GAME PREVIEW - IOWA WILD AT UTICA COMETS 1.3.15
Jan 3, 2015Iowa Wild (11-20-1-1, 24 points) at Utica Comets (22-6-5-0, 49 points)
Iowa remains on the road with four straight – continuing the trip in Utica with the Comets. The Wild also visits Texas and San Antonio before returning home. Utica and Iowa only play twice this season, the Comets visit the Wild on Mar. 15. The two teams met for a pair of games last season, with Utica outscoring Iowa 6-4 in en route to a sweep. Iowa has a point in the series, falling 3-2 in a shootout at home on Feb. 5, 2014.
Iowa is 5-10-1-1 on the road this season, having been outscored 61-43 by the home teams. The Wild is coming off a 3-3 loss at Rochester on Friday night. The Wild is 9-10-1-1 under Head Coach John Torchetti. The Wild is 0-2-0-0 against the North Division this season. It will play 12 games against the North Division this season. Iowa is 5-5-0-0 over the last ten games, while Utica is 7-1-2-0. Utica is 12-1-3-0 at home, while outscoring the visiting teams 48-32. The Comets are coming off a 2-1 win at Adirondack on Friday night. They lead the AHL in home wins and lead the Western Conference with 22 overall victories. Utica is 17-1-1-0 when scoring first.
Upcoming Games:
Team Date Time Radio / TV
at Utica 1/3 6 PM (CT) KXNO / iHeartRadio
at Texas 1/9 7:30 PM KXNO / iHeartRadio
at San Antonio 1/10 7:00 PM KXNO / iHeartRadio
vs. Chicago 1/13 7:00 PM KXNO / iHeartRadio
at Rockford 1/16 7:00 PM KXNO / iHeartRadio
Transactions:
12.28.14 – Delete – F Brett Sutter (recalled by Minnesota – NHL)
12.28.14 – Add – D Justin Falk (assigned by Minnesota – NHL)
12.31.14 – Add – G John Curry (assigned by Minnesota – NHL)
12.31.14 – Delete – G Parker Milner (released from PTO – returns to Quad City- ECHL)
1.2.15 – Delete – F Tyler Graovac (recalled by Minnesota – NHL)
Last Time Out
The Iowa Wild were defeated by the Rochester Americans 3-0 in front of 6,332 fans on Friday night at Blue Cross Arena. The Americans claimed a 2-0 lead after one period of play behind goals by Brodie Reid and Jerry D’Amigo, goalie Andrey Makarov took care of everything else. The Americans’ goalie posted his second shutout of the season with 28 saves, including 15 in the third period. Rochester center Tim Schaller scored once and added an assist as the Americans posted their first set of back-to-back victories since late October. Iowa goalie Johan Gustafsson made 21 saves on 23 shots.
Iowa Wild
Through 33 games this season, forwards Tyler Graovac, Michael Keranen and Jordan Schroeder are the team’s leading scorers. Keranen leads the team lead in scoring with 25 points and is first with 20 assists in 33 games. Recalled on Friday, Graovac led the team in goals with 12 tallies and was second with 24 points in 31 games this season. Schroeder is third on the squad with nine goals and 22 points in 27 games played. Recalled on Sunday, center Brett Sutter was fourth on the team with 15 points off six goals and nine assists in 30 games played. Forwards Zack Mitchell (14 pts) and Marc Hagel (14 pts) are also among the team leaders. Jon Blum leads all defensemen with four goals and 15 points in 28 games played.
Goalies Johan Gustafsson, John Curry and Josh Harding man the Iowa Wild crease. Harding is 0-1-1 with a 3.37 GAA and a .920 SV%. Curry is 5-6-0 with a 2.84 GAA and a 0.917 SV%. Johan Gustafsson is 6-13-1 with a 3.50 GAA and a .892 SV % in Iowa.
Iowa’s power play is ranked 17th at 16.2%, while the penalty kill sits 28th at 80.0%.
Notables –
· Iowa Wild defenseman Jon Blum has played in 298 games over his AHL career.
· Utica allows 2.10 goals against per game, the lowest in the AHL.
Utica Comets
Through the first 33 games this season, forward Cal O’Reilly leads the Utica Comets in scoring with four goals and 26 assists for 30 total points. The Canadian native’s 26 helpers are also good for second most in the AHL. Forward Dustin Jeffrey is second on the team in points, tallying seven goals and 17 assists for 24 points in 26 games played. The seven-year AHL veteran leads the team in shooting percentage at 14.9. Suiting up in 32 games this year, forward Brandon DeFazio leads the Comets in goals with 13 and, combined with his eight assists, is third in points with 21. DeFazio has scored four goals in Utica’s last three games and has five total points in that span. Forward Nicklas Jensen’s nine goals and seven assists ranks him fourth on the team in points with 16 in 24 games played. Alex Biega leads all defensemen on the Comets in scoring, netting three goals and accumulating 11 assists for 14 points in 28 games.
Playing in 20 games this season, goalie Joacim Eriksson (12-3-4) is posting a 2.41 GAA and a 0.914 SV%. Goalie Jacob Markstrom (10-2-1) is posting a 1.91 GAA and a 0.932 SV% in 13 games this season. He ranks first overall in the AHL for GAA, shutouts (4) and SV% (.939).
Utica’s power play is ranked 21st in the AHL at 14.7%, while its penalty kill is ranked 6th at 86.4%.