The Texas Stars walked into Rockford, Illinois winners of their last two games and 6 of their last 10 and a roster that is getting healthier. With that wind in their sails they skated with swagger all night to 5-0 victory over the Rockford IceHogs Friday at BMO Center.
The Stars got goals from Curtis McKenzie, Cameron Hughes, Kyle McDonald, Jack Becker, and Harrison Scott while Arno Tiefensee made 24 saves for his first career AHL shutout.
It was a complete performance from the Stars who are finding traction at a key part of the season. From the drop of the puck it was a wire-to-wire win where the IceHogs never mounted any real offensive threat. They attempted to exert some control in the second period when they made an effort to start some scrums but it was never enough to kill the Stars’ momentum.
McKenzie got the ball rolling at 7:00 of the first period when he snapped one past Rockford goaltender Drew Commesso. McKenzie was able to use Jack Becker’s net crash to open up Commesso and get the puck past him for his 200th career AHL goal.
Hughes added to the lead five minutes later when his centering pass off a rush took a deflection off a Rockford stick to make it 2-0. The goal extended the Texas All Star’s point streak to five games and raised his total to 30 points in his last 25 games, which is the most in the AHL since Thanksgiving.
McDonald capped off the first period deluge when he made it 3-0 at 15:47 of the first period. The goal was McDonald’s first of the season after missing the beginning of the campaign with an injury.
The Stars’ special teams came out in the third to close things one when Becker capitalized on the power play. Scott followed it up with a short-handed marker on a breakaway to make it 5-0 shortly after, putting the game completely out of reach for Rockford.
Texas will look to carry that momentum back home to the H-E-B Center next weekend when they face the Henderson Silver Nights for a quick two-game set. Henderson is near the bottom of the Pacific Division and sets up a big opportunity for Texas to get a tighter hold on a playoff spot as they head to a crucial stretch of the second half schedule.
Tonight's lines
Hughes-Shlaine-Seminoff
Stranges-Scott-Lind
Hanas-Becker-McDonald
Ertel-Chisholm-McKenzie
Taylor-Krys
Bertucci-Kolyachonok
Karow-Bergsland
Tiefensee
Injuries, scratches and notes
Punnett, Martino, Hreschuk (scratches)
White (lower body), Hyry (upper body), Wheatcroft (upper body), Tuomaala (lower body), Looft (upper body)
Tonight's attendance was 4,693
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