GAME PREVIEW - IOWA WILD AT TEXAS STARS 3.6.15
Mar 6, 2015Iowa Wild (20-37-1-1, 42 points) at Texas Stars (25-18-12-1, 63 points)
Iowa remains on the road for the third of four straight away from Wells Fargo Arena. The team rounds out the road trip on Saturday night in San Antonio prior to returning home for six straight. Iowa and Texas last met Feb. 13 and 14 in Des Moines, a pair of Stars wins – including a 2-0 victory at Wells Fargo Arena in the last meeting on Feb.14. Texas leads the season series with a 4-1-0-0 mark, including a 2-1-0-0 record at Cedar Park Center. The Stars have outscored the Wild 14-8 in the season series. Iowa is 1-4-0-0 this season and 1-2-0-0 in Cedar Park. Texas has taken nine of the last ten games of the season series. The two clubs will play eight times this year, with two of the final three games at Wells Fargo Arena. The Stars own the all-time series with an 9-2-0-0 record against the Wild, including a 5-1-0-0 record at home. The Wild is 2-7-1-1 all-time against Texas, including a 1-3-1-1 mark on the road.
Iowa is 12-18-1-1 on the road this season, having been outscored 106-79 by the home teams. The 109 road-goals allowed is the highest in the AHL. Iowa is coming off a 3-2 win at Lake Erie on Saturday night. It marked the team’s eighth two-game winning streak this season. The team is 0-7-0-0 when playing for three straight wins. Iowa has played nine of the last 14 games on the road. The Wild is 3-7-0-0 over the last ten games, while Texas is 5-3-2-0. The Stars are 13-6-7-1 at home, outscoring the visitors 87-80. The club is 20-4-7-0 when scoring first.
Upcoming Games:
Team Date Time Radio / TV
at Texas 3/6 7:30 PM KXNO / iHeartRadio
at San Antonio 3/7 7:00 PM KXNO / iHeartRadio
vs. Utica 3/15 5:00 PM KXNO / iHeartRadio
vs. Charlotte 3/21 7:00 PM KXNO / iHeartRadio / MC22
vs. Charlotte 3/22 3:00 PM KXNO / iHeartRadio
Transactions:
2.26.15 – Delete – F Ryan Walters (assigned to Alaska - ECHL)
2.26.15 – Delete – D Joe Stejskal (released PTO)
3.2.15 – Delete – F Zack Phillips (traded to Boston – NHL)
3.2.15 – Delete – D Justin Falk (traded to Columbus – NHL)
3.2.15 – Add – F Jared Knight (traded from Boston – NHL)
3.3.15 – Add – F Stephane Veilleux (assigned by Minnesota – NHL)
3.4.15 – Delete – F Greg Wolfe (released PTO)
Last Time Out
The Iowa Wild defeated the Lake Erie Monsters 3-2 in front of 10,498 fans on Saturday night at Quicken Loans Arena. Wild veteran center Brett Sutter finished off a scoring play with 4:39 remaining in regulation, ending a 2-2 tie and propelling Iowa to victory for the third time in the last four games. Iowa goalie John Curry made several key saves down the stretch to preserve the win, finishing with 34 saves. Defenseman Collin Bowman scored his first career AHL goal and Tyler Graovac added his team-leading 18th tally as Iowa swept the season series with Lake Erie, going 4-0-0-0 on the year. Lake Erie goalie Calvin Pickard stopped 28 of 31 in the loss.
Iowa Wild
Through 59 games this season, forward Tyler Graovac is the team’s leading scorer. He leads the team in goals with 18 tallies and is first with 39 points in 56 games. Michael Keranen is second on the team in scoring with 33 points and was first with 24 assists in 54 games. On recall to Minnesota, forward Jordan Schroeder was third on the club in points with 10 goals and 18 assists for 28 points in 35 games played. Right wing Marc Hagel is third among active skaters with a career-high 28 points in 50 games played. Rookie Zack Mitchell is fifth among active skaters with 15 goals and 27 points in 59 games played. Defenseman Jon Blum is the leader in points from the blueline. He has nine goals and 26 points in 49 games played. Veteran center Brett Sutter is also among the team leaders with 23 points in 54 games played.
Goalies Johan Gustafsson, John Curry and Josh Harding (injured) man the Iowa Wild crease. Harding is 0-1-1 with a 3.37 GAA and a .920 SV%. John Curry is 10-15-0 with a 2.84 GAA and a 0.913 SV%. Gustafsson is 8-18-0 with a 3.36 GAA and a .898 SV %.
Iowa’s power play is ranked 22nd at 15.4%, while the penalty kill sits 30th at 76.8%.
Notables –
· Wild forward Marc Hagel needs four more games to become only the fourth player in Iowa history to play in 100 games – joining Tyler Graovac, Jon Blum and Zack Phillips. Captain Stephane Veilleux is next on the list with 77 games played for Iowa.
Texas Stars
2013-14 AHL regular season and Calder Playoffs MVP, Travis Morin leads the Stars with 45 points in 45 games played. He has 29 assists and 16 goals for Texas. Morin is 13th in the AHL scoring race and he has a team-high 18 power-play points. Left wing Brendan Ranford is second on the club with 37 points in 53 games played. He is second among the Stars with 24 assists. Veteran winger Greg Rallo and center Justin Dowling are tied for third in team scoring with 32 points each. Rallo has 19 goals and 13 assists for 32 points in 53 games. Dowling has 16 goals and 16 assists for 32 points in 45 games played. Rookie forward Derek Hulak has emerged as a team-scoring leader with 31 points in 51 games. Hulak is fifth on the team with 12 goals. Derek Meech leads all defensemen in scoring with 27 points in 51 games played. He is followed by Captain Max Fortunus with 24 points.
Goalies Jussi Rynnas takes the bulk of time in net for Texas. He shares time with Jack Campbell. Rynnas was in the Finnish Elite League last season. He is 18-5-7 with a 2.47 GAA and a .921 SV%. Campbell is 3-11-5 with a 3.47 GAA and a .888 SV %.
Texas’ power play is ranked 7th at 18.9%, while the penalty kill sits fifth at 86.5%.