Stars Nearly Pull Off the Comeback in 6-5 Overtime Loss
Oct 25, 2014
CEDAR PARK, Tex. – After Travis Morin led the charge with a hat trick and Greg Rallo knotted the game with 1.9 seconds left in regulation, a third-period comeback bid by the Texas Stars was cut short by Matthew Ford’s overtime-winner for the Oklahoma City Barons in a 6-5 final at Cedar Park Center on Saturday in front of 6,080 fans.
Morin’s hat trick was the first of the season for the Stars (3-1-1-0) and part of a four-point night as he tallied his 200th career assist for the franchise on Rallo’s tying marker from the bottom of the left circle with the extra attacker on the ice. Ford beat Jussi Rynnas from the slot with 2:14 left in overtime to pick up the win for the Barons (2-2-1-0).
Morin opened up the scoring at 8:10 of the first before the Barons responded with three of their own from Dillon Simpson (8:46), Andrew Miller (14:05), and Bogdan Yakimov (17:07). Oklahoma City added another from Kale Kessy early in the second to open up a 4-1 lead.
Derek Meech brought the Stars back to within two, but Anton Lander responded for the road team 12 seconds later to make it 5-2 and set up the third period charge from Texas.
Morin deflected a Derek Hulak shot from the right circle less than a minute in, and slipped a wrist shot from the slot at 4:46 to close the gap to 5-4. With the empty net for the final push, Morin fed Rallo from the right circle on a cross-ice pass and the veteran forward tied the game in the closing seconds as he was appearing in his 150th career game for the franchise.
The Stars heavily outshot the Barons for the second straight game, 51-33, including a 21-5 clip in the third period alone. Rynnas finished with 27 saves for Texas and Frans Tuohimma picked up his second win in as many games this year, stopping 46.
The Barons finished 1-for-2 on the power play. The Stars were scoreless in four chances.
With the four-point outburst, Morin now leads the Stars with nine points (five goals, four assists) in five games this season. Scott Glennie for the Stars tallied a pair of assists for 50 in his AHL and professional career.
The Stars and Barons close out their stretch of four meetings in five games on Wednesday at Cedar Park Center with a 7:30 p.m. puck drop.
Three Stars:
1. Travis Morin (TEX)
2. Matthew Ford (OKC)
3. Derek Hulak (TEX)
The Texas Stars entered the 2014-15 season as the AHL’s defending Calder Cup Champions. Single-game tickets and season ticket packages for the 2014-15 campaign are on sale now. For more information, call (512) GO-STARS (467-8277) or visit TexasStarsHockey.com.
Photo Credit: Christina Shapiro/Texas Stars
TEXAS STARS: Cedar Park Center -- 2100 Avenue of the Stars -- Cedar Park, TX 78613 -- 512-600-5000
MEDIA CONTACT: Brien Rea, Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations -- 512-600-5016 -- brea@texasstarshockey.com