GAME PREVIEW - IOWA WILD AT SAN ANTONIO RAMPAGE 1.25.14
Jan 25, 2014Iowa Wild (18-16-3-3, 42 points) at San Antonio Rampage (15-21-1-4, 35 Points)
Iowa concludes a three-game road swing on Saturday, playing the second of two straight in San Antonio. It’s the final visit of the regular season for Iowa, which picked up a 5-4 shootout win over the Rampage at AT&T Center on Friday. The Wild and Rampage met four times earlier this season, with Iowa taking the last three. San Antonio claimed the first meeting and Iowa took the last three contests, all the by way of a shootout. Each team has 15 goals in the season series.
Iowa has points in 18 of the last 23 outings (12-5-3-3 /.652). The Wild has a record of 9-5-1-3 away from Wells Fargo Arena, edging the opposition in scoring 55-54. Iowa is 4-2-1-3 over the last ten outings and 8-7-1-1 against the West Division. The team is wrapping up a stretch of three straight against West Division foes.
The Rampage has three wins and points in five of the last six games. The team is halfway through an eight-game homestand at AT&T Center, where the club has a 12-7-1-2 overall record. San Antonio has outscored the visiting teams 71-65 at the AT&T Center this year. The Rampage is 6-4-0-3 against the Midwest Division and 4-4-1-1 over the last ten outings.
Upcoming Games:
Team Date Time Radio / TV
at San Antonio 1/25 7:00 P.M. iHeartRadio
vs. Milwaukee 1/31 7:05 P.M. KXNO 1460 / iHeartRadio
vs. Utica 2/5 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 defeated the San Antonio Rampage 5-4 in a shootout in front of 8,079 fans at AT&T Center on Friday night. Captain Jake Dowell scored in the sixth round of a sudden-death shootout and goalie Johan Gustafsson stopped San Antonio’s last four attempts to help Iowa take two points on the road. Defenseman Brian Connelly (2a), as well as forwards Carson McMillan (1g-1a) and Raphael Bussieres (2a) each had two points, as Iowa extended its current points streak to five-games (3-0-1-1). Gustafsson (8-7-2) stopped 35 of 39 in regulation and five of six attempts in the shootout win. Defenseman Jonathon Blum, forwards Mickey Lang and Marc Hagel also scored, as the Wild improved to 9-5-1-3 on the road this season. San Antonio goalie Jacob Markstrom (7-9-2) stopped 21 of 25 in regulation and four of six attempts in the shootout loss.
Iowa Wild
After 40 games, defenseman Brian Connelly leads the team in scoring with 25 points in 38 appearances. Connelly has a team-high 22 assists, including a team-leading 11 on the power play. Defenseman Jonathon Blum and forward Carson McMillan are tied for second on the team in scoring among active skaters. Blum recently returned from Minnesota, he has five goals and 14 assists for 19 points in 33 games played. McMillan has nine goals and ten assists for 19 points in 38 games played. Forward Zack Phillips has seven goals and 11 assists for 18 points in 40 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 8-7-2 with a 2.81 GAA and a .911 SV %. Curry is 3-2-1 with a 1.95 GAA and a .942 SV%.
Iowa is 31-for-172 (18.0%) on the power play and has allowed 35 power-play goals against on 169 attempts (79.3%) 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 600th AHL game on Saturday night.
San Antonio Rampage
Rookie center Vincent Trocheck leads his club in scoring with 12 goals and 16 assists for 28 points in 38 games played. He is joined by veteran forwards Greg Rallo and Bobby Butler. Butler has 12 goals and 24 points in 40 games played. Rallo has eight goals and 22 points in 39 games played. Recently acquired winger, Derek Nesbitt has 19 points in 40 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 14 points in 34 games played.
Goalies Jacob Markstrom and Michael Houser split time in net for the Rampage. Markstrom is 7-9-2 with a 2.73 GAA and a .915 SV %. Houser is 5-4-0 with a 2.87 GAA and a .902 SV%.
The Rampage is 31-for-189 (16.4%) on the power play this year. San Antonio’s penalty kill is 160 of 204 (78.4%). The Rampage average 2.63 goals per game and allow 3.15 per game.