Iowa sweep Stars in weekend set

CEDAR PARK, TX  – The Iowa Wild (29-23-6-2, 66 points) defeated the Texas Stars (27-29-1-2, 57 points) 3-2 in front of 5,804 fans on Saturday night at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. Defenseman Maxime Fortunus and forward Zack Mitchell scored less than five minutes apart in the second period and Iowa held off a late surge from Texas to sweep the weekend series in Cedar Park. Iowa Wild goalie Alex Stalock (19-12-7) secured his 100th career AHL win with 37 saves on 39 shots. Rookie Alex Tuch also scored as Iowa improved to 18-10-3-0 on the road and 3-0-1-0 over the last four outings. Texas Stars goalie Justin Peters (12-15-0) took the defeat with 14 saves. Iowa concludes its six-game road trip on Friday at 7 PM in Milwaukee.
The Wild used an early power play, jumping out to a quick 1-0 lead merely 2:22 into the opening frame. Defenseman Zach Palmquist slipped the puck to the left wing for Pat Cannone. The Wild centerman snuck the puck down to the goal line for Alex Tuch. He turned with the puck and tucked a forehand shot around the outstretched arms of goalie Just Peters. Tuch’s 14th goal of the season put Iowa out in front 1-0.

The Wild expanded its lead to 2-0 at 3:41 of the second period. Cannone and defenseman Mike Reilly each helped hold the puck into the Texas zone off the rush. Cannone found Maxime Fortunus at the blueline and the Iowa defenseman ripped a slot that beat Peters. Fortunus’ fourth goal of the year put Iowa up by a pair. The Wild made it 3-0 with a power-play strike at 7:56 of the middle frame. Center Tyler Graovac found Zack Mitchell in the slot for the one-timer, beating Peters for his ninth goal of the season. Reilly added an assist on the team’s third goal of the night.

The Stars struck quickly to trim the deficit to 3-1 just 1:58 into the third period. Forward Matej Stransky carried the puck off the Iowa wall and snuck into the faceoff circle for a clean shot over the shoulder of Stalock. Jason Dickinson and Dillon Heatherington each had an assist on Stransky’s 19th goal of the year. Texas utilized a 5-on-3 power play at 9:11 of the third period, pulling within a goal of Iowa at 3-2. Forward Brandon DeFazio swept at a rebound in front of the Iowa net, beating Stalock for his 18th tally of the season. Stransky and Julius Honka helped set up the 3-2 final.