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ECHL Iowa Heartlanders

Game Preview: Iowa Visits Cincinnati for 1st Time

November 4, 2021 - ECHL (ECHL)
Iowa Heartlanders News Release


Cincinnati, Ohio - The Iowa Heartlanders (1-3-1-0, 3 pts.) will head on an extended road trip for the first time ever this week, starting Thursday at 6:35 p.m. with the first of three straight away games at the division rival Cincinnati Cyclones (2-1-0-0, 4 pts.).

The Heartlanders are starting a three-in-three, a commonplace occurrence in minor league hockey, where the team plays three games in three days. The Heartlanders have six "three-in-threes" this season. Thursday is Iowa's second road game in team history; the club dropped its first vs. Kansas City, 5-3, on Oct. 23 with two last-minute goals from the Mavericks.

Iowa faces the Cyclones twice this week, completing the three-in-three against Cincinnati Saturday at 6:35 p.m. Friday at 6:00 p.m., Iowa is at the Indy Fuel for the first time ever.

Last time out, the Heartlanders scored twice in the second period to even the game vs. Toledo on Saturday at Xtream Arena, but Marcus Vela tallied twice in the third and Iowa fell, 5-2. Hunter Jones made 36 saves, his second-highest mark of the season.

The Cyclones started the season with consecutive road wins before dropping, 6-0, against Indy last Saturday. Tenth-year netminder Michael Houser is in his sixth season with the Cyclones. The 29-year-old made his NHL debut last season with the Buffalo Sabres, going 2-2-0 with a 3.46 goals against average and .901 save percentage. Mason Mitchell leads the 'Clones with two goals this season.

The Heartlanders return home to Xtream Arena for a pair of games Fri., Nov. 12 vs. Indy at 7:00 p.m. and Sun., Nov. 14 vs. Kalamazoo at 3:00 p.m. 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.

Broadcast Coverage: Listen at Iowaheartlanders.com/listenlive or mixlr.com/goheartlanders. Watch on FloHockey.tv.

NHL Affiliates: Iowa Heartlanders (Minnesota Wild/Iowa Wild) | Cincinnati Cyclones (Buffalo Sabres/Rochester Americans)

Storylines:

- Cole Golka scored twice Saturday vs. Toledo, the first two goals of his ECHL career. The 26-year-old native of Adrossan, AB, is in his second full professional season; he generated 13 professional goals over his first two-plus sesaons in the SPHL. Prior to his professional career, he skated at the NCAA Division III level with St. Scholastica from 2015-19.

- Forward Joe Widmar registered two assists Saturday, his first Heartlanders multi-point effort. The fifth-year professional from Northbrook, IL made the Heartlanders out of training camp on a try-out contract and has four points in five games this season. Last season, Widmar skated in Poland for Cracovia Krakow and had six goals and 11 points in 26 games.

- Iowa is seeking its first win ever against the Central Division; last week the Heartlanders played Toledo twice and Wheeling once, earning a point by getting the Wednesday game vs. Wheeling to overtime.

Check out the Iowa Heartlanders Statistics



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