GAME PREVIEW - IOWA WILD AT OKLAHOMA CITY BARONS 4.18.14
Apr 18, 2014Iowa Wild (27-36-6-5, 65 points) at Oklahoma City Barons (34-29-2-9, 79 points)
Friday’s game is the third of four meetings this season between Iowa and Oklahoma City. The two teams will conclude the regular season on Saturday night at the Cox Convention Center. Iowa and Oklahoma City opened the season with a pair of games at Wells Fargo Arena in early October. After the Wild posted a 1-0 win in the season opener, the Barons countered with a 4-2 win the following night. The two teams have each played 72 games between their last meeting.
Iowa fell 4-3 in a shootout to Chicago at home on Wednesday. The Wild played its final regular season home game on Wednesday and will end the regular season on the road. Iowa was winless in the last eight homes games, going 0-7-0-1, with the last win on home ice coming in the form of a 2-1 win over San Antonio on Mar. 16. The team lost 12 of the last 13 games on home ice. Iowa finished 11-22-3-2 at home and was outscored 114-74. The Wild is 2-7-0-1 over the last ten outings and 10-10-1-1 against the West Division. The Wild is 16-14-3-3 on the road this season, outscored by the home teams 114-90.
The Barons fell 2-1 at home to Texas on Wednesday night. The team plays two more home games to round out the regular season. The team currently sits in eighth place of the Western Conference, holding onto the final available playoff spot with a two-point lead over Charlotte. The Barons need three points to clinch the final spot. Oklahoma City is 21-12-1-2 at home this season, outscoring the visitors 115-110. The Barons are 5-3-0-2 over the last ten games and 8-8-0-2 against the Midwest Division. Oklahoma City has taken three of the last four home games.
Upcoming Games:
Team Date Time Radio / TV
at Oklahoma City 4/18 7:00 PM KXNO / iHeartRadio
at Oklahoma City 4/19 7:00 PM KXNO / iHeartRadio
Latest Transactions:
4/17 – Delete G Joel Martin (released PTO)
4/16 – Add F Jake Dowell (assigned MN Wild – NHL)
4/16 – Delete G Cody Reichard (Released PTO), Add goalie Joe Howe (signed PTO)
4/10 – Add G Joel Martin (signed PTO – from Kalamazoo - ECHL)
Last Time Out:
The Iowa Wild were defeated by the Chicago Wolves 4-3 in a shootout in front of 4,994 fans at Wells Fargo Arena on Wednesday night. Wolves forward Alexandre Bolduc scored in the sixth round of a sudden-death shootout to lead his team to victory. Wild goalie Johan Gustafsson made 22 saves in regulation and stopped four of six shootout attempts in the loss. Wolves goalie Matt Climie made 41 saves in regulation and stopped five of six shootout attempts in the win. Wild forwards Jamie MacQueen, Kurtis Gabriel and Tyler Graovac each recorded a pair of points.
Iowa Wild
After 74 games, forward Brad Winchester leads the team in scoring with 19 goals and 36 points in 76 games. He has three goals and six points in 21 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 74 games played. He is the last remaining player to skate in every game this season. McMillan has 12 goals and 15 assists for 27 points in 66 games played. Defenseman Steven Kampfer is also among the top scorers with 20 assists and 26 points in 67 games played.
Goalies Johan Gustafsson and Joe Howe man the nets for Iowa. Johan Gustafsson is 12-19-3 with a 2.99 GAA and a .904 SV %. Howe has yet to make his AHL debut.
Iowa is 48-for-286 (16.8%) on the power play and has allowed 59 power-play goals against on 292 attempts (79.8%). The Wild is 30th in the AHL with a 2.22 goals per game average and the team sits 24th with a 3.08 goals against average.
Notables –
· Iowa is 20-9-4-4 when scoring first, while Oklahoma City is 22-7-2-6.
Oklahoma City Barons
Roman Horak leads Oklahoma City in scoring with 22 goals and 31 assists for 53 points in 65 games played. He is also third on the team with 162 shots on goal. He has 46 points in 52 games with OKC after starting the season in Abbotsford. Brad Hunt leads all defensemen in scoring with 50 points in 65 games played. Hunt also leads the Barons with 39 assists and 33 power-play points. He is fifth overall among all AHL defenders in points. Center Anton Lander is third on the team with 18 goals and 31 assists for 49 points in 45 games played. Right wing Matthew Ford and defenseman Taylor Fedun are also among the team leaders. Ford is fourth in points (46) and second in shots on goal (183) in 72 games played. Fedun is first on the team in shots (188) and fifth in points (38) in 64 games.
Goalies Richard Bachman makes the majority of the starts in net for the Barons. In 51 games, he is 25-19-6 with a 2.99 GAA and a .908 SV%. He has started 28 of the last 30 games.
Oklahoma City is 75-for-335 (22.4%) on the power play and has allowed 70 power-play goals against on 323 attempts (78.3%). The Barons are 7th in the AHL with a 3.14 goals per game average and the team sits 28th with a 3.39 GAA.