(Credit: Texas Stars/Andy Nietupski)
The man disadvantage did not matter for Texas, as Arttu Hyry found the back of the net for the shorthanded goal as the Stars took their first lead of the night.
Timing his shot just right at the right faceoff circle, Hyry tacked on his second goal to extend their lead, forcing the Griffins to pull goalie Jack Campbell for the extra man late.
Timing his shot just right at the right faceoff circle, Hyry tacked on his second goal to extend their lead, forcing the Griffins to pull goalie Jack Campbell for the extra man late.
Captain Curtis McKenzie capped off the Stars’ dominant third period with a deep empty-netter for the 5-2 victory over Grand Rapids Wednesday night at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park.
“We played to an identity tonight for 60 minutes,” head coach Neil Graham said. “When you stick to the script and you compete for each other, and you play the game the right way, often things have a way of working out.”
In his past four home games, Hyry has been a major problem for opposing team’s defenses; they’ve been unable to find a way to neutralize him. The Stars rookie has scored five goals and added one assist, kicking off his second hot streak of the year.
“Not only have they scored, they've been able to score timely goals, and that's probably the most important part,” Graham said about Hyry and Matěj Blümel.
One of the biggest pieces returned to the Stars, that being starting goalie and admitted team MVP, Magnus Hellberg returning for his first full game since early February.
Hellberg was pulled after he allowed five goals in the opening period on Saturday versus the Colorado Eagles for his first action since his injury.
After allowing two goals in the opening period Wednesday, Hellberg had one of his best performances of the season in the final forty minutes, going 27 for 29 and earning his 19th win of the season.
“The big moment for me was the second period. He made some really big saves, kept the game within reach [and] allowed our confidence to grow,” Graham said on Hellberg’s performance. “We started establishing our forecheck much better. But that doesn't happen without some of those big saves that he made.”
The connection of Blümel, Justin Hryckowian and McKenzie is solidifying to become a deadly combination for the Stars. For the second night in a row, the three-headed monster of the Blümel-Hryckowian-McKenzie line have tacked on game-tying goals.
Blümel and McKenzie each collected a goal and assist on the night, with Hryckowian picking up a pair of assists on Blümel’s goal in the first and McKenzie’s game sealing empty netter.
Stars rookie, Kyle Looft picked up his first professional goal after connecting with Justin Ertel on a two-on-one rush to tie the game up for the second time in the second period.
“I had a talk with coach, both [Maxime Fortunus] and Neil a couple weeks ago,” Looft said about his recent performances. “We had a good talk. I wasn't playing my best hockey, and they instilled a little confidence in me.”
Texas will stay at home this weekend when they face divisional foe Chicago Wolves Saturday night at 7 PM at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park.
“We played to an identity tonight for 60 minutes,” head coach Neil Graham said. “When you stick to the script and you compete for each other, and you play the game the right way, often things have a way of working out.”
In his past four home games, Hyry has been a major problem for opposing team’s defenses; they’ve been unable to find a way to neutralize him. The Stars rookie has scored five goals and added one assist, kicking off his second hot streak of the year.
“Not only have they scored, they've been able to score timely goals, and that's probably the most important part,” Graham said about Hyry and Matěj Blümel.
One of the biggest pieces returned to the Stars, that being starting goalie and admitted team MVP, Magnus Hellberg returning for his first full game since early February.
Hellberg was pulled after he allowed five goals in the opening period on Saturday versus the Colorado Eagles for his first action since his injury.
After allowing two goals in the opening period Wednesday, Hellberg had one of his best performances of the season in the final forty minutes, going 27 for 29 and earning his 19th win of the season.
“The big moment for me was the second period. He made some really big saves, kept the game within reach [and] allowed our confidence to grow,” Graham said on Hellberg’s performance. “We started establishing our forecheck much better. But that doesn't happen without some of those big saves that he made.”
The connection of Blümel, Justin Hryckowian and McKenzie is solidifying to become a deadly combination for the Stars. For the second night in a row, the three-headed monster of the Blümel-Hryckowian-McKenzie line have tacked on game-tying goals.
Blümel and McKenzie each collected a goal and assist on the night, with Hryckowian picking up a pair of assists on Blümel’s goal in the first and McKenzie’s game sealing empty netter.
Stars rookie, Kyle Looft picked up his first professional goal after connecting with Justin Ertel on a two-on-one rush to tie the game up for the second time in the second period.
“I had a talk with coach, both [Maxime Fortunus] and Neil a couple weeks ago,” Looft said about his recent performances. “We had a good talk. I wasn't playing my best hockey, and they instilled a little confidence in me.”
Texas will stay at home this weekend when they face divisional foe Chicago Wolves Saturday night at 7 PM at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park.
Tonight's Lines
Blümel-Hryckowian-McKenzie
Stranges-Hughes-Romano
Lind-Hyry-McDonald
Ertel-Becker-Seminoff
Capobianco-Krys
Looft-Petrovic
Karow-White
Stranges-Hughes-Romano
Lind-Hyry-McDonald
Ertel-Becker-Seminoff
Capobianco-Krys
Looft-Petrovic
Karow-White
Hellberg
Injuries, scratches and notes
Pettersen, Punnett, Kyrou, Arcuri, Wheatcroft
Tonight's Attendance was 4,227
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