Game 39 Preview: Indy at Iowa

Coralville, Iowa - The Iowa Heartlanders (14-18-5-1, 34 pts.) seek their third straight win and start a week of home contests at Xtream Arena Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. vs. the Indy Fuel (17-15-2-2, 38 pts.).Wednesday is College Night, with discounted tickets for those with a .edu email address or student ID. Fans can take advantage of the College Night discount by visiting IowaHeartlanders.com and by calling 319-569-GOAL.Iowa is coming off a pair of tight wins at Wheeling that helped the team win two of three last weekend. Following a one-goal defeat against division-leading Toledo Friday, the Landers traveled overnight to West Virginia and allowed three goals over the next two games. Saturday, Joe Widmar scored a game-winning, go-ahead goal with 2:45 left in a 4-2 win. The Landers completed the Wheeling sweep with a 2-1 victory Sunday on strikes from Kaid Oliver and Zach White.Iowa has points in seven of eight games (5-1-2-0). Meanwhile, the Landers are the only team to defeat Indy in the 2022 calendar year. The Fuel are on a three-game winning streak and have gone 8-1-0-0 in January.The four teams with the best points percentage in each division will qualify for the 2022 Kelly Cup Playoffs. Wheeling is 4th in points percentage (37 pts.), with Kalamazoo (38 pts.) and Indy (38 pts.) narrowly behind.Promo: College Night with discounted tickets for those with a .edu email address/student ID.Broadcast Coverage: Listen at Iowaheartlanders.com/listenlive or mixlr.com/goheartlanders. Watch on FloHockey.tv.NHL Affiliates: Iowa Heartlanders (Minnesota Wild/Iowa Wild) | Indy Fuel (Chicago Blackhawks/Rockford IceHogs)Last Time OutFor the second straight game, defense and goaltending helped Iowa shutdown Wheeling’s fourth-ranked offense in a 2-1 victory Sunday at Wesbanco Arena. Corbin Kaczperski blocked 33 shots in victory, following up Trevin Kozlowski’s 35-save wonder on Saturday.Zach White scored the game-winning goal four minutes into the second period, the last strike of the game. He has four ECHL goals since joining the Heartlanders from the Vermillion County Bobcats.The ”VC” pipeline comes up big The Iowa Heartlanders have had three recent contributors come from the SPHL’s Vermillion County Bobcats – Zach White, Corbin Kaczperski and Connor Graham – and all have played a strong importance over Iowa’s current 5-1-2-0 run.White scored twice last weekend, including the game-winning tally at Wheeling Sunday. Kaczperski is 4-1-0-0 over his last five starts and leads the ECHL with 247 saves this month (30.9 saves/appearance). He earned his second career AHL call up to Syracuse on a PTO Tuesday. Graham scored his first Iowa goal on Jan. 15 vs. Indy, helping Iowa secure a point 11 days ago.Like the Heartlanders, Vermillion County is in their first season in their league.Hudson, IA native and longtime professional goaltender Nick Niedert is the coach of Vermillion County.Season Series Iowa is 2-2-1-0 against Indy and has points in the last two series games. On Jan. 15-16, the Landers traveled to Indy and earned three points. That included a 2-1 win Jan. 16 thanks to a late bank-off-the-goalie tally from Jake Smith with 1:07 to go, the latest the Heartlanders have ever taken a lead in a game.Indy has earned two come-from-behind wins against Iowa in the series.Jake Smith tops Iowa with three goals and four points in the series (3 GP). He is tied with Kaid Oliver (1g) and Cole Stallard (1g) for a series high in points. Corbin Kaczperski and Trevin Kozlowski have each earned a win in the series.  Indy’s Chad Yetman has scored a series-best five points (2g), one of four Fuel players with multiple goals against Iowa (Seamus Malone, Jan Mandat and C.J. Eick). Mitch Gillam is 2-0-0-0 against Iowa with a 1.96 goals against average and .897 save percentage.

Upcoming Home GamesWednesday, January 26th at 7:00 p.m. vs. Indy – College NightFriday, January 28th at 7:00 p.m. vs. Kalamazoo - Boy Scouts NightSaturday, January 29th at 7:00 p.m. vs. Kalamazoo – Marvel ™ theme nightThe Heartlanders Season ticket memberships, group tickets, mini-plans, flex vouchers and single-game tickets are available for the Heartlanders inaugural season by calling 319-569-GOAL and visiting iowaheartlanders.com/tickets.