The 2022-23 schedule is here for the Iowa Wild and there is no shortage of great offerings for fans. The season kicked off on October 14th with the home opener against the San Jose Barracuda, with fans getting not only $2 beers for the first period but a magnet schedule as well.
With a jam-packed schedule ahead, there are plenty of notable nights, giveaways, and themes to take note of. Let’s get further into the schedule to find out all the opportunities fans will have to get in on some of the best minor hockey action around.
The Schedule
Let’s start by looking at the actual games themselves. There will be time to look at the various promotions that the Wild will offer fans throughout the course of the season, but that comes later.
This will be the Wild’s 10th season in Des Moines playing at the Wells Fargo Arena. They opened with a back-to-back slate against the San Jose Barracuda back on October 14th and 15th.
The team is currently in its longest homestand of seven games, beginning on December 13th and running through December 30th. They have already had their longest road stint, a six-game span from November 19th through November 30th.
The interesting facts
Iowa’s home slate features 27 dates on the weekend with 11 on each Friday and Saturday and just 5 on Sunday. They will have 9 weeknight matchups, just one of which will be on a Monday.
Breaking it down by month, there are a few interesting stats. December will have the most home games with a whopping 9. January is close with 8 and has some gap between October, February, March, and April, all of which have 4 games. November featured the fewest matchups on the schedule with just 3 home tilts.
The Central Division and the New Guy
The Central Division will be the bulk of the Iowa schedule for 2022-23. The Wild will play six divisional opponents a total of 56 times. Their most frequent opponent will be the Rockford Ice Hogs, with 6 matchups at home and another 6 on the road. They will play Grand Rapids and Chicago 10 times each (5 home, 5 roads each), and Manitoba, Milwaukee, and Texas 8 times apiece (4 home, 4 roads).
The 2021-22 season wasn’t the kindest to the Wild. In terms of winning percentage, the Wild finished second to last with only Grand Rapids behind them. Chicago was dominant, winning the division with 50 wins while Manitoba, Milwaukee, Rockford, and Texas all made the playoffs.
The real point of interest is that there is a new kid on the block. For the first time in the history of the franchise, Iowa will play the Coachella Valley Firebirds. That would be the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken, entering its second season of existence.
Iowa will play Coachella Valley at home on January 26th and 28th within the friendly confines of Wells Fargo Arena. These two home games will be part of a 4-game slate against the newest addition to the AHL.
The Firebirds are part of the Pacific Division, which will include Wild opponents in the Colorado Eagles, San Diego Gulls, and San Jose Barracuda, all of whom will play 4 games against the Wild.
Promotional Schedule
Who doesn’t love a good promotional night? There is nothing quite like a giveaway to complement some great hockey. Iowa will have no shortage of promotions throughout 2022-23 that will bring fans into the building.
On opening night, fans received a 2022-23 Iowa Wild magnet schedule. Fans also enjoyed $2 beers until the end of the first period thanks to a pair of local sponsors. From there, fans can expect another 10 promotional nights on the schedule.
Local Heroes Night is THIS Saturday! There will be police and fire vehicles you can check out right outside the building 🚓 🚒
Purchase your tickets now: https://t.co/l63HYF0yB0
First responders can contact the box office for discounted tickets. pic.twitter.com/70qJ0hxD1B— Iowa Wild (@IAWild) January 4, 2023
Giveaways
The giveaway portion of the schedule features: team schedule posters (October 15th vs San Jose), a camo hat giveaway as a promotion from the Iowa Chapter of the ALS Association (November 18th vs Milwaukee), a dog bag dispenser giveaway from KIOA and Fleet Farm (December 4th vs Chicago), a 10th anniversary hat from KXnO (January 7th vs Rockford), Matt Boldy Bobblehead Night (January 21st vs Milwaukee).
Later on, pink LED wands from the local radio station (February 11th vs Chicago), youth jersey giveaways from JP Party Rentals (February 19th vs Rockford), Pride scarf (February 24th vs Rockford) Joe Hicketts “Canadian Tuxedo” Bobblehead (April 1st vs San Diego), rope dog toy (April 2nd vs San Diego), and player trading cards from Upper Deck (April 7th vs Chicago).
The first 1,500 fans into Wells Fargo Arena on Saturday will be getting one of these hats, presented by @DSMCapitalOrtho and @1460kxno!
Game starts at 6PM, so get there early to guarantee yourself a FREE Iowa Wild hat!
🎟️ : https://t.co/l63HYF0yB0 pic.twitter.com/3P0RgX5nzi
— Iowa Wild (@IAWild) January 4, 2023
Theme Nights
If you think that the fun ends with the giveaways, think again. There will be several theme nights throughout the 2022-23 season. A few of the theme nights have already taken place: Hoptoberfest (October 15th vs San Jose), School Day (November 3rd vs Grand Rapids), Hockey Fights Cancer Night (November 4th vs Grand Rapids), Veteran’s Appreciation (November 18th vs Milwaukee), Decade Day (December 3rd vs Chicago), Pucks ‘N Paws (December 4th vs Chicago), Teddy Bear Toss (December 16th vs Texas), and Video Game Night (December 17th vs Texas).
The coming theme nights include New Year’s Eve celebration with Postgame Fireworks (December 30th vs Colorado), Local Heroes Night (January 7th vs Rockford), Pink in the Rink (February 11th vs Chicago), Crash’s Birthday (February 19th vs Rockford), Pride Night (February 24th vs Rockford), Kids Takeover Day (March 12th vs Manitoba), Let’s Get Tropical Night (April 1st vs San Diego), Pucks ‘N Paws (April 2nd vs San Diego), and Fan Appreciation Night (April 7th vs Chicago).
The theme nights are some of the most fun nights on the slate and a must-attend for fans of the Wild. No matter which theme night you attend, you can guarantee a great time for the entire family.
Don't miss your chance to hop on the ice for a post-game skate following our tilt with the Rockford IceHogs at 3PM THIS Sunday! ⛸️
Grab your tickets now ➡️ https://t.co/x53Jmk93J4 pic.twitter.com/58O8z6fzVh
— Iowa Wild (@IAWild) January 4, 2023
Specialty Jerseys
One of the coolest things about AHL hockey is the theme jerseys. Iowa will wear specialty jerseys three times during the 2022-23 season: November 18th against Milwaukee for Veteran’s Appreciation Night, February 11th against Chicago for Pink in the Rink, and March 25th against Grand Rapids for Local Artist Night. Every Friday leading into the All-Star break, Iowa will wear alternate white jerseys as part of their “Friday Night Whites” promotion.
Ticket Specials
Finally, there are several ticket specials running throughout the 2022-23 campaign. Collegeville offers deals to college students, including several opportunities for an ice-level suite ticket. Bud Country Club has a rotating drink and all-you-can-eat menu, as well as a premium ticket in The Loft.
There are situations like the home opener where themed combo packs come for sale. For the Hoptoberfest promotion, tickets included a specialty item as well as fantastic prices and seating locations.
Coca-Cola Local Concert Series
One of the cool features coming to the 2022-23 Iowa Wild schedule is the Coca-Cola Local Concert Series. Before selecting Saturday home games, the Wild will have a local artist or group on stage at the southern portion of Wells Fargo Arena.
Even better, there will be outside fan relations as part of the Coca-Cola Local Concert Series. Fans can see nine different bands play not only prior to puck drop, but during intermissions as well. Eight of them will perform on the concourse between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m., with the lone exception being Jake Simon who was outside in the pregame tailgate from 4-5 p.m. for the home opener.
The dates:
There have been four performances already this season, with Jake Simon playing October 15th vs San Jose, Birdchild Duo playing October 22nd against Texas, Jake Kemble playing December 3rd against Chicago, and Saxman Jones & Owens Duo playing December 17th against Texas.
Still on the slate is the Tank Anthony Band on January 7th against Rockford, Brother Trucker on January 21st against Milwaukee, the Schmidt Brothers on February 11th against Chicago, Brian Herrin Band on March 25th against Grand Rapids, and The Sheet on April 1st against San Diego.
Season to Date
The Wild have 27 games under their belt in 2022-23 heading into the holiday season and the results have been middling. They are currently 5th out of 7 teams in the Central Division, posting an 11-12-2-2 record thus far.
Despite being near the bottom of the standings, there have been a few bright spots for the Wild to date. Center Samuel Walker, an Edina, MN native, leads the team in both goals (12) and points (23) in 22 games played this season. Walker also has a 4-game stint with the parent club in Minnesota under his belt as well.
The team has been buoyed by a pair of AHL veterans. Center Steven Fogarty, an AHL journeyman who will turn 30 years old in April, is second on the club in scoring with 21 points in 25 games. Right behind him is 26-year-old defenseman Joe Hicketts, who leads the team in assists with 16 and is third in team scoring with 19 points. Hicketts has also been in action for all 27 of Iowa’s games.
There are a lot of seasons still left to be played and the Wild have shown an ability to score. Whether they can keep pucks out of their net long enough to rack up a few wins remains to be seen.
Milestone alert! Congratulations to Joe Hicketts, who is skating in his 400th pro game tonight!#10WAGROWN pic.twitter.com/SmFpW8ByUs
— Iowa Wild (@IAWild) January 4, 2023
Credits: Flickr/TheAHL/Commercial License Allowed
