Lind’s Hat Trick Not Enough as Stars Drop Game Two

May 18, 2025

CEDAR PARK, Texas – The Texas Stars, American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, came up short in Game Two of the Central Division Finals, falling 6-4 to the Milwaukee Admirals on Sunday night at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. Despite a hat trick from Kole Lind and a brief second-period lead, a four-goal third period by the Admirals proved too much to overcome as the best-of-five series shifts to Milwaukee tied 1-1.

The Milwaukee Admirals took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission after Jesse Ylönen opened the scoring with 1:30 left in the opening frame, beating Magnus Hellberg over the glove with a slap shot from the left-wing faceoff dot.

Lind got the Stars on the board 5:33 into the second period, jamming home a power-play rebound on the back door following a shot from Justin Hryckowian. Texas took its first lead of the night at the 7:55 mark when Hryckowian, despite having his stick tied up in front, freed it just in time to lift the puck over Matt Murray’s glove. Milwaukee responded with 5:22 left in the period, as Jake Lucchini fed Joakim Kemell from behind the net for a one-timer that beat Hellberg to even the score.

Milwaukee pulled away in the third period, scoring four times to take control. Chase De Leo opened the final frame with a goal at 3:33, followed by tallies from Ylönen, Lucchini, and Ozzy Wiesblatt. Lind provided a late spark for Texas, completing his hat trick with two goals just 1:16 apart, but the comeback effort fell short as the Stars dropped a 6–4 decision.

Hellberg took the loss for Texas, making 23 saves on 29 shots. Murray earned the win for Milwaukee, stopping 16 of 20 shots.

The series now shifts to Milwaukee, where the Stars and Admirals will face off in Game Three of the Central Division Finals on Wednesday at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. Catch all the action on AHLTV on FloHockey. 

The Texas Stars are the primary development affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars. For more information, call (512) GO-STARS (467-8277) or visit TexasStars.com.   

Photo Credit: Logan Foust

Game Info	Shots	Goaltenders	3 Stars (Ubeo Business Services)
Boxscore	TEX: 20	W: Murray (MIL)	1: Ylönen (MIL)
Photo	MIL: 29	L: Hellberg (TEX)	2: Lind (TEX)
			3: Lucchini (MIL)