Matt Mangene Named Lone Star Grille/100 Degree Hockey Player of the Week

Matt Mangene (Credit: Christina Shapiro/Texas Stars)

Each week, we name the Lone Star Grille/100 Degree Hockey Player of the Week. Lone Star Grille offers happy hour weekdays from 4-7 PM just minutes from the Cedar Park Center. The new Higher Ground Bar at the Grille is a smoke-free bar open 6 PM to 2 AM Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Redeem your game ticket for reverse happy hour from 10-12 PM with $2 off specialty cocktails, $4.00 house wine and $2.50 domestic longnecks.

Matt Mangene absolutely does not get the credit he deserves for the role he plays with the Texas Stars. I guess that's as much on me as anyone else.

Last week, Mangene scored a power play goal in Game 2 and jumped into a slot on the third D pairing. The game before he was at forward but still on the power play. The center has only played 41 games this season but has been a critical piece of the puzzle.

Coach Laxdal mentioned last week that sometimes he has had to call the defenseman at 3:30 PM on game day to tell him he was in the lineup. Mangene shows up and plays the same game he would play if he'd known since last week he was playing. There's no 'warmup' period or rust.

Mangene says that's the type of game that he wants to play. He came down to Texas because he believe it's a team that can win the Calder Cup, despite other offers. His inclusion in the lineup will help Texas take advantage of a truculent San Diego team that might give away too many PP chances in SoCal.