Looft, Poirier Lead Stars to 4-1 Victory Over Manitoba

(Credit: Texas Stars)

In the third of the first four meetings against the Manitoba Moose, the Texas Stars were looking at their last two wins as the catalyst to put October permanently in the rearview and to get their first home win of the season. In front of a loud crowd of 5,824 fans at the H-E-B Center in Cedar Park, the Stars would come away with the 4-1 victory against the Manitoba Moose.

"The fans deserve [this win]," said head coach Toby Petersen postgame. "The guys played well. They played hard for each other and obviously we played hard for the fans."

Things got started as quickly as Manitoba forward Mason Shaw got the Moose on the board within the first two minutes of the frame. The remainder of the first would see a lot of action between both teams and one penalty, but the Stars refused to go into the first intermission down by one. 

With 27 seconds left in the period, Stars forward Matthew Seminoff, with assists from Tristan Bertucci and Ayrton Martino, was able to get the puck past Moose goaltender Thomas Milic, and with that goal, things seemed to really start clicking for the Stars.

Looking to change the traditionally quiet second period, the Stars wasted no time putting the pressure on Milic. Within the first four minutes of the period, the Stars recorded seven shots on goal, and during that shot fest, Kyle Looft, with assists from Michael Karow and Curtis McKenzie, got the puck past Milic to give Texas the 2-1 lead. 

Texas would continue to turn up the heat on the Moose for the remainder of the period, which would see Looft, with assists from Jack Becker and Tristian Bertucci, record his second goal of the evening. 

With the lines clicking, it was evident that the team on the ice tonight was a different team from the last homestand. "We were just digging deep. I don't think it's one thing that clicks," said Looft. "It's a culmination of doing the right things every day. We're just digging deep, and we are digging ourselves out of this hole."

The final 20 saw Texas continue to put the squeeze on Manitoba, but the Moose were not ready to go quietly into the night. 

Texas would see three penalties in the third, and even with a 6-on-4 Manitoba advantage during the last penalty against Texas, Stars goalie Remi Poirier kept the Moose searching desperately for any opportunity to score.

Manitoba had no answers for Poirier.

With just over three minutes left in the game, the Moose would pull their goalie in the hope that the extra player would be able to get the puck Texas' netminder, but it was not to be. Poirier ended the evening, stopping 25 of 26 shots.

"When he is hot, he's hot. There's nothing stopping him," said Looft. "We're feeding off that. He's our backbone, and he is doing good."

The Stars host the Moose for the second game of the Military Appreciation weekend tomorrow. Puck drops at 7 PM CT.

Tonight’s lines
Hughes-Shlaine-Tuomaala
Stranges-Scott-Lind
Martino-Seminoff-McKenzie
Chisholm-Becker-Ertel

Taylor-Bergsland
Bertucci-Looft
Karow-White

Poirier

Injuries, scratches, and notes
Hyry (injury)
Hanas (warm-up)

Tonight’s attendance was 5,824.

AHL Gamesheet - Texas at Manitoba - November 7, 2025