COMPLETE NUTRITION GAME PREVIEW AT GRAND RAPIDS 1.4.17

Jan 4, 2017

MEDIA KIT - HERE

Iowa Wild (14-17-2-1, 31 points) at Grand Rapids Griffins (20-8-1-2, 43 points)
Iowa and Grand Rapids meet for the fourth time this season, as the Wild begins a five-game road trip on Wednesday night.  Iowa finds itself in a rut after falling 5-2 at home on Saturday night to Chicago. It marked the team’s third straight loss and fourth in the last five outings. Grand Rapids claimed a 5-2 win in its last outing on Saturday night at home with Rockford. The Griffins have six wins over the last seven games. Grand Rapids has the best record in the Western Conference and third best overall.

The Griffins have taken two of the first three games in the season series. Iowa defeated Grand Rapids 4-3 in a shootout at Van Andel Arena on Dec. 3, the last encounter between the two clubs. The Griffins have edged the Wild in scoring for the season series 11-8.

Overall, this marks the 26th meeting between the clubs, as Grand Rapids leads the all-time series with a record of 20-4-0-1, including a 10-2-0-1 record at home. The Wild is 5-18-2-0 all-time with a 3-10-0-0 record at Van Andel Arena.

Iowa is 6-6-2-0 on the road this season and 4-5-1-0 over the last 10 outings. The Wild has been outscored by the home teams 40-30 this season. The Griffins are 11-3-0-2 at home and 8-2-0-0 over the last ten games. Grand Rapids has outscored the road teams 57-39.

Upcoming Games:
Team                                      Date    Time              Radio / TV
at Grand Rapids                          1/4     6:00 PM CT     iHeartRadio
at Manitoba                                 1/7     7:00 PM CT     KXNO/ iHeartRadio
at Manitoba                                 1/8     2:00 PM CT     KXNO/ iHeartRadio
at San Antonio                           1/13     7:30 PM CT    KXNO/ iHeartRadio
at San Antonio                           1/14     7:00 PM CT    KXNO/ iHeartRadio

Transactions:
1.3.17: Delete – F Kurtis Gabriel – recalled by Minnesota (NHL)

Last Time Out
The Iowa Wild were defeated by the Chicago Wolves 5-3 in front of 6,937 fans on Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena. Chicago left wing Kenny Agostino registered four goals, leading his club to its fifth straight win. Trailing 4-0 heading into the final period, Gustav Olofsson and Kurtis Gabriel scored to trim the Wolves lead to two. Chicago goalie Ville Husso made 27 saves for the win. Iowa goalie Alex Stalock stopped 28 of 32, as Iowa dropped its third straight game.

Iowa Wild
Through the first 34 games of the regular season, right wing Teemu Pulkkinen leads the club with 11 goals and 20 points in 24 games played. Pulkkinen also leads the team in power-play goals (4), first goals (5), game-winning goals (3) and shots (81). Recalled to Minnesota, forward Jordan Schroeder is among the leaders in scoring with 12 assists and 18 points in 25 games played. Schroeder’s 12 assists are tied for first on the team. Rookie Alex Tuch is third in scoring with 17 points in 31 games played. Tuch has seven goals and 10 assists, ranking in the top 20 for all AHL rookies in points. Veteran center Pat Cannone is fourth in scoring with 16 points, off 12 assists and four goals in 31 games played. Gustav Olofsson is fifth overall in scoring and first among all defensemen. Olofsson has four goals and 10 assists in 32 games played. Rookie Mario Lucia is sixth in scoring with 13 points in 26 games off five goals and eight assists. Defenseman Mike Reilly (3g,9a) and forward Colton Beck (3g-9a) also rank among the team’s scoring leaders.

Veteran Alex Stalock and Steve Michalek split time in net for Iowa. Stalock is 9-9-2 with a 2.75 GAA and a .905 SV%. Michalek is 5-8-1 with a 2.86 GAA and a .914 SV%.

Iowa’s power play sits 23rd in the league after going 21-for-132 (15.9%). The Wild’s penalty kill sits 17th after stopping 107-of-132 (81.1%).

Notables –
●       Iowa is 10-3-1-1 when scoring first, while Grand Rapids is 16-2-1-1 when opening the scoring.

Grand Rapids Griffins
Through 31 games this season, second-year forward Matt Lorito leads the club with 32 points in 31 games played. His 10 goals and 22 assists are both a team best. Right wing Mitch Callahan is second on the team in points with 23 points in 31 games played. Rookie Kyle Criscuolo is third on the team with nine goals and 21 points in 31 games played. Ben Street, a veteran center, is second on the Griffins with 15 assists and fourth with 21 points in 26 outings. Robbie Russo leads all defensemen in scoring with 18 points in 31 games played. Russo is sixth in overall team scoring.

Eddie Pasquale and Cal Heeter split time in net for Grand Rapids, while Jared Coreau remains on NHL recall to Detroit. Pasquale is 6-2-3 with a 2.24 GAA and a .919 SV%. Heeter is 3-0-0 with a 2.64 GAA and a .921 SV %.

Grand Rapids’ power play sits second best in the league after going 37-for-137 (27.0%). The Griffins penalty kill sits 12th after stopping 89 of 108 (82.4%). 

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