COMPLETE NUTRITION GAME PREVIEW VS CLEVELAND 10.25.16

Oct 25, 2016

MEDIA KIT - HERE

Cleveland Monsters (2-2-0-0, 4 Points) at Iowa Wild (2-3-0-0, 4 Points)
Iowa welcomes Cleveland for the first meeting of the season between the two teams. Iowa and Cleveland will meet eight times during the 2016-17 season. The Wild continues its seven-game home stand on Tuesday, going 2-3-0-0 through the first five. The Wild posted a 3-3-0-2 record against Cleveland, formerly known as Lake Erie. Iowa is 9-6-0-1 all time against the Monsters. The Wild is 4-3-0-1 at home all-time.  Cleveland is 7-5-2-2 against Iowa all-time, including a 4-3-1-0 mark in Des Moines.

Iowa is 2-3-0-0 through the first five games of the season (all home games). The defending champs are 2-0-0-0 at home and winless (0-2-0-0) on the road this season. Iowa beat Charlotte 2-1 at home on Saturday, while Cleveland fell 5-2 at Rockford on Sunday.  

Upcoming Games:

Team                                      Date    Time              Radio / TV

vs. Cleveland                           10/25    7:00 PM CT   KXNO / iHeartRadio

vs. Milwaukee                          10/28    7:00 PM CT   KXNO / iHeartRadio

at  Milwaukee                          10/29    6:00 PM CT   KXNO / iHeartRadio

at  Grand Rapids                        11/4     6:00 PM CT   KXNO / iHeartRadio

at  Milwaukee                            11/5     6:00 PM CT   KXNO / iHeartRadio

Transactions:

10.22.16: Add – D Mike Reilly – assigned by Minnesota (NHL)

10.22.16: Delete – C Joel Eriiksson Ek – recalled by Minnesota (NHL)

Last Time Out
The Iowa Wild defeated the Charlotte Checkers 2-1 on Saturday night in front of 4,969 fans at Wells Fargo Arena. Wild goalie Alex Stalock made 35 saves in the rematch win over the Checkers. Forwards Grayson Downing and Adam Gilmour helped lead Iowa to victory.  Charlotte goalie Alex Nedeljkovic made 27 saves in the loss. Derek Ryan had the only goal of the night for the Checkers.

Iowa Wild
Through the first five games of the regular season, defenseman Zach Palmquist leads Iowa in scoring with four points. He is also tied for the team lead with three assists. Rookie forwards Mario Lucia (1g,2a), Alex Tuch (3a), Sam Anas (1g-1a), and Adam Gilmour (1g-2a) rank among the top scorers on the team. Center Grayson Downing (1g-2a) and defenseman Max Fortunus (3a) also rank among the team leaders in points.

Veteran Alex Stalock and rookie Steve Michalek split time in net for Iowa. Stalock is (1-3-0) with a 3.40 GAA and a .889 SV%. Michalek is 1-0-0 with a 4.19 GAA and a .872 SV%.

Iowa’s power play sits 20th in the league after going 3-for-22 (13.6%). The Wild’s penalty kill also sits 20th after stopping 19 of 24.

Notables –

●       Rookie Adam Gilmour and defenseman Max Fortunus each has three points in the last two games. Gilmour scored his first pro goal on Saturday, while Fortunus played in his 900th pro game on Friday.

Cleveland Monsters
The biggest change is behind the bench. Jared Bednar was named the Head Coach of the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche on Aug. 31 - replacing Patrick Roy. The promotion was well deserved for a guy who paid his dues and worked diligently to get there. With that said, the Blue Jackets named John Madden the new coach in Cleveland shortly after.

Madden played nearly 900 NHL regular season games and played in 141 Stanley Cup Playoff games, winning a three Cups (2 w/ NJ and 1 with CHI). He has been an assistant with the Florida Panthers the past three seasons. This marks his first stint as a head coach. He inherits a club that won the Calder Cup this past June.

A second change took place behind the bench as well. Assistant Coach Nolan Pratt joined Bednar in Colorado. The Monsters have filled the gap with former Iowa Wild defenseman Steve McCarthy, The veteran retired after helping bring the Calder Cup to Cleveland. It marks his first stint as an assistant coach. The team’s lone returning coach is assistant Toby Petersen.

Many departures among the players due to free agency includes; center Michael Chaput to Vancouver/Utica, defenseman Michael Paliotta to NYR/Hartford, F/Assistant Captain Trent Vogelhuber to Colorado/San Antonio, F Kerby Rychel to Toronto/Toronto, and former Iowa defenseman Justin Falk to Buffalo/Rochester. Forwards TJ Tynan and Alex Broadhurst are among 12 players who skated for the Calder Cup Champs in 2015-16.

Cleveland’s power play is 23rd, going 1-for-10 (10.0%), The Monsters are 8th on the penalty kill, stopping 19 of 21 (90.5%).

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