GAME PREVIEW - IOWA WILD AT LAKE ERIE MONSTERS 12.4.15

Dec 4, 2015

MEDIA KIT - HERE

Iowa Wild (4-16-1-3, 12 Points) at Lake Erie Monsters (12-5-1-2, 27 Points)

Iowa and Lake Erie meet for the eighth and final meeting this season. Iowa claimed the last meeting, a 4-2 win at Lake Erie on Thursday night. Lake Erie swept the previous two meetings in Des Moines on Nov. 20 and 21 – with both games ending in a 3-2 decision. The Monsters have taken five of the seven previous meetings and are 5-1-0-1 this season against Iowa. The Wild is 2-5-0-0 against the Monsters, including a 2-1-0-0 mark in Cleveland. Iowa is 9-4-0-1 all-time against Lake Erie and 5-2-0-0 on the road. Lake Erie is 5-5-2-2 all-time and 2-2-1-1 in Cleveland. 

Iowa is 2-7-0-1 on the road this season, having been outscored 34-17 by the home teams. With the regulation win on Thursday, the Wild ended a franchise record 13-game winless skid (0-11-0-2) getting outscored 47-22 during that span. Seven of the losses were one-goal defeats. The Wild have scored three or more goals only six times this season. Iowa concludes a six-game road trip in Cleveland. The team had dropped the previous seven road games. Iowa is 1-8-0-1 over the last ten games. The club has points in back-to-back games for the second time this season.

Lake Erie is 6-1-0-2 at home this season, outdueling the visiting teams 28-20. The Monsters are 6-3-1-0 over their last ten games played. The Monsters are outscoring the opposition 40-31 in the final two periods of play.

Upcoming Games:

Team                          Date    Time              Radio / TV

at Lake Erie                 12/4        6:00 PM CT  KXNO / iHeartRadio

vs. Chicago                  12/8       7:00 PM         KXNO / iHeartRadio / MC 22

at Rockford                  12/11     7:00 PM         KXNO / iHeartRadio

vs. Grand Rapids          12/13     4:00 PM         KXNO / iHeartRadio

at Charlotte                  12/17     6:00 PM CT   KXNO / iHeartRadio

Transactions:

12.1.15: Add – F Mike Aviani signed PTO

12.1.15: Delete – F Andrew Yogan released from PTO

12.2.15: Add – D Christian Folin - assigned by Minnesota (NHL)

12.2.15: Delete – D Mike Reilly - recalled by Minnesota (NHL)

12.3.15: Delete – F Matt Carey – assigned to Quad City (ECHL)

Last Time Out

The Iowa Wild defeated the Lake Erie Monsters 4-2 in front of 2,808 fans on Thursday night at Quicken Loans Arena. Trailing 2-0 late in the second period, Iowa charged back and scored four unanswered goals for its first win since Oct. 31. Iowa ended its 13-game winless skid led by defenseman Christian Folin the Wild defeated the Western Conference leaders. Iowa goalie Leland Irving stopped 31 of 33 leading Iowa to its second regulation win this season.  Forwards Grayson Downing and Jordan Schroeder also posted multi-point games, as Iowa improved to 2-7-0-1 on the road this year. Forward Zack Mitchell scored his team leading seventh goal in the victory.

Iowa Wild

Forwards Michael Keranen, Zack Mitchell, Grayson Downing and Christoph Bertschy lead the team in points. Rookie center Grayson Downing leads the club with six goals and six assists for 12 points in 12 games. Bertschy is first on the team with nine assists and is second with 11 points in 22 games played. Keranen has five goals and five assist in 20 games. Right wing Zack Mitchell has a team-high, seven goals and is tied for third in scoring with 10 points in 24 games played.

Goalie Jeremy Smith (1-9-1) in 12 appearances. He has a 3.33 GAA and a .908 SV%. Leland Irving has made 14 appearances, going 3-7-3 with a 2.67 GAA and a .920 SV%.

Iowa ranks 28th after going 9-for-89 (10.1%) on the power play. The team is 72-for-88 (81.7%) on the penalty kill – 19th in the AHL.

Notables –

●        RW Zack Mitchell played in his 100th AHL game and D Tyson Strachan played in his 300th on Thursday.

Lake Erie Monsters

Center TJ Tynan has come on strong of late to claim the team lead in points with 14 (all assists) in 20 games played. Forwards Ryan Craig, Kerby Rychel, Markus Hannikainen and Alex Broadhurst are tied for second on the team in points with 11. Rychel and Hannikainen are currently with Columbus in the NHL. Craig has 11 points (5g-6a) in 20 games, while Broadhurst has 11 (2g-9a) in 19 games played.

Anton Forsberg (7-2-1) and Joonas Korpisalo (5-3-2) split time in net for Lake Erie. Forsberg has a 2.40 GAA and a .902 SV%. Korpisalo boasts a 2.02 GAA and a .934 SV%.

Lake Erie is 14 of 74 on the power play, sitting 10th in the league on the power play at 18.9%. The Monsters penalty kill is 75-for-86 and sits fourth at 87.2%. 

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