GAME PREVIEW - LAKE ERIE MONSTERS AT IOWA WILD 11.8.15
Nov 8, 2015
Lake Erie Monsters (5-2-0-2, 12 points) at Iowa Wild (3-7-1-2, 9 points)
Iowa and Lake Erie meet for the fourth of eight meetings this season. The two teams split a two-game set in Cleveland in on 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 2-0-0-1 against Iowa this year, outscoring the Wild 7-4. All eight games of the season series will be played by the first week of December. Iowa is 8-2-0-1 all-time against Lake Erie and 4-0-0-1 at home. Lake Erie is 3-4-2-2 all-time and 1-3-1-0 in Des Moines.
Iowa is 2-4-1-2 at home this season, having been outscored 28-16 by the visitors. The Wild is 3-6-1-1 over its last 11 games. In 2014-15, Iowa was 10-26-1-1 at home, getting outscored 123-86. Iowa plays it’s fifth of five straight at home and five of the next six at Wells Fargo Arena. Lake Erie is 3-2-0-0 on the road this season. The Monsters were 17-14-5-2 on the road last year, edged in scoring 125-111.
Upcoming Games:
Team Date Time Radio / TV
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
vs. Lake Erie 11/20 7:00 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio
vs. Lake Erie 11/21 12:30 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio
Transactions:
11.6.15: Add – C Grayson Downing assigned by Minnesota (NHL)
11.7.15: Add – F Tanner Eberle recalled from Quad City (ECHL)
11.8.15: Add – F Christoph Bertschy assigned by Minnesota (NHL)
Last Time Out
The Iowa Wild were defeated by the Lake Erie Monsters 3-2 in a shootout at Wells Fargo Arena on Saturday night. The Monsters used a shootout goal from forward Sonny Milano to push past the Wild. Lake Erie goalie Joonas Korpisalo made 35 saves on 37 shots and shut the door in the shootout for his second victory of the season. Iowa goalie Leland Irving made 33 saves on 35 shots in the loss. Forwards Grayson Downing and Kellan Lain each scored a regulation goal for the Wild. Lake Erie received regulation goals from defenseman Michael Paliotta and forward Michael Chaput.
Iowa Wild
Forwards Michael Keranen and Christoph Bertschy lead Iowa in scoring with six points, and in assists with four. Defensemen Mike Reilly is tied for third on the team in points with five. Reilly leads all defensemen with two goals. Reilly, Fortunus, and Gustav Olofsson lead defensemen in assists with three. Forwards Brady Brassart, Andrew Yogan, 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 six appearances, going 2-2-2 with a 1.94 GAA and a .940 SV%.
Iowa ranks 29th after going 5-for-52 (9.6%) on the power play. The team is 47-for-57 (82.5%) on the penalty kill – 17th in the AHL.
Notables:
· Iowa center Grayson Downing made his season debut last night, scoring his first professional goal.
· Winger Christoph Bertschy has been assigned back to Iowa after playing his NHL debut last night.
· 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 seven games played. Center Michael Chaput and forward Markus Hannikainen are tied for second on the team in points with six. Chaput has four goals and two assists, while Hannikainen has two goals and four assists.
Anton Forsberg (3-2-0) and Joonas Korpisalo (2-0-2) split time in net for Lake Erie. Forsberg has a 2.27 GAA and an .915 SV%. Korpisalo boasts a 1.65 GAA and a .942 SV%. Korpisalo was a third-round pick (#62 overall) by Columbus, while Forsberg was a seventh rounder (#188 overall).
Lake Erie is 9-35 on the power play, sitting third in the league on the power play at 25.7%. The Monsters penalty kill is 37-for-42 and sits 5th at 88.1%.
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.