Iowa nearly ties in final seconds, Komets survive for 6-5 win

Coralville, Iowa- The Iowa Heartlanders fell, 6-5, against the Fort Wayne Komets Friday at Xtream Arena. Iowa took an early lead through the second, but ultimately could not hold on.

The Komets took a 6-4 lead with four minutes left, but Iowa’s Jack O’Brien scored two minutes later and Yuki Miura hit the left post with one minute left. Fort Wayne handled the final minute and won the game.

Connor Ungar made 27 saves for the win. Kyle McClellan stopped 32 of 38 shots in the defeat. 

The Heartlanders opened the scoring 1:12 into the opening frame with a quick pass set up to Matthew Sop to give Iowa the early lead on Sop’s first professional shot. 

Alex Aleardi responded for the Komets seven minutes into the first. Aleardi’s shot from the far circle tied the score at one. 

Yuki Miura scored his first to take back the lead with a tip-in in front of the net with three minutes left in the first. Dakota Raabe made a cross-ice pass to Will Calverley who put it on net for Miura to score. 

Calverley drove the lead to 2-1 five minutes into the second. He ripped a slap shot top shelf from the right circle and over the shoulder of Ungar. Jonny Sorenson and Bogdans Hodass assisted. Hodass netted one of his own halfway through the period, Sorenson and Raabe assisted that goal. 

The Komets scored the next five goals to take a 6-4 lead.

O’Brien scored a power-play goal with less than two minutes left in the game, bringing the score to 6-5. 

Box Score

Tickets to Heartlanders Home Games

Open Season Weekend Oct. 19: Be there Sat., Oct. 19^th at 6:00 p.m. for the conclusion of Open Season Weekend, against Fort Wayne Komets, pres. by GreenState Credit Union. The first pregame tailgate of the season starts at 3:00 p.m. in the Iowa River Landing, featuring local food & drink vendors, inflatables, a DJ, and a meet the team event. Don’t miss the LED light-up rally towel giveaway!

You may have heard we made some big news in our final game of the 2023-24 season – our first-ever sellout in team history! That game featured a pre-game tailgate and fireworks (literally and figuratively) inside Xtream Arena, and we are going to recreate that high-energy, 5-star fan experience at 5 specific games during the 2024-25 season. Join the fun of those 5 experiences by purchasing our new 5-Star Ticket Package.

Single-game tickets, mini-plans, group tickets, flex tickets and season-ticket plans are available! Call 319-855-1775 to discuss options, or visitthis link to make your plans for the 2024-25 season! 

Follow Iowa Heartlanders social media (@goheartlanders) and don’t miss any of the excitement. Sign up here to be notified by text message for team news and updates ahead of the start of the 2024-25 season.