Wild Top Stars 4-0 in Series Finale

Feb 22, 2020

CEDAR PARK, Texas – The Texas Stars, American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, fell to the Iowa Wild 4-0 on Saturday night to cap a weekend series against the Central Division opponent. Iowa’s victory was their first at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park since March of 2017. Texas finished the year with a 4-3-0-1 against Iowa this season, with the Wild mirroring that same record.

 

The Central Division rivals exchanged a scoreless first period. The teams saw a combined three power play opportunities in the opening frame, but came up empty. Eventually, Iowa would cash in on the power play, going 1-for-4 overall. The visiting penalty kill also proved to be successful as they held Texas without a goal on five power play chances. Both Texas and Iowa rang the post in the period as Oula Palve and Gabriel Dumont were unable to get on the board.

 

Iowa quickly opened scoring in the second period. As the Wild worked in the offensive zone, Kyle Rau grabbed ahold of the puck off the boards and dished it to Mason Shaw in the right circle. From there, Shaw made a pass to Luke Johnson, who lifted a quick goal over Jake Oettinger’s pad. Four minutes later, Hunter Warner extended the Wild lead as he tossed the puck from the point that trickled through Oettinger’s legs. 

 

In the late half of the third period, Joel Kiviranta was sent to the penalty box on a boarding call, awarding Iowa with their sixth power play of the night. With seconds left on the advantage, Nico Sturm drove the net and made a sneaky pass to Brandon Duhaime who was skating alongside. The forward then quickly extended Iowa’s lead to 3-0 with a goal over Oettinger’s shoulder from the left side of the crease. Texas opted for an empty net with over five minutes left in the game in hopes of sparking a late comeback. However, Mike Liambas tipped in an empty net goal to decide a 4-0 victory for the Wild. 

 

Oettinger suffered the loss as the visitors scored four goals on 28 shots. Kaapo Kahkonen earned his league leading sixth shutout of the season after a 30-save performance. 

 

The Stars return for a three-game week against Rockford and Grand Rapids beginning on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020 at 7 p.m. at H-E-B Center at Cedar Park.

 

Written By Stevie Golding
Photo Credit: Taylor Sammarco
 

Game Info	Shots	Goaltenders	3 Stars (Xerox Business Solutions Southwest)
Boxscore	TEX: 30	W: Kaapo Kahkonen (IA)	1: Kaapo Kahkonen (IA)
Photo	IA: 28	L: Jake Oettinger (TEX)	2: Luke Johnson (IA)
Video			3: Hunter Warner (IA)