GAME PREVIEW - LAKE ERIE MONSTERS AT IOWA WILD 11.20.15
Nov 20, 2015Lake Erie Monsters (8-3-0-2, 18 points) at Iowa Wild (3-11-1-2, 9 points)
Iowa and Lake Erie meet for the fifth of eight meetings this season. The two teams split a two-game set in Cleveland in on Oct. 16-17. The Monster followed up with a sweep at Wells Fargo Arena on Nov. 7-8. Lake Erie is 3-0-0-1 against Iowa this year, outscoring the Wild 10-6. All eight games of the season series will be played by the first week of December. Iowa is 8-3-0-1 all-time against Lake Erie and 4-1-0-1 at home. Lake Erie is 4-4-2-2 all-time and 2-3-1-0 in Des Moines.
Iowa is 2-7-1-2 at home this season, having been outscored 40-23 by the visitors. The Wild is 1-8-0-1 over its last 10 games. The Wild is mired in a seven-game winless skid, needing one more game to tie the all-time team mark set in 2014-15. Iowa plays the last of five straight at home. Lake Erie is 4-3-0-0 on the road this season, outscored 20-18 away from home. The Monsters are 7-2-0-1 over the last ten games and they are one of three teams in the league to rank among the top ten in both power play and penalty kill.
Upcoming Games:
Team Date Time Radio / TV
vs. Lake Erie 11/20 7:00 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio/ MC22
vs. Lake Erie 11/21 12:30 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio
at Chicago 11/22 4:00 PM KXNO / iHeartRadio
at Grand Rapids 11/25 6:00 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio
at Charlotte 11/28 6:00 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio
Transactions:
11.16.15: Delete – F Brett Bulmer recalled by Minnesota (NHL)
11.20.15: Add – F Michael Keranen assigned by Minnesota (NHL)
11.20.15: Add – D Gustav Olofsson assigned by Minnesota (NHL)
Last Time Out
The Iowa Wild were defeated by the Rockford IceHogs 4-3 in front of 7,533 fans Saturday night at Wells Fargo Arena. Rockford defenseman Kyle Cumsikey’s power-play goal at 13:15 of the third period broke a 3-3 tie, pushing the IceHogs past the Wild. Forward Bryan Bickell led the charge for Rockford, tallying one goal and two assists. Rockford goalie Michael Leighton stopped 27 of 30 shots for his eighth victory of the season. The IceHogs also received goals from forwards Mark McNeil and Dennis Rasmussen extending their points’ streak to ten games. Iowa goalie Jeremy Smith made 17 saves on 21 shots in the defeat. Wild forwards Grayson Downing, Zack Mitchell, and Michael Keranen scored in a losing effort.
Iowa Wild
Forward Michael Keranen leads the team in points with four goals and eight points in 13 games played. Forward Christoph Bertschy is second with five assists and seven points in 16 games played. Forward Zack Mitchell moved up the third in points with five in 17 games played. Defensemen Mike Reilly is tied for third on the team in points with five. Reilly and Zach Palmquist lead all defensemen with two goals each. Forwards Brady Brassart and Matt Carey round off the top scorers with four points each.
Goalie Jeremy Smith (1-7-1) is among the league leaders with 301 saves through nine games played. He has a 3.21 GAA and a .917 SV%. Leland Irving has made eight appearances, going 2-4-2 with a 2.57 GAA and a .920 SV%.
Iowa ranks 29th after going 6-for-69 (8.7%) on the power play. The team is 60-for-72 (82.2%) on the penalty kill – 16th in the AHL.
Notables:
· Iowa Wild defenseman Gustav Olofsson made his NHL debut for Minnesota on Thursday night in Boston.
Lake Erie Monsters
Leading scorer Kerby Rychel is currently in the NHL. Center Michael Chaput is tied for the team’s lead in points with eight in 13 games played. He is joined by forward Ryan Craig with eight points in 13 games. They are tied with left wing Markus Hannikainen and Alex Broadhurst, both have eight points on the year. Craig and Hannikainen each have five assists, while Broadhurst is among the team leaders with six. Andrew Bodnarchuk leads the blueline in points with seven in 13 games played.
Anton Forsberg (5-2-0) and Joonas Korpisalo (3-1-2) split time in net for Lake Erie. Forsberg has a 2.44 GAA and an .899 SV%. Korpisalo boasts a 1.86 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 11 of 47 on the power play, sitting fourth in the league on the power play at 23.4%. The Monsters penalty kill is 53-for-59 and sits fourth at 89.8%.