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| (Credit: Texas Stars) |
The Texas Stars didn’t arrive at this point in the season with the luxury of shrugging off results, and Friday night was a reminder of why. In a game that offered chances and consequences, Texas couldn’t find the extra jolt it needed, falling 4-1 to the Bakersfield Condors at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park.
The game swung on a handful of sequences Texas will want back, most notably a struggling power play that went 0-6 on the night. While the Stars held the Condors to just five shots on goal in the second period, they were unable to capitalize on three separate man-advantage opportunities in that frame alone.
Head coach Toby Petersen didn’t sugarcoat the special teams breakdown. “It was tough, for sure,” he said. “We had troubles with our entries, certainly an area that we’ll be looking at. Once we have the puck in the zone, we’ve got the guys who can make things happen. But we really had trouble getting into the zone and getting possession. We had a couple of turnovers that cost us.”
When asked whether the unit was trying to do too much on the rush instead of simplifying, Petersen acknowledged the tension between style and simplicity. “You can always just dump and chase. That’s always an option,” he said. “But the way our team has entered the zone throughout the season, it’s one of the top in the league, but tonight wasn’t the case. It’s an area we’re going to go back and look at. There’s always something to be said for simplifying.”
The Stars' rhythm may have been impacted before the puck even dropped. Artem Shlaine was a late scratch just before the start of the game, forcing a shift of the second, third, and fourth-line centers. This last-minute shuffling left the lines working to find chemistry throughout the first frame and beyond.
With two centers already up in Dallas and Shlaine unable to go, Texas was forced to lean on its depth. Petersen gave credit to the players who stepped into bigger roles. “It’s an opportunity for guys like Sean Chisholm, Jack Becker, and Cross Hanas,” he said. “They had to work through some of the tough stuff in the game, but they did a great job.”
Last weekend in Chicago, Texas showed how quickly it can change a game’s temperature: four unanswered after allowing the opener one night, then a 7–6 shootout win the next where the Stars survived a defensive-coach nightmare by making the last saves and burying the right looks.
Tonight, the margins didn’t land in Texas’ favor and in March, that’s often the whole story.
Whether the Stars were chasing an early deficit or watching a tie slip away, the problem wasn’t effort as much as timing.
Bakersfield didn’t need a flood - they only needed a few openings, and they capitalized on them.
The lines struggled to find a rhythm throughout the evening, as passing was often forced and missed the intended receivers.
The night actually began with a spark for the home crowd. Curtis McKenzie got Texas on the board first at 5:11 in the opening period. However, the lead was short-lived as the Condors’ Sam Poulin scored just after a Harrison Scott penalty to tie the game at 1-1.
The momentum shifted permanently in the second frame when Condors forward Seth Griffith scored just after a set of matching penalties expired, giving Bakersfield a lead they would not relinquish.
In the final minutes, Texas pulled goaltender Remi Poirier for the extra attacker twice in an attempt to claw back, mirroring their late-game heroics from March 8 in Chicago.
But not every has a sequel.
Instead of a comeback, the Stars suffered from a turnover in front of the empty net. Bakersfield found the back of the net twice to seal the 4-1 victory.
There’s no time to sit with it. The season is down to the portion where every game adds pressure to the next one, and the Stars will need the fastest possible correction.
The kind that starts with one honest video session, one sharp practice, and a choice to make the next night look different.
The Stars return to the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park to take on the Bakersfield Condors for game two on Saturday at 7:00 PM.
Tonight’s lines
Hughes-McDonald-Seminoff
Martino-Scott- Lind
Stranges-Becker-McKenzie
Hanas-Chisholm-Ertel
Taylor-Krys
J. Poirier-Karow
Bertucci-Kolyachonok
R. Poirier
Injuries, scratches and notes
Hyry (recalled)
Shlaine (scratch)
Tuomaala, Wheatcroft (injury)
Tonight’s attendance was 6,415
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