GAME PREVIEW - LAKE ERIE MONSTERS AT IOWA WILD 11.7.15

Nov 6, 2015

MEDIA KIT - HERE

Lake Erie Monsters (4-2-0-2, 10 points) at Iowa Wild (3-7-1-1, 8 points)

Iowa and Lake Erie meet for the third of eight meetings this season. The two teams split a two-game set in Cleveland in the first meeting of the season Oct. 16-17. Iowa posted its first win of the year in the second matchup of the season, a 1-0 shootout win on Oct. 17. Lake Erie is 1-0-0-1 against Iowa this year, outscoring the Wild 4-2. The teams will play two games this weekend. All eight games of the season series will be played by the first week of December. Iowa is 8-2-0-0 all-time against Lake Erie and 4-0-0-0 at home. Lake Erie is 2-4-2-2 all-time and 0-3-1-0 in Des Moines.  

Iowa is 2-4-1-1 at home this season, having been outscored 25-14 by the visitors. The Wild is 3-6-1-0 over its last 10 games. In 2014-15, Iowa was 10-26-1-1 at home, getting outscored 123-86. Iowa plays it’s fourth of five straight at home and six of the next seven at Wells Fargo Arena. Lake Erie is 2-2-0-0 on the road this season, outscored 10-9 by the home teams. The Monsters were 17-14-5-2 on the road last year, edged in scoring 125-111.

Upcoming Games:

Team                           Date    Time               Radio / TV

vs. Lake Erie                   11/7  7:00 PM CT    KXNO / iHeartRadio

vs. Lake Erie                   11/8  3:00 PM CT    KXNO / iHeartRadio

at Grand Rapids             11/11  6:00 PM CT    KXNO / iHeartRadio

vs. Rockford                   11/13 7:00 PM CT    KXNO / iHeartRadio

vs. Rockford                   11/14 7:00 PM CT    KXNO / iHeartRadio

 

Transactions:

11.6.15: Add – C Grayson Downing assigned by Minnesota (NHL)

11.7.15: Delete – F Christoph Bertschy recalled to Minnesota (NHL)

11.7.15: Add – F Tanner Eberle recalled from Quad City (ECHL)

Last Time Out

The Iowa Wild were defeated by the Milwaukee Admirals 3-0 in front of a record crowd of 11,503 fans at Wells Fargo Arena on Thursday morning. The Admirals used a perfect performance from goalie Juuse Saros and two power-play goals from forwards Frederick Gaudreau and Pontus Aberg to push past the Wild. Saros stopped all 23 Iowa shots in his second victory of the season. Iowa goalie Jeremy Smith made 35 saves on 38 shots in the loss. Milwaukee also received a third-period goal from forward Eric Robinson. 

Iowa Wild

Forward Michael Keranen leads Iowa in scoring with Christoph Berstchy in Minnesota. Keranen, who missed the last game with an injury, has six points in 11 games. He has a team high four assists. Defensemen Mike Reilly and Maxime Fortunus are tied for third on the club with four points each. Reilly leads all defensemen with two goals, while Fortunus is tied with Gustav Olofsson for the lead among defensemen with three assists. Forwards Brady Brassart and Matt Carey round off the top scorers with three points each. The team is without Jordan Schroeder, who remains on NHL call up to Minnesota.  He had five points in eight games prior to going to the NHL.

Goalie Jeremy Smith (1-5-1) is among the league leaders with 289 saves through seven games played. He has a 3.11 GAA and a .924 SV%. Leland Irving has made five appearances, going 2-2-1 with a 1.95 GAA and a .939 SV%.

Iowa ranks 29th after going 5-for-47 (10.6%) on the power play. The team is 45-for-53 (87.5%) on the penalty kill - 12th in the AHL.

Notables:

·      Iowa center Grayson Downing is expected to make his season debut this weekend.

·      Winger Christoph Bertschy received his first NHL call-up on Saturday.

·      Lake Erie Assistant Coach Toby Petersen was an Iowa Star from 2005-08, playing in 149 games with 132 points.

 

Lake Erie Monsters

Left wing Kerby Rychel leads Lake Erie in scoring despite playing in fewer games due to NHL recall in Columbus. Rychel, Columbus’ first-round pick (#19) in 2013, has four goals and ten points in six games played.  Forward Markus Hannikainen is second on the club in points with four assists and six points. Center Michael Chaput is third on the team with five points, off three goals and two assists in eight games played.

Anton Forsberg (3-2-0) and Joonas Korpisalo (1-0-2) split time in net for Lake Erie. Forsberg has a 2.27 GAA and an .915 SV%. Korpisalo boasts a 1.58 GAA and a .940 SV%. Korpisalo was a third-round pick (#62 overall) by Columbus, while Forsberg was a seventh rounder (#188 overall).

Lake Erie is 7-31 on the power play, sitting tied for sixth in the league on the power play at 22.6%. The Monsters penalty kill is 32-for-37 and sits 8th at 86.5%.

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. 

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