GAME PREVIEW - SAN ANTONIO RAMPAGE AT IOWA WILD 3.27.15
Mar 27, 2015San Antonio Rampage (40-20-5-1, 86 points) at Iowa Wild (21-41-1-2, 45 points)
Iowa continues a season high six-game home stand after a 4-3 loss at home Tuesday to Texas. Iowa finishes the regular season with seven home games and four road games. Iowa continues the home stand with a visit from their West division rivals. Iowa and San Antonio last met Mar. 7 at AT&T Center, a 4-1 victory for the Rampage. The two teams have played six times this year, with Iowa showing a 1-4-0-1 mark against the Rampage, including a 1-1-0-0 record at home this year. San Antonio is 5-1-0-0 against Iowa, including a 1-1-0-0 record in Des Moines. The two teams play a total of eight times this season. The Wild is 6-5-0-1 all-time against San Antonio, including a 3-2-0-0 mark at home. The Rampage is 6-2-1-3 all-time, including a 2-2-0-1 mark at Iowa.
Iowa is 8-22-0-1 at home this season, having been outscored 102-66 by the visiting teams. The Wild is coming off a 4-3 defeat to Texas at home on Mar. 27. Iowa is mired in a franchise-record, 12-game winless (0-11-0-1) streak on home ice, dating back to Jan. 18. The Wild is 4-5-0-1 over the last 10 games, while the Rampage is 9-1-0-0. San Antonio is 19-12-2-1 on the road, having outscored the home clubs 111-106. The team has been on a roll of late with a six-game winning streak heading into Friday’s game. The Rampage is 12-2-1-1 over the last 14, en route to bypassing Oklahoma City for first place in the West Division. The Rampage is coming off a 4-3 shootout win at Milwaukee on Wednesday.
Upcoming Games:
Team Date Time Radio / TV
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
vs. Rochester 4/3 7:00 PM KXNO / iHeartRadio
vs. Texas 4/7 7:00 PM KXNO / iHeartRadio
Transactions:
3.12.15 – Add – D Nicholas Rioux (signed PTO)
3.21.15 – Add – F Ruslan Fedotenko (re-signed PTO)
3.22.15 – Add – D Benjamin Dieude-Fauvel (signed PTO)
3.24.15 – Add – F Pavel Jenys (signed ATO)
3.26.15 – Add – F Drayson Downing (signed ATO)
Last Time Out
The Iowa Wild were defeated by the Texas Stars 4-3 in front of 3,650 fans on Tuesday at Wells Fargo Arena. Defenseman Maxime Fortunus scored late in the second period to put the Stars up for good and past the Wild. Forwards Derek Hulak, Devin Shore and Branden Troock also scored for the Texas road win. Stars goalie Jack Campbell made 33 saves on 36 shots for the victory. Forwards Zack Mitchell and Jared Knight, along with defenseman Joel Chouinard, each scored for Iowa in the loss. Wild goalie Johan Gustafsson stopped 33 of 37 shots in the defeat.
Iowa Wild
Through 65 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 42 points in 62 games played. Michael Keranen is second on the team in scoring with 34 points and is first with 25 assists in 60 games. Right wing Marc Hagel is third among active skaters with a career-high 31 points in 56 games played. Rookie Zack Mitchell is fifth among active skaters with 16 goals and 30 points in 65 games played. Defenseman Jon Blum is the leader in points from the blueline. He has nine goals and 31 points in 55 games played. Veteran center Brett Sutter is also among the team leaders with 24 points in 60 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 11-18-1 with a 2.80 GAA and a .913 SV%. Gustafsson is 8-19-0 with a 3.38 GAA and a .896 SV %.
Iowa’s power play is ranked 21st at 14.9%, while the penalty kill sits 30th at 76.1%.
Notables –
· Wild defenseman Jon Blum needs two more points to surpass Brian Connelly’s team record for points in a season by a defenseman with 32 in 2013-14. Blum is the team’s all-time leading scorer from the blueline with 60 points in 118 games.
· San Antonio leads the AHL by averaging 3.35 goals per game and Iowa is 28th at 2.28.
· San Antonio is 22nd defensively allowing 2.98 goals per game and Iowa is 28th at 3.28.
San Antonio Rampage
In the first 66 games this season, forward Bobby Butler leads San Antonio in scoring with 25 goals and 55 points in 63 games played. Butler is fourth on the team in shots, tied for first in assists and first with 17 power-play points. He is followed by left wing Connor Brickley with 42 points off 21 goals and 21 assists in 63 games played. He is second on the team in goals and also places second among all rookies in goals. Brickley sits fourth on the AHL rookie-scoring race. Tied for second in scoring is right wing Mark Mancari, who has 12 goals and a team high 30 assists for 42 points in 65 games played. Center Brett Olson is fourth overall in points with 41 in 66 games played, he is tied for third on the team in assists. Rookie Rocco Grimaldi is fifth on the club in points with 40 in 56 games played. His 28 assists are tied for the third most on the team and he places tied for sixth among all league rookies in points.
Playing in 36 games this year, goalie Dan Ellis (22-11-3) is posting a 2.70 GAA and a 0.906 SV%. Goalie Michael Houser (17-9-3) is posting a 2.86 GAA and a 0.901 SV% in 33 games played. Sam Britain is 1-0-0 with a shootout win on Wednesday night in Rockford.
San Antonio's power play is ranked 5th in the AHL at 19.4%, while its penalty kill is 18th at 82.9%.