Stars Find Redemption in Rockford

January 28, 2008 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Iowa Chops News Release


THE STARS TELESCOPE - A LOOK AHEAD

Friday, Feb. 1 & Saturday, Feb. 2

Stars vs Grand Rapids Griffins

Wells Fargo Arena

Both Games Start at 7:07 PM

Broadcasts: Jim Erickson online and on B2 Video at iowastarshockey.com as well as in-arena on 104.7 FM.

The Stars return to action following the all-star break with a pair of contests versus the Grand Rapids Griffins at Wells Fargo Arena. These games will be numbers three and four in the teams' four-game season series. The Stars travelled to Grand Rapids over Thanksgiving weekend and split two games, a 3-2 shootout win on November 23 followed by a 4-1 loss the next night. All-time, the Stars are 4-6-0-0 when matched up with the Griffins, 2-2-0-0 in Des Moines. The Stars went into the all-star break on a high note after a 2-1 win over the first place Rockford Ice Hogs on Saturday night. That game in Rockford represents the Stars' only road game in a stretch where they are playing 11 of 12 at home. This stretch wraps up next weekend with games against Chicago and Peoria. The Griffins dropped both of their games this past weekend as they headed into the break, 4-0 at Milwaukee on Friday and 5-3 to Chicago in Grand Rapids on Saturday. The Griffins are in fifth place in the North Division with a record of 18-21-2-5 and 43 points. The Stars head into this weekend series in eighth place in the West Division with 46 points and a 21-23-2-2 record. Mark Hartigan's 36 points and 20 goals, including three this season against the Stars, lead the Griffins. Mark Cullen paces the team with 20 assists. The Stars are 3-6-0-1 in their last 10 games while the Griffins have gone 4-4-0-2. At tonight's All-Star game in Binghamton, goaltender Jimmy Howard and defenseman Jonathan Ericsson will be representing the Griffins while Stars Captain Toby Petersen will be there for his second career All-Star Game. All three will be teammates on the PlanetUSA squad. Petersen took the crown as fastest skater during last night's skills competition with a time of 14.0001. Ericsson competed in the hardest shot contest and finished second with a slap shot timed at 100.1 mph.

STARS RECAP

Saturday, January 26

Stars 2 Rockford 1 @ Rockford MetroCentre

Tobias Stephan and the Iowa Stars defense held the first place Rockford Ice Hogs to one goal in a 2-1 win at Rockford Saturday night. The win came in the Stars' first ever visit to the Rockford MetroCentre and was the first ever win for the Stars over the Ice Hogs after three losses. Perttu Lindgren scored his third goal of the season at 5:27 of the second period to put the Stars ahead while BJ Crombeen's game winner later in the period was his seventh tally of the campaign. All scoring took place in the second period. Stephan made 25 saves as he stymied the fourth leading scoring club in the AHL. Rockford's only goal came on a 5 on 3 late in the second to make the score 2-1. The Stars outshot the Ice Hogs 31-26 for the game.

Friday, January 25

Peoria 3 Stars 1 @ Wells Fargo Arena

The Peoria Rivermen won their 17th road game of the season 3-1 over the Iowa Stars. The win improved the Rivermen's road record to 17-4-2-0, the best road record in the AHL. For the Stars it was their 5th loss in their last 6 games.

Charles Linglet scored the first goal of the game for Peoria 8:57 into the first period. Linglet's goal was assisted by Martin Kariya and Julian Talbot and was Linglet's 17th of the season. Chris Conner evened the score for the Stars a little more than five minutes into the second period. Conner, on a strong individual effort, slipped past one defender and then fired a shot past Peoria goaltender Chris Beckford-Tseu. The Rivermen would respond with a goal by Micki DuPont on assists from Kariya and Jeff Woywitka. The Rivermen, who outshot the Stars 20-9 through the first two periods would once again head to break leading by a goal. Kariya added another goal for Peoria with just under two minutes to play to secure the win. The goal also gave him 3 points on the night and garnered to billing as the #1 star of the game.

Monday, January 21

Stars 4 Rochester 2 @ Wells Fargo Arena

The Stars picked up their second win of their current home stand and broke a four game winless streak in the process. Tobias Stephan got the win, stopping 14 of 16 shots as the Stars defeated the Rochester Americans 4-2. The Stars opened the game by killing off a pair of penalties, including a 5 on 3 for 1:30. They survived a first period in which they were outshot 6-0 through the first eight minutes of the first period. Toby Petersen put the Stars on the board first with a goal 6:21 into the second period. The Stars would add three more goals in the third period as they coasted to a victory over the Americans. Richard Clune scored his second AHL professional goal and second in three games. Marius Holtet also extended his streak to three straight games with a goal, his ninth of the season. Bryce Lampman had the final goal for the Stars; Lampman also had an assist on Clune's goal, giving him 2 points on the night with a plus 3 rating, earning first star honors.

IN THE COMMUNITY: Out and Around Des Moines & Neighboring Communities

STARS PROMOTIONS/APPEARANCES:

Þ Monday, Jan. 28 - Jim Erickson hosts the Stars Power Play All-Star Edition from Scooter & Babs live from 7-8 PM on KRNT 1350 AM. Come enjoy the AHL All Star game and cheer on Iowa Stars captain Toby Petersen and PlanetUSA.

Þ Monday, Feb. 4 - Join Iowa Stars players at the Adel Library at 6:30 PM to hear about their hockey stories and learn about their equipment. They will even sign autographs!

Þ Monday, Feb. 4 -- Jim Erickson hosts the Stars Power Play from Scooter & Babs live from 7-8 PM on KRNT 1350 AM.

Þ Wednesday, Feb. 6 - Iowa Stars players will visit the Southside Library at 4:00 PM and the Waukee Library at 7:00 PM. Join the Stars at the library for fun hockey stories and get to play with their equipment. The Stars will also be signing autographs as well!



American Hockey League Stories from January 28, 2008


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