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MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com -
MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com - Des Moines , IA – The Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights moved into a tie for first place in the West Division with a 2-1 win over the Iowa Stars on Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Arena. The game was the last game of their 12-game season series and the first of four games in five days for the Knights.
The first period played out like a staring contest with each team waiting for the other to blink. Neither did as the Knights outshot the Stars 8-3.
It took little time for the Knights to seize the lead in the second period. Brad Ference kept a clearing attempt at the right point and fired a shot on goal. Goaltender Dan Ellis was scrambling when he stopped the first shot, but the rebound came to Tomi Maki who slipped the puck under him just 13 seconds into the period.
The Knights stretched their lead later in the period on a similar play. Iowa sent the puck up the right wing. Carsen Germyn stepped into the path of the puck and one-timed a shot on goal. Ellis made the stop, but Kris Chucko knocked in the rebound for his 14th goal of the year. The Knights led 2-0 after two.
The Stars trimmed the Knights’ lead to one during the powerplay. Paul Szczechura tipped in a shot from Junior Lessard to make it 2-1. It was as close as the Stars would get. Curtis McElhinney finished with 26 saves to earn his 30th win of the year.
The Knights are now 44-24-4-1. They finished the season with a record of 8-4-0-0 against Iowa including a mark of 5-1-0-0 in Des Moines. The Knights and the Chicago Wolves are now tied for first in the division with 93 points each.
Three Stars: 1. Tomi Maki (OMA) – 1 goal; 2. Brad Ference (OMA) – 1 assist; 3. Chris Conner (IOW) – 1 assist