Saturday night home hockey for Iowa vs. Fort Wayne

Coralville, Iowa – The Iowa Heartlanders, proud ECHL affiliate of the Minnesota Wild and Iowa Wild, duel Fort Wayne again for the second straight day Saturday at 7:05 p.m.Iowa is in the fifth game of a sixth game home stand. The last time the Heartlanders were on the road was Jan. 14 at Kansas City. Saturday marks two weeks since Iowa’s last road game. Iowa is also home for seven of then team’s 12 February games.  Friday, Tommy Parrottino and Tyler Busch scored in a 5-2 loss.Tickets are available for all home games by visiting iowaheartlanders.com/tickets. Find the full promotional schedule at iowaheartlanders.com/promotionsPromotion: D.C. Comics Night where the Heartlanders will wear specialty FLASH jerseys, plus Fight With Flash Night where a portion of proceeds raised from the specialty jersey auction will benefit the Fight With Flash Foundation. Wear your D.C. Comics apparel to the game for a chance to win in-game activations and prizes.Broadcast Coverage: Watch online at flohockey.tv. Listen on mixlr.com/goheartlanders. Watch on MC22 (Channel 22, 722 and 822 for Mediacom subscribers)Affiliates: Iowa Heartlanders (Minnesota Wild/Iowa Wild) | Fort Wayne Komets (Edmonton Oilers/Bakersfield Condors)Last Time OutThe Iowa Heartlanders allowed two goals in the second period, enough offense from the Fort Wayne Komets to best Iowa, 5-2, Friday at Xtream Arena. In that middle period, Samuel Dove-McFalls and Matt Alvaro scored for Fort Wayne to break a 1-1 tie and a lead that Iowa could not overcome. The teams rematch Saturday at 7:05 p.m. and Sunday at 2:05 p.m. at Xtream Arena.Hunter Jones blocked 37 shots in defeat. Ryan Fanti won with 31 denials, including 12 in the third.Head Coach comparisonThe Heartlanders are coached by Derek Damon, a veteran of more than 600 professional games and 107 in the ECHL. Across the red line, Ben Boudreau is in his fourth season behind the Fort Wayne and sixth season with the organization. This is his ninth season coaching ECHL hockey; Boudreau was an assistant coach with Bakersfield (ECHL) in 2014-15and Norfolk (ECHL) from 2015-17. Boudreau skated 24 games in the ECHL for South Carolina in 2008-09 and played in the CHL, IHL and SPHL from 2008-10.Damon is in his first season as a Head Coach and third year coaching.    Fort Wayne pre-scout  The Komets have had a few swings above and below hockey .500 this season; the club started 5-8-3-2 in their opening 18 games, then rebounded with a season-best eight-game winning streak. Next, the club lost four in a row through Jan. 11. Over the last 3 weeks, the club is 3-2-1-0 in their last six.Seven Komets have hit double-digit goals this season, which accounts for two-thirds of Fort Wayne’s goals. Both clubs are similar in that they often require come-from-behind efforts; each team has has scored the game’s opening goal 15 times.Fifth-year Komets forward Anthony Petruzzelli has never missed a game due to injury or healthy scratch in his Fort Wayne career, a streak of 287 games overall and 215 in a row since his last AHL call-up. He has generated a team-best 18 goals this season, which is on pace for a career high (27 in 2021-22). The only time he’s missed Komets games was during AHL call-ups.Upcoming home games and ticket informationView the team’s full promotional schedule at iowaheartlanders.com/promotions. On Sunday, January 29 at 2:05 p.m., the Heartlanders wrap up the weekend with Elementary School Day presented by MidWestOne Bank and a postgame skate presented by the Family Dental Center. The Heartlanders will welcome all Elementary School students, teachers and administrators and give back to local districts. After the game, take the ice with the players for a postgame skate.Single-game tickets, group ticket options, partial plans and season ticket memberships are available for Heartlanders home games at Xtream Arena.  Call 319-569-GOAL or visit iowaheartlanders.com/tickets for more information.