COMPLETE NUTRITION GAME PREVIEW AT CLEVELAND 2.4.17

Feb 4, 2017

MEDIA KIT HERE

Iowa Wild (23-19-4-1, 51 points) at Cleveland Monsters (20-18-1-3, 44 points)
Iowa concludes a five-game road trip on Saturday in Cleveland. The Wild took a 3-0 decision in Cleveland Friday night, setting a new team record with five straight wins. The team has points in seven straight (5-0-2-0). It also marked the team’s eighth straight road win. Iowa has points in 11 of its last 12 games (9-1-2-0).

Cleveland and Iowa are locked in a battle for the fourth and final playoff spot in the AHL’s Central Division. Iowa and Cleveland have met 20 times over the course of AHL history. Iowa is 11-7-1-1 all-time against Cleveland, including a 7-3-1-0 mark on the road. The Monsters are 9-6-2-3 against the Wild all-time, including a 4-3-1-3 mark at Quicken Loans Arena. The two teams will meet 12 times this season. Iowa is 2-1-1-0 in the season series, while Cleveland is 2-1-0-1.  

Iowa is 14-7-2-0 on the road this season and 7-1-2-0 over the last 10 outings. The Wild has outscored the home teams 61-55 this season. The Monsters are 12-9-1-1 at home and 4-5-0-1 over the last ten games. Cleveland has been outscored by the road teams 51-50.

Upcoming Games:
Team                                      Date      Time              Radio / TV
at Cleveland                              2/3       6:00 PM CT   KXNO / iHeartRadio
vs. Cleveland                             2/8       7:00 PM CT   KXNO / iHeartRadio
vs. Grand Rapids                        2/10     7:00 PM CT   KXNO / iHeartRadio / MC22
vs. Grand Rapids                        2/11     7:00 PM CT   KXNO / iHeartRadio
at  San Diego                            2/14     9:00 PM CT   KXNO / iHeartRadio

Transactions:
2.1.17: Delete – F Marc Hagel – Traded by Minnesota to Ottawa (NHL)
2.2.17: Delete – F Alex Tuch – recalled by Minnesota (NHL)
2.2.17: Add – F Alex Petan – signed PTO

Last Time Out
The Iowa Wild defeated the Cleveland Monsters 3-0 in front of 10,687 fans on Friday night at the Quicken Loans Arena. Iowa goalie Alex Stalock made 27 saves, leading his club to a team record fifth straight win overall. The Iowa goalie improves to 15-10-4 and the team extends a team record road-winning streak to eight games – tied for the longest streak in the AHL this season. Forwards Teemu Pulkkinen, Christoph Berstchy and Mario Lucia each scored as the Wild moved to 14-7-2-0 on the road this season. Iowa now has points in 11 of its last 12 games (9-1-2-0). Monsters goalie Anton Forsberg suffered the loss with nine saves. Iowa had a team record low 12 shots.

Iowa Wild
Through the first 47 games of the regular season, right wing Teemu Pulkkinen leads the club with 14 goals and 30 points in 37 games played. Pulkkinen also leads the team in power-play goals (4), first goals (5), game-winning goals (4) and shots (120). Veteran center Pat Cannone, as well as rookies Mario Lucia and Alex Tuch, are tied for second in scoring with 22 points each. Cannone has 16 assists and six goals in 44 games played. Tuch has 11 goals and 11 assists for 22 points in 34 games played. Lucia has nine goals and 13 assists. Gustav Olofsson is fifth in scoring with 21 points. He has five goals and 21 points to lead all defensemen in scoring in 44 games played.  

Veteran Alex Stalock and Steve Michalek split time in net for Iowa. Stalock is 15-10-4 with a 2.47 GAA and a .919 SV%. Michalek is 8-9-1 with a 2.67 GAA and a .920 SV%.

Iowa’s power play sits 18th in the league after going 29-for-170 (17.1%). The Wild’s penalty kill sits 15th after stopping 143-of-174 (82.2%).

Notables –
●       Iowa goes for a team record ninth straight road win on Saturday.

●       The Wild set a new team record with its fifth straight win on Friday.

●       Defenseman Maxime Fortunus became the 38th player in AHL history with 800 career games on Friday.

Cleveland Monsters
Center TJ Tynan leads the Monsters with 20 assists and 25 points through 42 games played. He is also tied for the team lead with nine power-play points. Left wing Sonny Milano and center Alex Broadhurst are tied for second in scoring with 22 points each. Milano has nine goals and 13 assists in 35 games played. Broadhurst has nine goals and 13 assists in 41 games played. Right wing Olivier Bjorkstrand is fourth in scoring with 21 points in 33 games played. Bjorkstrand leads the team with 12 goals. John Ramage leads all defensemen in scoring with 15 points in 35 games played.

Goalies Anton Forsberg and Brad Thiessen share time in net for Cleveland. Forsberg is 13-10-2 with a 2.28 GAA and a .925 SV %. Thiessen is 1-3-0 with a 2.55 GAA and a .919 SV %. Forsberg has started five of the last seven games.

Cleveland’s power play is 24th, going 21-for-136 (15.4%). The Monsters are 4th on the penalty kill, stopping 155-of-183 (84.7%).

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