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| (Credit: Chicago Wolves) |
Needing either an Iowa Wild loss or at least a point to clinch a playoff spot, the Texas Stars were intent on putting their fate into their own hands. Scoring three goals within the first ten minutes, the visiting team jumped out an early lead and never looked back defeating Chicago 5-2.
The victory secured the Stars (37-20-3-0) their fourth straight playoff appearance and matched a club record for the earliest clinching of a playoff spot along with the 2014 team that went on to win the Calder Cup. Remi Poirier had another impressive outing, making 29 saves and winning his sixth straight start.
The Stars goal scoring started just five minutes in when Cameron Hughes skated around from the right blue line all the way to the left dot, where he unleashed a perfectly placed wrist shot that beat Chicago goalie Ruslan Khazheyev to the glove side just inside the post.
Not to be outdone, teammate Matěj Blümel took a pass from Justin Hryckowian and scored a minute and a half later on a wicked one-timer between the dots. It was Blümel's 34th goal on the year and tied him for the league lead. As if on cue, Kole Lind found the back of the net for his 16th goal less than two minutes later. His one-timer was from the left circle on a great pass from Kyle Capobianco. It seems the Stars were playing like "clockwork," scoring every 90 seconds.
Chicago (30-27-3-0), looking to take back the initiative, scored two goals in the last five minutes of the frame, both by Bradly Nadeau. Poirier made an excellent initial save, but the rebound gave Nadeau a second chance and he didn't miss. His second goal came less than two minutes later on a wrist shot from between the circles. The period would end with the Stars leading 3-2.
The goal scoring continued to start the second period when Blümel recorded his second of the game. Assisted by Alex Petrovic and Capobianco, Blümel scored from the top of the left circle, It was his 35th goal on the year, now putting him solely at the top of the AHL scoring list. Chicago now trailing by two goals, pulled goalie Khazheyev and inserted Dustin Tokarski.
Midway through the second period, the home team received a four minute power play when Justin Ertel was called for a high sticking double minor. In a potentially pivotal moment in the game, the Stars special teams had to step up and did just that killing off the penalty for the 11th straight time on the road trip. The second period ended with the Wolves outshooting the Stars 12-3, but Texas maintaining their 4-2 lead.
Just 40 seconds into the third, a perfectly positioned Curtis McKenzie took advantage of a rebounded Blümel shot just to the right of Tokarski and backhanded it into the net, putting Texas up 5-2. The rest of the period saw the Stars settle into a defensive mindset and a emphasis on puck possession, limiting the Wolves scoring chances and ending the game with no additional goals for either team. The damage was already done. With big games from Blümel (2G, 1A), Capobianco (3A) and Hryckowian (3A), it was enough for the Stars to secure their spot in the playoffs.
Next up, Texas travels to Grand Rapids to take on the Griffins on Wednesday, March 26th at 6 PM.Hughes-Hyry-Lind
Pettersen-Becker-Wheatcroft
Seminoff-Romano-Ertel
Looft-Petrovic
Capobianco-Bergsland
Karow-White
Poirier
Injuries, scratches and notes
Krys, Stranges (injury)
McDonald (lower body injury)
Today's attendance was 8,782.
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