eastman opened the scoring on his first shot of his Iowa career 2:02 into the first. Jared Kucharek fed a pass into the crease and Eastman tipped it in to give Iowa the 1-0 lead. Eastman’s second goal came 14:44 into the third period. He collected Nolan Orzeck’s rebound and fired it home to tie the game, 2-2. The Nailers scored three more in the third after Eastman’s tying strike to pull away. 15:22 into the period, Jarrett Lee fired from the left dot and past the glove of Hunter Jones to give the Nailers the 3-2 lead. At 17:50, Ross Krieger shot a wrister from the top of the left circle to put Wheeling up, 4-2, and Keltie Jeri-Leon nailed an empty net goal at 19:08.Wheeling tied the game, 1-1, in the first period after David Jankowski fired from the left slot off a rebound in the final two seconds of the period. Seven minutes into the second period, Jeri-Leon received a pass from Peter Laviolette and fired it top shelf to give Wheeling the 2-1 lead.Jones finished the night with 40 saves for Iowa. Brad Barone saved 38 of 40 shots on net for Wheeling, the most saves a Wheeling goaltender has had in a game this season.Box ScoreThe Heartlanders final home games of the season take place Friday, Apr. 14 and Saturday, Apr. 15 vs. Wheeling. On Apr. 12 at 7:05 p.m., it’s a Wednesday night matchup presented by Mercy Iowa City. On Apr. 14-15, it’s fan appreciation weekend, with puck drops both nights at 7:05 p.m. The game on Apr. 14 is presented by United Iowa Financial. On Apr. 15, we’re extending stick tapes to our fans with a jam-packed final home game of the regular season, including a game-worn jersey auction, player card giveaway presented by Iowa City Area Sports Commission and a fanbango giveaway presented by Steindler Orthopedic Clinic. View the team’s full promotional schedule at iowaheartlanders.com/promotions. 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. Tickets are available for all Heartlanders home games by visiting iowaheartlanders.com/tickets. Find the full promotional schedule at iowaheartlanders.com/promotions