Iowa wins shootout 3-2

The Iowa Stars downed the Chicago Wolves in a shootout, Tuesday, in the Des Moines Wells Fargo Arena. Michael Garnett defended the Wolves goal for 27 saves in three frames, giving up a power play goal to Junior Lessard, just down from the Dallas Stars, in the first period; and a goal by Francis Wathier in the second period.

Chicago had two for seven successful powerplays, with Darren Haydar and Mark Popovic both scoring in the first period. The evenly matched contest saw Iowa goalie Dan Ellis stop 28 shots on goal and all three shootout attempts by the Wolves.

Momentum switched back and forth as the Wolves held a 2-1 lead at the end of the first frame, with eleven shots on goal, against six for the Stars. The second period, the Stars regained the momentum with 13 shots on goal compared to the Wolves five. The third frame, the Wolves regained the momentum but were unable to finish the deal, with 11 shots on goal compared to Iowa’s seven.

In the overtime period Wolves center Cory Larose was handed a minor penalty that Iowa was unable to use to score and the Wolves had two shots on goal versus Iowa’s three. All three of Iowa’s shootout players scored on Michael Garnett, while none of the Chicago players were able to score on the Iowa goalie.

It was the first shootout of the season for Garnett. Chicago is 1-4 in the shootout. It gains a point in the standings, leaving it four points ahead of the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights. Chicago returns to Iowa on Saturday evening. It plays Omaha in a Western Division showdown on Friday in Omaha.