GAME PREVIEW - SAN ANTONIO RAMPAGE AT IOWA WILD 3.28.15
Mar 28, 2015San Antonio Rampage (41-20-5-1, 88 points) at Iowa Wild (21-41-2-2, 46 points)
Iowa concludes a season-high, six-game home stand after a 1-0 OT loss at home Friday to San Antonio. The team is 0-4-1-0 on the current home stand. Iowa finishes the regular season with six home games and four road games. Iowa and San Antonio met Friday night in Des Moines, a 1-0 OTW for the Rampage. The two teams have played seven times this year, with Iowa showing a 1-4-1-1 mark against the Rampage, including a 1-1-1-0 record at home this year. San Antonio is 6-1-0-0 against Iowa, including a 2-1-0-0 record in Des Moines. The two teams play a total of eight times this season. The Wild is 6-5-1-1 all-time against San Antonio, including a 3-2-1-0 mark at home. The Rampage is 7-2-1-3 all-time, including a 2-2-1-1 mark at Iowa.
Iowa is 8-22-1-1 at home this season, having been outscored 103-66 by the visiting teams. Iowa is mired in a franchise-record, 13-game winless (0-11-1-1) streak on home ice, dating back to Jan. 18. The Wild is 4-5-0-1 over the last 10 games, while the Rampage is 9-1-0-0. San Antonio is 19-12-2-1 on the road, having outscored the home clubs 111-106. The team has been on a roll of late with a six-game winning streak heading into Friday’s game. The Rampage is 12-2-1-1 over the last 14, en route to bypassing Oklahoma City for first place in the West Division. The Rampage is coming off a 4-3 shootout win at Milwaukee on Wednesday.
Upcoming Games:
Team Date Time Radio / TV
vs. San Antonio 3/28 12:30 PM KXNO / iHeartRadio
at Chicago 3/29 3:00 PM KXNO / iHeartRadio
vs. Rochester 4/3 7:00 PM KXNO / iHeartRadio
vs. Texas 4/7 7:00 PM KXNO / iHeartRadio
vs. Rockford 4/9 7:00 PM KXNO / iHeartRadio
Transactions:
3.12.15 – Add – D Nicholas Rioux (signed PTO)
3.21.15 – Add – F Ruslan Fedotenko (re-signed PTO)
3.22.15 – Add – D Benjamin Dieude-Fauvel (signed PTO)
3.24.15 – Add – F Pavel Jenys (signed ATO)
3.26.15 – Add – F Grayson Downing (signed ATO)
Last Time Out
The Iowa Wild were defeated by the San Antonio Rampage 1-0 in overtime in front of 6,547 fans on Friday at Wells Fargo Arena. Forward Brett Olson scored in overtime, breaking a scoreless tie and lifting San Antonio to its seventh straight win. Rampage goalie Michael Houser made 26 saves to record his second shutout this season. Despite stopping 32 of 33 shots, Iowa goalie John Curry took the overtime loss.
Iowa Wild
Through 66 games this season, forward Tyler Graovac is the team’s leading scorer. He leads the team in goals with 20 tallies and is first with 42 points in 63 games played. Michael Keranen is second on the team in scoring with 34 points and is first with 25 assists in 61 games. Right wing Marc Hagel is third among active skaters with a career-high 31 points in 57 games played. Rookie Zack Mitchell is fifth among active skaters with 16 goals and 30 points in 66 games played. Defenseman Jon Blum is the leader in points from the blueline. He has nine goals and 31 points in 56 games played. Veteran center Brett Sutter is also among the team leaders with 24 points in 61 games played.
Goalies Johan Gustafsson, John Curry and Josh Harding (injured) man the Iowa Wild crease. Harding is 0-1-1 with a 3.37 GAA and a .920 SV%. John Curry is 11-18-2 with a 2.74 GAA and a .915 SV%. Gustafsson is 8-19-0 with a 3.38 GAA and a .896 SV %.
Iowa’s power play is ranked 21st at 14.8%, while the penalty kill sits 30th at 76.2%.
Notables –
· Wild defenseman Jon Blum needs two more points to surpass Brian Connelly’s team record for points in a season by a defenseman with 32 in 2013-14. Blum is the team’s all-time leading scorer from the blueline with 60 points in 119 games.
· San Antonio leads the AHL by averaging 3.31 goals per game and Iowa is 29th at 2.24.
· San Antonio is 21st defensively allowing 2.94 goals per game and Iowa is 28th at 3.24.
San Antonio Rampage
In the first 67 games this season, forward Bobby Butler leads San Antonio in scoring with 25 goals and 55 points in 64 games played. Butler is fourth on the team in shots, tied for first in assists and first with 17 power-play points. He is followed by left wing Connor Brickley with 42 points off 21 goals and 21 assists in 64 games played. He is second on the team in goals and also places second among all rookies in goals. Brickley sits fourth on the AHL rookie-scoring race. Tied for second in scoring is right wing Mark Mancari, who has 12 goals and a team high 30 assists for 42 points in 66 games played. Center Brett Olson is fourth overall in points with 42 in 67 games played, he is tied for third on the team in assists. Rookie Rocco Grimaldi is fifth on the club in points with 40 in 57 games played. His 28 assists are tied for the third most on the team and he places tied for sixth among all league rookies in points.
Playing in 36 games this year, goalie Dan Ellis (22-11-3) is posting a 2.70 GAA and a 0.906 SV%. Goalie Michael Houser (18-9-3) is posting a 2.77 GAA and a 0.903 SV% in 33 games played. Sam Britain is 1-0-0 with a shootout win on Wednesday night in Rockford.
San Antonio's power play is ranked 4th in the AHL at 19.3%, while its penalty kill is 17th at 83.0%.