The Texas Stars battled back all night but were ultimately overcome by their division foe, the Grand Rapid Griffins, as they were defeated 6-4 in an offensive slugfest. The Stars tied the game up twice and nearly a third time late in the third period with the goalie pulled. The loss moves the Stars down to third in the Central Division, just two points behind Grand Rapids.
Matěj Blümel scored two goals and an assist in the contest. He was the most impactful offensive player for the Texas Stars. Late in the third period, Blümel even had three chances to tie the game and earn the hat trick, but like the team, he came up just short.
“I just try to put out the best attitude and best effort that I can every night, and sometimes it just goes my way,” Blümel said on his offensive effort. “I just wish one more would get in the net.’
Texas responded well throughout the game. Their rough first period, a late second-period goal against, and even giving up the lead late in the third were all overcome with impactful shifts in key moments.
“They always battle. There never will be quit in our room,” head coach Neil Graham said when asked about how his team responded to adversity throughout the game. “We know we can stay in the fight in any game. We have the ability to score goals and come back in games. It's just unfortunate that, as we tied the game, we weren't able to then take that next step [and] make the correct decision or make the correct play, to then get a lead and control the game from there.”
The Stars started the contest on the right foot, thanks to a couple of Griffins penalties, which gave them three minutes of 5-on-4 and one minute of 5-on-3 power play time. They recorded five shots on goal and built a sound base of offensive momentum.
However, that offensive momentum was immediately shattered. Griffins forward Amadeus Lombardi made a tremendous individual play by stripping the puck from Alex Petrovic and depositing the puck in the back of the Stars’ net with a wrap-around shot.
The Griffins extended their lead to two goals just seconds after a Kole Lind penalty expired. The shot from the point hit the post, then the back of Remi Poirier, and eventually trickled across the Stars’ goal line, giving the Griffins a 2-0 lead. Grand Rapids controlled the first period. They outshot the Stars 9-6 in the frame and did not allow a single Texas shot on goal in the final 10 minutes.
The Stars responded well in the second period by killing off three and a half minutes of carry-over penalty time due to a double minor high-sticking penalty at the end of the first period. During that kill, Texas had the majority of the chances, including two odd-man rushes.
Texas continued to dominate the game even beyond the penalty kill, winning more puck battles and forcing turnovers from the Griffins with a physical forecheck. That pressure eventually led to Lind winning a race to a puck behind Griffins’ goal and dishing a no-look backhand pass to Hyry directly in the slot. Not wasting a single movement, Hyry one-timed the puck into the net for the Stars' first goal of the night. A little over two minutes later, Blümel wristed a powerful shot, right off the faceoff, past the Griffins goaltender to tie the game at two a piece.
Despite the Stars' control over the period, the Griffins scored on a breakaway in the final two minutes of the frame. Petrovic’s point shot was easily blocked, leading to the go-ahead breakaway goal. This was one of several poor plays Petrovic made during the game.
“He's one of the more accountable players I've coached in my career,” Graham said. “And he's not happy with some of his decisions today, and I don't have to say a word to him. He knows I'm going to re-watch it, and I know he's going to re-watch it, and he'll be better for it moving forward.”
Despite the miscue, Texas responded exceptionally well to the late second-period goal. Curtis McKenzie intercepted a pass in the Griffins zone and quickly dished it to Blümel in front of the net, who deposited his second of the night and tied up the game at three a piece.
However, Six and a half minutes into the final frame, the Griffins would score their third and final go-ahead goal on the power play. Poirier was thoroughly screened as a clapper from the blue line sailed into the top right corner of his cage. A few minutes later, the Griffins extended their lead to 5-3.
Once again, the Stars made a valiant push late in the third, including a goal by Kyle McDonald and several chances for Blümel to earn the hat trick, but Texas could not complete the comeback.
Texas will look to split the pivotal two-game series Wednesday night at 7 pm at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park.
Tonight’s Lines
Blümel-Hryckowian-McKenzie
Stranges-Hughes-Romano
Wheatcroft-Hyry-Lind
Pettersen-Becker-McDonald
Capobianco-Krys
Looft-Petrovic
Karow-Kyrou
Poirier
Injuries, scratches and notes
White, Ertel, Seminoff, Arcuri, Punnett (scratch)
Tonight’s attendance was 3,986.
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