GAME PREVIEW - IOWA WILD AT CHICAGO WOLVES 4.12.15
Apr 12, 2015Iowa Wild (23-45-2-2, 50 points) at Chicago Wolves (38-27-6-1, 83 points)
Iowa concluded a four-game home stand on Friday with Oklahoma City. The club finishes the regular season with one final home game on Tuesday and two road games in OKC. The Wolves and the Wild last met on Mar 29. in Chicago – a 3-2 win for the Wolves. Chicago and Iowa meet for the eighth and final time this season, with the Wolves taking six of the seven previous decisions by a combined score of 24-13. The two teams have meet 18 times over two seasons. Iowa is 5-9-1-2 against Chicago overall, including a 3-3-1-1 record at Allstate Arena. Chicago is 12-2-1-2 overall, including a 5-2-0-1 record at home.
Iowa is 13-20-1-1 on the road this season, having been outscored 114-84 by the home teams. The team is coming off a 4-0 win at home over Oklahoma City on Friday. The Wild is 2-7-1-0 over the last 10 games, while the Wolves are 8-2-0-0. Chicago is 17-14-3-1 at home, having been outscored by the visiting clubs 96-80. The team has been on a roll of late with nine wins over the last 11 games. The team is coming off a 5-0 loss to Oklahoma City on Saturday night at home. Chicago needs at least one point today in order to clinch a playoff spot.
Upcoming Games:
Team Date Time Radio / TV
at Chicago 4/12 4:00 PM KXNO / iHeartRadio
vs. Toronto 4/14 7:00 PM KXNO/ iHeartRadio
at Oklahoma City 4/17 7:00 PM KXNO/ iHeartRadio
at Oklahoma City 4/18 7:00 PM KXNO/ iHeartRadio
END OF REGULAR SEASON
Transactions:
3.30.15 – Delete – D Christian Folin (recalled by Minnesota - NHL)
3.30.15 – Add – D Zach Palmquist (signed ATO)
3.31.15 – Delete – D Benjamin Dieude-Fauvel (released PTO)
Last Time Out
The Iowa Wild defeated the Oklahoma City Barons 4-0 in front of 8,233 fans on Friday at Wells Fargo Arena. Iowa goalie John Curry made 28 saves to preserve the win, recording his second shutout of the year. Rookie forwards Zack Mitchell (1g, 1a) and Grayson Downing (2a) each tallied multi-point games in the victory. Forwards Brett Sutter and Michael Keranen, along with defenseman Jon Blum also scored for Iowa. Oklahoma City goalie Richard Bachman stopped 24 of 28 shots in the loss.
Iowa Wild
Through 72 games this season, forward Tyler Graovac is the team’s leading scorer with 46 points. He leads the team in goals with 21 tallies and is first in points after playing in 69 games played. Michael Keranen is second on the team in scoring with 37 points and is first with 27 assists in 66 games. Rookie Zack Mitchell is second among active skaters with 17 goals and is tied for third with 34 points in 72 games played. Defenseman Jon Blum is the leader in points from the blueline. He has ten goals and is tied for third on the team with 34 points in 62 games played. Right wing Marc Hagel is fifth among active skaters with a career-high 32 points in 63 games played. Veteran center Brett Sutter is also among the team leaders with 28 points in 67 games played.
Goalies Johan Gustafsson and John Curry man the Iowa Wild crease. John Curry is 13-20-2 with a 2.66 GAA and a .917 SV%. Gustafsson is 8-21-0 with a 3.46 GAA and a .893 SV %.
Iowa’s power play is ranked 23rd at 14.5%, while the penalty kill sits 30th at 75.8%.
Notables –
· Iowa has outscored the opposition 17-11 in April, including two shutouts over the four games.
· Rookie Grayson Downing has four assists in his last three games.
· Chicago is 15th in the AHL averaging 2.78 goals per game and Iowa is 28th at 2.33.
· Chicago is 10th defensively allowing 2.58 goals per game and Iowa is 27th at 3.22.
Chicago Wolves
Through 72 games this season, forwards Shane Harper, Pat Cannone, Phillip McRae and Jeremy Welsh lead the Wolves in scoring. Harper is first on the team with 32 goals and he is first with 50 points in 72 games played. Harper is tied for second in the AHL for goals scored. Cannone is second with 46 points in 61 games played. He leads the team with 33 assists. Recalled to St. Louis, Ty Rattie was second on the team in goals scored with 21 and he was third with 42 points in 59 games played. He has also played in five games for the St. Louis Blues this season. Jeremy Welsh is fourth in points with 39, scoring 19 times and setting up 20 others in 72 games played. McRae has played in 65 games this season and is fourth on the club in goals with 15. He is fifth in points with 32. Right wing Cody Beach is among the AHL leaders with 203 penalty minutes in 39 games played. Defenseman Brendan Bell is also among the team leaders with 32 points in 62 games played. He leads the blueline with 30 assists.
Playing in 35 games this season, goalie Matt Climie (15-13-3) is posting a 2.37 GAA and a 0.912 SV%. Goalie Jordan Binnington (23-14-4) is posting a 2.39 GAA and a 0.915 SV% in 42 games played this year.
Chicago’s power play is ranked ninth at 18.4%, while its penalty kill sits at 22nd at 82.2%.