AHL Texas Stars

Monsters Sneak Past Stars In Overtime 5-4

January 22, 2010 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Texas Stars News Release


Cleveland, OH - The Texas Stars (23-13-3-4, 53 points) were defeated by the Lake Erie Monsters (21-20-0-4, 46 points) 5-4 in overtime on Friday night in front of 18,626 fans at the Quicken Loans Arena. After a valiant three-goal come back by Texas to force overtime, Lake Erie's Justin Mercier scored with 39 seconds left in overtime to lift the Monsters over the Stars. Texas center Travis Morin set a team record with four points, scoring a goal and setting up the three other Stars tallies. Defensemen Garrett Stafford and Ivan Vishnevskiy each had a goal and an assist, as Texas saw its' winless skid on the road extend to six games. Texas Stars goalie Matt Climie (11-12-4) made 33 saves in the defeat. Lake Erie goalie Tyler Weiman (16-12-3) stopped 30 Stars shots in the victory. The Stars and Monsters will meet again at 12:00 pm (CST) on Saturday afternoon at the Quicken Loans Arena.

After a scoreless first period, Lake Erie notched a pair of goal just over two minutes apart in the early stages of the second period. Center T.J. Hensick started the scoring with his ninth goal of the season at 6:38. Hensick picked up a rebound off a Brian Willsie shot and snapped a shot past Texas goalie Matt Climie for the 1-0 lead. The Monsters struck again at 8:57, defenseman Derek Pelltier lofted a pass to the crease for Lake Erie forward Tim Zanoski, who redirected the puck past Climie for the 2-0 lead. Lake Erie expanded its' lead to 3-0 with 26 seconds left in the middle period. Justin Mercier scored his fifth goal of the year off a feed from behind the net by Phil Dupuis.

In the third period, Texas took advantage of its' second power-play of the night. Forward Travis Morin swatted a puck into the back of the Lake Erie net at 7:50, trimming the Monsters lead to 3-1. Defenseman Garrett Stafford picked up the assist up on Morin's sixth goal in his last eight games. Lake Erie's Brock Bradford picked off a puck in the Texas zone and set up Matt Ford's seventh goal of the year for a 4-1 Monsters lead. The Stars scored their second power-play goal of the night at 12:00 of the third period. Morin centered from behind the net to Mathieu Beaudoin, who scored his 11th goal of the year, cutting the Monsters lead to 4-2. Texas continued to close the gap as Travis Morin set up the team's third goal of the night at 17:22. Morin won a faceoff back to Ivan Vishnevskiy, who blasted his seventh goal of the year from the blue-line, beating Monsters goalie Tyler Weiman and bringing Texas within a goal at 4-3. The Stars pulled the goalie for a second time and scored with 40 seconds left to tie the game 4-4. Defenseman Garrett Stafford ripped a shot from the blue-line, beating Weiman for his fourth goal of the year, tying the game 4-4 and forcing overtime.

Monsters forward Justin Mercier scored his second goal of the night with 39 seconds left in overtime. Mercier fired a wrist shot from the right-wing circle, beating Matt Climie up high on the stick-side for the 5-4 overtime victory.

The crowd of 18,626 at the Quicken Loans Arena was the largest in Lake Erie history and the fifth largest crowd in American Hockey League history.

Texas will remain in Cleveland for the second game of two straight against the Lake Erie Monsters on Saturday, Jan. 23 at 12:00 PM (CST). The Stars return home on Tuesday, Jan. 26 at 7:30 PM against the Milwaukee Admirals. Fans who bring an H-E-B Store Brand non-perishable item will receive a $5.00 discount. Texas will host Abbotsford on Friday, Jan 29 and Saturday, Jan. 30. The first 2,000 fans to the 7:30 PM Friday game receive a Texas Stars Calendar and the team will participate in a post-game autograph session. Also, the Cedar Park Center will sell $2.00 domestic drafts and $1.00 hot dogs. The first 2,000 fans for Saturday's 7:00 pm start will receive a Texas Stars youth t-shirt. Also, fans may purchase the State Farm Family four-pack for Saturday's game (four tickets, four sodas and four hot dogs for $44). All games can be heard on the Stars flagship station ESPNAustin 104.9 FM "The Horn" or ESPNAustin 1530-AM.

Tickets for any of the Stars 40 regular season home games at Cedar Park Center are on sale, starting as low as $9.00 a seat. Individual game tickets may be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000, by going online at www.ticketmaster.com or by visiting any local Ticketmaster outlet.

Season ticket packages to see the Stars play their Inaugural season at the Cedar Park Center are on sale now, starting as low as $12.00 a seat. For more information on Texas Stars season tickets call (512) GO-STARS (467-8277) or visit www.TexasStarsHockey.com. Anyone interested in purchasing season tickets, suites, group tickets or mini-plans may call the Texas Stars front office.

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American Hockey League Stories from January 22, 2010


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