Stars Come Back to Stun Admirals in 5-2 Win
Apr 1, 2017
Gurianov's Shorthanded Sets New Franchise Record
MILWAUKEE -- The Texas Stars scored a pair of goals just over a minute apart to erase a 2-0 deficit, and Nick Ebert added the game-winner early in the third, to cap off a comeback win on the road over the Milwaukee Admirals in front of 5,969 fans in attendance on Saturday night at Panther Arena.
Justin Peters stopped 23 of 25 shots in net to earn the win. Denis Gurianov’s second-period goal to begin the comeback was the 14th shorthanded tally this season to set a new Texas record, and Brandon DeFazio also finished with a pair of goals for the Stars.
The Stars and Admirals close out their season series Sunday at 3 p.m. CST.
Entering the second period trailing 2-0, Texas (31-33-1-4) finally found an opportunity on the penalty kill with 6:11 remaining in the frame as Darren Dietz hit Gurianov at center ice for a shorthanded breakaway goal to beat Milwaukee’s (40-23-3-3) Marek Mazanec. Ethan Werek then tallied his first of two assists in the game 80 seconds later setting up DeFazio’s first goal on an odd-man rush to knot the score entering the break.
Texas took their first lead of the night 6:09 into the third as Ebert teed off a blast down the right-wing side for his ninth of the season. From there, Peters shut the door when needed and also caught some help midway through the final frame during a scrum in front of the net. A deflected puck banked off the left post with Peters down on the ice, nearly trickled across the line before being swept away, and was then ripped off the right post on a drive by Trevor Murphy from the top of the slot in Milwaukee’s best chance to knot the score.
Travis Morin tallied an empty-net goal off a defensive zone face off, and DeFazio added another from in front of the Texas net, in the final minute of play to seal the road win for the Stars.
Texas finished 0-for-4 on the power play in the game. Milwaukee went 1-for-4 as Pontus Aberg’s power-play strike early in the first opened up the game’s scoring.
Murphy one-timed a shot in the slot late in the first to give Milwaukee their 2-0 advantage before Texas made their comeback push.
Mazanec stopped 26 of 29 in the loss for the Admirals.
Weekday home games (Monday-Thursday) are H-E-B night with the Texas Stars where fans can donate a non-perishable item at the box office and save five dollars on their ticket purchase. Every Saturday is a Texas Lottery Lucky Row Night where the first Stars player to score wins free scratch-off tickets for a lucky row of seats at H-E-B Center. Fans can also enjoy Coke Zero Family Four-Packs every Saturday with four tickets, four hot dogs and four soft drinks starting at just $16 per person.
Three Stars:
1. Ebert (TEX)
2. Werek (TEX)
3. Richard (MIL) |
Goaltenders:
W - Peters
L - Mazanec
|
Photo Credit: Scott Paulus/Milwaukee Admirals