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Stars Earn Point in Shootout Loss to Griffins

February 4, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL) - Texas Stars News Release


Grand Rapids Griffins' Joel L'Esperance battles Texas Stars' Riley Tufte
Grand Rapids Griffins' Joel L'Esperance battles Texas Stars' Riley Tufte
(Texas Stars, Credit: Ross Bonander)

CEDAR PARK, Texas - The Texas Stars, American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL's Dallas Stars, were defeated 4-3 in a shootout against the Grand Rapids Griffins Saturday night at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park.

Texas skated in front of a full house again on Saturday night. It marked the team's sixth sellout of the season as 6,778 fans were in attendance to watch the Stars and Griffins battle it out in Cedar Park.

Fredrik Olofsson gave the Stars the game's first lead at 7:10 of the first period by shoveling a rebound in the slot on his backhand past Alex Nedeljkovic. The Griffins evended the score with Jakub Vrana scoring at 11:46 on the power play after his shot from the top of the left circle snuck over the glove of Matt Murray and into the top-left corner. Tied 1-1 after one, the Stars edged the Griffins 13-10 in shots during the first frame.

The second period was a scoreless one that saw Texas outshoot Grand Rapids 13-9. After 40 minutes of play, the Stars and Griffins were still tied 1-1.

In the third period, the Griffins grabbed their first lead of the night when Vrana redirected in a pass from Simon Edvinsson 2:14 into the third to make it 2-1. Riley Tufte tied to game 1:13 later when he beat Nedeljkovic over the glove in the process of deking around a Griffins' defender. The Stars then grabbed a 3-2 lead when Rhett Gardner scored his team-leading second shorthanded goal of the season 22 seconds into a penalty kill at the 5:47 mark. The game was tied again 3-3 when Filip Zadina fired in a one-timer off a pass across the slot by Matt Luff with 8:50 eclipsed in the third stanza. Tied at the end of regulation, Saturday night's contest in Cedar Park needed extra time to declare a winner.

After neither side scored in overtime, Emler Soderblom scored the only goal in the shootout during the third round to give Grand Rapids a 4-3 victory.

In goal for the Griffins, Nedeljkovic stopped 34 of the 37 shots he faced to earn the win. For the Stars, Murray came down with the loss after making 29 saves on 32 shots.

Texas is back in action following the AHL All-Star break (Feb. 5-6) next Friday and Saturday at the Budweiser Events Center in Colorado. Both games between the Stars and Eagles are scheduled for 8:05 p.m. CST.

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Images from this story

Grand Rapids Griffins' Joel L'Esperance battles Texas Stars' Riley Tufte
Grand Rapids Griffins' Joel L'Esperance battles Texas Stars' Riley Tufte
(Ross Bonander)		   

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