GAME PREVIEW: IOWA WILD AT GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS
Mar 16, 2024Iowa Wild (20-32-3-2; 45 pts.) at Grand Rapids Griffins (28-17-7-4; 67 pts.)
The Iowa Wild face off against the Grand Rapids Griffins at Van Andel Arena on Saturday at 7 p.m.
ALL-TIME SERIES
All-Time Iowa Wild Record: 31-19-3-2 (15-10-0-1 at Wells Fargo Arena, 16-9-3-1 at Grand Rapids)
Last Time: Grand Rapids shut out Iowa 2-0 at Van Andel Arena on Friday night... Joel L’Esperance scored for the Griffins with 3:20 remaining in the third period to break a scoreless draw... Jesper Wallstedt turned aside 29-of-30 shots... Michael Hutchinson saved all 14 Iowa shots
2022-23: Iowa recorded a 7-1-1-1 record against Grand Rapids last season... The Wild went 3-0-1-1 at home against the Griffins... Nic Petan led Iowa in goals and points (6-5=11) in seven games against Grand Rapids... Taro Hirose paced the Griffins with 12 points (2-10=12) in 10 games played
TEAM NOTES
TWO OR FEWER: Friday’s defeat broke an 11-game streak in which Iowa won when holding opponents to two goals or fewer... The Wild lost back-to-back contests to Hershey on Nov. 25-26 despite holding the Bears to two goals in each game
VISITING VAN ANDEL: The Wild are still seeking their first win at Van Andel Arena this season (0-2-1-0)... Iowa last lost three in a row at Grand Rapids during a single season in 2017-18
CHASING FIFTH: Iowa (45 pts.) enters Saturday’s game trailing the Chicago Wolves (48 pts.) and the Manitoba Moose (52 pts.) for the fifth and final Central Division playoff position... The Moose and Wolves each picked up points on Friday night in Manitoba’s 3-2 shootout win at Allstate Arena
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
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Grand Rapids snapped a five-game winless stretch (0-2-2-1) in Friday’s 2-0 win over Iowa
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The Griffins have scored two goals or fewer in each of their last four games
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Grand Rapids has recorded points in 21 of their last 23 games (14-2-4-3)
QUICK NOTES
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Iowa has not been shut out in back-to-back games since Mar. 31-Apr. 2, 2017
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Friday’s game marked the first time an Iowa goaltender suffered a loss when allowing one goal since Mar. 1, 2023 (Jesper Wallstedt, 1-0 L at Milwaukee)
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Iowa posted a season-low 14 shots on Friday, two more than the franchise record (12, Feb. 3, 2017 vs. CLE)
For more information on Iowa Wild hockey, please visit www.iowawild.com. Fans can purchase single-game tickets through the team’s website at www.iowawild.com. Group tickets (10 or more), suites, Wild 365 memberships or premium tickets can be purchased by contacting the Iowa Wild Ticket Department at 515-564-8700 or tickets@iowawild.com. Season tickets for 2023-24 are on sale now. Fans can purchase season tickets for the upcoming season at https://www.iowawild.com/wild-365.
Visit http://www.iowawild.com/pressbox for the latest news and information from the team including press releases, game notes, multimedia content, and daily statistics.