Heartlanders Win Second Straight, Pull Away from Wings, 6-4
Published on February 14, 2026 under ECHL (ECHL)
Iowa Heartlanders News Release
Coralville, Iowa - The Iowa Heartlanders overwhelmed the Kalamazoo Wings in a 6-4 victory Saturday at Xtream Arena. Iowa tallied three goals in the second and two in the third to win the weekend series (2 wins, 1 loss).
Anthony Firriolo (1g, 1a) and Thomas Stewart (1g, 1a) led the way in blue line production. Twelve Heartlanders registered at least a point and five had multi-point games. Riley Mercer made 31 saves in the win. Ty Young took the loss, turning away 25 shots.
Before the offensive outburst in the second and third, Iowa needed to overcome an early 1-0 deficit on a goal four minutes in from Quinn Preston (3g). Iowa responded as Stewart cleaned up a loose puck in the slot to beat Young, sending the game into first intermission tied at one.
Firriolo put Iowa in front, 2-1, at 8:42 of the second period, jamming a puck past Young in the crease for his seventh goal of the season. Liam Coughlin added insurance at 9:48 of the third, blasting a one-timer off a feed from Keltie Jeri-Leon to make it 3-1. Max Patterson capped the second-period scoring by following a loose puck to the crease and tallying on the power play, extending Iowa's lead to 4-1.
After Preston made it 4-2 with his second goal, Dylan Massie answered 41 seconds later to regain a three-goal advantage on the Wings. Matt Sop capitalized on a wide-open chance from the left face-off dot to give the Heartlanders their sixth goal and make it 6-2 at 8:34 of the third period. Kalamazoo scored two goals in the final 5:20 to make it 6-4.
Tickets start at $10 for all Heartlanders home games. Heartlanders Family 4 Packs (4 tickets, 4 hot dogs, 4 sodas, 1 large popcorn starting at $69) and the Deer & Beers Ticket Bundle (1 ticket and 2 domestic beers for $25) are now available.
Next week, the Heartlanders host Wichita on Wed., Feb. 18 at 7:00 p.m. Join the Heartlanders for Margaritaville on Fri., Feb. 20 at 7:00 p.m. against Cincinnati. The Heartlanders are home on Sat., Feb. 21 at 6:00 p.m. for the CORNIEST NIGHT in hockey history on Cornfed Country Night, pres. by Iowa Corn. The night includes a Corn Thunderstick Giveaway, specialty jersey auction on DASH Auctions, pregame pyrotechnic show, country tunes, and legendary corn games.
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