Stars defeat Wild in OT, 3-2

DES MOINES, IA – The Iowa Wild (18-19-4-1, 41 points) were defeated by the Texas Stars (20-15-1-2, 43 points) 3-2 in overtime in front of 8,503 fans on Friday night at Wells Fargo Arena. Stars defenseman Nick Ebert scored twice in the win over Iowa, including the game-winning goal two minutes into overtime. Denis Gurianov also scored a goal in the win. Stars goalie Landon Bow (7-4-0) stopped 24 of 26 shots in the overtime win. Wild goalie Alex Stalock (12-10-4) stopped 24 of 27 shots in the overtime loss. Kurtis Gabriel and Sam Anas each scored for Iowa in the defeat. Iowa and Texas rematch on Saturday at 7 PM.

Iowa opened the scoring at 13:28 of the first period. Right wing Kurtis Gabriel scored his sixth goal of the season, giving Iowa a 1-0 lead. Gustav Olofsson and Jeff Hoggan each had an assist on the goal. Olofsson shot the puck from the left-wing circle, and after a scramble in front of the Stars net, Gabriel scored off the rebound.

After a scoreless second period, Stars right wing Denis Gurianov scored at 9:03 of the third period, tying the game 1-1. Matej Stransky and Gemel Smith helped set up the Gurianov’s seventh goal of the season. Gurianov carried the puck through center ice and shot from the left-wing circle, beating Stalock on the glove side. Nick Ebert gave the Stars a 2-1 lead 20 seconds later at 9:23 of the period. Ebert’s fourth goal of the season was set up by Brendan Ranford and Andrew Bodnarchuk. Sam Anas tied the game 2-2 with six seconds left in regulation, forcing overtime. Anas’ seventh goal of the season was assisted by Mario Lucia and Maxime Fortunus.

Ebert scored the game-winning goal for the 3-2 final at 2:00 of overtime. The goal was assisted by Travis Morin and Remi Elie.