COMPLETE NUTRITION GAME PREVIEW AT CHICAGO 2.26.17
Feb 26, 2017 Iowa Wild (26-23-5-2, 59 points) at Chicago Wolves (32-17-4-3, 71 points)
Iowa continues a lengthy and spread out six-game road trip. The team plays twice in Chicago and Texas, as well as once in Rockford and Milwaukee before returning home on Mar. 18. The Wild opened the road trip with a 4-1 loss to Chicago at Allstate Arena on Saturday.
Sunday marks the 36th meeting between the two clubs. Iowa is 9-21-2-3 all-time against Chicago, including a 6-10-1-1 mark all-time at Allstate Arena. The Wolves are 26-5-2-2 against the Wild all-time, including a 12-4-1-1 mark at home. The two teams meet a total of 10 times this season. Iowa claimed the first meeting of the year. Chicago has taken the last four games, outscoring Iowa 20-7 in the season series.
Iowa is 15-10-2-0 on the road this season and 4-4-1-1 over the last 10 outings. The Wild has been outscored by the home teams 67-65 this season. Iowa is winless in three straight road games after a nine-game road-winning streak. The Wolves are 19-6-1-1 at home and 7-2-1-0 over the last ten games. Chicago has outscored the road teams 98-65.
Upcoming Games:
Team Date Time Radio / TV
at Chicago 2/26 3:00 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio
at Rockford 3/4 7:00 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio
at Texas 3/10 7:30 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio
at Texas 3/11 7:00 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio
at Milwaukee 3/17 7:00 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio
Transactions:
2.21.17: Add – F Tyler Graovac – assigned by Minnesota (NHL)
2.21.17: Add – D Gustav Olofsson – assigned by Minnesota (NHL)
2.22.17: Delete – D Dylan Labbe, F Chase Lang and F Adam Gilmour – reassigned to Quad City (ECHL)
Last Time Out
The Chicago Wolves outlasted Iowa on Saturday night, breaking a 1-1 tie with 5:15 left in regulation off Vince Dunn’s third-period goal. Goaltender Pheonix Copley stopped 29 of 30 shots for his 15th win of the season. Defenseman Morgan Ellis added insurance with two goals just 18 seconds apart, creating the three-goal margin. Goalie Steve Michalek stopped 22 of 25 in defeat. Tyler Graovac scored Iowa’s lone goal.
Iowa Wild
Through the first 56 games of the regular season, right wing Teemu Pulkkinen leads the club with 18 goals and 35 points in 46 games played. Pulkkinen also leads the team in power-play goals (4), first goals (5), game-winning goals (4) and shots (151). Rookie Alex Tuch is second on the team in scoring with 12 goals and 16 assists for 28 points in 38 games played. Veteran center Pat Cannone is third, followed by rookie Mario Lucia. Cannone has 17 assists and seven goals in 53 games played. Lucia has nine goals and 13 assists in 44 games, although he is out with an injury. Gustav Olofsson is fifth in scoring with 21 points. He has five goals and 21 points to lead all defensemen in scoring in 46 games played.
Veteran Alex Stalock and Steve Michalek split time in net for Iowa. Stalock is 16-12-6 with a 2.43 GAA and a .921 SV%. Michalek is 10-11-1 with a 2.63 GAA and a .918 SV%.
Iowa’s power play sits 18th in the league after going 33-for-200 (16.5%). The Wild’s penalty kill sits 14th in the AHL after stopping 165-of-201 (82.1%).
Notables
· Chicago is 18-6-1-3 when scoring first, while Iowa is 20-3-6-3.
· The Wild and Chicago are tied for sixth best in the AHL for GAA at 2.68
Chicago Wolves
Left wing Kenny Agostino leads the Wolves in scoring with 43 assists and 61 points in 50 games played. He leads the AHL with 28 assists and is first in the league in overall points. Center Wade Megan is second on the team in points and tied for third in the AHL for goals scored at 23. Megan also has 23 assists for a total of 46 points in 53 outings. Center Ivan Barbashev is second on the team with 19 goals and has 18 assists for 37 points in 46 games played. Left wing Andrew Agozzino is fourth overall in scoring with 12 goals and 24 assists for 36 points in 51 games played. Vince Dunn leads all defensemen in points in 30 in 52 games played.
Goalies Pheonix Copley, Ville Husso and Jordan Bennington share time in net for Chicago. Bennington is 9-6-4 with a 3290 GAA and a .908 SV %. Copley is 15-6-3 with a 2.31 GAA and a .920 SV %. Husso is 8-5-0 with a 2.45 GAA and a .917 SV %. Husso is out with an injury.
Chicago’s power play is 8th, going 47-for-234 (20.1%). The Wolves are 4th on the penalty kill, stopping 186 of 219 (84.9%).