Texas Stars Open Season 16 with 4-3 Victory Over Henderson, 37 Saves from Magnus Hellberg

(Credit: Andy Nietupski/Texas Stars)

Opening their sixteenth year with style, the Texas Stars defeated the Henderson Silver Knights by a 4-3 final margin inside the friendly environs of the H-E-B Center. It was a penalty-filled affair both ways with 40 combined penalty minutes, all minors, granting 16 power plays. Despite the advantage count, each club only collected one power play goal.

"When you're not on a penalty kill, you're sitting for a bit, and if you're not on a power play, you're sitting for a bit," said head coach Neil Graham of how the penalties affected the flow of the game. "I give a lot of credit to the guys in the room for finding ways to understand their roles for today and do a real good job of staying ready."

Texas never trailed in the game, spending most of the contest at a two-goal lead over the Silver Knights. The final frame push from Henderson was batted down by excellent play from Hellberg, who had to come up big throughout the game. The newly-signed goalie finished with 37 saves on 40 shots against in his Texas debut.

"He made some real big saves. We had some good blocks on our penalty kill, and you've got to tip your hat to the penalty kill and our goaltender for allowing us to keep our head above water."

The towering Swede himself felt confident in his play and in the physicality that his defensive corps showed against a big Henderson crew. "We got some some big units out there as well," said Hellberg. "It feels good as a goalie when you feel like the other team is trying to maybe get in your face and maybe slash me a little bit, and I feel like my guys stepped up right away, telling them that they shouldn't do that."

One important element moving forward was the way Texas responded when Henderson scored. The Stars answered with a big push or a goal each time. "I think what you wouldn't always see in the press box or the stands was how our bench responded," noted Graham. "I saw a lot of guys problem solving together, good positive communication on the bench, good accountability."

It was the first competitive game action of the season for Texas. The club has not played preseason games since the departure of the San Antonio Rampage, who are the ancestors of tonight's opponent. Regardless, Texas wasted no time getting down to business in the first period. Things were a bit uneven to start for both squads: some missed passes, some early penalties.

The Stars were on the right side of the penalty margin in the opening period but could not cash in. It didn't matter ultimately as the blue line came to play in the final few minutes of the frame.

Luke Krys bombed one from the point that died just as it crossed the goal line along the ice. Only twenty seconds later, Alex Petrovic was unbothered at the right point and received an on-target pass from Justin Hryckowian. He clapped one top-corner for the 2-0 score.

To say the Stars weathered the second period would be an accurate read. They were outshot 20-6 with the first Henderson shot of the period beating Hellberg. Jonas Røndbjerg completed a pass from below the goal line on the period's first shift. The Knights had five power plays in the period as well.

"It's nice to get into action right away," said Hellberg. "Set the tone right away from the start. As a goalie, I feel good back there when I get a lot of shots, and I feel like I contribute a lot."

Chase Wheatcroft regained the two-goal lead for Texas off a sloppy clear from the Knights. From there, it was a march to the box on both sides seeing 5-on-3s, 4-on-4s, 4-on-3s alike. Top Dallas prospect Lian Bichsel was involved in plays all over the ice. From his first shift where he hammered someone into the boards behind the net to his scrum in the second period, he is here to make a name for himself.

Asked about Bichsel making himself felt with his physical play, Graham responded, "yeah, no, did he ever. I think the first big rumble of the night was in the corner [with Lian]. We knew it was gonna be physical. They have a big, heavy team."

Mitch McLain got the scoring going in the third period for Henderson, beating Hellberg on a squeaker of a goal that he appeared to be squared up to. With the lead cut to 3-2, Texas got another power play right away. This time, they made it count. Matěj Blümel cleaned up the garbage off the initial effort from Hryckowian. The first-year center was Texas' player of the game in the room for his assists and his key blocked shots.

True to form for the evening, yet another penalty wasn't far behind. In quick succession, Texas took two minors and found themselves down 5-on-3. Røndbjerg again found twine for HSK, finishing off a deft cross-crease passing play from Tanner Laczynski. The Silver Knights pulled Akira Schmid with just over two minutes left to attempt the 6-on-5 game-tying goal. Texas pinged the post on a clearing attempt at the empty net, but the score stood at the 4-3 final.

Graham noted that the team has a lot of tape to review from tonight, especially from the penalty kill, but hopes to have less tomorrow. "We have a lot of talent; we have a lot of speed. Sometimes, some simple play will actually let that talent and speed shine through. So we'll have a peek at some things. We will watch all the special teams. We'll make sure we're a little more connected [tomorrow].

Texas and Henderson face off again Saturday night at 7 PM. 

Tonight's lines:
Wheatcroft-Hughes-Lind
Blümel-Hyry-McKenzie
Pettersen-Hryckowian-McDonald
Becker-Seminoff-Romano

Capobianco-Petrovic
Bichsel-Krys
Karow-Kyrou

Hellberg

Injuries, scratches and notes
Ertel, Looft, White, Punnett, Stranges, Arcuri, Kraws (scratch)

Tonight's attendance was 5,608.

AHL Gamesheet - Texas v. Henderson - October 11 2024

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