GAME PREVIEW – IOWA WILD AT TEXAS STARS
Feb 22, 2020Iowa Wild (33-16-3-3; 72 pts.) at Texas Stars (23-24-2-3; 51 pts.)
Iowa and Texas Saturday night will meet for the eighth and final time this season as the Wild closes out a three-game road trip. Iowa is in second place in the Central Division with 72 points while Texas moved into sixth place with 51 points. Iowa is 3-3-0-1 this season against Texas, including a 0-3-0-0 record at H-E-B Center.
Last Game
The Wild battled back from three separate one-goal deficits Friday night against the Stars but ultimately couldn’t complete the comeback as the team fell by a score of 4-3. Forward Dmitry Sokolov scored a goal in his third consecutive contest while forwards Sam Anas and Kyle Rau added the other tallies. Goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen stopped 20 of 24 shots in the game, snapping his franchise-long seven-game win streak in the loss.
WILD Notables
- Iowa has held its opponents to three or fewer 5-on-5 goals in 15 of its last 16 contests.
- Iowa has won four games on the road on a Saturday, tied for the most of any day of the week.
- The Wild has not won a contest at H-E-B Center since March 11, 2017, going 0-8-1-0 during that stretch.
- Iowa allowed a power-play goal on every opportunity for the first time since Mach 15, 2019 vs. San Antonio (2-for-2).
STRAS Notables
- Forward Joel Kiviranta has five goals and six points against the Wild this season.
- Forward Jason Robertson has 10 points (7g, 3a) in his last eight games.
- Texas’ penalty kill is 12-for-12 in its last four games and has killed off its last 13 penalties.
- Texas’ win Friday marked just the second time this season the team won a contest at home when tied after two periods.
The Iowa Wild 2019-20 regular season is presented by MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center and runs from October through April. For more information, please contact the Wild office by calling 515-564-8700 or by visiting www.iowawild.com.