GAME PREVIEW - IOWA WILD AT GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS 2.26.16
Feb 26, 2016Iowa Wild (18-30-3-4, 43 Points) at Grand Rapids Griffins (30-20-1-1, 62 Points)
Iowa and Grand Rapids meet for the sixth of eight meetings this season. Iowa and Grand Rapids met on Feb. 12 and 13, splitting the two-game set in Des Moines. The Griffins took the last meeting, a 4-3 decision on Feb. 13. After Friday, the two teams play on Feb. 27 at Van Andel Arena. The Griffins have outscored the Wild 20-13 this season. The Griffins have dominated the all-time series by going 16-3-0-0 in 19 all-time meetings. Grand Rapids is 9-1-0-0 at Van Andel Arena, while Iowa is 2-7-0-0. The Wild is 3-14-2-0 all-time against the Griffins.
BECOME A WILD 365 MEMBER TODAY!
Iowa is 8-16-3-2 on the road this season, having been outscored 68-51 by the home clubs. The Wild is 6-3-0-1 and 13-9-1-1 since Dec. 26. Iowa is coming off a 2-1 win against Manitoba at home on Wednesday.
Grand Rapids is 18-9-1-0 at home this season, outscoring the visitors 88-70. The Griffins are 6-4-0-0 over the last ten games played. The team is coming off a 5-0 win at Chicago on Tuesday.
Upcoming Games:
Team Date Time Radio / TV
at Grand Rapids 2/26 6:00 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio
at Grand Rapids 2/27 6:00 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio
at Texas 3/2 7:30 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio
at Texas 3/4 7:30 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio
at Manitoba 3/7 7:00 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio
Transactions:
2.19.16: Delete – G Brody Hoffman – assigned to Quad City (ECHL)
2.19.16: Add – D Guillaume Gelinas – recalled from Quad City (ECHL)
2.22.16: Add – F Jared Knight– recalled from Quad City (ECHL)
2.24.16: Delete – F Jordan Schroeder – recalled by Minnesota (NHL)
Last Time Out
The Iowa Wild defeated the Manitoba Moose 2-1 in front of 4,411 fans at Wells Fargo Arena on Wednesday night. Wild Captain Maxime Fortunus scored with 10:07 remaining in the third period, pushing Iowa past Manitoba for its second consecutive victory. Forward Zack Mitchell scored the other Iowa goal, notching his team leading 20th of the season. Iowa goalie Steve Michalek made 21 saves on 22 shots in the victory. Manitoba goalie Connor Hellebuyck made 27 saves on 29 shots in the defeat. Moose forward Thomas Raffl scored the lone goal in the Manitoba loss.
Iowa Wild
Forwards Grayson Downing, Zack Mitchell and Christoph Bertschy lead Iowa in scoring. Mitchell leads the team with 20 goals and 33 points in 55 games played. Downing has 31 points off 15 goals and 16 assists in 37 games played. Bertschy is tied for first on the team with 19 assists and is fourth with 28 points in 52 games played. He also leads the team with 121 shots on goal. Forward Jordan Schroeder is on recall to Minnesota. He was tied third in scoring with 30 points and tied for first on the team with 19 assists in 35 games played. Mike Reilly led defenseman in scoring before his call up to Minnesota (NHL), with 21 points in 40 games. All-star defenseman Gustav Olofsson leads all active blueliners with 17 points in 50 games played.
Leland Irving and Steven Michalek split time in net for Iowa. Leland Irving has made 29 appearances, going 9-15-4 with a 2.59 GAA and a .917 SV%. Rookie Steve Michalek is 4-1-0 with a 1.82 GAA and a .946 SV %.
Iowa ranks 18th after going 30-for-188 (16.0%) on the power play. The team is 141-for-172 (82.0%) on the penalty kill – 19th in the AHL.
Notables –
● Wild forward Zack Mitchell (37) tied Tyler Graovac (37) for Iowa’s all-time goal scoring lead. Mitchell set a new career high with his 20th goal of the season on Wednesday. He also needs one goal to tie Graovac’s single season mark of 21.
Grand Rapids Griffins
Center Andy Miele leads Grand Rapids in scoring with 38 points in 52 games played. Miele is second on the team with 27 assists. Veteran left wing Eric Tangradi is tied for second in scoring with 36 points, tallying 17 goals and 19 assists in 48 games. Left wing Anthony Mantha is tied for second in scoring and second in goals. Mantha has 17 goals and 36 points in 48 games played. Right wing Martin Frk leads the team with 21 goals and he is tied for fourth on the team with 33 points in 43 games played. Forward Mark Zengerle leads the team with 28 assists and is tied for fourth in scoring with 33 points in 49 games played. Rookie Robbie Russo leads all defenseman in scoring with 22 points in 47 games played. Russo also ranks among the league leaders in plus/minus with a +32.
Jared Coreau (24-10-2) has played the majority of the season for the Griffins, posting a 2.29 GAA and .927 SV% in 37 games played. Tom McCollum (6-9-0) holds a 2.79 GAA and .918 SV% in 16 appearances.
Grand Rapids is 33-for-219 on the power play and sits 23rd at 14.9%. The Griffins penalty kill 162-for-195 and 13th at 83.1%.