GAME PREVIEW - IOWA WILD AT HAMILTON BULLDOGS 1.12.14
Jan 12, 2014Media Kit - HERE
Iowa Wild (15-15-2-2, 34 points) at Hamilton Bulldogs (18-15-0-4, 40 points)
Sunday’s game is the second and final meeting of the season between the two clubs this season. The two teams met on Dec. 20 in Des Moines, with the Wild posting a 3-0 win behind Darcy Kuemper’s 44 saves.
Iowa concludes its six-game road trip on Sunday after going 2-1-0-2 in the previous five games of the road trip. The Wild is playing its third game in as many nights after splitting a pair of games in Grand Rapids on Friday and Saturday. Iowa is coming off a 4-1 loss to the Griffins last night. The team has points in 13 of the last 17 outings (9-4-2-2). The Wild has a record of 8-4-1-2 on the road and has outscored the opposition 46-43 away from home. Iowa is 5-2-1-2 over the last ten outings and 1-0-0-0 against the North Division. The team’s next four games will be against North Division teams.
Hamilton is coming off a 3-1 loss at home to Rochester on Saturday. The defeat ended the team’s season high six-game winning streak. The Bulldogs are playing their third game in as many nights, also having played in Rochester on Friday night. The AHL Affiliate of Montreal is 6-3-0-1 over the last ten games and 1-3-0-1 against the Midwest Division. The Bulldogs have posted a 9-9-0-3 record at home, having been outscored by the road teams 60-55. The team is 12-3-0-3 when scoring the game’s first goal.
Upcoming Games:
Team Date Time Radio / TV
at Hamilton 1/11 3:00 PM CT KXNO 1460 / iHeart Radio
vs. Toronto 1/15 7:05 P.M. KXNO 1460 / iHeartRadio
vs. Lake Erie 1/17 7:05 P.M KXNO 1460 / iHeartRadio
Latest Transactions:
1/11 – Add Taylor Matson (recalled from Orlando – ECHL)
1/8 – Add forward Justin Mercier (signed PTO from Idaho – ECHL)
1/8 – Add forward Jim McKenzie (signed PTO - from Quad City – CHL)
Last Time Out:
The Iowa Wild were defeated by the Grand Rapids Griffins 4-1 in front of 9,360 fans at Van Andel Arena on Saturday night. Forwards Tomas Jurco and Mitch Callahan connected for goals less than five minutes apart midway through the third period, helping the Griffins surge past the Wild. Grand Rapids goalie Tomas McCollum stopped 17 of 18 shots in the victory. Iowa goalie John Curry stopped 30 of 33 and defenseman Kyle Medvec scored in the defeat.
Iowa Wild
After 34 games, defenseman Brian Connelly leads the team in scoring with 19 points in 32 appearances. Connelly has a team-high 18 assists, including a team-leading eight on the power play. Fellow point leaders, defenseman Jonathon Blum and forward Erik Haula are on recall to the NHL’s Minnesota Wild. Haula had nine goals and 17 points in 24 games played. Blum posted four goals and 17 points in 31 games. Forward Brett Bulmer returned from Minnesota last Sunday. He is the team leader in goals (10) and second in shots (67). He was injured on Jan. 6 at Milwaukee and remains out. Also on recall, forward Jason Zucker had eight goals and 13 points in 22 games with Iowa. Center Zack Phillips adds five goals and 15 points in 32 games. Forwards Carson McMillan (14 points) and Warren Peters (12 points) round out the top scorers.
Goalies Johan Gustafsson and John Curry man the nets for Iowa. Darcy Kuemper is on recall to Minnesota. Johan Gustafsson is 6-5-1 with a 2.85 GAA and a .906 SV %. Curry is 2-2-1 with a 2.33 GAA and a .925 SV%.
Iowa is 23-for-147 (15.0 %) on the power play and has allowed 29 power-play goals against on 145 attempts (80.0%) The Wild is 25th in the AHL with a 2.41 goals per game average and the team sits 13th with a 2.76 goals against average.
Notables –
· Iowa forward Mark Hagel is a Hamilton native.
· Iowa has the #2 power play in the AHL on the road (23.7%), but the lowest in the league at home (10.2%).
Hamilton Bulldogs
Center Martin St. Pierre leads the Bulldogs in scoring with 19 assists and 26 points in 34 games played. St. Pierre has over 150 goals and nearly 400 assists over his AHL career. Right wing Louis Leblanc is second in scoring with nine goals and 20 points in 34 games played. Right wing Mike Blunden has eight goals and 19 points in 30 games played. Greg Pateryn leads all defenseman in scoring with nine assists and 16 points in 30 contests. Rookie Sven Andrighetto has eight goals and eight assists for 16 points in 25 games played.
Goalies Robert Mayer and Dustin Tokarski split time in net for Hamilton. Toharski is 14-7-2 with a 2.14 GAA and a .926 save percentage. Mayer is 3-7-2 with a 2.96 GAA and a .909 SV%.
Hamilton is 24th in the league on the power play, going 24-for-160 (15.4%). The Bulldogs penalty kill has allowed 30 goals on 192 chances (84.4%). The team averages 2.46 goals per game while allowing 2.70 goals against per game.