GAME PREVIEW - OKLAHOMA CITY BARONS AT IOWA WILD 4.10.15
Apr 10, 2015Oklahoma City Barons (38-25-5-3, 84 points) at Iowa Wild (22-45-2-2, 48 points)
Iowa concludes a four-game home stand on Friday with Oklahoma City’s final visit to Des Moines this season. Iowa finishes the regular season with two home games and three road games. Iowa completes the home stand, with a visit from their West division rivals on Friday. The Barons claimed the last meeting, a 5-3 victory on Feb. 15 at Wells Fargo Arena. Iowa Wild plays Oklahoma City for the sixth time this season. The Barons lead the season series with a 4-1-0-0 mark, including a 2-1-0-0 record at Iowa. The Barons have outscored the Wild 21-16. They play a total of eight games this season, including two more in OKC. The Barons are 7-2-0-0 all-time against Iowa, including a 3-2-0-0 mark at WFA. Iowa is 2-5-1-1 versus OKC all time, going 2-3-0-0 at home.
Iowa is 9-25-1-1 at home this season, having been outscored 118-80 by the visiting teams. The Wild is coming off a 5-3 loss at home to Rockford on Thursday. Iowa has one win over the last 16 home games. The Wild is 1-7-1-1 over the last 10 games, while the Barons are 1-7-2-0. Oklahoma City is 19-14-2-1 on the road, having been outscored by the home teams 106-103. The team is coming off a 4-1 loss at home to San Antonio on Tuesday. Oklahoma City is 2-8-2-0 over the last 12 games. The team needs six points clinch a berth in the Calder Cup playoffs.
Upcoming Games:
Team Date Time Radio / TV
vs. Oklahoma City 4/10 7:00 PM KXNO / iHeartRadio / MC 22
at Chicago 4/12 4:00 PM KXNO / iHeartRadio
vs. Toronto 4/14 7:00 PM KXNO/ iHeartRadio
at Oklahoma City 4/17 7:00 PM KXNO/ iHeartRadio
at Oklahoma City 4/18 7:00 PM KXNO/ iHeartRadio
Transactions:
3.30.15 – Delete – D Christian Folin (recalled by Minnesota - NHL)
3.30.15 – Add – D Zach Palmquist (signed ATO)
3.31.15 – Delete – D Benjamin Dieude-Fauvel (released PTO)
Last Time Out
The Iowa Wild were defeated by the Rockford IceHogs 5-3 in front of 3,975 fans on Thursday at Wells Fargo Arena. Despite two goals scored from Wild Captain Stephane Veilleux, Rockford pushed past Iowa with five different goal scorers, including the game-winning goal by Dennis Rasmussen. Hogs goalie Michael Leighton made 35 saves on 38 shots in the victory. Rookie forward Kurtis Gabriel also recorded a multi-point game for Iowa with two assists. Forward Ruslan Fedotenko also scored for Iowa in the loss. Iowa goalie Johan Gustafsson stopped 30 of 35 shots in defeat.
Iowa Wild
Through 71 games this season, forward Tyler Graovac is the team’s leading scorer with 45 points. He leads the team in goals with 21 tallies and is first in points after playing in 68 games played. Michael Keranen is second on the team in scoring with 36 points and is first with 27 assists in 65 games. Right wing Marc Hagel is fourth among active skaters with a career-high 32 points in 62 games played. Rookie Zack Mitchell is tied for fourth among active skaters with 16 goals and 32 points in 71 games played. Defenseman Jon Blum is the leader in points from the blueline. He has ten goals and 33 points in 61 games played. Blum is third on the team in scoring. Veteran center Brett Sutter is also among the team leaders with 27 points in 66 games played.
Goalies Johan Gustafsson and John Curry man the Iowa Wild crease. John Curry is 12-20-2 with a 2.74 GAA and a .915 SV%. Gustafsson is 8-21-0 with a 3.46 GAA and a .893 SV %.
Iowa’s power play is ranked 24th at 14.3%, while the penalty kill sits 30th at 75.7%.
Notables –
· Captain Stephane Veilleux has four points over his last three games.
· Rookie Grayson Downing recorded his first pro point with an assist on Tuesday.
· OKC is 12th in the AHL averaging 2.94 goals per game and Iowa is 28th at 2.31.
· OKC is 16th defensively allowing 2.83 goals per game and Iowa is 29th at 3.27.
Oklahoma City Barons
In the first 71 games this season, forwards Andrew Miller and Jason Williams are among the team leaders in points. Miller has 25 goals and 31 assists for 56 points in 58 games played. Miller is first in goals and tied for first in helpers. Williams is second in goals (21) and tied for fourth in assists. Matt Ford is fourth in points with 47 in 64 games played. Defenseman Brad Hunt is third on the team with 48 points in 57 games played. He ranks second in the AHL in scoring by a defenseman. Forward CJ Stretch is also among the team leaders in points with 35 in 63 games played. Ryan Hamilton recently returned from Edmonton. He has 33 points in 38 games with OKC this year. Former Iowa forward Brad Winchester returns to Des Moines after playing for the Wild last season. He played in 23 games for Iowa in 2013-14, scoring three goals and adding five assists for eight points.
The Barons carry goalies Richard Bachman, Tyler Bunz and Ty Rimmer to man the crease for OKC. Recently recalled to Edmonton, Laurent Brossoit (22-21-4), had a 2.65 GAA and a .916 SV%. Richard Bachman is 14-4-3 with a 2.30 GAA and .921 SV %. Goalie Tyler Bunz (0-0-0) has a 5.00 GAA and a .839 SV%. Ty Rimmer was recently added from Bakersfield (ECHL).
Oklahoma City’s power play is ranked 10th at 18.1%, while the penalty kill 7th at 86.2%.