245 Miles—Iowa Wild Streaks Towards Playoffs.
One of the most recognizable scenes from the 2003 cult-classic comedy “Old School” starring Will Ferrell involves him streaking “through the quad and into the gymnasium.” The Iowa Wild have been doing a lot of streaking of their own amid a season that’s been a roller coaster ride of long ups and long downs.
After the club lost five straight going into the Christmas break, the team surged back into the standings by running off a team-record streak of 14 straight games with at least a point. This was the best stretch of hockey the Iowa Wild franchise has ever seen in 10 seasons. From Jan. 7 – Feb 4, the club did not lose one game in regulation and posted a 9-0-3-2 mark while propelling themselves back into the playoff race. February saw the opposite with Iowa failing to find a win in nine tries, as the team posted a dismal 0-7-1-1 record from Feb. 3-24. Skip ahead to March and it’s Jeckyll and Hyde again, with Iowa ripping off five straight wins and victories in six of seven.
“It's been a really weird streaky year, one that I've never really been a part of,” said veteran forward Nic Petan. “But it's interesting and I think, you enjoy the ups and you learn from the downs. I think that's kind of the way the year has been.”
“Our goal, and our motto is to let everything that's happened be in the past. We’re just worrying about our next game and that's all we can worry about. It's tight in the standings, but I think we're confident in making our push here and now we're learning how to play the right way every night.”
Throughout his seven-year career, Iowa Wild defenseman Joe Hicketts said he’s never seen anything like it either.
“No, never” Hicketts said with a chuckle. “This is a first for me, with the swings and the runs like this. But, you just get through it. When it's going good, it's fun to go to the rink. When times get tough. It's just all of us working through it together. I think we learned a lot.”
“But with that being said, we want to make sure that that doesn't happen again, especially on a playoff push. You have got to make sure your game is in order and really try to dial everything in to be as good as you can be.”
The playoff path is within reach, largely in part due to the big run in January and the latest surge in March. Iowa will make a four-game California road trip in mid-March, with hopes of continued success. After the west coast swing, Iowa will have nine games remaining, including six at Wells Fargo Arena. It looks like their fate will be decided at the last minute as the playoff landscape takes shape and seven of the final nine games of the season are against division foes.
The team that has been a bit of Achilles heal for Iowa this season is the Chicago Wolves. Iowa will see the Wolves twice in critical matchups in April. Chicago struggled through the bulk of the season but has come on strong as of late to make a push for the final spot as well. The good news is, Iowa will play two games against both San Diego and Grand Rapids, divisional bottom feeders. Bad news is, the Wild will play the division leaders Texas (twice) and Milwaukee (once). The final playoff spot could very well come down to Iowa and Rockford. The Wild and IceHogs have no head-to-head meetings remaining this season. Iowa is 23-19-4-3 against the Central Division this season.
“I think just keep our consistency,” said Nic Petan. “We just need to stay consistent and get away from those streaky losses. I think we just stay consistent in our work ethic and how we play every night. Obviously, you're not going to win every night, but our goal is to win those nights for sure.”
Petan has been instrumental in the team’s success with one of his best seasons professionally. He has a new career high with 17 goals and is averaging more than a point a game. Many of Petan’s 17 goals have been critical for his club with seven game winners propelling the Wild to victory (tied for second in the AHL for GW). Three of those came during the 14 game points streak in January for Iowa, while another was tallied in early March. Regardless of Petan’s success, he remains humble with his play.
“I think I'm always pretty tough on my own game,” explained the Delta, BC native. “I think you can always do better. But again, I think, you still get to know different linemates and different scenarios each night and I think you need to learn every day.”
“I think myself, it's been a good year, but there's always room for improvement with ways that you can be better each and every night. I just keep working on my game and go one game at a time.”
Petan and the Wild have their work cut out for them to grind their way into the Calder Cup playoffs. The Wild must take care of their divisional games to beat out Rockford and quite possibly Chicago, for the final spot. For now, it’s one game at a time to wrap up the stretch run of the season. Spring is near and some of the best hockey of the season is on the horizon.
Here is a great link to track the AHL playoffs down the stretch with the AHL playoff primer.
