GAME PREVIEW - TEXAS STARS AT IOWA WILD 11.2.13
Nov 2, 2013Media Kit - HERE
Texas Stars (5-4-2-0, 12 points) at Iowa Wild (5-2-0-0, 10 points)
The Iowa Wild continues a five-game homestand with the Texas Stars on Saturday. The Wild is coming off a 4-2 win over Texas on Friday night at Wells Fargo Arena. With the win, Iowa improved to 3-2-0-0 at home this season, outscoring the opposition 14-13. Friday was the first meeting of the season between the Wild and the Stars. The two teams will meet a total of six times throughout the season, including Saturday’s rematch. Iowa will visit Texas on Dec. 6 and Dec. 7. The Stars make their final visit to Des Moines on Jan. 22. Texas concludes a five-game road swing with two games in Iowa. Texas is winless in its last four games, going 0-3-1-0 over that span. The Stars are 1-3-2-0 on the road this season, having been outscored 18-12 on the road. The Stars have outscored their opponents 26-9 in five home games.
Minnesota's AHL Affiliate was in Houston for the 2012-13 season, going 40-26-5-5 (90 points / .592 %). The Aeros met the Stars 12 times last season, going 6-4-2-0. Over the last five years, Houston was 26-16-5-1 against Texas, including a 13-8-3-0 mark at home.
Upcoming Games:
Team Date Time Radio / TV
vs Texas 11/2 7:05 PM KXNO 1460 / Mediacom 22
vs Milwaukee 11/3 4:05 PM KXNO 1460 / iHeart Radio
at Rockford 11/8 7:00 PM KXNO 1460 / iHeart Radio
Latest Transactions:
10/31 – Add forward Stephane Veilleux (assigned by Minnesota – NHL)
10/27 – Add goaltender Johan Gustafsson (assigned by Minnesota – NHL)
10/19 – Delete goaltender John Curry (assigned to Orlando – ECHL)
Last Time Out:
The Iowa Wild defeated the Texas Stars 4-2 in front of 5,609 fans at Wells Fargo Arena on Friday night. Forward Erik Haula scored a pair of power-play goals helping Iowa beat Texas in the first meeting between the two clubs. Forwards Taylor Matson and Jason Zucker also scored, as Iowa connected for three power-play goals. Iowa goalie Darcy Kuemper (3-2-0) made 32 saves for the win. Texas goalie Josh Robinson (1-1-0) stopped 15 Iowa shots in the loss.
Iowa Wild
After seven games, forwards Carson McMillan, Erik Haula, Zack Phillips and Warren Peters lead the team in scoring. McMillan has two goals and four assists for six points in seven games. Second-year forward Zack Phillips is among the leaders on the team with six points in six games. Peters has a goal and four assists for five points in his first four games played. Haula is tied for first in goal with three and he is tied for the lead with six points in seven games. Five other Wild skaters are tied for fourth on the team in scoring with five points each. Defensemen Brian Connelly and Jonathon Blum lead all blueliners with five assists in seven games played. Left wing Bret Bulmer is tied for the team lead with three goals in six games played.
Iowa is 6-for-31 (19.4%) on the power play and has allowed five power-play goals against on 34 attempts (85.3%) The Wild is third in the AHL with a 2.29 goals against average and the team sits sixth with a 3.43 goals per game average.
Goalies Johan Gustafsson and Darcy Kuemper man the nets for Iowa. Kuemper improved to 3-2-0 on the season. In five appearances, he has a 2.43 GAA and a .921 SV%. Gustafsson is 2-0-0 with a 1.99 GAA and a .935 SV %.
Notables –
· Defenseman Brian Connelly played in his 300th AHL game on Friday.
· Iowa has scored the first goal in six of the first seven games. Texas has scored the first goal in nine out of 11 games, going 5-3-1-0 when scoring first.
Texas Stars
The Texas Stars are the former franchise that used to call Des Moines home – from 2005-08 as the Iowa Stars and from 2008-09 as the Iowa Chops. Forwards Francis Wathier and Toby Peterson both played for the Iowa Stars. Wathier also played for the Chops. The Stars return 17 players from last year’s team, which captured the regular season Western Conference title, going 43-22-5-6 with 97 points. Texas was knocked out in the second round by Oklahoma City.
Veteran center Travis Morin leads the AHL in scoring with eight goals and 12 assists for 20 points in ten games played. Morin is the Stars all-time leader for assists and points. He also ranks among the all-time leaders in games played and goals. He has a point in ten straight games and was named the AHL Player of the Month for October. Fifth-year Star Colton Sceviour is second on the team with eight goals and 12 points in 11 games played. After four years in Milwaukee, Chris Mueller joins the Stars with five goals and 10 points in nine gams played.
Goalies Josh Robinson, Christopher Nilstorp and Jack Campbell spit time in net. Nilstorp is 2-5-0 with a 2.87 GAA and a .896 SV %. Campbell is 2-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA and a .956 SV %. Robinson is 1-1-0 with a 2.00 GAA and a .911 SV %. Nilstorp and Campbell are both injured.