A game that started off in the right direction, with the Monsters grabbing a lead and holding on to it for 20 minutes of play, ended with the Iowa Stars on top 4-2.

“I think there are some positives. I don’t know if they’re going to feel good about themselves after having a 2-1 lead in the third and giving that up. I can finally say that we played well for two periods this year. We have been inconsistent but we put together two good periods and tomorrow night we’re going to put together three good periods,” said Head Coach Joe Sacco.

A hurried pace on the part of both teams composed the storyline early on in the first period. Iowa took advantage of the pace as four Stars, led by Mark Fistric, crashed the net and buried a goal past Monsters goalie Tyler Weiman at the 3:05 mark.

As the Stars crashed the net in the first, so did the Monsters. T.J. Hensick scored the first power play goal of his AHL career with only three seconds remaining in the period. His goal marks only the second power play goal of the season for the Monsters.

To take only their second lead in a game this season, Cody McLeod forced his will upon a Stars defender and poked a wrist shot just beyond Iowa goalie Phillipe Sauve. McCleod’s goal was assisted by center Matt Hussey, who has recorded four points in the first five games.

As the third period got underway, the Monsters and Stars found themselves butting heads along the boards to no avail. Only until the 8:45 mark of the period did the Stars separate themselves from the Monsters as Stars left wing Chris Conner found the back of the net. Conner’s game-tying goal was assisted by Toby Petersen and Mario Scalzo. Petersen’s assist puts him atop his team in the category with four on the season.

Iowa continued their offensive aggression as right wing Marius Holtet scored the go-ahead goal for the Stars only minutes after their previous tally. Holtet’s goal was his first of the season.

To cap off a scoring session in the third, center Marty Sertich lit the lamp for the Stars and seemingly put the game out of reach for Lake Erie.

Weiman finished the game with 29 saves on 32 shots. His counterpart Sauve stopped 37 shots on 39 chances.

Lake Erie will get another shot at Iowa Wednesday night. The two teams will finish their back-to-back at 7:00 p.m. at Quicken Loans Arena.

Three Stars
Marius Holtet (IOW)	Toby Petersen (IOW)	T.J. Hensick (LEM)
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"This was our first significant lead going into the third up one, and it's something that we have to bear down on, the little things, such as not taking stupid penalties.  We were very close and only a couple of inches away from getting the wins.  But the inches can be the difference between winning and losing." - Monsters center T.J. Hensick | More game quotes