Griffins Grab Win over Stars in Cedar Park

Feb 3, 2023

CEDAR PARK, Texas – The Texas Stars, American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, fell to the Grand Rapids Griffins 6-2 Friday night at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park.

 

Ryan Shea opened the scoring in Texas’ favor 6:19 into the first period with a slapshot that beat Alex Nedeljkovic from the top of the left circle. Cross Hanas then tied the game 1-1 shorthanded for the Griffins at 10:51 by firing a shot into a vacant net after Austin Czarnik forced Anton Khudobin to turn over the puck behind the Stars’ goal. Grand Rapids claimed its first lead of the night at 14:05 when Elmer Soderblom found a rebound in the slot and fired it through Khudobin’s legs on a power play. Despite trailing 2-1 after one, Texas dominated the shots battle 13-6 in the opening frame.

 

In the second period, Stars captain Curtis McKenzie tied the game 2-2 when his wrist shot from the left circle sailed over Nedejkovic’s blocker and into the top-left corner at 4:36. The Griffins reclaimed the lead 3-2 with 1:15 remaining in the middle period on a Taro Hirose tap-in goal near the slot that was assisted by Czarnik.

 

The third period saw Grand Rapids extend its lead to 4-2 when a shot by Matt Luff deflected off Joel L’Esperance and across the slot to Hirose who smacked the loose puck past Khudobin 34 seconds into the period. Grand Rapids ultimately prevailed by a final score of 6-2 following a pair of empty-net goals by Albert Johansson and Chase Pearson.

 

In goal for the Griffins, Nedeljkovic turned aside 35 of the 37 shots he faced to earn the win. Khudobin came down with the loss after making 23 saves on 27 shots.

 

Texas hosts its sixth and final game of the current homestand Saturday night at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. Face-off for the two-game series finale between the Stars and Griffins is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

 

Photo Credit: Andy Nietupski / Texas Stars

 

Game Info	Shots	Goaltenders	3 Stars (Ubeo Business Services)
Boxscore	TEX: 37	W: Nedeljkovic (GR)	1: Hirose (GR)
Photo	GR: 29	L: Khudobin (TEX)	2: L'Esperance (GR)
Video			3: Shea (TEX)