Stars Skate Past IceHogs in Series Opener
Published on January 5, 2024 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Texas Stars News Release
CEDAR PARK, Texas - The Texas Stars, American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL's Dallas Stars, took down the Rockford IceHogs 4-1 on Friday night at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park.
Matej Blumel struck first for the Stars by scoring backhanded on a breakaway against Drew Commesso at 11:48 after picking up a loose puck poked out to center by Artem Grushnikov. Texas carried the 1-0 lead into the first intermission after outshooting Rockford 11-10 in shots on goal during the first 20 minutes of action.
Antti Saarela tied the game 6:02 into the second period on a one-timer that was passed over by Jalen Luypen to beat Remi Poirier from the top of the slot. After two periods in Texas, both sides were tied 1-1 with the IceHogs leading 26-16 in shots on goal 26-16.
The third period saw Riley Damiani capitalize on a pass to the front of the net from Antonio Stranges at 2:23 that put Texas in front 2-1. Mavrik Bourque then provided an insurance marker for the Stars at 4:07 by firing a shot past Commesso near the top of the left circle. Curtis McKenzie sealed the eventual 4-1 victory by following up on a pair of his rebounds before chipping the third simultaneous shot over Commesso and in at 15:37.
Picking up the win in goal for the Stars to improve to 11-4-2 on the campaign was Poirier, who made 31 saves on 32 shots in the contest. Commesso came down with the loss to fall to 6-8-2 after allowing four goals on 28 shots.
The Stars wrap up the two-game series against the Rockford IceHogs on Saturday night with another 7:00 p.m. face-off scheduled at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park.
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