GAME PREVIEW - TORONTO MARLIES AT IOWA WILD 1.15.14
Jan 15, 2014Toronto Marlies (20-11-2-2, 44 points) at Iowa Wild (15-16-2-2, 34 points)
Wednesday’s game is the first of two meetings this season between the two clubs. The two teams meet again on Mar. 29 in Toronto. The two clubs played twice last year while Houston was Minnesota’s AHL affiliate. The Marlies took the season series by going 1-0-0-1. Toronto outscored Houston 7-6 in the two games.
Iowa returns from its six-game road trip after going 2-2-0-2. The Wild fell to the Hamilton Bulldogs on Sunday, ending the road trip with a 3-1 defeat. The team has points in 13 of the last 18 outings (9-5-2-2). The Wild has a record of 7-11-1-0 at Wells Fargo Arena, getting outscored by the opposition 51-36. Iowa is 5-3-0-2 over the last ten outings and 1-1-0-0 against the North Division. The team’s next three games will be against North Division teams.
Toronto plays the third of seven straight road games. The team played the first two games in St. John’s, dropping the last game 5-4 in a shootout on Saturday night. The team has four wins over the last six games, going 4-1-0-1. The AHL Affiliate of Toronto is 6-2-1-1 over the last ten games and 3-1-0-0 against the Midwest Division. The Marlies have posted a 10-7-1-2 record on the road, having outscored the home teams 56-54. The team is 13-7-1-2 when scoring the game’s first goal.
Upcoming Games:
Team Date Time Radio / TV
vs. Toronto 1/15 7:05 P.M. iHeart Radio
vs. Lake Erie 1/17 7:05 P.M KXNO 1460 / iHeartRadio
vs. Lake Erie 1/18 12:35 P.M KXNO 1460 / iHeartRadio
Latest Transactions:
1/11 – Add Taylor Matson (recalled from Orlando – ECHL)
1/8 – Add forward Justin Mercier (signed PTO from Idaho – ECHL)
1/8 – Add forward Jim McKenzie (signed PTO - from Quad City – CHL)
Last Time Out:
The Iowa Wild were defeated by the Hamilton Bulldogs 3-1 in front of 3,540 fans at Copps Coliseum on Sunday. Hamilton scored once each period and goalie Dustin Tokarski stopped 27 of 28 shots to lead the Bulldogs to their seventh victory in the last eight games. Forwards Gabriel Dumont and Nick Tarnasky, as well as defenseman Nathan Beaulieu scored to help the Bulldogs even the season series in the last meeting of the year between the two teams. Iowa goalie Johan Gustafsson stopped 31 of 33 in the defeat, as his club finished a six-game road trip with a 2-2-0-2 record. Wild forward Marc Hagel returned to his hometown, scoring his first career AHL goal, the team’s tally. After moving above .500 on Friday night, the Wild has dropped back-to-back decisions to fall a game under .500.
Iowa Wild
After 35 games, defenseman Brian Connelly leads the team in scoring with 19 points in 33 appearances. Connelly has a team-high 18 assists, including a team-leading eight on the power play. Fellow point leaders, defenseman Jonathon Blum and forward Erik Haula are on recall to the NHL’s Minnesota Wild. Haula had nine goals and 17 points in 24 games played. Blum posted four goals and 17 points in 31 games. Forward Brett Bulmer returned from Minnesota last Sunday. He is the team leader in goals (10) and second in shots (67). He was injured on Jan. 6 at Milwaukee and remains out. Also on recall, forward Jason Zucker had eight goals and 13 points in 22 games with Iowa. Center Zack Phillips adds five goals and 15 points in 32 games. Forwards Carson McMillan (14 points) and Warren Peters (13 points) round out the top scorers.
Goalies Johan Gustafsson and John Curry man the nets for Iowa. Darcy Kuemper is on recall to Minnesota. Johan Gustafsson is 6-6-1 with a 2.79 GAA and a .908 SV %. Curry is 2-2-1 with a 2.33 GAA and a .925 SV%.
Iowa is 24-for-152 (15.8%) on the power play and has allowed 30 power-play goals against on 150 attempts (80.0%) The Wild is 25th in the AHL with a 2.37 goals per game average and the team sits 14th with a 2.77 goals against average.
Notables –
· Iowa’s Justin Mercier, Jim McKenzie, Tyler Murovich and Nicholas Rioux have yet to make their home debuts.
· Toronto Marlies Assistant Coach Gord Dineen worked as an assistant for the Iowa Chops in 2008-09.
Toronto Marlies
Right wing Spencer Abbott leads the Marlies in scoring with 28 assists and 34 points in 33 games played. He also leads the team with 12 power-play assists this season. Abbott leads the AHL in assists. Defenseman T.J. Brennan is second on the club in scoring with 33 points in 35 games played. He leads all AHL defensemen and the Marlies in goals scored. He is second on the club in assists and leads all AHL defensemen in points. Right wing Josh Leivo is third on the club with 19 points in 28 games played. Greg McKegg is fourth on the team with 17 points in 27 games played.
Goalies Drew MacIntyre and Garret Spark split time in net for Toronto. MacIntyre is 16-9-2 with a 2.41 GAA and a .915 save percentage. Spark is 2-3-0 with a 3.05 GAA and a .891 SV%.
Toronto is 11th in the league on the power play, going 31-for-167 (18.6%). The Marlies penalty kill has allowed 25 goals on 158 chances (84.2%). The team averages 2.91 goals per game while allowing 2.57 goals against per game.