Sports stats



Stars Weekly

March 17, 2008 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Iowa Chops News Release


THE STARS TELESCOPE ¡V A LOOK AHEAD

Friday, March 21

Stars @ Milwaukee Admirals 7:00 pm CDT

Bradley Center, Milwaukee, WI

Broadcasts: Jim Erickson online and on B2 Video at iowastarshockey.com

The Stars open the weekend with their final tussle with the Milwaukee Admirals at the Bradley Center. Just like their overall record (31-31-4-2), the Stars¡¦ season mark versus the Admirals is also at .500, 3-3-1-0. In the most recent meeting, the Admirals rallied from a 4-1 third period deficit and went on to a 5-4 overtime win at Wells Fargo Arena on Feb. 21. The Stars are going back out on the road after falling to Quad City 5-2 on Saturday night at Wells Fargo Arena. The Stars are 7-2-1-0 in their last 10 road games and have a 5-2-1-0 record overall in the past eight. The Stars enter the week with 68 points, one point behind seventh place Quad City and seven points out of the final playoff spot with 12 games remaining. Meanwhile, the Admirals are currently one of the teams that would be in the post-season if the season ended today as they occupy fourth place in the West Division with 79 points (37-25-3-2). The Admirals have put themselves in their enviable position with a current six-game winning streak and a 12-3-1-0 record in their past 16 games. The Stars are 15-9-2-1 all-time versus the Admirals and 7-6-0-0 at the Bradley Center, 1-2-0-0 this season.

Saturday, March 22

Stars @ Peoria Rivermen 7:00 pm CDT

Carver Arena, Peoria, Illinois

Broadcasts: Jim Erickson online and on B2 Video at iowastarshockey.com

The Stars and Rivermen see each other three times down the stretch beginning Saturday night in Peoria. The two clubs will also face-off on April 4 in Des Moines and then back in Peoria on April 12 during the final weekend of the regular season. The Rivermen have been one of the streakiest teams in the AHL this season. After nine-game and four-game winning streaks in January, Peoria has experienced a six-game losing streak and a pair of three-game slides. They are 5-13-0-1 since Feb. 1. Despite their recent struggles, the Rivermen are still very much in the race as they enter the week. At 33-26-4-4 and 79 points, Peoria is in sixth in the West Division, one point behind Houston for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Historically, the Stars have played well in Peoria and this season has been no different. The Stars are undefeated in three games at Carver Arena this season and 8-4-0-1 all-time. Overall, the Stars are 5-2-0-0 in the first seven of the 10 meetings this season and own a 14-11-0-2 all-time mark against the Rivermen.

STARS RECAP

Sunday, March 15

Stars 2 vs Quad City 5

The Iowa Stars took on a fired up Flames team on pink ice at Wells Fargo Arena on Saturday night in front of 8309 fans, less than 24 hours after taking the Flames 7th spot in the division with a 4-1 win on Friday; the outcome was quite the opposite however as the Stars fell 5-2. The Flames scored first on a penalty shot awarded to Grant Stevenson when Trevor Byrne hooked him on a breakaway. Stevenson beat Stars goaltender Tobias Stephan low glove-side for the point. The Stars would finish the first with just six shots on goal and 0 for 2 on the power play. Quad City was 0 for 2 on the power play as well but with 15 shots on goal. The Stars went into the second intermission after managing only four shots on goal in the second period. The Flames came out strong in the third with a goal by Kris Kolanos just 1:22 into the period, assisted by David Van der Gulik. Marty Sertich brought the Stars back in it when he found the back of the net off a pass from Konstantin Pushkarev just over three minutes later. The Stars evened the score when Francis Wathier scored his second goal in his second home game of the season with assists going to Tom Wandell and Bryce Lampman. Lampman also had an assist on the Sertich goal, which earned him third star of the night honors. With the score tied at two the 8309 fans in attendance began a wave and chanting, ¡§Let¡¦s go Stars!¡¨ The score would not stay even for long, however. The Flames forward, Kris Chucko, scored the game-winner from behind the net with just under 7:00 to go in the game. Van der Gulik added an insurance marker at 15:28 and another empty net goal with less than two minutes remaining. Both the Stars and the Flames were 0-4 on the power play, but the Flames outshot the Stars 39-18 for the night.

Friday, March 14

Stars 4 @ Quad City 1

The Iowa Stars won for the seventh time in their last 10 road games and made it back above .500 for the first time since Jan. 5 after a 4-1 win at Quad City Friday night. The win was also the Stars¡¦ first at the I Wireless Center and improved their season record versus the Flames to 2-3-0-2. The Stars claimed a 2-0 lead on a second period goal by Konstantin Pushkarev, his 12th of the season, followed by Tom Wandell and his fifth score of the campaign 3:02 into the third period. Quad City cut the advantage to 2-1 at 10:50 on Carsen Germyn¡¦s score, but the Stars rose to the challenge and took back the two-goal lead 3:23 later on Perttu Lindgren¡¦s 7th of the season. Chris Conner added an empty net tally to round out the scoring with less than a minute remaining. Tobias Stephan stopped 26 of 27 shots to pick up his 24th win of the season. The Stars went 0-for-9 on the power play while Quad City failed to capitalize on their four chances.

Tuesday, March 11

Stars 7 vs Lake Erie 3

BJ Crombeen got a hat trick and the Iowa Stars got the win at home on Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Arena. The Stars took the final game of the season series 7-3, and finished the series 3-1 against the Monsters. The Stars allowed an early Lake Erie power play to get the better of them in the first period. Francis Wathier watched from the box as defenseman Dan Jancevski took a shot off the shoulder in front of the net and goaltender Tobias Stephan moved to save the rebound. The eventual shot by Brad Richardson at 1:56 went through the legs of defenseman Trevor Byrne as he was moving across the net to aid the fallen Stephan. The Stars remained strong through the end of the first with 14 shots to Lake Erie¡¦s 11. The Stars would come back in the second with a vengeance scoring three goals while allowing only one to the Monsters. The Stars first goal came on the power play at 6:46 in the second when BJ Crombeen netted a pass from Marius Holtet. Marty Sertich also got a helper on the goal as well. Just one minute later Wathier scored his first goal of the season in his first home game of the season since returning from a shoulder injury that sidelined the first five months of the season. Janos Vas and Tom Wandell added the assists. Lake Erie bounced back for a moment with another power play goal by Wyatt Smith at 11:11 in the period. But the Stars would not back down and Chris Conner picked up the puck out in front and found the back of the net with the help of Konstantin Pushkarev and Bryce Lampman at 16:02. Crombeen scored his second and third of the night in the third period with help from James Neal, Brett Westgarth and Marty Sertich. Crombeen said it¡¦s been since he was about 17 years-old that he had a hat trick, ¡§It doesn¡¦t happen often for me.¡¨ The Stars also received goals from rookies Perttu Lindgren and a power play goal from James Neal. The Stars were 2 for 6 on the power play while Lake Erie went 2 for 3.

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

STARS PROMOTIONS/APPEARANCES:

„± Monday, March 17, 2008 ¡V Stars Power Play at Scooter and Babs 7-8 pm on 1350 KRNT. Janos Vas and Chris Lee will be the guests.

„± Tuesday, March 18 ¡V Stars players Ethan Graham and Francis Wathier visit Perry Public Library from 6:30 to 7:30 PM

„± Wednesday, March 26 ¡V Stars players visit Anderson Elementary in Bondurant

„± Thursday, March 27 ¡V Stars players visit Windsor Elementary in Windsor Heights

„± Monday, March 24 ¡V Stars Power Play at Scooter and Babs 7-8 PM on 1350 KRNT.

• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...

American Hockey League Stories from March 17, 2008


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Iowa Chops Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central