Stars Fall Short in Return to Cedar Park Despite Dominant Effort

(Credit: Andy Nietupski / Texas Stars)

The Texas Stars returned to the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park on Friday night, ending a 20-day hiatus from their home ice. Entering the contest with a 24-22-3-1 record, Texas looked to ignite some late-February momentum as the push for the post-season begins. 

Despite a relentless offensive drive and a historic lack of whistles, the San Diego Gulls managed to spoil the homecoming, skating away with a narrow 2-1 victory in front of a capacity crowd of 6,778.

History and fresh faces defined the pre-game chatter. This matchup marked only the 25th meeting between these two clubs. Much of the focus tonight remained on Jérémie Poirier, making his highly anticipated home debut in a Stars sweater.

Head Coach Toby Petersen warned that the Gulls were largely the same high-motor team as last season. "They can get up and go," Petersen noted, questioning if Texas could stick to their system to keep the Gulls at bay. 

For forty minutes, they did exactly that.

The opening period was a track meet. Both sides traded chances in a fast-moving frame that saw San Diego hold a slim 11-9 shots on goal advantage. Remi Poirier stood tall early, turning aside several Gulls opportunities to keep the game scoreless.

The Stars' top line of Hughes, Shlaine, and Seminoff looked dangerous late in the period, suffocating the Gulls' zone. It appeared Texas had broken the ice with just 18 seconds remaining when Kole Lind tucked the puck past Gulls netminder Calle Clang. 

However, the celebration was cut short. After an official review, the goal was waived off as it was determined the puck was kicked into the net.

Texas emerged for the second stanza with renewed urgency, peppering Clang with five shots in the first five minutes. The pressure paid off at the 4:25 mark when Jérémie Poirier found the back of the net during a chaotic scrum in the crease, giving the home crowd exactly what they came for.

The lead was short-lived, however. Less than two minutes later, Gulls forward Nathan Gaucher evened the score at 1-1. Despite the equalizer, Texas dictated the pace, outshooting San Diego 8-4 midway through the frame and adhering to Petersen’s "keep them at bay" mantra through superior puck movement.

The final period was a statistical anomaly. Texas dominated possession, outshooting the Gulls 8-1 in the first seven minutes alone. Seminoff, Stranges, and Bertucci led a relentless assault, but Clang remained a wall. Against the flow of play, Justin Bailey managed to chip one past Remi Poirier to give San Diego a 2-1 lead - a lead they would not relinquish.

In a bizarre statistical twist, the game ended with zero power play opportunities for Texas. This marks the first time in franchise history the Stars have gone two consecutive games without a single man-advantage.

After the game, Coach Petersen praised Jérémie Poirier’s impact. "His mobility was in full display tonight. He got the puck in the blue line, even on the goal, he made some nice plays just to drive it deep."

Regarding the lack of power plays, Petersen remained pragmatic but frustrated. "It’s frustrating because we needed one, but that said, you earn your power play opportunities. The more time you spend in the offensive zone, the more opportunities the team has to interfere or trip. We’ve just got to keep working on the things we can control."

Texas, now 24-23-3-1, will have a chance to even the series Saturday night when the Gulls return to the H-E-B Center for game two, with puck drop scheduled for 7:00 PM CT.

Injuries, scratches, and notes

Hyry, Bergsland, Looft (scratch)

Hanas, Tuomaala, Wheatcroft (injury)

Tonight's attendance was 6,778, a sellout.

AHL Gamesheet - Texas vs San Diego - February 27 2026