GAME PREVIEW - IOWA WILD AT SAN ANTONIO RAMPAGE 1.24.14
Jan 24, 2014Iowa Wild (17-16-3-3, 40 points) at San Antonio Rampage (15-21-1-3, 34 Points)
Iowa continues a three-game road swing on Friday, playing the first of two straight in San Antonio. It’s the final visit of the regular season for Iowa, which concludes its trip with a Saturday faceoff against the Rampage at AT&T Center. The Wild and Rampage met three times earlier this season, with Iowa taking the last two. San Antonio claimed the first meeting and Iowa took the last two contests by way of a shootout. The Rampage has outscored the Wild 11-10 in the season series.
Iowa has points in 17 of the last 22 outings (11-5-3-3 /.636). The Wild has a record of 8-5-1-3 away from Wells Fargo Arena, matching the opposition in scoring 50-50. Iowa is 4-2-1-3 over the last ten outings and 7-7-1-1 against the West Division. The team is currently in the midst of three straight against West Division foes. The Wild is coming off a 4-3 shootout loss on Wednesday at Texas. Iowa extended its current points streak to four games (2-0-1-1).
San Antonio is coming off a 3-2 loss at home to Rochester on Saturday. The Rampage has three wins and points in four of the last five games. The team is halfway through an eight-game homestand at AT&T Center, where the club has a 12-7-1-1 overall record. San Antonio has outscored the visiting teams 67-60 at the AT&T Center this year. The Rampage is 6-4-0-2 against the Midwest Division and 4-4-1-1 over the last ten outings.
Upcoming Games:
Team Date Time Radio / TV
at San Antonio 1/24 7:30 P.M. KXNO 1460 / iHeartRadio
at San Antonio 1/25 7:00 P.M. KXNO 1460 / iHeartRadio
vs. Milwaukee 1/31 7:05 P.M. KXNO 1460 / iHeartRadio
Latest Transactions:
1/23 – Add defenseman Jonathon Blum (returned by Minnesota - NHL)
1/22 – Add goalie Johan Gustafsson (returned by MN – NHL)
1/21 – Add defenseman Nicholas Rioux (PTO - Quad City CHL) / forward Mickey Lang (signed PTO – from Orlando – ECHL)
Last Time Out:
The Iowa Wild were defeated by the Texas Stars 4-3 in a shootout in front of 4,691 fans at Cedar Park Center on Wednesday night. After Zack Phillips scored with 30 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime and the eventual shootout, the Stars picked up their 11th win in a row on home ice by squeezing out a shootout victory. Iowa goalie Johan Gustafsson stopped 41 of 44 shots in regulation and two of four in the shootout loss. The AHL’s leading scorer, Travis Morin powered the Stars with three assists in the final period. Iowa forward Raphael Bussieres scored a goal and added an assist. Texas goalie Josh Robinson (4-2-0) came in for a relief appearance, stopping 10 of 12 in regulation and four of five in the shootout win.
Iowa Wild
After 39 games, defenseman Brian Connelly leads the team in scoring with 23 points in 37 appearances. Connelly has a team-high 20 assists, including a team-leading nine on the power play. Defenseman Jonathon Blum and forward Zack Phillips are tied for second on the team in scoring among active skaters. Blum recently returned from Minnesota, he has four goals and 14 assists for 18 points in 32 games played. Phillips has a point in three straight games and has seven goals and 11 assists for 18 points in 39 games played. Forward Carson McMillan is fourth with eight goals and nine assists for 17 points in 37 games played. Leading goal scorer Brett Bulmer (10) is currently out with an injury. Forward Warren Peters is also among the active skaters in points with 15 (5g/10a). Erik Haula (17 pts.) and Jason Zucker (13 pts) are on NHL recall with Minnesota.
Goalies Johan Gustafsson and John Curry man the nets for Iowa. Darcy Kuemper is on recall to Minnesota. Johan Gustafsson is 7-7-2 with a 2.75 GAA and a .912 SV %. Curry is 3-2-1 with a 1.95 GAA and a .942 SV%.
Iowa is 29-for-168 (17.3%) on the power play and has allowed 35 power-play goals against on 163 attempts (78.5%) The Wild is 26th in the AHL with a 2.46 goals per game average and the team sits 102h with a 2.72 goals against average.
Notables –
· Iowa forward Warren Peters plays in his 599th AHL game on Friday night.
San Antonio Rampage
Rookie center Vincent Trocheck leads his club in scoring with 12 goals and 15 assists for 27 points in 37 games played. He is joined by veteran forwards Greg Rallo and Bobby Butler. Butler has 12 goals and 24 points in 39 games played. Rallo has eight goals and 21 points in 38 games played. Recently acquired winger, Derek Nesbitt has 19 points in 39 games played. He was picked up from Oklahoma City, where he scored 10 goals and totaled 19 points in 39 games played. Defenseman Colby Robak leads all blueliners with nine assists and 13 points in 33 games played.
Goalies Jacob Markstrom and Michael Houser split time in net for the Rampage. Markstrom is 7-9-1 with a 2.67 GAA and a .918 SV %. Houser is 5-4-0 with a 2.87 GAA and a .902 SV%.
The Rampage is 31-for-183 (16.9%) on the power play this year. San Antonio’s penalty kill is 158 of 200 (79.0%). The Rampage average 2.63 goals per game and allow 3.15 per game.