GAME PREVIEW - IOWA WILD AT CHICAGO WOLVES 11.27
Nov 27, 2013MEDIA KIT - HERE
Iowa Wild (6-11-0-0, 12 points) at Chicago Wolves (9-7-0-2, 20 points)
The Iowa Wild begins a six-game road trip with its first visit to Allstate Arena to meet division rival Chicago. The club is coming off a 2-1 defeat at home on Sunday, the team’s eight straight defeat at Wells Fargo Arena. The loss was also the team’s sixth straight, a stretch where the team has been outscored 17-5. The Wild also makes stops in San Antonio, Texas and Abbotsford prior to returning home on Dec. 15 for Rockford. Iowa is 3-1-0-0 on the road this year and 2-6-0-0 in the Midwest Division. The Wild is 1-9-0-0 over the last ten outings.
Chicago is coming off a 2-1 loss at home to Grand Rapids on Saturday. The team is 2-5-0-0 at home this season, having been outscored by their opponents 23-15. The Wolves recently rattled off five straight wins and are 5-1-0-1 over the last seven outings. Chicago is 6-3-0-1 over their last ten games and 4-3-0-2 within the division.
The Wolves and the Wild meet a total of ten times during the season. Iowa claimed the first ever meeting on Oct. 27, a 5-4 shootout win in Des Moines. Chicago evened the series in the last meeting, a 3-1 victory at Wells Fargo Arena on Nov. 13. In two meetings, Chicago has the edge in scoring with a 7-6 advantage. The Wild is 1-for-8 on the power play, while the Wolves are 1-for-10. Wolves forward Chris Porter leads all scorers with three assists in two games played. Iowa forwards Brett Bulmer (1g-1a) and Carson McMillan (1g-1a) lead the team for points in the series. Iowa goalie Johan Gutsafsson was pulled after allowing four goals on 16 shots on Oct. 27. Chicago goalie Jake Allen is 1-0-1, posting a 2.40 GAA and a .934 SV % versus the Wild.
Upcoming Games:
Team Date Time Radio / TV
at Chicago 11/27 7:00 PM KXNO 1460 / iHeart Radio
at San Antonio 12/4 7:00 PM KXNO 1460 / iHeart Radio
at Texas 12/6 7:30 PM KXNO 1460 / iHeart Radio
at Texas 12/7 7:00 PM KXNO 1460 / iHeart Radio
Latest Transactions:
11/24 – Delete forward Mike Rupp (recalled Minnesota – NHL)
11/23 – Add / Delete Darcy Kuemper (emergency conditions) – (recalled Minnesota – NHL)
11/20 – Delete forward Jason Zucker (recalled – Minnesota – NHL)
Last Time Out:
The Iowa Wild were defeated by the Abbotsford Heat 2-1 in front of 4,022 fans at the Wells Fargo Arena on Sunday night. Heat forward Ben Street scored a pair of goals 1:56 apart in the second period, including the game-winning goal. Abbotsford goalie Joey MacDonald made 42 saves, including 19 in the first period. Iowa goalie John Curry made 17 saves in his debut. Forward Brett Bulmer scored the team’s lone goal, as Iowa dropped its sixth straight game overall and its eighth in a row at home.
Iowa Wild
After 17 games, defenseman Brian Connelly leads the team in scoring with 11 points (all assists). Forward Erik Haula is second in scoring with ten points in 17 games played. Haula is also tied for second 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 leads the team in goals with six. He has the team’s last two goals in regulation, both in the last three games. 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 had a 2.97 GAA and a .908 SV%. Johan Gustafsson is 3-3-0 with a 2.62 GAA and a .910 SV %. Curry (0-1-0) made his debut with 17 saves on Nov. 24, a 2-1 loss at home to Abbotsford.
Iowa is 15-for-82 (18.3 %) on the power play and has allowed 15 power-play goals against on 83 attempts (81.9%) The Wild is 29th in the AHL with a 2.18 goals against average and the team sits 13th with a 2.82 goals per game average.
Notables –
· Iowa has allowed the first goal in seven of the last nine games. The team is 6-2-0-0 when scoring first.
· The Wild has outscored the opposition 16-8 when on the road this year,
· The Wild road power play is best in the AHL, converting eight of 21 chances (38.1%)
Chicago Wolves
Veteran forwards Corey Locke and Marc Mancari lead Chicago in scoring. Locke has a team-high eight assists and 13 points in 17 games played. Mancari has four goals and nine points in 17 games. He is also tied with Shane Harper, who has four goals and nine points in 14 games played. Forward Dmitrij Jaskin has five points over the last six games.
Goalies Matt Climie and Jake Allen split time in net for the Wolves. Allen has appeared in 13 games, going 8-3-2 with a 2.23 GAA and a.928 SV%. Matt Climie is 1-4-0 on year, sporting a 3.24 GAA and a .887 SV%.
The Wolves are 9-for-87 (10.3%) on the power play this year. Despite the slow start on the extra man advantage, Chicago’s penalty kill has killed off 74 of 85 (87.1%) penalties. The Wolves average 2.56 goals per game and allow 2.67 per game.