COMPLETE NUTRITION GAME PREVIEW VS GRAND RAPIDS 10.18.16
Oct 17, 2016 Grand Rapids Griffins (2-0-0-0, 4 Points) at Iowa Wild (1-1-0-0, 2 Points)
Iowa opened the 2016-17 season at home this weekend, splitting a pair of games with the Manitoba Moose on Friday and Saturday. Iowa continues its seven-game home stand with the first visit of the season from Grand Rapids. The two teams meet for the first of eight meetings this season. Iowa and Grand Rapids met eight times last year, with the Griffins posting a 6-2-0-0 mark, including a 2-2-0-0 at Wells Fargo Arena. Iowa was 2-5-1-0 in the season series and 2-1-1-0 at home last year. Overall, this marks the 23rd meeting between the clubs, as Grand Rapids leads the all-time series mark with a record of 18-4-0-0, including a 9-2-0-0 record in Des Moines. The Wild is 4-16-2-0 all-time with a 2-9-0-0 record at home. Grand Rapids is coming off a 4-2 win at Chicago on Saturday, while Iowa won 3-2 in a SO against Manitoba.
Upcoming Games:
Team Date Time Radio / TV
vs. Grand Rapids 10/18 7:00 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio
vs. Charlotte 10/21 7:00 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio
vs. Charlotte 10/22 7:00 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio / MC22
vs. Cleveland 10/25 7:00 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio
vs. Milwaukee 10/28 7:00 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio
Transactions:
10.17.16: Add – D Mike Reilly – assigned by Minnesota (NHL)
10.18.16: Add – C Joel Eriksson Ek – assigned by Minnesota (NHL)
Last Time Out
The Iowa Wild defeated the Manitoba Moose 3-2 in a shootout in front of 5,708 fans on Saturday night at Wells Fargo Arena. Rookie Alex Tuch broke a scoreless shootout in the fourth round, beating goalie Ondrej Pavelec for the game-winning goal. Iowa goalie Steve Michalek stopped 32 of 34 shots in regulation and four of four in the shootout win. Forward Zack Mitchell became Iowa’s all time leading goal scorer with a tally and added an assist. Defenseman Zach Palmquist set up two goals for the Wild’s first win of the year. Manitoba goalie Ondrej Pavelec stopped 35 of 37 shots in regulation and three of four in the shootout loss. Moose forward Quinton Howden scored twice in the defeat.
Iowa Wild
Iowa experienced major changes over the summer, starting with the hiring of Derek Lalonde as the fourth head coach in team history. He joins the team after two seasons in Toledo, that saw him post a 97-35-7-5 (.715) record in two ECHL seasons. In his first season, the team rattled off 50 wins and amassed the largest point-total turnaround in league history by adding 58 points from the season before.
Just over 70% of the team played at least one game for Iowa last season. Of the 24 announced players on the roster, 13 of them spent the majority of the season with the club. The team returns leading scorers Zack Mitchell (22g,20a=44pts in 70 GP), Grayson Downing (19g-21a=40pts in 56 GP), Christoph Bertschy (11g-24a=35 in 72 GP) and Jordan Schroeder (14g-20a=34 pts in 40 GP). Veteran defenseman Maxime Fortunus leads a defense corps that includes all-star defenseman Gustav Olofsson and second-year blueliner Zach Palmquist. The franchise’s all-time leading scorer Tyler Graovac has also returned for his fourth season in Des Moines. He joins Marc Hagel and Kurtis Gabriel as the only remaining players who suited up in the team’s first year of existence.
The team features plenty of newcomers including Pat Cannone, who led the Chicago Wolves in scoring last season and was named the MVP of the AHL All Star Classic. He is joined by a handful of promising prospects who will be making their pro debuts this weekend, including first round pick Alex Tuch (18th overall in 2014) and Hobey Baker Finalist Sam Anas, who led the nation in scoring as a junior at Quinnipiac. Forward Nick Saracino also joins rookie defensemen Nick Seeler and Hunter Warner.
In net, veteran Alex Stalock joins Iowa after signing a one-year contract with Minnesota over the summer. In 180 career AHL games, the 29-year old is 66-40-7 with a 2.62 GAA and a .908 SV%. Rookie Steve Michalek will also see time in net, he went 7-5-2 with a 2.63 GAA and a .910 SV %.
Notables –
● Wild forward Jeff Hoggan served as Captain of the Griffins each of the last four seasons.
Grand Rapids Griffins
The Griffins had some changes over the summer with the departure of Hoggan and leading scorer Andy Miele. In return they added some new high-end players in Ben Street, Matt Lorito and Matt Ford. The club also returns goalie Jared Coreau, as forwards Tyler Bertuzzi, Eric Tangradi and Mitch Callahan. All-rookie defenseman Robbie Russo also returns for his second season in Grand Rapids.
Goaltender Jared Coreau returns after a successful sophomore campaign. He went 29-15-2, posted a 2.43GAA with a .922 SV% and notched 6 shutouts in 2015-16. The team added Eddie Pasquale in the offseason, he had been in St, John’s (AHL) last season, going 13-10-3 with a 2.62 GAA and a .919 SV%.