GAME PREVIEW - CHARLOTTE CHECKERS AT IOWA WILD 3.22.15
Mar 21, 2015Charlotte Checkers (26-33-5-1, 58 points) at Iowa Wild (21-39-1-2, 45 points)
Iowa continues a season high six-game home stand, which opened with a 4-3 shootout loss at home last Sunday to Utica. Iowa finishes the regular season with nine home games and four road games. The Wild welcomes Charlotte for the final time this season, ending the two-game set on Sunday. It marks the final of eight meetings between the two clubs this season. Charlotte has taken five of the previous seven, sweeping a two-game set at Time Warner Cable Arena in February. The matchup features the 14th and 15th ranked teams in the AHL’s Western Conference. Iowa and Charlotte played four times in 2013-14. Charlotte is 7-4-0-0 in the all-time series, including a 4-1-0-0 record in Des Moines. Iowa is 4-7-0-0 all time, including a 1-4-0-0 mark at Wells Fargo Arena.
Iowa is 8-20-0-1 at home this season, having been outscored 94-61 by the visiting teams. The Wild is coming off a 3-2 defeat to Charlotte on Saturday night. Iowa is mired in a franchise-record, ten-game (0-9-0-1) winless streak on home ice, dating back to Jan. 18. The team ended a record tying stretch of eight straight losses on Sunday with the shootout defeat to Utica. The drought tied the club record for consecutive losses of 8 – from Nov. 2 – Nov. 24, 2013. The Wild is 4-5-0-1 over the last 10 games, while the Checkers are 6-4-0-0. Charlotte is 9-20-4-0 on the road, having been outscored 112-62. The club has the fewest road goals in the AHL this season and is second for most goals allowed on the road. Overall, Charlotte has been outscored 17-7 over the last three road games.
Upcoming Games:
Team Date Time Radio / TV
vs. Charlotte 3/22 3:00 PM KXNO / iHeartRadio
vs. Texas 3/24 7:00 PM KXNO / iHeartRadio
vs. San Antonio 3/27 7:00 PM KXNO / iHeartRadio
vs. San Antonio 3/28 12:30 PM KXNO / iHeartRadio
at Chicago 3/29 3:00 PM KXNO / iHeartRadio
Transactions:
3.4.15 – Delete – F Greg Wolfe (released PTO)
3.12.15 – Delete – F Joe Perry (assigned to Quad City - ECHL)
3.12.15 – Delete – D Benjamin Dieude-Fauvel (released PTO)
3.12.15 – Add – D Nicholas Rioux (signed PTO)
3.21.15 – Add – F Ruslan Fedotenko (re-signed PTO)
Last Time Out
The Iowa Wild were defeated by the Charlotte Checkers 3-2 in front of 7,167 fans on Saturday night at Wells Fargo Arena. Forward Brody Sutter scored twice and tallied an assist for the road win despite a late rally by Iowa. Forward Justin Shugg also scored for the Checkers in the victory. Charlotte goalie Drew MacIntyre made 32 saves on 34 shots, recording the win. Forwards Brett Bulmer and Brady Brassart each registered a goal and an assist. Iowa goalie John Curry stopped 23 of 26 shots in the defeat.
Iowa Wild
Through 63 games this season, forward Tyler Graovac is the team’s leading scorer. He leads the team in goals with 20 tallies and is first with 41 points in 60 games played. Michael Keranen is second on the team in scoring with 34 points and is first with 25 assists in 58 games. Right wing Marc Hagel is third among active skaters with a career-high 29 points in 54 games played. Rookie Zack Mitchell is fifth among active skaters with 15 goals and 27 points in 63 games played. Defenseman Jon Blum is the leader in points from the blueline. He has nine goals and 29 points in 53 games played. Veteran center Brett Sutter is also among the team leaders with 24 points in 58 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 11-17-1 with a 2.79 GAA and a .914 SV%. Gustafsson is 8-18-0 with a 3.36 GAA and a .898 SV %.
Iowa’s power play is ranked 20th at 15.3%, while the penalty kill sits 30th at 76.2%.
Notables –
· Wild center Brett Sutter played in 255 games for Charlotte from 2010-2014 and served as the team captain.
Charlotte Checkers
In the first 65 games this season, forward Justin Shugg leads the team in scoring with 35 points in 54 games played. His 18 goals are tops on the team and his 17 assists are second. Veteran Chad LaRose is second in scoring with 31 points. The veteran winger has 16 goals and 15 assists in 53 games played. Left wing Brendan Woods is also among team leaders in points with 25 in 57 games played off 13 goals and 12 assists. Phil Di Giuseppe (23 points) and Brock McGinn (22 points) are also among the team scoring leaders. Offensive minded defenseman Ryan Murphy is in Carolina with the Hurricanes. He had 17 assists in 25 games prior to his recall. Trevor Carrick is the active leader in scoring from the blueline with 25 points in 65 games played.
Playing in 44 games this year, goalie Drew MacIntyre (18-22-4) is posting a 2.85 GAA and a .913 SV%. Goalie John Muse (8-11-2) is posting a 2.74 GAA and a .915 SV% in 19 games played.
Charlotte's power play is ranked 27th in the AHL at 13.5%, while its penalty kill is 11th at 84.8%.