Texas Scores Late to Deny Iowa’s Comeback | Texas Stars

Feb 16, 2024

CEDAR PARK, Texas – The Texas Stars, American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, hung on to prevail with a 6-4 victory over the Iowa Wild on Friday night at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park.

Following a scoreless opening period, Kyle McDonald put the Stars on top first 34 seconds into the middle frame by beating Jesper Wallstedt with a shot from the slot for his team-leading ninth power-play goal of the season. Mavrik Bourque extended the Stars’ lead to 2-0 at 8:10 when he fired in a one-timer from Curtis McKenzie, who intercepted a breakout pass from an Iowa defender. Then at 9:24, Derrick Pouliot made it 3-0 by redirecting an already-bouncing puck past Wallstedt. Steven Fogarty gave the Wild their first goal at 17:18 to cut the deficit to 3-1 after he jammed a shot past Matt Murray near the left post.

The third period saw Iowa’s Sammy Walker chip a shot over Murray’s left shoulder and into the top-right corner at 6:03 to cut Texas’ lead to 3-2. However, Texas’ Matej Blumel scored through Wallstedt’s legs to make it 4-2 Stars at 8:39 after he collected a loose puck at center ice off a blocked shot by Fredrik Karlstrom for a breakaway. Iowa shaved the Stars’ lead back to one with 6:27 remaining in regulation when Adam Beckman tapped in a pass from Fogarty on a power play. Beckman then tied the game 4-4 at 4:24 by winning a face-off ahead to himself before chipping a shot past Murray. Pouliot answered 24 seconds later to score the Stars’ game-winning goal by cleaning up a rebound for his second goal of the night, which made it 5-4 Stars with 4:00 left on the clock. Karlstrom locked in the 6-4 victory for the Stars with less than a minute remaining by potting an empty-net goal.

Picking up the win in goal for the Stars, Murray improved to 11-9-2 on the season after making 33 saves on 37 shots in the contest. For the Wild, Wallstedt fell to 14-12-0 after allowing five goals on 29 of the shots sent his way.

The Stars take on the Wild again to close out the two-game series on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. back at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park.

Photo Credit: Andy Nietupski / Texas Stars