GAME PREVIEW - GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS AT IOWA WILD 11.22
Nov 22, 2013MEDIA KIT - HERE
Grand Rapids Griffins (11-4-1-1, 24 points) at Iowa Wild (6-8-0-0, 12 points)
The Iowa Wild continues a six-game homestand with a three-game weekend. The Wild hosts the two top teams in the Western Conference this weekend, starting Friday with the Midwest Division leading Griffins. Iowa is coming off a 1-0 defeat at home to Milwaukee, falling for the fourth straight game at Wells Fargo Arena. Overall, the team has fallen in three straight and posted a 3-7-0-0 mark over the last 10 games. Iowa is 3-7-0-0 at home, having been outscored by the visitors 32-19 at Wells Fargo Arena.
Grand Rapids is coming off a 5-0 win at home over Milwaukee on Wednesday night. The team is 7-2-1-1 on the road this season, having outscored their opponents 44-29. The Griffins are 8-2-0-0 over their last ten outings Grand Rapids trails only Abbotsford (31) in the Western Conference. The Griffins are 8-2-0-1 when scoring the game’s first goal.
Iowa and Grand Rapids have met once already this season. Griffins forward Landon Ferraro scored a last-minute shorthanded goal to give his club a 3-2 victory in Des Moines on Oct. 27. Minnesota's AHL Affiliate was in Houston for the 2012-13 season, going 40-26-5-5 (90 points / .592 %). The Aeros met the Griffins six times last season, going 2-3-0-1. Over the last five years, Houston was 13-9-0-2 against Grand Rapids, including a 6-4-0-2 mark at home. The Griffins bested the Aeros in the first round of the 2013 Calder Cup Playoffs, winning the best-of-five series 3-2. Grand Rapids went on to claim the Calder Cup.
Upcoming Games:
Team Date Time Radio / TV
vs. Grand Rapids 11/22 7:05 PM KXNO 1460 / iHeart Radio
vs. Abbotsford 11/23 7:05 PM KXNO 1460 / iHeart Radio
vs. Abbotsford 11/24 5:05 PM iHeart Radio
Latest Transactions:
11/20 – Delete forward Jason Zucker (recalled – Minnesota – NHL)
11/19 – Add goaltender John Curry (recalled – Orlando – ECHL)
11/18 – Add goaltender Johan Gustafsson (assigned – Minnesota - NHL)
11/18 - Delete goaltender Darcy Kuemper (recalled – Minnesota – NHL)
Last Time Out:
The Iowa Wild were defeated by the Milwaukee Admirals 1-0 in front of 8,111 fans at the Wells Fargo Arena on Saturday night. Milwaukee goalie Scott Darling stopped all 32 Iowa shots to earn his first career AHL shutout. Forward Colton Sissons scored the only goal at 17:39 of the first period and Darling handled the rest. Iowa Wild goalie Darcy Kuemper stopped 33 of 34 Milwaukee shots in the loss.
Iowa Wild
After 14 games, defenseman Brian Connelly leads the team in scoring with 11 points (all assists). Connelly set an Iowa season mark with three power-play assist on Nov. 9 in Rockford. Forward Erik Haula is second in scoring with ten points in 14 games played. Haula is also tied for first with four goals and tied for second on the club with six assists. Prior to his recall, left wing Jason Zucker was third on the team with eight points in 11 games played. Forward Brett Bulmer is also tied for the team lead in goals at four. Center Zack Phillips and defenseman Jonathon Blum are also among the team leaders with eight points each. Phillips has three goals and five assists, while Blum has two goals and six assists.
Goalies Johan Gustafsson and John Curry man the nets for Iowa. Kuemper was recalled after going 3-7-0. In ten appearances, he has a 2.97 GAA and a .908 SV%. Johan Gustafsson is 3-1-0 with a 2.45 GAA and a .920 SV %. Curry has yet to make his Iowa debut.
Iowa is 14-for-72 (19.4 %) on the power play and has allowed 13 power-play goals against on 75 attempts (82.7%) The Wild is 24th in the AHL with a 2.50 goals against average and the team sits 15th with a 2.86 goals per game average.
Notables –
· Iowa was 4-1-0-0 on Oct. 27 when it hosted Grand Rapids, going 2-7-0-0 since the last meeting.
Grand Rapids Griffins
The Griffins return 17 players from last year’s team, which captured the Calder Cup in June. The team also features David McIntyre, who played for the Houston Aeros (now Iowa Wild) in each of the last two seasons. McIntyre played two full seasons in Houston, suiting up in 131 games for the Wild’s AHL affiliate, scoring 31 goals and totaling 65 points. In all, McIntyre played with 15 members of the Iowa Wild team over the last two seasons.
Third-year forward Gustav Nyquist was recalled to Detroit after leading the Griffins with 14 assists and 21 points in 15 games played. Right wing Tomas Jurco is first on the team with nine goals and second with 19 points in 17 games played. Forward Teemu Pulkkinen is third with 13 points in 17 games, tied with defenseman Ryan Sproul with 13 points in 17 games.
Goalies Petr Mrazek and Tom McCullom split time between the pipes for Grand Rapids. Mrazek is 5-2-1 with a 2.41 GAA and a .912 SV%. McCullom is 6-2-0 with a 2.43 GAA and a .916 SV %.
Grand Rapids is eighth in the league on the power play, going 17-for-84 (20.2%). The Griffins penalty kill has allowed 15 goals on 88 chances (83.0%). The team averages a league-high 3.94 goal per game while allowing 2.59 GAA.