Heartlanders visit Cyclones this weekend

Cincinnati, OH – The Iowa Heartlanders, proud ECHL affiliate of the Minnesota Wild and Iowa Wild, start a seven-game road trip at the Cincinnati Cyclones Friday at 6:35 p.m. 

The Heartlanders have ten road games left in the season and the matchups this Friday and Saturday are the final two times Iowa faces Cincinnati this regular season. Cincinnati has won four times and Iowa has taken three games. 

In Iowa’s last game, the Heartlanders fired a season-high 48 shots, but Trevor Gorsuch made 44 saves to halt Iowa’s comeback in a 5-4 loss. The Heartlanders surrendered two strikes in a three-minute span late in the third, then scored a goal with 1:31 left to pull within one, and had multiple pucks sitting near the goal line in the dying seconds of the defeat.

Cincinnati has won back-to-back games, sweeping Fort Wayne on the road last weekend. In the team’s last game, a 4-1 win, Jalen Smereck scored twice and was named the game’s first star in victory. The Komets took 54 penalty minutes and had three players ejected in the third period, while Cincinnati played with a much-more disciplined mindset (6 PIM).

Get tickets for Heartlanders Home games: Iowaheartlanders.com/tickets

 

Game Day Guide: 

6:20 PM: FloHockey broadcast and audio broadcast starts

6:35 PM: Puck Drop 

Watch on FloHockey: https://flosports.link/3tVsLmd

Listen on Mixlr: mixlr.com/goheartlanders

Affiliates: Iowa Heartlanders (Minnesota Wild/Iowa Wild) | Wichita Thunder (San Jose Sharks/San Jose Barracuda)

Need to know

- Iowa is starting a seven-game road trip, the third time this season Iowa goes on the road for at least seven straight.
- The Heartlanders have won three straight road games, a season high.
- Casey Dornbach is riding a four-game point streak.

Scouting Cincinnati

The Cyclones are looking to continue a February turnaround that started when the team bested Iowa February 10, 2-1. In that game Ole Julian Bjorgvik-Holm scored with 4.6 seconds left to break a tie and send the Cyclones to one of their most-dramatic victories of the season. The club has won three of four games. Before that span, Cincinnati had lost five of six. 

Jalen Smereck leads the team with 42 assists and 54 points. Zack Andrusiak tops Cincinnati with 24 goals and is second on the team with 52 points. 

Eight ‘Clones have hit double-digit goals this season. 

Goaltender Rylan Parenteau, acquired by Cincinnati earlier this month, is 3-2-0-0 with Cincinnati (3.20 GAA, .909 sv. %). 

Season Series

The Heartlanders have won three of the last four season-series games and are 3-3-1-0 in the nine-game series. Iowa has won more games this season vs. Cincinnati than they won all last year (2).

Both teams have led in four of the seven meetings this season; Iowa has one of the four come-from-behind wins in the series. 

Iowa is 1-2-1-0 at Heritage Bank Center in the series. 

Will Calverley tops Iowa with eights points (3g) in the series. He is one of seven Heartlanders with multiple goals. 

Sahil Panwar leads all players with five goals and seven assists. He (12 pts.) and Jalen Smereck (10 pts.) are the only two to reach double-digit points.

Friday and Saturday are the final two meetings of the season series. 

Next up

The Heartlanders continue a seven-game road trip on Sat., Feb. 24 at 6:35 p.m. against the Cyclones.

The Heartlanders are next at home to take on the Wheeling Nailers March 13-16 for three games at Xtream Arena. Iowa hosts Wheeling on Wed., Mar. 13 at 6:35 p.m. and Fri., Mar. 15 at 6:35 p.m. March 16^th is St. Hat Trick’s Day, featuring a Heartlanders Mascot Dash Bobblehead giveaway to the first 500 fans, theme jerseys available for auction and a special appearance by the Kelly Cup, the ECHL’s championship trophy. 

On Fri., Mar. 22 at 6:35 p.m., the Heartlanders oppose the Wichita Thunder in the 100^th home game in team history, featuring $5 youth tickets (online only, with purchase of adult ticket). 

Sat., Mar. 23 at 6:05 p.m. is Heartland Heroes Night against Wichita, honoring the frontline workers that selflessly serve eastern Iowa. 

On Sun., Mar. 24 at 2:05 p.m., Iowa wraps up the weekend against Wichita with Faith and Family Day, a team photo giveaway, and the final postgame skate of the season. 

Join the fun at Xtream Arena in the 2023-24 season

Here are some of the best options to make sure you experience the family-friendly entertainment of Heartlanders Hockey at Xtream Arena this season!

Flex Plans: Enjoy the service, savings and game dates that work best for you! Flex plans include “any game” ticket vouchers that are good for any home game during the 2023-24 regular season.  

18-game plans: With more than half the home season remaining, join us with an 18-game ticket plan, including the many perks, savings and advantages of being a half-season member. 

12-game plans: Grab tickets to your favorite 12 games! 12-game plans include savings on individually-priced tickets!

Group Tickets: Make a big impact with your group and spend an evening with the Heartlanders. Starting at a special rate of $15/Ticket. A group comprises 10 or more people and is perfect for parties, families, co-workers, clients and more.