COMPLETE NUTRITION GAME PREVIEW AT GRAND RAPIDS 1.25.17

Jan 25, 2017

MEDIA KIT - HERE

Iowa Wild (19-19-4-1, 43 points) at Grand Rapids Griffins (27-10-1-2, 57 points)

Iowa begins a five-game road trip on Wednesday in Grand Rapids. It marks the final visit to Michigan and sixth game of the season series. Iowa wrapped up a four-game home stand at 1-1-2-0. The team is coming off a 3-2 win at home on Saturday night, defeating the Texas Stars. Iowa has points in seven of its last eight games. Grand Rapids has won three in a row, including its last outing, a 5-0 win over Cleveland at home on Saturday. The club has six wins in the last seven.

The Griffins edged the Wild 3-2 in OT last Wednesday in Des Moines. The Griffins have taken four of the first five games in the season series. The Griffins lead the scoring for the season series 20-15. Grand Rapids center Matt Lorito leads all skaters in the series with seven points (2g-5a-7pts) in four games.

Overall, this marks the 28th meeting between the clubs, as Grand Rapids leads the all-time series with a record of 22-4-0-1, including a 11-2-0-1 record at home. The Wild is 5-19-3-0 all-time with a 3-11-0-0 record at Van Andel Arena.

Iowa is 10-7-2-0 on the road this season and 5-3-2-0 over the last 10 outings. The Wild is outscoring the home teams 51-48 this season. The Griffins are 15-4-0-2 at home and 8-2-0-0 over the last ten games. Grand Rapids is outscoring the road teams 78-49 (+29). GR is +44 overall, the second highest differential in the AHL.

Upcoming Games:
Team                                      Date      Time              Radio / TV
at Grand Rapids                         1/25     6:00 PM CT   KXNO / iHeartRadio
at Rockford                                1/27     7:00 PM CT   KXNO / iHeartRadio
at Rockford                                1/28     7:00 PM CT   KXNO / iHeartRadio
All Star Break                           1/29-2/2
at Cleveland                              2/2       6:00 PM CT   KXNO / iHeartRadio

Transactions:
1.23.17: Delete – F Christoph Bertschy – recalled to Minnesota (NHL)
1.23.17: Add – F Kurtis Gabriel – assigned by Minnesota (NHL)

Last Time Out
The Iowa Wild defeated the Texas Stars 3-2 in front of 12,547 fans on Saturday night at Wells Fargo Arena. Iowa forwards Alex Petan and Mario Lucia each scored to help Iowa build a two-goal lead, and the team held off Texas to pick up at least a point for the seventh time in the last eight games. Forward Marc Hagel tallied a goal and an assist in the win over Texas. Wild goalie Steve Michalek stopped 33 of 35 shots in the victory. Iowa defenseman Gustav Olofsson added two assists in the win. Stars goalie Landon Bow stopped 39 of 42 shots in the defeat. Texas Captain Travis Morin scored twice for the Stars in the loss. The massive crowd marked the second highest attendance in team history.

Iowa Wild
Through the first 43 games of the regular season, right wing Teemu Pulkkinen leads the club with 12 goals and 26 points in 33 games played. Pulkkinen also leads the team in power-play goals (4), first goals (5), game-winning goals (3) and shots (113). He is scoreless in six games. Veteran center Pat Cannone is second in scoring with 21 points, off 16 assists and five goals in 40 games played. Rookie Alex Tuch is tied for third in scoring with 18 points in 32 games played. Tuch has eight goals and 10 assists. Gustav Olofsson has five goals and 18 points to lead all defensemen in scoring. He is tied for third in scoring overall. Center Grayson Downing and rookie Mario Lucia are next in scoring with 17 points each. Tuch and Downing are both currently out with an injury.

Veteran Alex Stalock and Steve Michalek split time in net for Iowa. Stalock is 12-10-4 with a 2.68 GAA and a .910 SV%. Michalek is 7-9-1 with a 2.72 GAA and a .918 SV%.

Iowa’s power play sits 22nd in the league after going 26-for-161 (16.1%). The Wild’s penalty kill sits 17th after stopping 132-of-162 (81.5%).

Notables –

●       Iowa goes for its’ fifth straight road win on Wednesday.

Grand Rapids Griffins
Through 40 games this season, Ben Street, a veteran center, leads the Griffins with 22 assists and is tied for the team lead with 32 points in 35 outings. Second-year forward Matt Lorito is tied for the team lead with 32 points in 32 games played. His 10 goals and 22 assists are among the team’s best. Center Tomas Nosek leads the team with 14 goals and is third in points with 31 over 30 games. Right wing Mitch Callahan is fourth on the team in points with 28 points in 40 games played. Right wing Martin Frk is fifth on the team with 14 goals and 26 points in 33 games played. Robbie Russo leads all defensemen in scoring with 25 points in 40 games played.

With Jared Coreau in the NHL, Eddie Pasquale and Cal Heeter split time in net for Grand Rapids. Heeter is 7-1-0 with a 1.87 GAA and a .940 SV%. Pasquale is 9-3-3 with a 2.31 GAA and a .919 SV%.

Grand Rapids’ power play sits best in the league after going 50-for-177 (28.2%). The Griffins penalty kill sits 10th after stopping 117 of 140 (83.6%).

 

 

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