Nailers wheel into Coralville for first of three

Coralville, Iowa – The Iowa Heartlanders, proud ECHL affiliate of the Minnesota Wild and Iowa Wild, start a six-game home stand against the Wheeling Nailers Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. Iowa is home for the first time since Feb. 21 and returning from a three-week stretch on the road against the Central and Mountain Divisions.

The Heartlanders won the opening three games of the trip, but completed the seven-game away stretch with four straight regulation losses. Iowa has won six of their last ten road games. The team has played 33 of its 36 away games this season. 

Iowa has held leads in their last two games, but the Wichita Thunder overcame two-goal deficits in each last weekend to best the Heartlanders. Louis Boudon and Dakota Raabe each scored in the opening half of a 5-2 defeat at the Thunder last Saturday. 

Wheeling outlasted Fort Wayne, 4-3, in the Nailers’ last game Saturday at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. The Nailers are at 66 points (32-24-1-1), good for a second place tie in the Central Division.

Iowa won the first game of the season series, but Wheeling has struck back with three straight series victories. The clubs face off this Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at Xtream Arena to conclude the season series. 

Tickets are available for all home games by visiting iowaheartlanders.com and calling 319-569-4625 

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) | Wheeling Nailers (Pittsburgh Penguins/Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins)

Need to know

- The Heartlanders play five home games against Wheeling this season, compared to two on the road. The clubs played in Wheeling for a back-to-back in November. Iowa is 0-2-0-0 this season at Xtream Arena vs. Wheeling 

- Louis Boudon leads active Heartlanders with 15 goals and scored Saturday at Wichita. 

- The Heartlanders are seeking their first home victory since Feb. 9.

Chance to catch your breath in Coralville

The Heartlanders have three road games left at Kansas City on Mar. 27, Mar. 29 and Mar. 30, meaning 12 of Iowa’s final 15 regular season games are at home. 

This season has seen highs for Iowa both home and away; the Heartlanders established team records in home winning streak (6), home points streak (7), road winning streak (6), road points streak (6) and overall winning streak (7) and points streak (9).

Iowa has had three road trips last at least seven games this season, including the league’s longest “roadie” of the year (ten games in November-December). 

Roster movement

The Heartlanders have made a couple of roster moves to bolster a lineup that has been playing mainly with eight and nine healthy forwards over the team’s road trip.

The team signed gritty winger Nico Blachman Monday. He has three goals, five points and 119 penalty minutes this season in 32 ECHL games combined between Kalamazoo and Adirondack. Last season, Blachman scored two points (1g) and registered 32 penalty minutes in five games against Wheeling while Blachman skated for Norfolk.

Iowa also made its first NCAA signing of March earlier this week, inking forward Jonny Sorenson from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. The St. Louis Park, MN native grabbed 15 points (8g) for the Nanooks this season while serving as team captain. From 2019-22, he played three seasons for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. In his fourth NCAA season, Sorenson tallied a team-best 28 points (10g) for Alaska-Fairbanks. 

Next up

The Heartlanders are next at home to take on the Wheeling Nailers Mar. 15 and Mar. 16 at Xtream Arena. March 16th 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 100th 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.  

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.

Season Ticket Memberships now available for 2024-25 season

Deposits now available for new season ticket holders: The Heartlanders are excited to welcome new season ticket members to our family for the 2024-25 season and deposits for tickets are now available. Call 319-855-1775 and visit https://iowaheartlanders.com/tickets/season-memberships to start your easy process to becoming a Rose Club Season Ticket Member.

Renewal Process: The Heartlanders have started the renewal process for full season plans (Rose Club memberships) for the 2024-25 season, and the renewal application is now available online here. Once you log in, simply click “Season Renewal Application” under the “My Tickets” tab on the right, then complete the process. Our sales representatives are available to help with the renewal process by calling 319-855-1775. You can also stop by the Mediacom Season Ticket Table behind section 109 at any future game to secure your seat for the 2024-2025 season. 

The Heartlanders have added new seating options for the 2024-25 season, debuting Attack Zone Lower, Attack Zone Upper, Defense Zone, and Corner sections to allow fans additional price points to fit their budget. 

To retain your seats for the 2024-25 season, a $50 deposit per seat must be made by March 24. On March 25, all seats without deposits will be released and available for purchase by new season ticket holders.