Stars Force Overtime and Top Wild 4-3

Mar 30, 2021

CEDAR PARK, Texas – The Texas Stars, American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, forced overtime with less than two seconds on the clock and then topped the Iowa Wild 4-3 with an overtime win at H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. Texas has taken four of six games against the Wild this year and will play three more games in the next four days.

 

Iowa capitalized on a rebound and scored the opening goal a minute and a half into the game. Damien Giroux began a three-point night, as he hammered in the rebound from Mitchell Chaffee’s initial shot, at the bottom of the right circle. Texas wasted no time responding to tie the game. Ben Gleason fired a shot toward the net and 19 seconds after the Wild opened the scoring, Riley Tufte deflected the tying goal past Joel Rumple for his second goal of the year.

 

The Stars out shot the Wild 12 to 6 in the first period and they picked up the pace in the second. In transition less than a minute and a half into the middle period, Riley Damiani delayed at the top of the left circle and fired a pass across the ice to Thomas Harley. The rookie defenseman rifled his third goal of the year past Rumple to give Texas a 2-1 lead.

 

The Wild managed to answer with a goal late in the period, evening the score at 2-2. Calen Addison got loose at the right side of the net and a shot by Chaffee was deflected in front of Colton Point before Addison slammed in the puck to an empty net.

 

The third period was left to Iowa’s only complete power play of the game, as the Wild took a 3-2 lead with less than five minutes left in the game. Gabriel Dumont scored the go-ahead goal on the man advantage as a shot from Addison hit the post and bounced out to the Wild’s leading scorer who tallied his ninth goal of the year.

 

With only a few minutes left in the game, the Stars pulled Point from the net for an extra attacker. The move paid off as Damiani recorded his second assist of the game, launching a puck toward Cole Schneider for a deflection with two seconds remaining in regulation. The goal was Schneider’s sixth of the season and forced overtime. Damiani pushed to a league leading 17 assists and is tied for second in the league with 23 points (6-17=23).

 

In overtime, Texas was able to strip the puck away from the Wild at the offensive blue line. Jake Slaker wedged the puck free and led a pass up to Nick Baptiste for a breakaway that yielded Baptiste’s ninth goal of the year and the game winner for Texas. The tally extended Baptiste’s point streak to 10 consecutive games with 14 points (8-6=14) in the streak which ranks second most by any AHL player this year.

 

Point wrapped up the night with his third win in the last four starts, making 20 saves on the night. Meanwhile, Rumple was handed the loss in overtime after making 29 saves in goal. It was also the first time in the last seven games that the Wild were perfect on the penalty kill, halting Texas’ three power plays in the game.

 

Texas and Iowa square off again tomorrow night, Wednesday, Mar. 31 at 7 p.m. for the second of four games this week and both team’s final game of the month.

Photo Credit: Andy Nietupski

H-E-B CENTER AT CEDAR PARK SAFETY GUIDELINES
All Texas Stars games are subject to State of Texas and local government guidelines for helping the community stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cloth face coverings over the nose and mouth are required for all employees and guests for this event. Fans should familiarize themselves with the full list of H-E-B Center safety measures before attending any events by visiting HEBCenter.com/plan-your-visit/covid-19-safety-measures.

ASSUMPTION OF RISK
By purchasing or otherwise accepting a ticket to Texas Stars games, you are acknowledging that an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 (coronavirus) exists in any public place where people are present. For the full terms and conditions, please visit HEBcenter.com/events-tickets/assumption-of-risk.
 

Game Info	Shots	Goaltenders	3 Stars (Xerox Business Solutions Southwest)
Boxscore	TEX: 33	W: Colton Point (TEX)	1: Nick Baptiste (TEX)
Photo	IA: 23	OTL: Joel Rumple (IA)	2: Riley Damiani (TEX)
Video			3: Cole Schneider (TEX)