CEDAR PARK, TX – The Iowa Wild (28-23-6-2, 64 points) defeated the Texas Stars (27-28-1-2, 57 points) 5-1 in front of 4,560 fans on Friday night at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. Rookies Alex Tuch and Sam Anas each scored a pair of goals and Iowa set a pair of team records for wins in a season (28), as well as road victories (17). The Wild scored twice in the first and three times in the third to pull away from the Stars. 
Five different skaters registered multi-point games, including a pair of assists from defensemen Maxime Fortunus and Mike Reilly, as well as center Pat Cannone. Newcomer Mike Sdao added a goal in his Iowa debut. Iowa Wild goalie Alex Stalock (18-12-7) secured the win with 32 saves. Texas Stars goalie Maxime Lagace (11-12-3) was saddled with the loss, stopping 15 of 18 in a relief effort. Iowa remains in Cedar Park for a rematch with the Stars at 7 PM on Saturday.
Iowa quickly opened up the game with a pair of goals merely 47-seconds apart midway through the first period. Wild rookie Sam Anas zipped through center and snuck behind the Stars defense for a breakaway, snapping his ninth goal of the year past Just Peters to open the scoring at 12:40. Defenseman Mike Reilly and right wing Christoph Bertschy each had an assist on Anas’ ninth goal of the season and a 1-0 lead. Iowa’s lead was expanded to 2-0 at 13:27 of the first period after Alex Tuch sniped his 13th goal of the year. Center Pat Cannone and defenseman Maxime Fortunus each had a hand in the team’s second goal of the night. Tuch took a pass on the left wing wall and rifled a wrist shot from the left-wing circle for the two-goal lead. Texas pulled goalie Justin Peters immediately after Tuch’s goal, ending his night with one save on three shots in 13:27 of work.
The Stars chiseled away at the Iowa lead, trimming the deficit in half at 10:20 of the second period off a tally by Ethan Werek. Forwards Gemel Smith and Denis Gurianov set up Werek’s eight goal of the year. Smith sent a cross-ice pass to Gurianov, who faked a one-timer and played the puck to the slot for Werek. Werek redirected the puck past Stalock, cutting the Iowa lead to 2-1 after two periods of play.
The Wild lead grew to 3-1 just 3:23 into the third period as defenseman Mike Sdao scored in his Iowa debut. Fortunus and rookie winger Nick Saracino each picked up an assist on the tally. Sdao snuck in on the backside of the play, scooping up a rebound and stickhandling the puck past Lagace for his first goal of the season. Iowa made it 4-1 merely 25-seconds later as Anas struck for his second goal of the night and 10th tally of the season. Reilly and center Tyler Graivac helped set up the goal. Anas followed up his own rebound and snapped a shot past Lagace at 3:48 for the three-goal lead. The Wild made it 5-1 at 7:41 of the third period off Tuch’s second goal of the evening. Cannone picked up the lone assist on Tuch’s 14th goal of the year.
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