Down on the Farm: Iowa Preps for Stretch Run

Most professional hockey players will tell you the dog days of the season hit in February, making it one of the more challenging months of the year. The first half of the season moves at a different pace. In October, everyone is trying to figure each other out and learn to play together. November and Christmas have holidays to help break things up. January is a push to the coveted All-Star break.

Then comes February and the weight of a hockey season tends to feel like an 800-pound gorilla. Even though most teams in February are nearly two-thirds through the season, at times there seems to be no light at the end of the dark tunnel. It is in this position that teams must dig deep and stay true to their identities. This is perhaps the most critical time of year, as the hunt for the Calder Cup playoffs truly takes shape. It may be the club's road play that helps it qualify for the playoffs.
"We've been very good on the road" said Iowa Wild Head Coach Tim Army. "We've actually been better on the road than we have been at home. I think, from start to finish, we've been better on the road although we've had a good stretch post-Christmas."
A good stretch after Christmas is an understatement. How about the best run in franchise history? Iowa suffered only one regulation loss between the Christmas and All-Star breaks. Over that stretch, the club set a new franchise record with a 14-game point streak, propelling Iowa into the playoff run in a tightly packed Central Division by the All-Star break.
"I think that the All-Star break probably didn't come at a great time for us," explained Army. "We went 14 games in a row with at least a point, and even though it was just a week, we were playing on a Saturday and then didn't play until Friday. It probably disrupted our rhythm a little bit, whereas at Christmas we got into it after losing five in a row."
To say the All-Star break disrupted the team's run is an understatement. The club has been unable to secure a win since Feb. 1 at Texas. For the great run January produced, February has brought a different tone setting forth an uphill climb in the division.
There are many other factors the Iowa Wild must face this time of year. First, Wells Fargo Arena, the club's home ice, is jam packed with high school events from mid-February to early March. With state wrestling, as well as the boys' and girls' basketball tourneys, the Iowa Wild are forced to be road warriors heading towards spring. That bodes well for a squad that has played very well away from home.
Another aspect that led to the January surge in the standings had a lot to do with lineup consistency. Any coach in the AHL will tell you that changes happen more often than not. Both Minnesota and Iowa have been fairly healthy over the last 6-8 weeks, which has allowed for lineup consistency. With that consistency comes the success. Iowa has found a nice complement of veteran players and some youngsters that helped the team make a significant push, and the intensity of the season continues to climb. The veterans will show the way.
"It ramps up sort of each month, you know," added Army. "But you feel that playoff energy, that playoff edginess. It's tangible, the importance of the games. I think you feel that even more obviously as you get into February-March. You know you're in the stretch drive and into April, and I think a lot of it has to do with the veteran guys knowing. They just know what's at stake."
Heading into the final weekend of February, Iowa has 12 road games remaining and nine home games. With only six out-of-division games, the remaining will be head-to-head with Central Division foes. The only way to get to the playoffs is to pick up critical points against the likes of the Texas Stars, Milwaukee Admirals, Manitoba Moose, Rockford Ice Hogs, Grand Rapids Griffins and the defending Calder Cup champion Chicago Wolves. Despite sitting in last place, the Wolves have been a challenge for Iowa, taking four straight and posting 20 goals in those meetings. The divisional play will ultimately decide the playoffs.
"The schedule is heavy in the division to the finish, which is great because you can certainly create space for yourself," said Iowa's head coach. "Those games have a greater impact on the standings. I don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but we've got a lot of hockey to play in roughly two months, and we've got to travel. We don't end up with another sort of week break for quite a while until March."
From late February through March, Iowa will play seven home games and 11 road games (four in March). The nice part about April is when the Iowa Wild will play four home games in the final seven contests. The division games break down with two remaining against Manitoba, Rockford, Chicago and Texas, three with Milwaukee, as well as four with Grand Rapids. There are six Pacific Division matchups that include four games with San Diego and two with Coachella Valley.
The Iowa Wild should make a solid push for a Calder Cup playoff spot this spring. They will need to lock down their divisional record, which was 17-17-4-3 through the first 41 meetings. As it does every year, the AHL's Central division will be a logjam well into April, and fans should not be surprised to see it come down to the last day of the regular season. Either way, the dog days of February will be in the rearview mirror before we know it, and the best hockey of the year is yet to come.