October 31, 2025 • 36 mins
This week on Between the Benches, David Mooradian and Patrick Moore break down the Roadrunners’ upcoming matchup Sammy Walker's former team the Iowa Wild They are joined with the voice of the Iowa Wild Ben Gislason. From key players to watch to the storylines shaping the series, they get you ready for puck drop.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
From road Runners Weekly. This is Between the Benches. You're
all access breed. You have the week ahead. We'll look
at the road Runners upcoming opponents, get the inside story
and here directly from the voices and players that know
them best, with your hosts David Moradia, then Patrick Moore,
and this week's special guest, the Voice of the Iowa Wild,
(00:23):
Ben Gislaw.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Said, and welcome to another edition of Between the Benches
with David Meridian and Patrick more. Later in the episode,
we will be joined by the Voice of the Iowa Wild,
Ben Gis Listen, and that's not an easy name to say,
but we're gonna try our hardest. Patrick. I'm sure he's
heard that before, but we expect him to have some
good insights about the team, and Roadrunner fans can get
(00:45):
some familiarity with the Iowa Wild, a team that Patrick,
we don't face very much, right, They're not commonly in
the Tucson rotation. They're not one of those Pacific Division teams.
So it'll be an interesting matchup, and it'll be a
meaningful matchup for Sammy Walker, a guy who spent some
time with Iowa. Their fans certainly familiar with him, so
We'll get Ben's thoughts on that for sure, but before
(01:07):
we get into Iowa, and we will certainly do that.
That will be the Lion's share of this show. I
just want to cross the final tis and dot the
final eyes on the Manitoba series, Patrick, I thought the
Roadrunners were unfortunate in the sense that they were playing
a team that was starting to figure it out, a
team with a lot of new pieces, only fourteen returners
(01:28):
on the entire roster, and that presented a challenge. The
fact that Manitoba hadn't put their best tape out for
twos on to study, wasn't exactly sure what team they
were going to be yet, and then pieced it together
in Southern Arizona, those newer pieces started to click. I
think it made things really tough for the Roadrunners, and
that could be the same case with Iowa. They're another
(01:48):
team with a lot of new pieces. They've started to
play better their last three games two wins and a
shootout loss against a team that hasn't lost this year.
So again, it could be a similar week where the
road Runners bump into another team starting to figure it
out and play better hockey. What did you think about
the Manitoba series, and how do you assess the Roadrunners
moving forward?
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Yeah? Same, Well, first off, happy Halloween to everyone.
Speaker 4 (02:12):
But second all, I just I just think it was
it was very unfortunate, mainly in game two. Game one,
Tucson was outplayed most of the game. Madie ble Alta
stood on his head, made you know, forty nine nine fifty.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Forty nine saves. Unbelievable.
Speaker 4 (02:30):
Yeah, and I think they had a really tough start,
so I guess a little bit. But game two, you know,
they got up to a two one lead in the
middle of the second period, things were going well, but
then just costly mistakes. As you said, as we were
before we recorded, it's not that they've made, you know,
mistakes over time, it's the costly mistakes have you know,
(02:50):
led up to these losses. So I think it was
just a it was just the same case. And maybe
going back from the Bakersfield series and maybe even the
Rain series when they made a few mistake that led
them to you know, the penalties too, I mean the
Ben McCartney penalty. But again, I felt like they played
better in game two. They had more fight. In Game two,
they had they had a lead, they had a couple
of goals, they had a power play goal. So that's
(03:13):
what my assessment was, David, pretty much. Honestly, I didn't
feel like they played bad in game two. I just
felt like Game one was just, you know, they kind
of got out late and they didn't have a.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Lot of good chances against pantovin game one.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
I have a very strange analogy about the road Runners
and their performance last week, and I want to see
if you think this makes any sense at all or
if you can follow it, because I'm not so sure.
But let's just see how it goes. Imagine you're taking
an exam. Right, there's fifty questions on the exam. Five
of them are really heavily weighted and the other forty
five or whatever. Right, they're one or two points, but
(03:46):
those five questions are worth ten points. The road Runners,
they're getting forty seven questions right on every exam right
most of the game. They're there, they're doing the right things,
they're performing, they're getting all those one point questions. It's
nothing but the costly ones. The ten pointers. H they're
getting them wrong, and you're not gonna get a very
(04:07):
good grade then, Patrick, if you've got forty seven one
points and you're missing twenty points because you got two
ten point questions wrong, right, And that's side of the
way it's been going for Tucson. The mistakes that they're
making are costly. They're huge, bad turnovers, untimely penalties, breakaway
opportunities for the opposing team. Just those really, really tough
(04:28):
mistakes you can't have are overshadowing lots of good play,
many many minutes of solid hockey. But they've got to
eradicate that or they're going to continue to play these
reasonable games and facing uphill battle because of those mistakes.
Speaker 4 (04:43):
Yeah, yeah, you're absolutely right. I mean, the exam, the
analogy was perfect. They played good for what forty five
fifty five minutes of a game, but those five costly minutes,
those turnovers, those untimely penalties. You know, Ben McCartney takes
really early, which.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Is set up by a bad turnover in the defensive zone.
I don't remember who had the pass, I should know that,
but it was the reason the pedalty was committed, Patrick,
was because you have an easy clear, a very basic
clear opportunity. The very beginning sloppy pass goes right to
the stick of a moose. Player, and then there's the trip.
Speaker 4 (05:18):
Yeah, I just think it's just sometimes they they might
get in their own head. It's also a mental game.
You know, hockey is a mental game. And I just
think that getting on the road. They had a long
home stand. Sometimes you get a little bit too comfortable
at home. Maybe going to Iowa is the right thing
for the road Runners, you know, get get a sweep.
Haven't swept anyone this year. They've split every series. This
(05:40):
was actually the first time they've been swept against an opponent.
So I think this is a good road trip to
you know, bond with more players. And I just think
this is the right time for Tucson to really explode
offensively and you know, use that frustration into goals and
and get and get a couple of wins, get a
couple of points, you know, get moved back up in
the standing. Specific it is kind of weird to start
(06:01):
out the season. There's a lot of teams that we
probably expected that weren't are now at the bottom, and
Tucson's kind of in that middle, and this would be
a really good series to get them jump and kind
of you know, pressure Ontario and Colorado.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
We will certainly get into the prospects with Ben. But
one guy that's sticking out to me for Iowa oscar
A Lawson, having a good season. He's gotten up to
a good start. He's a former first round draft choice.
So there is talent on the team. There's some other
players there with some either whether it's NHL experience or
high NHL draft picks, that are currently trying to develop
(06:35):
with this Iowa Wild team. The point is Iowa's playing
better hockey recently. They have talent. They have premium talent
in the eyes of NHL executives presently and also in
years past, so it will present a challenge for two soon.
This is also a team without a home victory this year,
and what's usually a passionate sports state, they take things
(06:57):
pretty seriously in Iowa, so I think they're going to
be yearning for victory number one and it will present
a challenge for the road Runners. Okay, Patrick, let's go
this direction. You're an Anaheim Ducks fan, a Southern col guy.
You should be very familiar with the head coach of
the Iowa Wild. Give us the scouting report there.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Well, Greg Cronin signed.
Speaker 4 (07:19):
He became head coach this past offseason for the Iowa
Wild after being relieved of his duties right before the
season excuse me, ended for the Anaheim Ducks, and very
very honest, very straightforward.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
He doesn't shy.
Speaker 4 (07:36):
Away from the the shy topics. He's you know, he
tells his players how it is and sometimes you know,
unfortunately that there were some issues in Anaheim with a
few of some players making comments, but you know, that's
just what everyone kind of sees. I think every coach
has some of their favorites and some guys just don't
really gel with them, and that's there's just different styles
(07:56):
of play that players vibe with. As myself as someone playing,
I was always I was always have of a great
cronin type, you know, player that like to be coached
by a coach like him. So it's really it's really
kind of curious to see how he's been doing. Obviously,
they haven't had the start they've wanted, but now, as
you said, David, they're kind of the you know, they're
find their footing a little bit. They're gonna have this
(08:17):
home stand against Tucson. So I'm really curious to you
how his style of play translates from the NHL to
now the AHL level. He was the Colorado Eagles coach
before he became the Anaheim Ducks coach for two seasons,
so I'm really curious to see how, if anything from
the HL he learned from his previous experiences and also
his NHL experience in Anaheim will translate with the Iowa Wild.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
I think the experience will translate if you can coach hockey.
I think you can coach hockey if you can motivate players,
relate to players, understand the schematics, game situations. I think
all of that is universally applicable to college, professional, AHL, NHL,
whatever it is. Here's one thought as you were giving
is the scouting report there, I think hockey coaches still
(09:01):
have a little bit more leeway in how tough they
are on players. Maybe that's just seeing clips of Miracle
on Ice on my algorithm or at the TCC when
we have home games and Herb Brooks, but I really
do think hockey coaches the expectation is there going to
be a little bit more blunt and tough. I'm sure
you would agree with that as a hockey player, So
(09:24):
I don't think that that's overly surprising or I'm not
surprised that he was able to find another job. Now
here's where I want to go. Here, before we get
to Ben just, I'll give you one key or one
point of improvement that I want to see from the Roadrunners,
or one thing I think will be important for the matchup.
You do the same, and then we'll hear from the
Iowa Wide broad Iowa Wild broadcast or how's that sound perfect?
(09:48):
All right, I'll get it started. The road Runners, Patrick,
Believe me when I tell you this. It's not going
to be very surprising for those familiar with the team.
Last year third most times shorthanded in the Higher AHL.
So they're top three basically in penalties committed, which means
they're giving their opponents lots of power play opportunities. Now,
(10:11):
Iowa Wild, just like Manitoba, they're coming into the matchup
with a struggling power play. I mean to put it, honestly,
five of thirty one on the season, that's just above
sixteen percent. Manitoba their power play was also limping into
our series, but the road Runners kind of let it
get hot by giving them so many opportunities to work
on it. So I know I'm not reinventing the wheel here, Patrick,
(10:34):
minimize the penalties, don't do anything to make things easier
for Iowa, right, make it tough, make them earn it
on five on five, don't let them work on the
things they've been struggling with. Penetration into the defensive zone.
Make that more challenging, all these kind of simple things.
If you can just make it a little bit harder,
no self inflicting wounds like have been hurting Tucson recently.
(10:57):
I think those keys will be important because I do
think Patrick now I did say Iowa was a talented team.
They are. I think the Roadrunners are the more talented
team across the board. I think there's more young talent
here that impresses you, more premium draft selections. I think
this is a series that they can get, but they
have to help themselves.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
They really do. I mean, again, as you said, they
gotta say out of the box. They are one of
the few teams in the Pacific Division that already has
one hundred or more penalty mins. There's only there's some
teams that have like less than fifty penalty yes, the
lowest is it's San Diego and also Henderson and now
two sons at one hundred Penndy Minister eight games.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
Just they have to stay out of the box.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
They've been shorthanded thirty seven times.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
Patrick, Yes, they have to stay out of the box.
Speaker 4 (11:42):
If any way they're gonna win this series again or
even sweep Iowa, hopefully they gotta stay out of the box.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
That is just my one key. That's honestly, that was
gonna be my.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
One all right. Then I stole it from you. Here's
a few more numbers since Patrick says, I cherry picked
that from Patrick. I always been shorthanded twenty one times.
This year, the Roadrunners have been shorthanded thirty seven times.
That's almost a two to one ratio. And you're talking
about minutes on minutes, Patrick, where you can't score, right,
you're playing defense, you're just trying to get the two
minutes to end. You have no real chance of getting
(12:11):
anything going. Obviously, shorthanded goals are pretty rare, so that
is costly, right, and they're going to need to improve
on that mark. But like I said, there is talent
on this team. At three four and one, I think
they're just fine. It's not any cause for panic. I
think it was a tough spot against Manitoba, considering that
they were just kind of starting to gell and click
(12:32):
is the way it looked to me. So say, if
the Roadrunners can play a tight, neat series here against
Iowa and give them two challenging games on the road,
we're gonna set the stage with Ben gis Lissen next
right here on between the Benches.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
It's time to go between the benches on road Runners Weekly.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
Welcome back to between the Benches, now joined by Ben Gislssen,
the voice of the Iowa Wild and Ben, let's start here.
Sammy Walker, he's been a top player for the Roadrunners
this year, spent most of the season on the top line,
playing alongside the Neil Boot, a former first round pick.
What did you guys think of Sammy and how do
you feel with his return back to Iowa.
Speaker 5 (13:10):
We miss him as a person as a player, but
what's great about this sport is when Sammy was here
last just for whatever reason, he wasn't quite fitting into
the lineup where he had in years past. And oftentimes
when that happens, players need to find new horizons and
Sammy has and we're thrilled that he's doing so well. Look,
(13:33):
I mean He's a wonderful guy. We love having him around. Obviously,
this is the third organization he's belonged to. He was
a Tampa Bay draft pick and he never actually played
any games there, But this is a part of pro hockey.
When you sign somebody, you don't necessarily expect you're going
to have him the whole time, and so we loved
having Sammy here. His speed is obviously one of his
(13:54):
greatest assets, but as enjoyable as he is to watch
on the ice, he's an even better person off of
the ice. He's someone that you want in your team,
you want him around around your people, and so we're
really excited to have Sammy back in the building. And
it was long ago. He scored twenty seven goals for
the Iowa Wild and had an incredible season playing next
to Marco Rossi. So he's someone that we hold very
(14:17):
near and dear to our hearts. We're really glad to
see he's doing well in Tucson, and we hope that
continues with the exception of these two games this weekend.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
So this is my first year covering the team, and
my introduction to the road Runners was just two preseason
games where I was trying to learn a lot, and
one player that I immediately said, Okay, this guy's kind
of everywhere. He's producing on both ends. With Sammy Walker
and my broadcasting partner and I pregame, we do a
contest where we try to predict the first goal scorer.
(14:46):
In the very first game, I said, you know, Sammy Walker.
He was really impressing me. I said, I'm going to
take a shot on this guy here, and it's not
really much of a risk because he's a first line player,
but I said, I'll take Sammy Walker. He scored a
goal in the middle of the game, and then he
scored the game winner and overtime, So it was a
pretty good introduction for Walker to both myself and the
Roadrunner fans. Now off topic here a little bit. I'm
(15:08):
not trying to be a bad guy or unfair Ben,
but just curious because I'm from the Northeast. We're sitting
here on Halloween. The high temperature today, the forecast at
high temperature is eighty five. So in Des Moines, have
we seen any snow and if not, what are we
kind of working with right now?
Speaker 5 (15:24):
No, no snow yet. I know snow in the forecast
let's see, it's a double check the exact tempt today.
But so it's funny. I thoroughly enjoyed this time of year. Yeah,
forty six and sinning today.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
Which that's not bad about at all.
Speaker 5 (15:39):
Yeah, no, I mean it'll get a lot worse when
we get into December and January February. But this is
my favorite time of year. A nice coat and a
pair of jeans is the perfect the perfect ideal weather,
and the perfect ideal close for for my wardrobe. So
I look forward to this time of year, and I
hope that we can stay in the forties and thirties
here for the next few weeks at least, and then
(16:01):
once Christmas time gets here, we obviously want to see
some snow. I'm a big fan of white Christmas for sure.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Yeah. Usually it's once we get into March, right, it's like, okay,
let's wrap this up. Yep, December, January. It's still kind
of a novelty and that's fine, all right. Back to
the wild. So, the Manitoba Moose just came to Tucson
for a series with the Roadrunners, and one thing that
stood out to me was they had nineteen or excuse
me that fourteen new players to the right, or fourteen
(16:26):
returners out of their twenty six that were either roster
or being like benched right. But of the twenty six
players that were with the team, fourteen of them were returners,
and they got off to a cool start, but you
could tell that they were a talented team. Then I
look at the wild the top three point scores for
Iowa this year weren't on the team last year. So
is that kind of something that you guys are dealing
with too here at the beginning of the season, for sure.
Speaker 5 (16:47):
I mean, we've got thirteen new players to the roster,
nine back from the twenty four to twenty five season,
and I would think we're probably dealing with some of
the same things that Manitoba is dealing with. We haven't
seen the Moose yet, but it's a very new group.
We've got a new head coach and Greg Cronin, so
there's a lot of newness to what's going on around here,
and I think that lended itself into the start that
(17:10):
we had. We struggled to score early, we struggled to
keep goals out of our net early. But something clicked
in Texas last weekend where at times, it felt like
two completely different teams, the one that we were watching
in Texas and the one that we were watching even
just a weekend prior in Charlotte, and Texas isn't off
to a great start either. Interestingly enough, they have a
(17:32):
lot of their their pieces back from a season before,
minus some of their bigger names like Matte Blumel, Justin
ritz Kobe, and Alex Petrovic. But coming off that weekend,
I went all right. So felt like Ibill really took
a great step. They started to play with more connectivity,
They defended really well. Their goaltending was what we expected
it to be. That maybe it wasn't quite in the
(17:52):
first two opening series of the year. But then I
went all right, But how much of that was just
playing a Texas team that's sort of sh scuffling a
little bit right now? Too? Well? Grand Rapids comes in
on Tuesday. They hadn't lost the time, unfortunately, still haven't lost.
But that was one of the best games I've seen
in a long time. Lead changes, lots of energy, a
(18:14):
few fights, really back and forth, really competitive, really high
end hockey game. And even though the Wild lost that
game in a shootout, I left that game, thinking that
was such a good litmus test I think for what
this team actually is. And it feels like the four
games to start the year were not the proper representation
(18:35):
of what this team is. And it feels like the
last three games have been much more of what this
team's going to do on a nightly basis. I can
tell you Greg Cronin doesn't mess around. He's not going
to accept anything but maximum effort on every night. And
we saw that in Texas. We saw that on Tuesday,
and my expectation is that the Roadrunners we'll see that
(18:57):
on Saturday and Sunday this weekend and hopefully it makes
a couple of terrific hockey games like the one we
saw on Tuesday.
Speaker 4 (19:03):
Now, Ben cal Peterson, who has been bounced around in
the league here the last few years, he is, you know, first,
you know, one of those new key pieces that you
were saying about of new faces with the wild How
has he fit in into the system under Greg Cronin
trying to obviously get back into the NHL. What have
you seen from him so far?
Speaker 5 (19:25):
Just reliability and he's a pro. I mean, this is
a guy who's got you know, he's he's almost fifty
wins in the National Hockey League. He's almost one hundred
in the American League, and those are great numbers to have.
And he pairs really well with Samuel Halavai, who is
a bona fide NHL caliber goalie prospect. Even though he's
(19:45):
not a draft pick. The Minnesota Wild view him as
someone that they they hope to someday play some games
in the National Hockey League, and Cal provides not only
the ability to win games in Iowa, but he also
provides the ability to if Minnesota needs it, if they
do lose. Philip Gustaf said, if they do lose, yes,
per Volstead, for any stint of time, he can go
(20:07):
up there and he can win games in the National
Hockey League. He's the perfect type guy for that because
he also understands, yes, that he hopes that there are
some NHL games in his future, but he also understands
that he's in Iowa to win games, and he's also
in Iowa to help Samuel along. Samuel's twenty four, Cal's
thirty one, and it's not that Cal doesn't have aspirations
(20:27):
left to try to play National Hockey League games, but
he understands that when you're in this spot as an
older goalie in the American League. The two schools of
thought are you're here to be reliable when you're in
the net, to be accountable when you're in the net.
He had a shutout against Texas on Saturday last weekend.
He played great that night. But you're also here to
be a sounding board for younger goalies and is for
(20:48):
younger players. And I've been really impressed by Cal and
how measured he is, which is what you want in
a goalie. You don't want the big peaks and valleys.
You want someone who's got a steady hand, and he's
really steady and off the ice. For us, what we
love from a marketing perspective is he's from water to
Iowa and born and raised and played for the Waterloo Blackhawks.
(21:09):
You know, comes home in the summer and spends time
in Iowa. We had a player last year in Luke Taparowski,
who was in a native Iowa and he was the
first to ever play for the Iowa Wild but he
didn't spend a lot of time here in the summers.
Cal does. And Waterloo's not des Moines, but it's about
an hour and a half away. So to have someone
that spends time in Iowa, is from Iowa, cares about Iowa.
(21:31):
He's already done a ton to give back to the
youth hockey here in Des Moines. We were just actually
that was the meeting I was having when I was
late coming into this interview, was we're talking about some
community programs and initiatives that Cal has in mind for
the Des Moines area. So he's been outstanding and I
think his play is only going going to continue to
blossom as this season goes along. And I think he's
definitely a predictor of what Iowa. When he's great, Iowa
(21:53):
can be great too.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
All Right, I want to stay with the theme of
your Iowa fans a little bit, but before we get there,
Hawkeyes are cyclones.
Speaker 5 (22:01):
Ben Well, I'm a Minnesotan originally, Okay, and when I
came down, I really had no idea how rabid this
rivalry is. And I mean there's houses that are divided,
there's marriages that are divided about this whole thing. We
have a couple friends. One went to Iowa and the
(22:21):
wife went to Iowa State and they love each other
every day except for Saturday. On Syhawk matchup, so's it's nasty.
I think I'd probably go with Iowa State. I want
to see all these teams succeed. I've been definitely I'm
ann adopt at Iowa and I love it here. I
want to see them all succeed. I mean, it sounds
like the Hawkeyes might be the lone Iowa team that
(22:44):
might have a shot at the playoff. I was just
talking with one of our staff members who went to
Iowa about it, and he's skeptical just because of some
of the Oregon Next week's going to be obviously a
really difficult matchup for the Hawkeys. But I think if
I had to, I'd probably le in Iowa State. Because
I've caught some of Matt Campbell's press conferences. I really
(23:05):
like how he operates. I seems like someone that I
would I would like to work for, play for, et cetera.
But it's it's fifty one forty nine for me. I
got you really have a huge a huge h.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
Well, it was better than there's a mayoral election in
New York. And sometimes they'll ask like Jets or Giants
or Mets or Yankees, and they always give a very
political answer to that. So at least you're you're honest
with me here, You're not trying to appease the entire
fan base.
Speaker 5 (23:30):
I'd say go Cyclones if I had to.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
So here's the okay, So here's the reason I ask.
So I also cover Arizona sports for the University of
Arizona here in Tucson. I was amazed. I think if
if I had to say one visiting school that traveled
the most, that took over I don't want to say
took over the town, but you knew they were coming. Yeah,
had a presence in the building. It was Iowa State
(23:52):
last year in a basketball I mean, it was unbelievable
how many people came from from Ames and the general
state and they were very supportive, very positive. So I
was very impressed and have respect for Iowa ever since.
Now my connection to the wild is the Wilder still
looking for their first home victory, and I know how
passionate those Iowa State fans are, So how much are
(24:15):
they looking forward to that first game? And how much
pressure is on the team to deliver for the fans?
Speaker 5 (24:19):
Yeah, I mean, I don't know if it's if it's pressure,
but look, our fan base is not a traditional fan base,
much like the Roadrunner fan base, is an a traditional
fan base. It even though you'd probably look at Iowa
and people from the outside would probably say, oh, that's
more of a hockey state than Arizona is. I probably agree,
(24:40):
but not by much only because of the climate. But
we're very much a non traditional hockey state, and our
fan base has consistently grown year in and year out
because of what our organization has really invested into the community.
That's been a huge element for us is I think
we're going on now thirteen community rinks that the Wild
(25:01):
in conjunction with some sponsors in Des Moines, have built
for kids and families to go and skate outside for free.
And just growing the game in Iowa is the number
one commitment of our organization and we've done that. And
so yeah, this weekend will be fun. You know, Tuesdays
can be a little bit spare when it comes to
attendance in the American Hockey League. That will not be
(25:22):
the case Saturday or Sunday this weekend. It should be
great crowds for both games. And I mean on a
weekend we're usually averaging somewhere between nine and ten thousand
in the building, so it'll be a nice crowd, it'll
be entertaining, and I would imagine our fans are very
much hungry for we'll win at home. What they did
get on Tuesday, which people have been asking for for
(25:44):
as long as I've been hearing this is my sixth season,
the return of our all time leading goal scorer Jerry Mayhew,
which was I mean, you would have thought. You would
have thought they announced that there was an NHL team
coming to Des Moines when they signed Jerry Mayhew a
couple of weeks ago, because our fans wanted it so desperately,
and of course he's delivered. He scored three goals or
(26:04):
three goals in his first three games now with the Wild.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
So he's on two goals in that over that shootout game,
right he did.
Speaker 5 (26:10):
Yeah, he tied it with thirty seconds to go, and
a small but mighty crowd on that Tuesday night went
went bananas. It was really cool. So they're looking forward
to a win. I'm certainly looking forward to it too,
and I know the road Runners are going to make
sure that to do their best that doesn't happen. But
I'm excited for the matchup and I'm excited to see
what I always like the Pacific Division brand of hockey.
It's heavy, it's rugged, it's it's tough. And our our
(26:33):
our Iowoad team is built like that too, so it
should be a good matchup.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
I just before Patrick got a question for you, I
just want to say one thing quick here. So love
the fact that the Iowa Wild are building rinks for
the fans and spreading the game. Just for the record,
A little bit tougher here for the Runners to do
the same.
Speaker 5 (26:50):
Not an option. I don't think that's an option in
the desert. No.
Speaker 4 (26:54):
Now, Ben, I want to ask you, as a Anaheim
Ducks fan, great cronin he is now the Wild coach.
What has it been. How has it been the adjustment
so far as Greg Curnan has been implementing his style
of play to the Iowa Wild Brown.
Speaker 5 (27:09):
You know, I've I've really enjoyed what he's brought. And look,
I've read all the same things that you've read, and
and all of the criticism that I know that was
was online about the way he coaches, and he's certainly
intense and he's not going to tell you any differently
than that. But the one thing that I've learned about Greg,
and you know, knowing him now really for only a
(27:31):
few months. I mean I met him in the summer,
but he wasn't here in Des Moines until Guy in September.
But the one thing that I've really learned and learned
to really enjoy about Greg is he's really honest. And
I was a player I played, I played college hockey,
and the coaches that I didn't like were the ones
that would tell you one thing, but then you would
(27:52):
see another. And Greg is not that. Working with him,
you know, I also do the travel for the club,
so he and I work pretty hand in hand on
travel details. And he's very honest in his delivery and
his approach and I really respect that, and that's something
that that's someone you want to work for now. Obviously
(28:13):
there were players in Anaheim that maybe didn't like that
direct and honest approach. Whether he went over the line
or not on things. I can't speak to that right Like,
I wasn't around for that. But what I've seen here
is a guy who's extremely committed to his players. I've
seen a guy that cares a lot for his players.
It really cares. He wants to set these players up
(28:36):
for success and he wants to get as many of
these guys into the National Hockey League as he can
as he can affect, and that's really infectious to me,
Like that's a coach that I would want to play for.
And the other thing too is he wants to win here,
and that's what's really important to our fans. Yes, our
fans love seeing Marco Rossi go up, and they love
seeing Matt Bouldie go up. But I have a Wild.
(28:58):
Fans want to see IY have a Wild wins and
he's really committed to that. I know he spends a
lot of time thinking about what can we do to
win while at the same time making sure that we're
developing for the Minnesota Wild. So you know, I see
the intensity. I get it, but but I'm someone that
appreciates that intensity and more than anything, the honesty that
he approaches life with is something that I think we
(29:20):
could all aspire to.
Speaker 4 (29:22):
And I'm the same way as as someone who plays
the game. My favorite coaches were the ones that were
honest with you. They didn't play mind games with you.
So I completely understand that. And Grace is a great coach,
you know, even though obviously he's not a part of
the Ducks anymore. And I'm happy that he found another
job in Iowa. I was always I liked how his
honest approach. He didn't you know, he didn't shy away
from the tough question. So I'm really excited that he
(29:43):
was able to find a job and find a home
in Iowa.
Speaker 5 (29:46):
Yeah, I've really enjoyed him so far. And boy, I
tell you like watching his team play. There. There's a
detail to this team that I haven't seen in a while,
and that is really excit because anybody that knows anything
about sports knows that detailed teams win, I don't care
what sport you're playing, and Greg is someone that is
(30:09):
very much He's really committed to making sure this team
is dialed in on the detail every day without exception,
and those are teams that win.
Speaker 2 (30:20):
So just the background, Patrick is a Southern cow guy,
as you may assume going to the U OFA, so
his familiarity with the Ducks is pretty high. So maybe
the motivation for that question. I have two kind of
musts here, Ben that I ask every broadcaster from the
other team. It looks to me like Oscar Lawson is
probably the prospect to keep an eye on. Yes, it
(30:43):
was a couple of years ago that he was a
number one draft choice, but still a first round pick.
Who are some other prospects that Roadrudder fans should be
aware of?
Speaker 5 (30:50):
Yeah? Right now all Auston is doing great things for
the Wild and the question I have, and I haven't
seen him long enough to be able to to say
this with any certainty, but is can he keep this up?
Or you see guys get traded. They have new life,
new energy. They light it up for the first four
games and then they sort of returned back to what
(31:11):
they were before. I didn't know oscars game very much before.
I haven't seen him in a number of years since
he was with the Eagles. We haven't played them in
a while. But from what I've seen in his first
three games, I've been wildly impressed by oscars game, his size,
his straight land skating ability, His shot is excellent and
right on par with him, probably even a little more
(31:32):
exciting just based off of he hasn't He hasn't had
that any knocks on him yet, where I think there
are some knocks on Olauson that people would tell you
about that have watched him a lot Liam Ogrin is
someone that they actually are very similar in how they play.
They're both bigger bodies, they both can shoot the lights out.
Ogrin's shot is an elite level NHL shot, so when
(31:54):
you see it in the American League, it's even more
blinding when you see it get It's just incredible to
watch him shoot the puck. He tried. Think he had
almost fifteen shot attempts on Tuesday. He missed the net
a few times, but I think Camdad the night with
eight or nine shots on net. I mean those are
like Ovechkin type numbers right when it comes to shots
and shots on goal. So he can really shoot. He
can skate. Strong player. And the other player that I
(32:15):
would really key on is Hunter Hate and he's not
as flashy as Ogrin is. He doesn't have the big shot,
and he's not huge, he's only five to eleven, but
he plays a remarkably honest game. He's added face offs
to his repertoire this season, which is he wasn't a
bad center iceman last year, but I think he's north
(32:37):
of fifty percent right now as a second year pro.
He's really dialed that in and he's he's a tremendous skater.
He can really motor, and he plays center as a
twenty one year old in the American Hockey League, which
is not easy. So those are the three guys that
I would keep my eyes on. As of right now,
we're still waiting to see Ken Riley heights scoring translate
(32:58):
from Prince George and the wh yell of the American League.
That's a really big jump. I don't think people know
how big of a jump it is to go from
whether it's college hockey or Canadian Major junior hockey to
the American Hockey League. It's a really big jump. He
has scored, he's got two goals already, but he kind
of you see him sometimes and you don't see him
other times, which for a twenty year old is only
played now. I think it's six games or seven games
(33:20):
in the American Hockey League. That's to be expected. But
Olgrin's second year pro. He had a great year last year.
Here hunter hate another guy to keep an eye on.
And then you brought up a louse And those would
be my three that I would be keying in on.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Okay, here's my I said. There's two questions that I
always ask That was number one and a very good answer,
thank you. Number two, describe the relationship between Minnesota and Iowa.
Are things connected? Are is the big club getting what
they want out of Iowa? The priorities consistent, those types
of things.
Speaker 5 (33:50):
Yeah, we're very blessed. And I know I know for
a fact that this is not how it is everywhere
in the American Hockey League. But Minnesota they provide a
with with everything we need to be successful down here.
They really we're not just the the you know, we're
not just the youngest child down here that gets neglected,
(34:10):
right Like, they know who we are. They pay attention,
We get texts after wins, people are watching, people are
paying attention, and they provide us with the means to
be successful. And so I know I've been extremely grateful. Again,
the travel team service as side is where I really
get to see that where you know, we're in a
(34:30):
pinch somewhere and we need to make a decision, and
the question is not how much is it going to cost?
The question is, well, what's best for the player, what's
best for the organization, what's best for the team. And
that's a tremendous weapon to have when you're trying to
operate an organization is if we need to do something
and make a decision, am I going to have to
(34:51):
be concerned about the repercussion of that financially and not
the same we just go and we throw money around
like crazy down here. But to be able to spend
the money on things that you know it's best for
the organization. It's going to deliver the best possible experience
for a player within a reasonable realm of a budget
that we do operate in. It's huge and I know
our players see that. I know that within the American
(35:13):
League that especially for players like a Jerry Mayhew, who
are you know he signs an American League deal. There's
a reputation around the American Hockey League that coming to
des Moines to play here, and people will know a
lot about des Moines. It's a great city. But aside
from the city itself, that you're if you come and
play for the Eye of a Wild you're going to
(35:33):
get a top notch experience. You're going to be treated
like one of the best situations and one of the
best setups you'll find in the American Hockey League. And
we take a lot of pride in that, and we
want this to feel as close to the National Hockey
League as we can. Still understanding it's not the National
Hockey League and we're not taking private jets around to
our games, but nonetheless, whatever we can do to make
(35:54):
this place as top of the line as we can,
Minnesota sets us up to be able to do that.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
Ben, thank you so much. We appreciate the time.
Speaker 5 (36:02):
Great to meet you guys, and good luck to the Roadrunners.
With the exception of the four times we see you guys.
Speaker 2 (36:08):
This year sounds good and fans don't forget Roadrunners and
Wild It's going to be at four o'clock on Saturday.
Pregame coverage on Fox Sports fourteen fifty at three forty
five
From road Runners Weekly. This is Between the Benches. You're
all access breed. You have the week ahead. We'll look
at the road Runners upcoming opponents, get the inside story
and here directly from the voices and players that know
them best, with your hosts David Moradia, then Patrick Moore,
and this week's special guest, the Voice of the Iowa Wild,
(00:23):
Ben Gislaw.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Said, and welcome to another edition of Between the Benches
with David Meridian and Patrick more. Later in the episode,
we will be joined by the Voice of the Iowa Wild,
Ben Gis Listen, and that's not an easy name to say,
but we're gonna try our hardest. Patrick. I'm sure he's
heard that before, but we expect him to have some
good insights about the team, and Roadrunner fans can get
(00:45):
some familiarity with the Iowa Wild, a team that Patrick,
we don't face very much, right, They're not commonly in
the Tucson rotation. They're not one of those Pacific Division teams.
So it'll be an interesting matchup, and it'll be a
meaningful matchup for Sammy Walker, a guy who spent some
time with Iowa. Their fans certainly familiar with him, so
We'll get Ben's thoughts on that for sure, but before
(01:07):
we get into Iowa, and we will certainly do that.
That will be the Lion's share of this show. I
just want to cross the final tis and dot the
final eyes on the Manitoba series, Patrick, I thought the
Roadrunners were unfortunate in the sense that they were playing
a team that was starting to figure it out, a
team with a lot of new pieces, only fourteen returners
(01:28):
on the entire roster, and that presented a challenge. The
fact that Manitoba hadn't put their best tape out for
twos on to study, wasn't exactly sure what team they
were going to be yet, and then pieced it together
in Southern Arizona, those newer pieces started to click. I
think it made things really tough for the Roadrunners, and
that could be the same case with Iowa. They're another
(01:48):
team with a lot of new pieces. They've started to
play better their last three games two wins and a
shootout loss against a team that hasn't lost this year.
So again, it could be a similar week where the
road Runners bump into another team starting to figure it
out and play better hockey. What did you think about
the Manitoba series, and how do you assess the Roadrunners
moving forward?
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Yeah? Same, Well, first off, happy Halloween to everyone.
Speaker 4 (02:12):
But second all, I just I just think it was
it was very unfortunate, mainly in game two. Game one,
Tucson was outplayed most of the game. Madie ble Alta
stood on his head, made you know, forty nine nine fifty.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Forty nine saves. Unbelievable.
Speaker 4 (02:30):
Yeah, and I think they had a really tough start,
so I guess a little bit. But game two, you know,
they got up to a two one lead in the
middle of the second period, things were going well, but
then just costly mistakes. As you said, as we were
before we recorded, it's not that they've made, you know,
mistakes over time, it's the costly mistakes have you know,
(02:50):
led up to these losses. So I think it was
just a it was just the same case. And maybe
going back from the Bakersfield series and maybe even the
Rain series when they made a few mistake that led
them to you know, the penalties too, I mean the
Ben McCartney penalty. But again, I felt like they played
better in game two. They had more fight. In Game two,
they had they had a lead, they had a couple
of goals, they had a power play goal. So that's
(03:13):
what my assessment was, David, pretty much. Honestly, I didn't
feel like they played bad in game two. I just
felt like Game one was just, you know, they kind
of got out late and they didn't have a.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Lot of good chances against pantovin game one.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
I have a very strange analogy about the road Runners
and their performance last week, and I want to see
if you think this makes any sense at all or
if you can follow it, because I'm not so sure.
But let's just see how it goes. Imagine you're taking
an exam. Right, there's fifty questions on the exam. Five
of them are really heavily weighted and the other forty
five or whatever. Right, they're one or two points, but
(03:46):
those five questions are worth ten points. The road Runners,
they're getting forty seven questions right on every exam right
most of the game. They're there, they're doing the right things,
they're performing, they're getting all those one point questions. It's
nothing but the costly ones. The ten pointers. H they're
getting them wrong, and you're not gonna get a very
(04:07):
good grade then, Patrick, if you've got forty seven one
points and you're missing twenty points because you got two
ten point questions wrong, right, And that's side of the
way it's been going for Tucson. The mistakes that they're
making are costly. They're huge, bad turnovers, untimely penalties, breakaway
opportunities for the opposing team. Just those really, really tough
(04:28):
mistakes you can't have are overshadowing lots of good play,
many many minutes of solid hockey. But they've got to
eradicate that or they're going to continue to play these
reasonable games and facing uphill battle because of those mistakes.
Speaker 4 (04:43):
Yeah, yeah, you're absolutely right. I mean, the exam, the
analogy was perfect. They played good for what forty five
fifty five minutes of a game, but those five costly minutes,
those turnovers, those untimely penalties. You know, Ben McCartney takes
really early, which.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Is set up by a bad turnover in the defensive zone.
I don't remember who had the pass, I should know that,
but it was the reason the pedalty was committed, Patrick,
was because you have an easy clear, a very basic
clear opportunity. The very beginning sloppy pass goes right to
the stick of a moose. Player, and then there's the trip.
Speaker 4 (05:18):
Yeah, I just think it's just sometimes they they might
get in their own head. It's also a mental game.
You know, hockey is a mental game. And I just
think that getting on the road. They had a long
home stand. Sometimes you get a little bit too comfortable
at home. Maybe going to Iowa is the right thing
for the road Runners, you know, get get a sweep.
Haven't swept anyone this year. They've split every series. This
(05:40):
was actually the first time they've been swept against an opponent.
So I think this is a good road trip to
you know, bond with more players. And I just think
this is the right time for Tucson to really explode
offensively and you know, use that frustration into goals and
and get and get a couple of wins, get a
couple of points, you know, get moved back up in
the standing. Specific it is kind of weird to start
(06:01):
out the season. There's a lot of teams that we
probably expected that weren't are now at the bottom, and
Tucson's kind of in that middle, and this would be
a really good series to get them jump and kind
of you know, pressure Ontario and Colorado.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
We will certainly get into the prospects with Ben. But
one guy that's sticking out to me for Iowa oscar
A Lawson, having a good season. He's gotten up to
a good start. He's a former first round draft choice.
So there is talent on the team. There's some other
players there with some either whether it's NHL experience or
high NHL draft picks, that are currently trying to develop
(06:35):
with this Iowa Wild team. The point is Iowa's playing
better hockey recently. They have talent. They have premium talent
in the eyes of NHL executives presently and also in
years past, so it will present a challenge for two soon.
This is also a team without a home victory this year,
and what's usually a passionate sports state, they take things
(06:57):
pretty seriously in Iowa, so I think they're going to
be yearning for victory number one and it will present
a challenge for the road Runners. Okay, Patrick, let's go
this direction. You're an Anaheim Ducks fan, a Southern col guy.
You should be very familiar with the head coach of
the Iowa Wild. Give us the scouting report there.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Well, Greg Cronin signed.
Speaker 4 (07:19):
He became head coach this past offseason for the Iowa
Wild after being relieved of his duties right before the
season excuse me, ended for the Anaheim Ducks, and very
very honest, very straightforward.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
He doesn't shy.
Speaker 4 (07:36):
Away from the the shy topics. He's you know, he
tells his players how it is and sometimes you know,
unfortunately that there were some issues in Anaheim with a
few of some players making comments, but you know, that's
just what everyone kind of sees. I think every coach
has some of their favorites and some guys just don't
really gel with them, and that's there's just different styles
(07:56):
of play that players vibe with. As myself as someone playing,
I was always I was always have of a great
cronin type, you know, player that like to be coached
by a coach like him. So it's really it's really
kind of curious to see how he's been doing. Obviously,
they haven't had the start they've wanted, but now, as
you said, David, they're kind of the you know, they're
find their footing a little bit. They're gonna have this
(08:17):
home stand against Tucson. So I'm really curious to you
how his style of play translates from the NHL to
now the AHL level. He was the Colorado Eagles coach
before he became the Anaheim Ducks coach for two seasons,
so I'm really curious to see how, if anything from
the HL he learned from his previous experiences and also
his NHL experience in Anaheim will translate with the Iowa Wild.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
I think the experience will translate if you can coach hockey.
I think you can coach hockey if you can motivate players,
relate to players, understand the schematics, game situations. I think
all of that is universally applicable to college, professional, AHL, NHL,
whatever it is. Here's one thought as you were giving
is the scouting report there, I think hockey coaches still
(09:01):
have a little bit more leeway in how tough they
are on players. Maybe that's just seeing clips of Miracle
on Ice on my algorithm or at the TCC when
we have home games and Herb Brooks, but I really
do think hockey coaches the expectation is there going to
be a little bit more blunt and tough. I'm sure
you would agree with that as a hockey player, So
(09:24):
I don't think that that's overly surprising or I'm not
surprised that he was able to find another job. Now
here's where I want to go. Here, before we get
to Ben just, I'll give you one key or one
point of improvement that I want to see from the Roadrunners,
or one thing I think will be important for the matchup.
You do the same, and then we'll hear from the
Iowa Wide broad Iowa Wild broadcast or how's that sound perfect?
(09:48):
All right, I'll get it started. The road Runners, Patrick,
Believe me when I tell you this. It's not going
to be very surprising for those familiar with the team.
Last year third most times shorthanded in the Higher AHL.
So they're top three basically in penalties committed, which means
they're giving their opponents lots of power play opportunities. Now,
(10:11):
Iowa Wild, just like Manitoba, they're coming into the matchup
with a struggling power play. I mean to put it, honestly,
five of thirty one on the season, that's just above
sixteen percent. Manitoba their power play was also limping into
our series, but the road Runners kind of let it
get hot by giving them so many opportunities to work
on it. So I know I'm not reinventing the wheel here, Patrick,
(10:34):
minimize the penalties, don't do anything to make things easier
for Iowa, right, make it tough, make them earn it
on five on five, don't let them work on the
things they've been struggling with. Penetration into the defensive zone.
Make that more challenging, all these kind of simple things.
If you can just make it a little bit harder,
no self inflicting wounds like have been hurting Tucson recently.
(10:57):
I think those keys will be important because I do
think Patrick now I did say Iowa was a talented team.
They are. I think the Roadrunners are the more talented
team across the board. I think there's more young talent
here that impresses you, more premium draft selections. I think
this is a series that they can get, but they
have to help themselves.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
They really do. I mean, again, as you said, they
gotta say out of the box. They are one of
the few teams in the Pacific Division that already has
one hundred or more penalty mins. There's only there's some
teams that have like less than fifty penalty yes, the
lowest is it's San Diego and also Henderson and now
two sons at one hundred Penndy Minister eight games.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
Just they have to stay out of the box.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
They've been shorthanded thirty seven times.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
Patrick, Yes, they have to stay out of the box.
Speaker 4 (11:42):
If any way they're gonna win this series again or
even sweep Iowa, hopefully they gotta stay out of the box.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
That is just my one key. That's honestly, that was
gonna be my.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
One all right. Then I stole it from you. Here's
a few more numbers since Patrick says, I cherry picked
that from Patrick. I always been shorthanded twenty one times.
This year, the Roadrunners have been shorthanded thirty seven times.
That's almost a two to one ratio. And you're talking
about minutes on minutes, Patrick, where you can't score, right,
you're playing defense, you're just trying to get the two
minutes to end. You have no real chance of getting
(12:11):
anything going. Obviously, shorthanded goals are pretty rare, so that
is costly, right, and they're going to need to improve
on that mark. But like I said, there is talent
on this team. At three four and one, I think
they're just fine. It's not any cause for panic. I
think it was a tough spot against Manitoba, considering that
they were just kind of starting to gell and click
(12:32):
is the way it looked to me. So say, if
the Roadrunners can play a tight, neat series here against
Iowa and give them two challenging games on the road,
we're gonna set the stage with Ben gis Lissen next
right here on between the Benches.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
It's time to go between the benches on road Runners Weekly.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
Welcome back to between the Benches, now joined by Ben Gislssen,
the voice of the Iowa Wild and Ben, let's start here.
Sammy Walker, he's been a top player for the Roadrunners
this year, spent most of the season on the top line,
playing alongside the Neil Boot, a former first round pick.
What did you guys think of Sammy and how do
you feel with his return back to Iowa.
Speaker 5 (13:10):
We miss him as a person as a player, but
what's great about this sport is when Sammy was here
last just for whatever reason, he wasn't quite fitting into
the lineup where he had in years past. And oftentimes
when that happens, players need to find new horizons and
Sammy has and we're thrilled that he's doing so well. Look,
(13:33):
I mean He's a wonderful guy. We love having him around. Obviously,
this is the third organization he's belonged to. He was
a Tampa Bay draft pick and he never actually played
any games there, But this is a part of pro hockey.
When you sign somebody, you don't necessarily expect you're going
to have him the whole time, and so we loved
having Sammy here. His speed is obviously one of his
(13:54):
greatest assets, but as enjoyable as he is to watch
on the ice, he's an even better person off of
the ice. He's someone that you want in your team,
you want him around around your people, and so we're
really excited to have Sammy back in the building. And
it was long ago. He scored twenty seven goals for
the Iowa Wild and had an incredible season playing next
to Marco Rossi. So he's someone that we hold very
(14:17):
near and dear to our hearts. We're really glad to
see he's doing well in Tucson, and we hope that
continues with the exception of these two games this weekend.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
So this is my first year covering the team, and
my introduction to the road Runners was just two preseason
games where I was trying to learn a lot, and
one player that I immediately said, Okay, this guy's kind
of everywhere. He's producing on both ends. With Sammy Walker
and my broadcasting partner and I pregame, we do a
contest where we try to predict the first goal scorer.
(14:46):
In the very first game, I said, you know, Sammy Walker.
He was really impressing me. I said, I'm going to
take a shot on this guy here, and it's not
really much of a risk because he's a first line player,
but I said, I'll take Sammy Walker. He scored a
goal in the middle of the game, and then he
scored the game winner and overtime, So it was a
pretty good introduction for Walker to both myself and the
Roadrunner fans. Now off topic here a little bit. I'm
(15:08):
not trying to be a bad guy or unfair Ben,
but just curious because I'm from the Northeast. We're sitting
here on Halloween. The high temperature today, the forecast at
high temperature is eighty five. So in Des Moines, have
we seen any snow and if not, what are we
kind of working with right now?
Speaker 5 (15:24):
No, no snow yet. I know snow in the forecast
let's see, it's a double check the exact tempt today.
But so it's funny. I thoroughly enjoyed this time of year. Yeah,
forty six and sinning today.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
Which that's not bad about at all.
Speaker 5 (15:39):
Yeah, no, I mean it'll get a lot worse when
we get into December and January February. But this is
my favorite time of year. A nice coat and a
pair of jeans is the perfect the perfect ideal weather,
and the perfect ideal close for for my wardrobe. So
I look forward to this time of year, and I
hope that we can stay in the forties and thirties
here for the next few weeks at least, and then
(16:01):
once Christmas time gets here, we obviously want to see
some snow. I'm a big fan of white Christmas for sure.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Yeah. Usually it's once we get into March, right, it's like, okay,
let's wrap this up. Yep, December, January. It's still kind
of a novelty and that's fine, all right. Back to
the wild. So, the Manitoba Moose just came to Tucson
for a series with the Roadrunners, and one thing that
stood out to me was they had nineteen or excuse
me that fourteen new players to the right, or fourteen
(16:26):
returners out of their twenty six that were either roster
or being like benched right. But of the twenty six
players that were with the team, fourteen of them were returners,
and they got off to a cool start, but you
could tell that they were a talented team. Then I
look at the wild the top three point scores for
Iowa this year weren't on the team last year. So
is that kind of something that you guys are dealing
with too here at the beginning of the season, for sure.
Speaker 5 (16:47):
I mean, we've got thirteen new players to the roster,
nine back from the twenty four to twenty five season,
and I would think we're probably dealing with some of
the same things that Manitoba is dealing with. We haven't
seen the Moose yet, but it's a very new group.
We've got a new head coach and Greg Cronin, so
there's a lot of newness to what's going on around here,
and I think that lended itself into the start that
(17:10):
we had. We struggled to score early, we struggled to
keep goals out of our net early. But something clicked
in Texas last weekend where at times, it felt like
two completely different teams, the one that we were watching
in Texas and the one that we were watching even
just a weekend prior in Charlotte, and Texas isn't off
to a great start either. Interestingly enough, they have a
(17:32):
lot of their their pieces back from a season before,
minus some of their bigger names like Matte Blumel, Justin
ritz Kobe, and Alex Petrovic. But coming off that weekend,
I went all right. So felt like Ibill really took
a great step. They started to play with more connectivity,
They defended really well. Their goaltending was what we expected
it to be. That maybe it wasn't quite in the
(17:52):
first two opening series of the year. But then I
went all right, But how much of that was just
playing a Texas team that's sort of sh scuffling a
little bit right now? Too? Well? Grand Rapids comes in
on Tuesday. They hadn't lost the time, unfortunately, still haven't lost.
But that was one of the best games I've seen
in a long time. Lead changes, lots of energy, a
(18:14):
few fights, really back and forth, really competitive, really high
end hockey game. And even though the Wild lost that
game in a shootout, I left that game, thinking that
was such a good litmus test I think for what
this team actually is. And it feels like the four
games to start the year were not the proper representation
(18:35):
of what this team is. And it feels like the
last three games have been much more of what this
team's going to do on a nightly basis. I can
tell you Greg Cronin doesn't mess around. He's not going
to accept anything but maximum effort on every night. And
we saw that in Texas. We saw that on Tuesday,
and my expectation is that the Roadrunners we'll see that
(18:57):
on Saturday and Sunday this weekend and hopefully it makes
a couple of terrific hockey games like the one we
saw on Tuesday.
Speaker 4 (19:03):
Now, Ben cal Peterson, who has been bounced around in
the league here the last few years, he is, you know, first,
you know, one of those new key pieces that you
were saying about of new faces with the wild How
has he fit in into the system under Greg Cronin
trying to obviously get back into the NHL. What have
you seen from him so far?
Speaker 5 (19:25):
Just reliability and he's a pro. I mean, this is
a guy who's got you know, he's he's almost fifty
wins in the National Hockey League. He's almost one hundred
in the American League, and those are great numbers to have.
And he pairs really well with Samuel Halavai, who is
a bona fide NHL caliber goalie prospect. Even though he's
(19:45):
not a draft pick. The Minnesota Wild view him as
someone that they they hope to someday play some games
in the National Hockey League, and Cal provides not only
the ability to win games in Iowa, but he also
provides the ability to if Minnesota needs it, if they
do lose. Philip Gustaf said, if they do lose, yes,
per Volstead, for any stint of time, he can go
(20:07):
up there and he can win games in the National
Hockey League. He's the perfect type guy for that because
he also understands, yes, that he hopes that there are
some NHL games in his future, but he also understands
that he's in Iowa to win games, and he's also
in Iowa to help Samuel along. Samuel's twenty four, Cal's
thirty one, and it's not that Cal doesn't have aspirations
(20:27):
left to try to play National Hockey League games, but
he understands that when you're in this spot as an
older goalie in the American League. The two schools of
thought are you're here to be reliable when you're in
the net, to be accountable when you're in the net.
He had a shutout against Texas on Saturday last weekend.
He played great that night. But you're also here to
be a sounding board for younger goalies and is for
(20:48):
younger players. And I've been really impressed by Cal and
how measured he is, which is what you want in
a goalie. You don't want the big peaks and valleys.
You want someone who's got a steady hand, and he's
really steady and off the ice. For us, what we
love from a marketing perspective is he's from water to
Iowa and born and raised and played for the Waterloo Blackhawks.
(21:09):
You know, comes home in the summer and spends time
in Iowa. We had a player last year in Luke Taparowski,
who was in a native Iowa and he was the
first to ever play for the Iowa Wild but he
didn't spend a lot of time here in the summers.
Cal does. And Waterloo's not des Moines, but it's about
an hour and a half away. So to have someone
that spends time in Iowa, is from Iowa, cares about Iowa.
(21:31):
He's already done a ton to give back to the
youth hockey here in Des Moines. We were just actually
that was the meeting I was having when I was
late coming into this interview, was we're talking about some
community programs and initiatives that Cal has in mind for
the Des Moines area. So he's been outstanding and I
think his play is only going going to continue to
blossom as this season goes along. And I think he's
definitely a predictor of what Iowa. When he's great, Iowa
(21:53):
can be great too.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
All Right, I want to stay with the theme of
your Iowa fans a little bit, but before we get there,
Hawkeyes are cyclones.
Speaker 5 (22:01):
Ben Well, I'm a Minnesotan originally, Okay, and when I
came down, I really had no idea how rabid this
rivalry is. And I mean there's houses that are divided,
there's marriages that are divided about this whole thing. We
have a couple friends. One went to Iowa and the
(22:21):
wife went to Iowa State and they love each other
every day except for Saturday. On Syhawk matchup, so's it's nasty.
I think I'd probably go with Iowa State. I want
to see all these teams succeed. I've been definitely I'm
ann adopt at Iowa and I love it here. I
want to see them all succeed. I mean, it sounds
like the Hawkeyes might be the lone Iowa team that
(22:44):
might have a shot at the playoff. I was just
talking with one of our staff members who went to
Iowa about it, and he's skeptical just because of some
of the Oregon Next week's going to be obviously a
really difficult matchup for the Hawkeys. But I think if
I had to, I'd probably le in Iowa State. Because
I've caught some of Matt Campbell's press conferences. I really
(23:05):
like how he operates. I seems like someone that I
would I would like to work for, play for, et cetera.
But it's it's fifty one forty nine for me. I
got you really have a huge a huge h.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
Well, it was better than there's a mayoral election in
New York. And sometimes they'll ask like Jets or Giants
or Mets or Yankees, and they always give a very
political answer to that. So at least you're you're honest
with me here, You're not trying to appease the entire
fan base.
Speaker 5 (23:30):
I'd say go Cyclones if I had to.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
So here's the okay, So here's the reason I ask.
So I also cover Arizona sports for the University of
Arizona here in Tucson. I was amazed. I think if
if I had to say one visiting school that traveled
the most, that took over I don't want to say
took over the town, but you knew they were coming. Yeah,
had a presence in the building. It was Iowa State
(23:52):
last year in a basketball I mean, it was unbelievable
how many people came from from Ames and the general
state and they were very supportive, very positive. So I
was very impressed and have respect for Iowa ever since.
Now my connection to the wild is the Wilder still
looking for their first home victory, and I know how
passionate those Iowa State fans are, So how much are
(24:15):
they looking forward to that first game? And how much
pressure is on the team to deliver for the fans?
Speaker 5 (24:19):
Yeah, I mean, I don't know if it's if it's pressure,
but look, our fan base is not a traditional fan base,
much like the Roadrunner fan base, is an a traditional
fan base. It even though you'd probably look at Iowa
and people from the outside would probably say, oh, that's
more of a hockey state than Arizona is. I probably agree,
(24:40):
but not by much only because of the climate. But
we're very much a non traditional hockey state, and our
fan base has consistently grown year in and year out
because of what our organization has really invested into the community.
That's been a huge element for us is I think
we're going on now thirteen community rinks that the Wild
(25:01):
in conjunction with some sponsors in Des Moines, have built
for kids and families to go and skate outside for free.
And just growing the game in Iowa is the number
one commitment of our organization and we've done that. And
so yeah, this weekend will be fun. You know, Tuesdays
can be a little bit spare when it comes to
attendance in the American Hockey League. That will not be
(25:22):
the case Saturday or Sunday this weekend. It should be
great crowds for both games. And I mean on a
weekend we're usually averaging somewhere between nine and ten thousand
in the building, so it'll be a nice crowd, it'll
be entertaining, and I would imagine our fans are very
much hungry for we'll win at home. What they did
get on Tuesday, which people have been asking for for
(25:44):
as long as I've been hearing this is my sixth season,
the return of our all time leading goal scorer Jerry Mayhew,
which was I mean, you would have thought. You would
have thought they announced that there was an NHL team
coming to Des Moines when they signed Jerry Mayhew a
couple of weeks ago, because our fans wanted it so desperately,
and of course he's delivered. He scored three goals or
(26:04):
three goals in his first three games now with the Wild.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
So he's on two goals in that over that shootout game,
right he did.
Speaker 5 (26:10):
Yeah, he tied it with thirty seconds to go, and
a small but mighty crowd on that Tuesday night went
went bananas. It was really cool. So they're looking forward
to a win. I'm certainly looking forward to it too,
and I know the road Runners are going to make
sure that to do their best that doesn't happen. But
I'm excited for the matchup and I'm excited to see
what I always like the Pacific Division brand of hockey.
It's heavy, it's rugged, it's it's tough. And our our
(26:33):
our Iowoad team is built like that too, so it
should be a good matchup.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
I just before Patrick got a question for you, I
just want to say one thing quick here. So love
the fact that the Iowa Wild are building rinks for
the fans and spreading the game. Just for the record,
A little bit tougher here for the Runners to do
the same.
Speaker 5 (26:50):
Not an option. I don't think that's an option in
the desert. No.
Speaker 4 (26:54):
Now, Ben, I want to ask you, as a Anaheim
Ducks fan, great cronin he is now the Wild coach.
What has it been. How has it been the adjustment
so far as Greg Curnan has been implementing his style
of play to the Iowa Wild Brown.
Speaker 5 (27:09):
You know, I've I've really enjoyed what he's brought. And look,
I've read all the same things that you've read, and
and all of the criticism that I know that was
was online about the way he coaches, and he's certainly
intense and he's not going to tell you any differently
than that. But the one thing that I've learned about Greg,
and you know, knowing him now really for only a
(27:31):
few months. I mean I met him in the summer,
but he wasn't here in Des Moines until Guy in September.
But the one thing that I've really learned and learned
to really enjoy about Greg is he's really honest. And
I was a player I played, I played college hockey,
and the coaches that I didn't like were the ones
that would tell you one thing, but then you would
(27:52):
see another. And Greg is not that. Working with him,
you know, I also do the travel for the club,
so he and I work pretty hand in hand on
travel details. And he's very honest in his delivery and
his approach and I really respect that, and that's something
that that's someone you want to work for now. Obviously
(28:13):
there were players in Anaheim that maybe didn't like that
direct and honest approach. Whether he went over the line
or not on things. I can't speak to that right Like,
I wasn't around for that. But what I've seen here
is a guy who's extremely committed to his players. I've
seen a guy that cares a lot for his players.
It really cares. He wants to set these players up
(28:36):
for success and he wants to get as many of
these guys into the National Hockey League as he can
as he can affect, and that's really infectious to me,
Like that's a coach that I would want to play for.
And the other thing too is he wants to win here,
and that's what's really important to our fans. Yes, our
fans love seeing Marco Rossi go up, and they love
seeing Matt Bouldie go up. But I have a Wild.
(28:58):
Fans want to see IY have a Wild wins and
he's really committed to that. I know he spends a
lot of time thinking about what can we do to
win while at the same time making sure that we're
developing for the Minnesota Wild. So you know, I see
the intensity. I get it, but but I'm someone that
appreciates that intensity and more than anything, the honesty that
he approaches life with is something that I think we
(29:20):
could all aspire to.
Speaker 4 (29:22):
And I'm the same way as as someone who plays
the game. My favorite coaches were the ones that were
honest with you. They didn't play mind games with you.
So I completely understand that. And Grace is a great coach,
you know, even though obviously he's not a part of
the Ducks anymore. And I'm happy that he found another
job in Iowa. I was always I liked how his
honest approach. He didn't you know, he didn't shy away
from the tough question. So I'm really excited that he
(29:43):
was able to find a job and find a home
in Iowa.
Speaker 5 (29:46):
Yeah, I've really enjoyed him so far. And boy, I
tell you like watching his team play. There. There's a
detail to this team that I haven't seen in a while,
and that is really excit because anybody that knows anything
about sports knows that detailed teams win, I don't care
what sport you're playing, and Greg is someone that is
(30:09):
very much He's really committed to making sure this team
is dialed in on the detail every day without exception,
and those are teams that win.
Speaker 2 (30:20):
So just the background, Patrick is a Southern cow guy,
as you may assume going to the U OFA, so
his familiarity with the Ducks is pretty high. So maybe
the motivation for that question. I have two kind of
musts here, Ben that I ask every broadcaster from the
other team. It looks to me like Oscar Lawson is
probably the prospect to keep an eye on. Yes, it
(30:43):
was a couple of years ago that he was a
number one draft choice, but still a first round pick.
Who are some other prospects that Roadrudder fans should be
aware of?
Speaker 5 (30:50):
Yeah? Right now all Auston is doing great things for
the Wild and the question I have, and I haven't
seen him long enough to be able to to say
this with any certainty, but is can he keep this up?
Or you see guys get traded. They have new life,
new energy. They light it up for the first four
games and then they sort of returned back to what
(31:11):
they were before. I didn't know oscars game very much before.
I haven't seen him in a number of years since
he was with the Eagles. We haven't played them in
a while. But from what I've seen in his first
three games, I've been wildly impressed by oscars game, his size,
his straight land skating ability, His shot is excellent and
right on par with him, probably even a little more
(31:32):
exciting just based off of he hasn't He hasn't had
that any knocks on him yet, where I think there
are some knocks on Olauson that people would tell you
about that have watched him a lot Liam Ogrin is
someone that they actually are very similar in how they play.
They're both bigger bodies, they both can shoot the lights out.
Ogrin's shot is an elite level NHL shot, so when
(31:54):
you see it in the American League, it's even more
blinding when you see it get It's just incredible to
watch him shoot the puck. He tried. Think he had
almost fifteen shot attempts on Tuesday. He missed the net
a few times, but I think Camdad the night with
eight or nine shots on net. I mean those are
like Ovechkin type numbers right when it comes to shots
and shots on goal. So he can really shoot. He
can skate. Strong player. And the other player that I
(32:15):
would really key on is Hunter Hate and he's not
as flashy as Ogrin is. He doesn't have the big shot,
and he's not huge, he's only five to eleven, but
he plays a remarkably honest game. He's added face offs
to his repertoire this season, which is he wasn't a
bad center iceman last year, but I think he's north
(32:37):
of fifty percent right now as a second year pro.
He's really dialed that in and he's he's a tremendous skater.
He can really motor, and he plays center as a
twenty one year old in the American Hockey League, which
is not easy. So those are the three guys that
I would keep my eyes on. As of right now,
we're still waiting to see Ken Riley heights scoring translate
(32:58):
from Prince George and the wh yell of the American League.
That's a really big jump. I don't think people know
how big of a jump it is to go from
whether it's college hockey or Canadian Major junior hockey to
the American Hockey League. It's a really big jump. He
has scored, he's got two goals already, but he kind
of you see him sometimes and you don't see him
other times, which for a twenty year old is only
played now. I think it's six games or seven games
(33:20):
in the American Hockey League. That's to be expected. But
Olgrin's second year pro. He had a great year last year.
Here hunter hate another guy to keep an eye on.
And then you brought up a louse And those would
be my three that I would be keying in on.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Okay, here's my I said. There's two questions that I
always ask That was number one and a very good answer,
thank you. Number two, describe the relationship between Minnesota and Iowa.
Are things connected? Are is the big club getting what
they want out of Iowa? The priorities consistent, those types
of things.
Speaker 5 (33:50):
Yeah, we're very blessed. And I know I know for
a fact that this is not how it is everywhere
in the American Hockey League. But Minnesota they provide a
with with everything we need to be successful down here.
They really we're not just the the you know, we're
not just the youngest child down here that gets neglected,
(34:10):
right Like, they know who we are. They pay attention,
We get texts after wins, people are watching, people are
paying attention, and they provide us with the means to
be successful. And so I know I've been extremely grateful. Again,
the travel team service as side is where I really
get to see that where you know, we're in a
(34:30):
pinch somewhere and we need to make a decision, and
the question is not how much is it going to cost?
The question is, well, what's best for the player, what's
best for the organization, what's best for the team. And
that's a tremendous weapon to have when you're trying to
operate an organization is if we need to do something
and make a decision, am I going to have to
(34:51):
be concerned about the repercussion of that financially and not
the same we just go and we throw money around
like crazy down here. But to be able to spend
the money on things that you know it's best for
the organization. It's going to deliver the best possible experience
for a player within a reasonable realm of a budget
that we do operate in. It's huge and I know
our players see that. I know that within the American
(35:13):
League that especially for players like a Jerry Mayhew, who
are you know he signs an American League deal. There's
a reputation around the American Hockey League that coming to
des Moines to play here, and people will know a
lot about des Moines. It's a great city. But aside
from the city itself, that you're if you come and
play for the Eye of a Wild you're going to
(35:33):
get a top notch experience. You're going to be treated
like one of the best situations and one of the
best setups you'll find in the American Hockey League. And
we take a lot of pride in that, and we
want this to feel as close to the National Hockey
League as we can. Still understanding it's not the National
Hockey League and we're not taking private jets around to
our games, but nonetheless, whatever we can do to make
(35:54):
this place as top of the line as we can,
Minnesota sets us up to be able to do that.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
Ben, thank you so much. We appreciate the time.
Speaker 5 (36:02):
Great to meet you guys, and good luck to the Roadrunners.
With the exception of the four times we see you guys.
Speaker 2 (36:08):
This year sounds good and fans don't forget Roadrunners and
Wild It's going to be at four o'clock on Saturday.
Pregame coverage on Fox Sports fourteen fifty at three forty
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