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GAME PREVIEW: IOWA WILD VS. HENDERSON SILVER KNIGHTS

GAME PREVIEW: IOWA WILD VS. HENDERSON SILVER KNIGHTS

Oct 13, 2023

Iowa Wild (0-0-0-0; 0 pts.) vs. Henderson Silver Knights (0-0-0-0; 0 pts.) 

The Iowa Wild welcome the Henderson Silver Knights to Wells Fargo Arena Friday at 7 p.m. for the opening game of the 2023-24 season. The first 1,500 fans in the doors receive a magnet schedule giveaway presented by Hicklin Doors Services and KXnO.  

ALL-TIME SERIES 

All-Time Iowa Wild Record: 2-2-0-0 (1-1-0-0 at Wells Fargo Arena, 1-1-0-0 at Henderson) 

2021-22:  Iowa and Henderson did not play in 2022-23... The Wild and Silver Knights each split a pair of home games in 2021-22... Both games in Henderson were decided by a single goal while the contests in Iowa were decide by three goals or more 

FAST FACTS: Mason Shaw and Connor Dewar each had two goals in the season series in 2021-22... Shaw led Iowa with four points (2-2=4)... Cody McLeod recorded 36 penalty minutes in the four contests... Zane McIntyre allowed nine goals in three games (one with Tucson, two with Iowa) 

TEAM NOTES 

SEASON OPENERS: Iowa is 4-5-0-1 all-time in both season and home openers 

BACK-TO-BACK:  The Wild played 22 back-to-back sets in 2022-23... Iowa went 10-8-1-3 in the opening contest of back-to-back games 

YOUNG D: Five of Iowa’s seven opening night defensemen were born in 2002 or 2003... Only Simon Johansson (6/14/1999) and Brenden Miller (3/29/1994) were born before 2002 

NEW COACHES: Friday’s game marks the first time Brett McLean will step behind Iowa’s bench as the team’s head coach... Ben Simon and Patrick Dwyer make their Wild assistant coaching debuts... McLean played in 385 NHL games and 274 AHL games... Simon skated in 81 NHL games and 481 AHL games... Dwyer played in 416 NHL games and 354 AHL games 

NEW LETTERS 

  • Iowa announced Dakota Mermis as the team’s 2023-24 captain on Thursday 

  • Adam Beckman, Steven Fogarty, and Nic Petan will serve as alternate captains 

  • Mermis captained the 2022-23 squad from December through the end of the season 

  • Mermis previously wore the “C” with the Tucson Roadrunners (2018-19) and an “A” with Tucson (2017-18) and the Binghamton Senators (2019-20) 

  • Beckman served as an alternate captain for the Spokane Chiefs in the WHL in 2020-21 

  • Fogarty wore an “A” with Iowa in 2022-23 

  • Fogarty also served as captain of the Rochester Americans (2020-21) Hartford Wolfpack (2019-20), and Notre Dame Fighting Irish (2015-16) 

  • Petan served as both an alternate captain (2013-14) and captain (2015-16) with the Portland Winterhawks in the WHL 

OPENING NIGHT 

  • Iowa’s first ever game came at Wells Fargo Arena on Oct. 12, 2013 

  • The Wild won 1-0 over the Oklahoma City Barons with Brett Bulmer scoring the only goal of the contest 

  • Current Iowa Wild forward Kale Kessy played for Oklahoma City and squared off against Steven Kampfer in the first fight in team history 

  • The fight was Kessy’s second career fight and came in his third AHL game 

  • Kessy has played in 298 AHL games (301 GP) and earned 782 additional PIM (794 PIM) since Iowa’s inaugural game 

  • Iowa’s goaltending coach, Richard Bachman, started in net for the Barons 

  • Bachman saved 28-of-29 shots for Oklahoma City 

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. 

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