GAME PREVIEW - IOWA WILD AT LAKE ERIE MONSTERS 10.17.15
Oct 17, 2015Iowa Wild (0-2-0-1, 1 Point) at Lake Erie Monsters (1-1-0-0, 2 Points)
Iowa and Lake Erie will play the back end of two straight after the Monsters hosted the Wild for their home opener on Friday, a 4-1 home team win. Iowa continues to look for its first win of the season in three attempts. Iowa and Lake Erie will play a total of eight times this season. All eight games will be played by the first week of December. The two teams met four times in the 2014-15 season. The Wild swept the Monsters in the season series with two regulation and two overtime victories, outscoring Lake Erie 13-7 in the process. Three of their four games were decided by one goal in 2014-15. Iowa is 7-2-0-0 all-time against Lake Erie and 3-2-0-0 in Cleveland. With Friday’s win, Lake Erie improved to a 4-4-0-0 all-time record in home openers.
Last season, Iowa was 13-23-1-1 on the road, outscored by the home teams 122-86. Lake Erie was 18-15-3-2 on home ice, outscored by the visitors 115-100. Iowa has allowed over 40 shots in three straight games – first time in team history.
Upcoming Games:
Team Date Time Radio / TV
at Lake Erie 10/17 4:00 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio
Milwaukee 10/20 7:00 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio
at Rockford 10/21 7:00 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio
Texas 10/24 7:00 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio
Texas 10/25 3:00 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio
Transactions:
10-12-15: Loss – Guillaume Gelinas – Assigned to Quad City (ECHL)
10-12-15: Loss – Matthew Neal – Released from PTO – returns to to Quad City (ECHL)
10.11.15 – Add – F Jordan Schroeder (assigned by Minnesota- NHL)
Last Time Out
The Iowa Wild were defeated by the Lake Erie Monsters 4-1 in front of 12,791 fans at Quicken Loans Arena on Friday night. Monsters defenseman Andrew Bodnarchuk scored 7:01 into the third period, breaking a 1-1 tie and pushing Lake Erie ahead of Iowa for good. The Monsters added two empty-net goals in the last 1:24 for the three-goal win. Lake Erie goalie Anton Forsberg surrendered the game’s first goal and kept Iowa off the scoreboard the remainder of the game, picking up the win with 31 saves on 32 shots. Forward Kerby Rychel scored twice and added an assist as Lake Erie claimed its home opener for the first time since 2012. Wild goalie Jeremy Smith took the loss 40 saves. Forward Michael Keranen scored Iowa’s lone goal, as the team dropped its third straight.
Iowa Wild
Iowa dropped to 1-2-0-0 all-time in road openers. The Wild bring in a power play at 14.3% and a penalty kill at 70%. Forward Brady Brassart (2g-1a-3pts) leads the team in points through three games. Rookie forward Christoph Bertschy (1-1-2) is tied for second on the team in points and tied for second in the league amongst rookies. Center Jordan Schroeder has two points in two games, while forward Michael Keranen has two points in three games. Goalie Jeremy Smith (0-2-1) leads the league with 119 saves through three games. He has a 3.28 GAA and a .922 SV%. Leland Irving has yet to make his season debut. Iowa is 2-for-12 (16.7%) on the power play and 9-for-12 (75%) on the penalty kill.
Notables:
· Kurtis Gabriel returns to the lineup after serving a three-game suspension.
· Winger Brett Bulmer plays in his 100th game as a member of the Wild, becoming just the fifth player to reach that milestone. Center Brady Brassart is next on the active list at 84 games and counting.
Lake Erie Monsters
The Lake Erie Monsters made some changes from last season. The team changed their affiliation from the Colorado Avalanche to the Columbus Blue Jackets, bringing in a new coaching staff behind Jared Bednar. Columbus had been affiliated with the Springfield Falcons over the last five years. The Falcons were 38-28-8-2 in 2014-15, missing the playoffs by one point. The team was 1st in the Northeast Division in 2012-13 and 2013-14. Second-year forward T.J. Tynan led the Falcons in scoring last year with 35 assists and 48 points in 75 games played. The team also features Ryan Craig, who tallied 17 goals and 37 points in 67 games played.
Anton Forsberg (1-1-0) started the first two games of the season, posting a 3.05 GAA and a .891 SV%. Left wing Kerby Rychel leads the team in scoring with two goals and four points in two games played. Center Alex Broadhurst and right wing Oliver Bjorkstrand lead the team in helpers, each with a pair of assists.
Lake Erie is 2-6 on the power play, sitting tied for seventh in the league on the power play at 33.3%. The Monsters penalty kill is 7-for-9 and sits 18th at 77.8%.
The Monsters feature defenseman Justin Falk, who played for the Iowa Wild in 2014-15 before he was traded to Columbus by Minnesota at the trade deadline.