Riley Mercer’s spinning shootout save sparks Iowa Wild win over Manitoba Moose

Riley Mercer turned a shootout into a highlight reel at Casey’s Center, spinning to deny Manitoba’s Danny Zhilkin in a save that raced past 12,000 likes and gave the Iowa Wild a 3-2 win over the Moose.

The stop came in a pressure moment, not a spring showcase. Bradley Marek had already forced overtime with a late goal, Mercer finished with 31 saves, and Iowa needed every bit of it to outlast Manitoba on Friday in Des Moines. The sequence also matched the kind of moment that can change how a goalie is viewed in the AHL: one athletic answer on a knife-edge play, delivered when the game was hanging in the balance.

The clip has spread because it looks absurd even in slow motion, but the value for Iowa goes beyond the viral bounce. Mercer is working his way into a crowded goaltending picture that includes Samuel Hlavaj, Cal Petersen, and Chase Wutzke, and performances like this one give the Wild a clearer idea of what they have if injuries, call-ups, or a playoff race force the organization to lean on depth. For a team trying to sort out its crease, a save like that is not just entertainment. It is evidence.

Mercer’s profile already had some momentum before the Manitoba game. He entered the night with a 2025-26 regular-season line of 4-3-1, a 2.60 goals-against average, and a .899 save percentage in eight appearances, and he had already shown he could handle a big stage. In his AHL debut on December 20, 2025, he stopped 26 shots and turned aside four of five shootout attempts in a 1-0 win over Chicago in Rosemont, Illinois.

Listed at 6-foot-2 and 203 pounds, the left-catching netminder from Bay Roberts, Newfoundland and Labrador has already started to build a reputation on moments that travel fast. The Manitoba save did more than light up social media. It strengthened the case that Mercer is becoming a goalie AHL and NHL decision-makers have to keep tracking.