GAME PREVIEW - SAN ANTONIO RAMPAGE AT IOWA WILD 12.20.15
Dec 20, 2015San Antonio Rampage (11-10-6-0, 28 Points) at Iowa Wild (5-20-2-3, 15 Points)
Iowa and San Antonio meet for the first of four meetings this season. San Antonio won seven of the eight meetings in 2014-15. Iowa finished 1-5-1-1 against the Rampage last season and 1-2-1-0 at Wells Fargo Arena. The Wild is 6-6-1-1 in the all-time series, giving the Rampage a slight edge. San Antonio is 4-2-0-1 all-time in Des Moines. The Wild and Rampage complete the second of back-to-back games tomorrow and won’t meet again until April 8th when Iowa travels to San Antonio.
Iowa is 2-10-2-2 at home this season, having been outscored 55-33 by the visitors. Iowa is 2-6-1-1 over its last ten games. The Wild is winless in its last ten games (0-8-1-1) at Wells Fargo Arena. Iowa’s last home victory was a 3-2 overtime win against the Milwaukee Admirals on Oct. 31. Iowa is coming off a 3-2 loss at Charlotte on Thursday.
San Antonio is 7-4-3-0 on the road, outscored by the home teams 41-40. The Rampage is 2-7-1-0 over its last ten games played. San Antonio is coming off of a 3-2 loss at Manitoba on Thursday night. The team is mired in a seven-game slide with seven straight regulation losses. On Nov. 17, the Rampage had a 9-1-4-0 mark. Since then, San Antonio is 2-9-2-0.
Upcoming Games:
Team Date Time Radio / TV
vs. San Antonio 12/20 3:00 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio
vs. San Antonio 12/21 7:00 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio
at Chicago 12/26 7:00 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio
vs. Rockford 12/27 5:00 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio
at Manitoba 12/31 4:00 PM CT KXNO / iHeartRadio
Transactions:
12.11.15: Add – F Rob Bordson – signed PTO – Adirondack (ECHL)
12.12.15: Add – C Tyler Graovac - assigned by Minnesota (NHL)
Last Time Out
The Iowa Wild were defeated by the Charlotte Checkers 3-2 on Thursday evening in front of 5,747 fans at Bojangles Arena. Despite a late push from Iowa, the Checkers hung on as Drayson Bowman scored the eventual game-winning goal with 5:49 left in regulation. The Wild pulled within a goal twice with third-period goals by defenseman Dylan Labbe and forward Colton Beck. Making his AHL debut, Charlotte rookie goalie Daniel Altshuler stopped 24 of 26 shots for the win. Iowa goalie Leland Irving made 28 saves in defeat. Checkers defenseman Michal Jordan scored twice, as his club extended its points streak to 10 games against Iowa, dating back to last season.
Iowa Wild
Right wing Zack Mitchell leads Iowa in scoring with ten goals and 15 points in 30 games played. He has nine points in his last ten games. Center Grayson Downing remains out with an injury. He has 12 points in 13 games played. Forward Michael Keranen has five goals and ten assists in 26 games played, tied for the lead in scoring with 15 points. Right wing Christoph Bertschy is tied for first on the team with 10 assists and is tied for second with 14 points in 28 games played. Center Jordan Schroeder has 11 points in 15 games played. Mike Reilly leads all defensemen in points with 12. He has three goals and nine assists in 27 games played.
Goalie Jeremy Smith (1-9-2) in 13 appearances. He has a 3.37 GAA and a .905 SV%. Leland Irving has made 19 appearances, going 4-11-3 with a 2.72 GAA and a .916 SV%.
Iowa ranks 23rd after going 14-for-104 (13.5%) on the power play. The team is 88-for-108 (81.5%) on the penalty kill – 21st in the AHL.
Notables –
● Century Club – Kurtis Gabriel is expected to play game #98 for Iowa tonight, Michael Keranen is next at #97.
San Antonio Rampage
Rookie forward Mikko Rantanen leads San Antonio in scoring with 24 points in 20 games played. He is first with 10 goals, and tied for first with 14 assists. Center Colin Smith is second on the team with 13 assists and 21 points in 27 games played. Left wing Andrew Agozzino and defenseman Maxim Noreau are tied for thirdon the team with 19 points. Agozzino is second on the Rampage with nine goals. Noreau is tied for the lead with 14 assists in 24 games. Forward Joey Hishon rounds out the top scorers with six goals and 10 assists for 16 points in 27 games played.
Goalie Calvin Pickard (8-5-4) gets the bulk of the time in net for the Rampage. He has has made 20 appearances, posting 2.84 GAA and .915 SV%. Backup goalie Roman Will (1-1-1) holds a 4.31 GAA and .868 SV% through four appearances.
San Antonio is 22-for-106 on the power play and sits 5th at 20.8%. The Rampage penalty kill is 87-for-108 and 25th at 80.6%.