COMPLETE NUTRITION GAME PREVIEW AT ROCKFORD 3.4.17
Mar 4, 2017 Iowa Wild (26-23-6-2, 60 points) at Rockford IceHogs (21-28-8-3, 53 points)
Iowa continues a lengthy and spread out six-game road trip. The club opened the trip last weekend with a pair of losses in Chicago. Iowa managed to salvage a point in the team’s last outing, a 4-3 overtime loss at Allstate Arena on Sunday. Iowa plays one game over a stretch of ten days. Rockford is coming off its fourth straight defeat, a 5-3 loss at home on Friday to Manitoba.
As far as rivalries go, the Wild has played the IceHogs more than any other team in AHL history with the 37th meeting on Saturday. Iowa is 13-22-1-0 all-time against Rockford, including a 7-10-0-1 mark on the road. The IceHogs are 23-8-3-2 against the Wild all-time, including an 11-3-2-1 mark at BMO Harris Bank Center. The two teams will meet ten times this season. Iowa is 4-2-0-0 in the season series, including a 2-1-0-0 mark at the BMO this season.
Iowa is 15-10-3-0 on the road this season and 3-4-2-1 over the last 10 outings. The Wild has been outscored by the home teams 71-68 this season. The Hogs are 14-11-4-2 at home and 5-5-0-0 over the last ten games. Rockford has been outscored by the road teams 94-88.
Upcoming Games:
Team Date Time Radio / TV
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
vs. Milwaukee 3/18 6:00 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio / MC22
Transactions:
2.27.17: Delete – F Grayson Downing and F Teemu Pulkkinen – traded to Arizona (NHL).
2.27.17: Delete – C Tyler Graovac – recalled to Minnesota (NHL).
3.2.17: Add – F AJ Jenks, F Nolan La Porte and F Jack Nevins - signed PTO.
3.2.17: Add – C Adam Gilmour – reassigned from Quad City (ECHL)
Last Time Out
Trailing 3-1 early in the third period, the Chicago Wolves rallied to force overtime and win the extra session after Wade Megan scored his second goal of the game for the 4-3 final. Iowa manages a point in the OT defeat, largely due in part to the second hat trick in Iowa history by Tyler Graovac.
Iowa Wild
Through 57 games of the regular season rookie Alex Tuch is the team’s active leader in points with 28 in 39 outings. Tuch is first in goals and third in assists. Veteran center Pat Cannone is third with 17 assists and seven goals for 24 points in 54 games played. Out with an injury, rookie Mario Lucia is third among active skaters with 22 points in 44 games played. Gustav Olofsson is tied for third in scoring with 22 points. He has five goals and 17 assists to lead all defensemen in scoring in 47 games played. Rookie Sam Anas and right wing Christoph Bertschy round out the top scorers. Anas has 20 points in 48 games played, while Bertschy has 18 points in 49 games played.
Veteran Alex Stalock and Steve Michalek split time in net for Iowa. Stalock is 16-12-7 with a 2.48 GAA and a .918 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 35-for-205 (17.1%). The Wild’s penalty kill sits 17th in the AHL after stopping 167-of-205 (81.5%).
Notables
· Nolan La Porte is expected to make his AHL debut this weekend in Rockford. AJ Jenks and Jack Nevins are expected to make their Iowa Wild debuts as well.
Rockford IceHogs
With Spencer Abbott, Sam Carrick and Mark McNeill shuffled out, defenseman Erik Gustafsson is the team’s active leading scorer. Gustafsson has five goals and a team high 22 assists for 27 points in 52 games played. Right wing Kyle Baun is second in points (26) and second among active skaters with 11 goals in 58 games played. Defenseman Ville Pokka is third in scoring with 25 points and second with 20 assists in 60 games played. Left wing Brandon Mashinter leads all active skaters with 12 goals and is fourth in points with 20 in 45 outings. Centers Martin Lundberg and Luke Johnson also rank among the team’s active scoring leaders.
Goalies Lars Johansson and Mac Carruth share time in net for Rockford. Johansson is 11-11-4 with a 2.68 GAA and a .907 SV %. Carruth is 5-9-5 with a 3.53 GAA and a .883 SV %.
Rockford’s power play is 23rd, going 36-for-234 (15.4%). The Hogs are 24th on the penalty kill, stopping 170-of-212 (80.2%).