GAME PREVIEW - IOWA WILD AT GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 3.7.14
Mar 7, 2014Iowa Wild (22-24-6-4, 54 points) at Grand Rapids Griffins (36-17-2-2, 77 points)
Friday’s game is the sixth of ten meetings this season between Iowa and Grand Rapids. Iowa will play a second game on Saturday at Van Andel Arena. The Griffins are 4-1-0-0 against the Wild this season, taking the last meeting on Jan. 11 by a score of 4-1. Grand Rapids has outscored Iowa 13-8 in the season series. Four of the five gams have been decided by one goal. After this weekend, the next meeting between the two clubs is a two-game set at Wells Fargo Arena on Mar. 21 and 22.
Iowa is off to a rough start on its five-game road trip, dropping the first two games by a score of 13-1. The Wild is coming off a 4-0 loss at Chicago on Sunday, extending its losing streak to five games. Over that stretch, the team has been outscored 24-6. Iowa has a record of 12-9-3-3 on the road, outscored by the opposition 87-72. Iowa is 2-7-1-0 over the last ten outings and 9-14-3-2 against the Midwest Division.
The defending champs lead the Midwest Division and place second in the Western Conference with 77 points, third best among all AHL teams. Grand Rapids is 19-10-0-2 at home this season, outscoring the visiting teams 94-72. The Griffins are 21-9-0-1 against the Midwest Division. The club has rattled off six consecutive wins, besting its opponents 23-11 in scoring over the stretch. Grand Rapids is coming off 4-2 win at home over Chicago on Wednesday night.
Upcoming Games:
Team Date Time Radio / TV
at Grand Rapids 3/7 6 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio
at Grand Rapids 3/8 6 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio
at Milwaukee 3/12 7 PM KXNO / iHeartRadio
Latest Transactions:
3/5 – Delete goalie Hannu Toivonen (released from PTO)
3/4 - Add forward Stephane Veilleux (assigned by Minnesota – NHL)
3/2 – Add forward Taylor Matson (recalled from Orlando – ECHL)
Last Time Out:
The Iowa Wild was defeated by the Chicago Wolves 4-0 in front of 6,352 fans at Allstate Arena on Sunday. Chicago goalie Jake Allen stopped all 29 Iowa shots for his fourth shutout of the year. Wolves forward Adam Cracknell scored twice and set up another for three points, helping his team extend its points streak to 17 at Allstate Arena (16-0-0-1) this season. Iowa goalie John Curry made 26 saves, as the Wild dropped its fifth straight decision.
Iowa Wild
After 56 games, forward Brad Winchester leads the team in scoring with 16 goals and 30 points in 58 games. He is scoreless in three games after he was acquired form Rockford via trade. Defenseman Jonathon Blum, as well as forwards Carson McMillan and Zack Phillips: are also among the top scorers. Blum has seven goals and 19 assists for 26 points in 47 games played with Iowa. Forward Zack Phillips has a career-high, ten goals and 16 assists for 26 points in 56 games played. McMillan has 11 goals and 13 assists for 24 points in 48 games played. Third in goal scoring, Brett Bulmer (10 goals) has 16 points in 31 games played. Center Warren Peters is also among the active skaters in points with 18 (7g/11a).
Goalies John Curry and Johan Gustafsson man the nets for Iowa. Curry is 7-6-2 with a 2.20 GAA and a .931 SV%. Johan Gustafsson is 8-13-2 with a 3.10 GAA and a .902 SV %.
Iowa is 38-for-230 (16.5%) on the power play and has allowed 46 power-play goals against on 219 attempts (79.0%). The Wild is 27th in the AHL with a 2.39 goals per game average and the team sits 21st with a 3.02 goals against average.
Notables –
· Iowa forward Stephane Veilleux needs two assists to reach 100 for his AHL career.
Grand Rapids Griffins
Right wing Teemu Pulkkinen was recalled on Thursday after leading the Griffins in scoring with 24 goals and 49 points in 58 games played. He had a team-high 166 shots on goal and was second with 25 assists. Defenseman Adam Almquist is first on the team with 37 assists and second with 39 points in 55 games played. Almquist also leads the Griffins with 18 power-play assists. The team is missing forward Tomas Jurco, who is in Detroit after scoring 13 goals and totaling 32 points in 32 games played. The Red Wings also traded Calle Jarnkrok on Wednesday. He had 36 points in 57 games played. Cory Emmerton is also among the team leaders with 12 goals and 32 points in 41 games played. Right wing Mitch Callahan is among the team leaders with 21 goals and 31 points in 58 games played.
Goalie Tom McCullom and Petr Mrzek split time in net for Grand Rapids. Mrazek is 17-5-1 with a 2.10 GAA and a .926 SV%. He has made seven appearances for the Red Wings this season, going 1-3-0 with a 1.64 GAA and a .924 SV%. McCullom is 19-10-2 with a 2.33 GAA and a .922 SV %.
Grand Rapids is tenth in the league on the power play, going 48-for-240 (19.2%). The Griffins penalty kill has allowed 33 goals on 247 chances (86.6%). The team averages 3.26 goals per game (4th overall) while allowing 2.47 per game (first overall).