IOWA DROPS 4-3 CONTEST TO TEXAS
Nov 30, 2019-Forward Sam Anas nets two in the loss-
Iowa Wild (11-6-2-2; 26 pts.) dropped Saturday night’s contest to the Texas Stars (6-13-0-2; 14 pts.) by a score of 4-3.
For just the seventh time this year, the Wild opened the scoring as forward Sam Anas netted his fifth of the season at 4:26 in the first period. Forward Nico Sturm drove into the zone and hit Anas with a drop pass. Anas then made a quick move before slipping the puck off his backhand past goaltender Landon Bow (32 saves) to take a 1-0 lead.
At the end of the first period, Iowa led 1-0 and Texas held an 11-10 shot advantage.
Texas evened the score at 1-1 just 75 seconds into the middle frame, as defenseman Reese Scarlett scored his second tally of the season. Scarlett caught a pass from forward Josh Melnick and beat goaltender Mat Robson (21 saves) short-side high for the score.
Stars forward Joel L’Esperance scored his seventh of the season at 5:45 in the second period to give Texas a 2-1 lead. From below the goal line, L’Esperance rifled a shot up high that beat Robson over his left shoulder for the unassisted tally.
Forward Jason Robertson gave the Stars their third tally of the period as he pushed the team’s lead to 3-1 at 17:34 in the second stanza. Robertson was standing at the back post when he received a feed from defenseman Emil Djuse and buried the puck into the open net for his seventh of the season.
Heading into the third period, Iowa trailed 3-1 and Texas owned the lead in shots at 21-18.
Iowa cut Texas’ lead to 3-2 as forward Luke Johnson netted his second goal of the season at 4:43 in the third period. Johnson received a pass from defenseman Matt Bartkowski and circled the net before tucking the puck behind Bow on a wrap-around for the score. Defenseman Brennan Menell logged his 14th assist of the season on the play, which is tied for the most among all blueliners in the AHL.
Just 29 seconds later, the Stars pushed their lead back to two goals. Defenseman Dillon Heatherington took a shot from the point that was deflected in front to forward Joel Kiviranta at the far post, who knocked the puck across the goal line for his third of the season.
The Wild once again pulled within one as Anas registered his second goal of the game at 11:19 in the third period. Forward Brandon Duhaime snapped a shot from the left circle that Bow bobbled with his glove. Anas crashed the net, picked up the loose puck and buried the rebound to make it a 4-3 game. Forward Gabriel Dumont earned the secondary assist on the play, his seventh of the year.
Texas withstood the Wild’s final pushes in the game and skated away with the 4-3 victory, the team’s eighth consecutive win against Iowa in the Lone Star State. Final shot totals were 35-25 in favor of Iowa. The Wild went 0-for-3 on the power play and 1-for-1 on the penalty kill.
Iowa looks to rebound against the San Antonio Rampage Sunday afternoon with a 3:00 p.m. puck drop.
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.