GAME PREVIEW - IOWA WILD AT OKLAHOMA CITY BARONS 4.17.15
Apr 17, 2015Iowa Wild (23-47-2-2, 50 points) at Oklahoma City Barons (39-27-5-3, 86 points)
Iowa closes out the regular season schedule with two road games in Oklahoma City this weekend. The Wild plays two straight at the Cox Convention Center starting on Friday and concluding on Saturday. The two teams last met on Apr. 10, a 4-0 victory for the Wild at Wells Fargo Arena. Iowa Wild plays Oklahoma City for the seventh time this season. The Barons lead the season series with a 4-2-0-0 mark, including a 2-2-0-0 record at Iowa. The Barons have outscored the Wild 21-20. They play a total of eight games this season, including one more in OKC. The Barons are 7-3-0-0 all-time against Iowa, including a 4-0-0-0 mark at home. Iowa is 3-5-1-1 versus OKC all time, going 0-2-1-1 at the Cox Convention Center.
Iowa is 13-21-1-1 on the road this season, having been outscored 115-84 by the home teams. The Wild is coming off a 5-2 loss at home to Toronto on Tuesday. The Wild is 2-7-1-0 over the last 10 games, while the Barons are 2-8-0-0. Oklahoma City is 19-12-3-2 at home, having been outscored the visitors 109-100. The team is coming off a 5-3 loss at home to Hamilton on Tuesday. Oklahoma City is 3-10-2-0 over the last 15 games. The already clinched a berth in the Calder Cup playoffs.
Upcoming Games:
Team Date Time Radio / TV
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:
4.10.15 – Add – D Dylan Labbe (signed ATO)
4.15.15 – Delete – D Collin Bowman (released PTO)
4.15.15 – Delete – D Brad Richard (released PTO)
4.15.15 – Re-Signed – D Joel Chouinard (re-signed PTO)
Last Time Out
The Iowa Wild were defeated by the Toronto Marlies 5-2 in front of 5,538 fans on Tuesday at Wells Fargo Arena. Toronto forwards Greg McKegg (2g), Josh Leivo (2a) and Matt Frattin (1g, 1a) each recorded multi-point games, helping the Marlies push past the Wild. Forward Byron Froese and defenseman Brendan Mikkelson also scored for Toronto in the victory. Marlies goalie Christopher Gibson made 30 saves on 32 shots in the contest, as his club reduced its magic number to clinch a playoff spot to two points. Forwards Brady Brassart and Marc Hagel each scored for Iowa in the loss. Wild goalie John Curry stopped 18 of 23 shots in the defeat.
Iowa Wild
Through 74 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 71 games played. Michael Keranen is second on the team in scoring with 37 points and is first with 27 assists in 68 games. Rookie Zack Mitchell is second among active skaters with 17 goals and is tied for third with 35 points in 74 games played. Defenseman Jon Blum is the leader in points from the blueline. He has 11 goals and is tied for third on the team with 35 points in 64 games played. Right wing Marc Hagel is fifth among active skaters with a career-high 33 points in 65 games played. Veteran center Brett Sutter is also among the team leaders with 28 points in 69 games played.
Goalies Johan Gustafsson and John Curry man the Iowa Wild crease. John Curry is 13-22-2 with a 2.65 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 14.4%, while the penalty kill sits 30th at 76.3%.
Notables –
· Iowa has outscored the opposition 19-17 in April, including two shutouts over the six games.
· Defenseman Dylan Labbe made his season debut on Tuesday against Toronto.
· OKC is 21st in the AHL averaging 2.93 goals per game and Iowa is 28th at 2.30.
· OKC is 13th defensively allowing 2.84 goals per game and Iowa is 27th at 3.22.
Oklahoma City Barons
In the first 74 games this season, forwards Andrew Miller, Matt Ford and Jason Williams are among the team leaders in points. Miller has 26 goals and 32 assists for 58 points in 61 games played. Miller is first in goals and tied is second in helpers. Matt Ford is second in points with 52 in 67 games played. He leads the team with 34 assists. Williams is second in goals (21) and fourth in assists. He is fourth on the team in point with 50. Defenseman Brad Hunt is third on the team with 51 points in 60 games played. He ranks second in the AHL in scoring by a defenseman. Forward CJ Stretch is also among the team leaders in points with 35 in 65 games played. Ryan Hamilton recently returned from Edmonton. He has 35 points in 41 games with OKC this year. Former Iowa forward Brad Winchester meets his former team after playing for the Wild last season. He played in 23 games for Iowa in 2013-14, scoring three goals and adding five assists for eight points. He has played in 26 AHL games this season, scoring five goals and totaling 10 points.
The Barons carry goalies Richard Bachman, Tyler Bunz and Laurent Brossoit to man the crease for OKC. Recently returned from Edmonton, Laurent Brossoit (23-22-4), had a 2.62 GAA and a .916 SV%. Richard Bachman is 14-5-3 with a 2.38 GAA and .918 SV %. Goalie Tyler Bunz (0-0-0) has a 5.00 GAA and a .839 SV%.
Oklahoma City’s power play is ranked 9th at 18.2%, while the penalty kill 7th at 86.5%.