Stars Surrender Late Lead in 5-4 Loss to Iowa
May 14, 2021DES MOINES, Iowa – The Texas Stars, American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, fell 5-4 to the Iowa Wild tonight after leading 4-3 through two periods of play at Wells Fargo Arena. It is the second time in as many games that the Wild have come back from a one-goal deficit in the third period.
After a vigorous start from Iowa, Texas was the first to get on the scoresheet less than seven minutes into the game. Defenseman Thomas Harley collected a pass from Ben Gleason at the blue line before whipping a shot toward the net. His chance slipped past Hunter Jones for his sixth goal of the year and would later tally the Stars’ fourth goal of the game. He has propelled to seven points (2-5=7) in the last five games to lead AHL rookie defensemen and rank second among all defenders with 24 points (7-17=24).
A scramble in front of the net six minutes later, gave the Wild the tying goal. Matt Boldy slipped through the defense off the half wall and cut to the slot for a chance on the Stars net. After his shot was blocked, Mason Shaw found himself alone at the top of the left circle for a shot that whistled past Adam Scheel in net.
Mavrik Bourque earned his first pro point as a secondary assist on Harley’s goal but racked up three helpers in the game. The 2020 Dallas 1st rounder earned his second helper to help Texas retake the lead. Following a 5-on-3 power play, Riley Damiani found Bourque in front of the net and with a quick slip pass, he slid it to Anthony Louis in the right circle. Louis scored his 11th goal this season as Jones was fooled on the play and left the net wide open less than four minutes into the second period.
Iowa again battled back to even the score and take their first lead in the game after a few scrambles in front of the Stars let. Six and a half minutes into the period Will Bitten collected a rebound at the bottom of the left circle and deposited his seventh goal of the year past Scheel. A minute after that, Brandon Duhaime one-timed a rebound that bounced across the slot and pulled Scheel out of position. Duhaime would lead the Wild to the win with a career-best two goals and an assist in the game.
Texas turned the tables at the halfway point of the period. Cole Schneider, after being denied on a 1-on-1 chance with Jones, slapped in a rebound at the top of the crease for his 11th goal of the season. Jerad Rosburg was set up for the one-timer by Gleason who finished the night with a pair of assists and a plus-4 rating. He leads the club and ranks among the top-20 of all AHL players with a plus-13 rating this year.
Harley and Bourque connected again to take a 4-3 lead before the second intermission. The rookie center curled at the right circle before firing a pass across the zone to his teammate. The defenseman walked in and put the puck past Jones through a screen for his third multi-point game in the last four outings with less than seven minutes before the break.
Iowa closed out the night with a pair of third period goals. The first came on the power play as Adam Beckman slipped home his third goal this year. It was his first game rejoining the team from the WHL as he had help from Louie Belpedio and Duhaime on the goal that tied the score at 5:21 of the third period. Duhaime collected his second of the night with more than 11 minutes remaining in the game, taking the game winning tally off a face-off win from Gabriel Dumont and firing it into the net.
Iowa finished the game 1-for-5 on the power play while Texas failed to convert on three chances. Jones stopped 19 shots for his fifth consecutive win over Texas and fourth straight win overall. Scheel made 38 saves on a career-high 43 shots faced in his seventh start in the Stars last eight games.
The Stars and Wild end the regular season tomorrow night, Saturday, May 15 at 6 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena with their third game in four days.
Photo Credit: Iowa Wild
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| Game Info | Shots | Goaltenders | 3 Stars (Xerox Business Solutions Southwest) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boxscore | TEX: 23 | W: Hunter Jones (IA) | 1: Brandon Duhaime (IA) |
| Photo | IA: 43 | L: Adam Scheel (TEX) | 2: Mason Shaw (IA) |
| Video | 3: Thomas Harley (TEX) |