Stars Prevail in 5-3 Victory Over Wolves

Jan 25, 2020

CEDAR PARK, Texas – The Texas Stars, American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, topped the Chicago Wolves 5-3 on Saturday night to earn two points in the Central Division standings before the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic. Texas’ offense sparked as they piled on five goals on 19 shots while Landon Bow dazzled in a 34-save effort to back the win. 

 

Chicago opened scoring in what would prove to be a busy first period of play. The Wolves controlled the puck in the Stars’ zone on the power play early in the game. Keegan Kolesar maintained possession through a hard-fought battle by the Stars defense and slid the puck to Nicholas Roy who quickly shot a goal through Bow’s legs. Two minutes later, Texas saw their first power play of the evening and converted on the opportunity. After collecting a pass from Tanner Kero at the point, Anthony Louis went top shelf on Garrett Sparks to level the score at one. Seconds later, Brad McClure stole the puck from the Wolves in the offensive zone. The winger then threw in a wrist shot to put Texas ahead 2-1. However, Chicago’s power play struck again as chaos ensued in the zone and Kolesar tapped in a goal past Bow’s skate. 

 

The foes exchanged several scoring chances backed by solid goaltending throughout the second period. Ultimately, Texas had the final word, tallying a pair of goals in 90 seconds. To spark the scoring surge, Joel Hanley sat in the right circle and threw a shot toward the net that was tipped in by Kero for a goal in his 300^th professional game. Moments later, Louis net his second of the night after her collected a deflected shot from Rhett Gardner. From the bottom of the circle, Louis ripped a laser over Sparks’ leg to increase the Stars lead to 4-2. 

 

The Wolves battled for opportunities in the final frame and broke through when Curtis McKenzie fed Jake Leschyshyn the puck in front before he put a top shelf goal behind Bow. Moments later, Texas regained the two-goal lead as Michael Mersch set up Jason Robertson for his 15^th goal of the season. After a scoring chance caused traffic near the net, Mersch grabbed the puck and skated behind the goal before dishing it to Robertson. With nobody else around, Robertson shot a rocket past Sparks for the Stars fifth goal of the night, to eventually cap scoring in a 5-3 win. 

 

Bow collected his 11^th win of the season and fourth consecutive victory in a strong 34-save performance. Sparks suffered the loss after surrendering five goals on Texas’ 19 shots. Additionally, Chicago went a perfect two-for-two on the power play while Texas cashed in on one of their three opportunities on the man advantage. 

 

Joel L’Esperance will take the ice for the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Ontario International Airport this weekend. Tomorrow, he will join the other AHL All-Stars in the Skills Competition at 7 p.m. CT and take the ice on Monday, Jan. 27 at 9 p.m. CT for his second straight appearance in the AHL All-Star Challenge in a 3-on-3 round robin tournament. Fans can tune in on NHL Network or log on to theahl.com/AHLTV for a free video stream of the events.

Written by Stevie Golding
Photo Credit: Taylor Sammarco

Game Info	Shots	Goaltenders	3 Stars (Xerox Business Solutions Southwest)
Boxscore	TEX: 19	W: Landon Bow (TEX)	1: Anthony Louis (TEX)
Photo	CHI: 37	L: Garrett Sparks (CHI)	2: Tanner Kero (TEX)
Video			3: Landon Bow (TEX)