(Credit: Texas Stars)
The Stars, on the heels of the holiday break, maintained their momentum from last night to crack open the game with three goals in the first period against Milwaukee Admirals netminder Matt Murray, a goaltender who seemingly had this team’s number one season ago.
The establishment of the early lead, paired with added insurance with a Cameron Hughes goal in the second, gave Texas enough cushion to walk away with its first sweep of the season. The Stars topped the Admirals 5-2, Saturday night at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park.
“It wasn't always perfect, and you knew the other team was gonna push. They had a really good push tonight, once they got down,” head coach Toby Petersen said, “We stuck with it, and I’m proud of the way that we stuck with it.”
As the worst power play unit in the league this season, Texas struggled to get anything resembling a competitive unit through the first 25 games of the year. But against Milwaukee, the Stars' power play looked like a different animal for two games.
An early penalty by the Admirals in the first opened the door for Arttu Hyry to score a power play goal, the Stars' third special teams goal of the weekend. The Hyry goal and the rest of Texas’ top six set the tone for the night.
“It wasn't always perfect, and you knew the other team was gonna push. They had a really good push tonight, once they got down,” head coach Toby Petersen said, “We stuck with it, and I’m proud of the way that we stuck with it.”
As the worst power play unit in the league this season, Texas struggled to get anything resembling a competitive unit through the first 25 games of the year. But against Milwaukee, the Stars' power play looked like a different animal for two games.
An early penalty by the Admirals in the first opened the door for Arttu Hyry to score a power play goal, the Stars' third special teams goal of the weekend. The Hyry goal and the rest of Texas’ top six set the tone for the night.
“I think part of it's just the confidence they gain from the recent success,” Petersen said. “They're feeling good about it. They had a good week in practice. But more than anything, it's just the mentality that's changed.”
The first line combination of Hughes, Hyry and Matthew Seminoff had another impressive night — the line accounted for two of the four Stars' goals. The Stars play better when those three are on the ice; it’s the reason why they receive the most minutes. The group ended the night with positive plus/minutes with Hyry and Hughes with plus three.
Hughes and Hyry have quickly become Texas' dynamic one-two punch and it was on display in the second period. Hughes, Texas' leading point scorer, was able to line up to cash in on Hyry’s rebound for the fourth unanswered goal.
“They're generating a lot of offense… a lot of time in the offensive zone. And what's great is they're doing it just through hard work,” Petersen said. “They're finding good rhythm with each other.”
Gavin White was able to find an open shooting lane, firing a slapshot from the blue line to make it 2-0 in favor of Texas. Cross Hanas, fresh off signing his standard player contract with the Stars, scored the third goal of the first period a little over a minute later.
“Recently I've been trying to trust my shot a little bit more, as well as my skating, and good things are happening,” White said about his shot. “I'm just going to keep doing it.”
The Stars surrendered two goals in the final period, but the comeback was too little, too late. Jack Becker iced the game with an empty net goal from the opposite side of the ice while he was falling down. Despite having minimal power behind the shot, the Admirals' skater was unable to catch up to it, reaching the empty net just in time.
The first line combination of Hughes, Hyry and Matthew Seminoff had another impressive night — the line accounted for two of the four Stars' goals. The Stars play better when those three are on the ice; it’s the reason why they receive the most minutes. The group ended the night with positive plus/minutes with Hyry and Hughes with plus three.
Hughes and Hyry have quickly become Texas' dynamic one-two punch and it was on display in the second period. Hughes, Texas' leading point scorer, was able to line up to cash in on Hyry’s rebound for the fourth unanswered goal.
“They're generating a lot of offense… a lot of time in the offensive zone. And what's great is they're doing it just through hard work,” Petersen said. “They're finding good rhythm with each other.”
Gavin White was able to find an open shooting lane, firing a slapshot from the blue line to make it 2-0 in favor of Texas. Cross Hanas, fresh off signing his standard player contract with the Stars, scored the third goal of the first period a little over a minute later.
“Recently I've been trying to trust my shot a little bit more, as well as my skating, and good things are happening,” White said about his shot. “I'm just going to keep doing it.”
The Stars surrendered two goals in the final period, but the comeback was too little, too late. Jack Becker iced the game with an empty net goal from the opposite side of the ice while he was falling down. Despite having minimal power behind the shot, the Admirals' skater was unable to catch up to it, reaching the empty net just in time.
“The empty net goal was a barnburner. It gave everyone in the building a lot of stress,” Petersen said. “It was great to see it go in.”
The Stars will return from the holiday break to face Milwaukee 7:00 p.m Saturday at UW-Milwaukee Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The Stars will return from the holiday break to face Milwaukee 7:00 p.m Saturday at UW-Milwaukee Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Tonight's Lines
Hughes-Hyry-Seminoff
Hanas-Shlaine-Lind
Stranges-Scott-McKenzie
Wheatcroft-Becker-Ertel
Taylor-Bergsland
Bertucci-Karow
Looft-White
Poirier
Injuries, scratches, and notes
Martino, Chisholm, Punnett, McDonald (scratch)
Tuomaala (injury)
Tonight's attendance was 6,539
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