GAME PREVIEW - CHICAGO AT IOWA 10.24.13
Oct 24, 2013Media Kit - HERE
Chicago Wolves (3-3-0-0, 6 points) at Iowa Wild (3-1-0-0, 6 points)
The Iowa Wild begins a five-game homestand with the Chicago Wolves. The Wild returns home after sweeping a weekend series in Charlotte. The Wild is coming off a 7-2 victory over the Checkers on Sunday at Time Warner Cable Arena. The Wolves are coming off a 3-2 overtime win on the road in Milwaukee.
Thursday’s game marks the beginning of divisional play for Iowa. It will face another Midwest Division opponent on Sunday against Grand Rapids. 40 of the team’s 76 regular season games will be against division rivals. The Wolves and the Wild will meet a total ten times during the season, including the next meeting, at Wells Fargo Arena on Wed. Nov. 15. Iowa will make it’s first of five visits to Allstate Arena on Wed. Nov. 27.
Minnesota's AHL Affiliate was in Houston for the 2012-13 season, going 40-26-5-5 (90 points / .592 %). The Aeros met the Wolves twice last season, splitting the set with the home team winning each game. Over the last five years, Houston was 11-14-0-1 against Chicago, including a 7-6-0-0 mark at home.
Upcoming Games:
Team Date Time Radio / TV
vs Chicago 10/24 7:05 PM KXNO 1460 – iHeart Radio
vs Grand Rapids 10/27 5:05 PM KXNO 1460 – iHeart Radio
vs Texas 11/1 7:05 PM KXNO 1460 – iHeart Radio
Latest Transactions:
10/19 – Delete goaltender John Curry (assigned to Orlando – ECHL)
10/18 – Add goaltender Darcy Kuemper (assigned by Minnesota – NHL)
10/16 – Delete defenseman Carl Sneep (released from PTO – heading to Idaho - ECHL)
Last Time Out:
The Iowa Wild defeated the Charlotte Checkers 7-2 in front of 3,687 fans at Time Warner Cable Arena on Sunday night. Forwards Erik Haula, Kris Foucault and Zack Phillips each scored a goal and added two assists to lead the charge. In all, six different Wild skaters, including Carson McMillan and Jake Dowell, finished with a multi-point game. McMillan scored twice and added an assist, while Jake Dowell added two tallies. Warren Peters set up two goals in his Iowa debut. Iowa goalie Darcy Kuemper stopped 25 Checkers shots for the win. Charlotte goalie Mike Murphy suffered the loss with 16 saves on 20 shots. Murphy was pulled early in the second period after allowing the fourth goal of the night.
Iowa Wild
After four games, forwards Carson McMillan, Zack Phillips and Erik Haula are tied for the team lead in scoring. Phillips and McMIllan each have two goals and two assists in four games played. Haula has a goal and three assists, all four points collected in the last two games. Forwards Jake Dowell and Kris Foucault, as well as defenseman Brian Connelly, are tied for fourth on the team in scoring with three points each. Connelly has an assist in three straight games. Dowell is also tied for the team lead in goals scored, alongside Brett Bulmer with two each. Haula and Connelly are tied for the team lead in assists (3) and shots on goal (12).
Iowa is 3-for-13 (23.1%) on the power play and has allowed three power-play goals against on 17 attempts (82.4%) The Wild leads the AHL with a 1.75 goals against average and the team sits tenth with a 3.25 goals per game average.
Goalies Johan Gustafsson and Darcy Kuemper man the nets for Iowa. With 25 saves on 27 shots, Kumper improved to 1-1-0 on the season. In two appearances, he has a 3.04 GAA and a .898 SV%. Gustafsson is 2-0-0 with a 0.50 GAA and a .984 SV %. He is among the league leaders in most goalie categories.
Notables –
· Erik Haula’s goal on Sunday marked the first of his career.
· Defenseman Steven Kampfer plays in his 100th career AHL game on Thursday.
· Iowa has scored the first goal in each of the first four games. Chicago has scored the first goal three times, resulting in victory each time.
Chicago Wolves
The experienced numerous changes after a 37-30-5-4 season, missing the playoffs by seven points. The team switched affiliations and partnered with St, Louis, ending their allegiance to the Vancouver Canucks.
Veteran forwards Corey Locke and Marc Mancari lead Chicago in scoring with five points each. Mancari has a team-high four goals and 14 shots on goal. Locke is tied for the team lead with three assists. Defenseman Evan Oberg is third on the team in points with four off one goal and three assists.
The Wolves are 2-for-27 (7.4%) on the power play this year. Despite the slow start on the extra man advantage, Chicago’s penalty kill has killed off 26 of 29 penalties. The Wolves average 2.33 goals per game and allow 2.83 per game.
Goalies Matt Climie and Jake Allen split time in net for the Wolves. Allen has appeared in four games, going 3-1-0 with a 1.99 GAA and a.944 SV%. Matt Climie is 0-2-0 on year, sporting a 4.07 GAA and a .879 SV%.