COMPLETE NUTRITION GAME PREVIEW AT ROCKFORD 1.27.17

Jan 27, 2017

MEDIA KIT - HERE

Iowa Wild (20-19-4-1, 45 points) at Rockford IceHogs (14-22-4-3, 35 points)
Iowa continues a five-game road trip on Friday in Rockford. The Wild began the trip with a 2-1 win at Grand Rapids on Wednesday, the team’s fifth straight road win. Iowa has points in eight of its last nine games. Rockford is coming off a 6-2 loss at San Antonio on Wednesday. Friday’s game marks the first of back-to-back games at the BMO Harris Metro Center. Rockford is winless in the last three games, going 0-2-1-0 over that span.

As far as rivalries go, the Wild has played the IceHogs more than any other team in AHL history with the 35th meeting on Friday. Iowa is 11-22-1-0 all-time against Rockford, including a 5-10-0-1 mark on the road. The IceHogs are 23-7-2-2 against the Wild all-time, including an 11-2-1-1 mark at BMO Harris Bank Center.  The two teams will meet ten times this season. Rockford took the last meeting, a 4-1 win at home on Dec. 30.  Iowa is 2-2-0-0 in the season series.

Iowa is 11-7-2-0 on the road this season and 6-2-2-0 over the last 10 outings. The Wild has been outscored by the home teams 52-50 this season. The Hogs are 10-7-2-2 at home and 3-5-2-0 over the last ten games. Rockford has been outscored by the road teams 67-66.

Upcoming Games:
Team                                      Date      Time              Radio / TV
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
at Cleveland                              2/3       6:00 PM CT   KXNO / iHeartRadio

Transactions:
1.23.17: Add – F Kurtis Gabriel – assigned by Minnesota (NHL)
1.25.17: Add – F Christoph Bertschy – re assigned by Minnesota (NHL)

Last Time Out
The Iowa Wild defeated the Grand Rapids Griffins 2-1 in front of 9,935 fans on Wednesday night at Van Andel Arena. Wild goalie Alex Stalock stopped 37 of 38 shots for the win and kept the Griffins off the scoreboard for the first 56:32 of regulation. The win pushed Iowa above .500 for the first time since Feb. 25, 2014 and set a new team record with its fifth straight road win. Rookie forward Mario Lucia scored once and added a assist, as Iowa improved to 11-7-2-0 on the road. Former Griffin Jeff Hoggan added a goal in the monumental Iowa win. Griffins goalie Eddie Pasquale stopped 25 of 27 shots in the loss.

Iowa Wild
Through the first 44 games of the regular season, right wing Teemu Pulkkinen leads the club with 12 goals and 26 points in 34 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 seven games. Veteran center Pat Cannone is second in scoring with 21 points, off 16 assists and five goals in 41 games played. Rookie forward Mario Lucia has moved into third in the team-scoring race with 19 points. He has seven goals and 12 assists in 35 games played. Rookie Alex Tuch is tied for fourth 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. Tuch and Grayson Downing are both currently out with an injury.

Veteran Alex Stalock and Steve Michalek split time in net for Iowa. Stalock is 13-10-4 with a 2.62 GAA and a .913 SV%. Michalek is 7-9-1 with a 2.72 GAA and a .918 SV%.

Iowa’s power play sits 19th in the league after going 27-for-163 (16.6%). The Wild’s penalty kill sits 18th after stopping 135-of-166 (81.3%).

Notables –
●       Iowa goes for a team record sixth straight road win on Friday.

Rockford IceHogs
Right wing Spencer Abbott leads with Hogs in scoring with nine goals and 25 points in 39 games played. He is first in goals and tied for second in assists. Center Mark McNeill is second in scoring with 24 points in 43 games played. He leads the team with 18 assists and has added six goals. With Tanner Kero and his 20 points in the NHL, right wing Kyle Baun is third in scoring. Baun has seven goals and 12 assists for 19 points in 41 games played. Ville Pokka leads all defensemen in points with 18 in 41 games played. He is tied for second on the team with 16 assists.

Goalies Lars Johansson and Jeff Glass share time in net for Rockford. Johansson is 8-11-1 with a 2.89 GAA and a .900 SV %. Glass is 2-3-1 with a 2.50 GAA and a .900 SV %. Glass has started the last six games.

Rockford’s power play is 26th, going 27-for-177 (15.3%). The Hogs are 28th on the penalty kill, stopping 119-of-157 (77.1%).

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