GAME PREVIEW - CHICAGO WOLVES AT IOWA WILD 4.11.14
Apr 11, 2014Chicago Wolves (40-20-5-5, 90 points) at Iowa Wild (27-33-6-4, 64 points)
Friday’s game is the ninth of ten meetings this season between Iowa and Chicago. The Wolves lead the season series with a 4-1-1-2 record, while Iowa is 4-2-1-1. Five of the eight games have gone to overtime or a shootout. Iowa claimed the last meeting, a 4-3 shootout victory in Chicago five days ago. The Wolves have outscored the Wild 25-22. Wolves forward Keith Aucoin leads all scorers with seven assists and nine points in seven games. Ty Rattie leads all skaters with five goals. The two teams conclude their season series on Wednesday, Apr. 16 at Wells Fargo Arena.
Iowa took its last outing, a 4-3 shootout win at Chicago on Sunday, concluding a stretch of five straight on the road. The team was 2-3-0-0 over the five game stretch. The win ended a stretch of three straight defeats. Iowa has dropped five straight home games dating back to a 2-1 win over San Antonio on Mar. 16. The team has lost nine of the last ten games on home ice. Iowa is 11-20-3-1 at home, having been outscored 103-70. The Wild is 2-8-0-0 over the last ten outings and 12-19-3-2 against the Midwest Division.
The Wolves are coming off a 4-3 shootout loss at home to Iowa on Sunday. The team has four wins over the last seven games. Chicago is 17-12-3-3 on the road this season, outscoring the opposition 98-87. Chicago is 5-1-1-3 over the last ten games and 21-10-2-5 against the Midwest Division. Chicago has outscored its opponents 81-59 in the second period of play. The Wolves rank fourth overall in the Western Conference and have already clinched a playoff spot.
Upcoming Games:
Team Date Time Radio / TV
vs. Chicago 4/11 7:05 PM KXNO /iHeartRadio
at Rockford 4/12 7:00 PM KXNO / iHeartRadio
vs. Milwaukee 4/13 5:05 PM KXNO / iHeartRadio
Latest Transactions:
4/10 – Add G Joel Martin (signed PTO – from Kalamazoo - ECHL)
4/3 – Add G Cody Reichard (signed PTO- from Orlando - ECHL)
4/2 – Delete G John Curry and F Jake Dowell (recalled to MN – NHL)
Last Time Out:
The Iowa Wild defeated the Chicago Wolves 4-3 in a shootout in front of 8,516 fans at Allstate Arena on Sunday. Forward Kris Foucault scored twice to carry the offense through regulation and Iowa goalie Cody Reichard was a perfect six out of six in the shootout to lead Iowa to victory. Rookie defenseman Dylan Labbe scored in the sixth round of the shootout to give the Wild the extra point. Making his AHL season debut, Reichard made 42 saves in regulation to post the win. Rookie forward Tyler Graovac also scored in regulation and defenseman Kyle Medvec chipped in two assists, as Iowa picked up its 16th road win of the year. Wolves goalie Matt Climie finished with 29 saves in regulation and stopped five of six Iowa attempts.
Iowa Wild
After 70 games, forward Brad Winchester leads the team in scoring with 19 goals and 36 points in 72 games. He has three goals and six points in 17 games with Iowa since he was acquired from Rockford via trade. Forwards Carson McMillan and Zack Phillips are also among the top scorers. Phillips has career highs of 12 goals and 20 assists for 32 points in 70 games played. He is the last remaining player to skate in every game this season. McMillan has 12 goals and 14 assists for 26 points in 61 games played. Defenseman Steven Kampfer is also among the top scorers with 18 assists and 24 points in 63 games played.
Goalies Johan Gustafsson, Joel Martin and Cody Reichard man the nets for Iowa. Johan Gustafsson is 12-19-2 with a 3.00 GAA and a .904 SV %. Reichard is 1-0-0 with a 2.77 GAA and a .933 SV%. Martin has yet to make his AHL debut this season.
Iowa is 46-for-271 (17.0%) on the power play and has allowed 57 power-play goals against on 275 attempts (79.3%). The Wild is 30th in the AHL with a 2.26 goals per game average and the team sits 23rd with a 3.06 goals against average.
Notables –
· Home debuts: D - Dylan Labbe & Gustav Olofsson, F- Brady Brassart, Kurtis Gabriel, Jamie MacQueen & Mike Collins, G – Cody Reichard & Joel Martin
Chicago Wolves
Rookie forward Ty Rattie and veteran forward Keith Aucoin lead Chicago in scoring. Rattie has a team-leading 29 goals and 46 points in 69 games played. Keith Aucoin has 29 assists and 40 points in 60 games played. Fellow veteran Alexandre Bolduc is third in scoring with 19 assists and 32 points 53 games. Despite playing in only 28 games, Adam Cracknell is among the team leaders with 12 goals and 25 points.
Goalies Matt Climie and Jake Allen split time in net for the Wolves. Allen has appeared in 49 games, going 30-16-3 with a 2.09 GAA and a .926 SV%. Matt Climie is 9-9-2 on year, sporting a 2.78 GAA and a .912 SV%.
The Wolves are 40-for-319 (12.5% - 30th in the AHL) on the power play this year. Despite struggles on the extra man advantage, Chicago’s penalty kill has killed off 270 of 314 penalties (86.0% - 4th in AHL). The Wolves average 3.07 goals per game and allow 2.54 per game (4th overall).