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Wild take down Jets for first win of season

Oct 11, 2013 - 3:25 AM St. Paul, MN (SportsNetwork.com) - Matt Cooke netted the winner just after the midway point of regulation, helping Minnesota slip by Winnipeg, 2-1, in a clash between new Central Division rivals from Xcel Energy Center.

Josh Harding stopped 14 shots and Jonas Brodin added the other tally for the Wild, who snapped their season-commencing three-game losing skid.

Bryan Little scored and Ondrej Pavelec made 28 saves for the Jets, who have lost two in a row after beating Edmonton and Los Angeles to kick off the season.

Cooke gave Minnesota a 2-1 lead at 10:30 of the second period. He followed up a Torrey Mitchell shot from a sharp angle along the goal line to the left of Pavelec by rushing the Winnipeg crease and poking the disc home.

Pavelec was sent to the bench with 1:16 to play, and the Jets had one last quality chance but missed the net on the left side with 19 seconds on the clock.

Brodin gave the hosts a lead 7:39 after the opening faceoff, deflecting in a Cooke offering from the slot.

Little knotted the score with 43 seconds before the first-period buzzer, tipping home a Tobias Enstrom feed on a power play.

Harding needed to make just four stops in the second period.

Game Notes

Minnesota had played in the Northwest Division since 2000, while Winnipeg, formerly known as Atlanta, skated in the Southeast since 1999 ... Prior to this season, teams in Minnesota and Winnipeg had not been division rivals since the North Stars and Jets were placed in the Norris Division for the 1981-82 season ... With starter Niklas Backstrom day-to-day, the Wild recalled goaltender Darcy Kuemper from Iowa of the AHL as Harding's backup.