Stars Fight to the Finish in Grand Rapids

Jan 7, 2026

CEDAR PARK, Texas - The Texas Stars, American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, couldn’t complete a third period comeback, falling 3-2 to the Grand Rapids Griffins on Wednesday night at Van Andel Arena.

Arno Tiefensee highlighted the first period for Texas. The rookie netminder was credited with 13 saves in the first frame, however the biggest save of the period might have come from Stars defenseman Connor Punnett. A Grand Rapids shot from the point got behind Tiefensee and Punnett got a piece of the second try by Carson Bantle, directing it wide of the Stars net.  

Texas opened the scoring eight minutes into the middle frame. Punnett let a shot go from the left point which Cross Hanas tipped past Cossa to give the Stars a 1-0 lead. Texas has scored first in eight of their last nine contests. 

Grand Rapids responded with under six minutes to go in the second. Antti Tuomisto’s point shot was blocked by Kyle Looft and the rebound ended up right on Austin Watson’s stick in the slot. Watson set a slap shot past Tiefensee to tie the game 1-1. 

The Griffins took the lead just over two minutes into the final frame as Ondrej Becher found an opening on a wrap-around from behind the net. Hanas found himself in the slot two minutes later, turning down a shot to backhand a pass to Kole Lind who slapped it into the net to equal the score 2-2. 

Becher buried a one-timer with six minutes to go to give the Griffins a 3-2 lead. The Stars pulled Tiefensee for an extra attacker, but could not find the equalizer.

Tiefensee had 41 saves in the loss for the Stars, and Sebastian Cossa had 21 saves in the win for the Griffins.  

The same two teams will play again on Friday night. The game is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. CT at Van Andel Arena. Catch all the action on AHL TV 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: Grand Rapids Griffins 

Game Info	Shots	Goaltenders	3 Stars (Ubeo Business Services)
Boxscore	TEX: 23	W: Cossa (GR)	1: Becher (GR)
Photo	GR: 44	L: Tiefensee (TEX)	2: Hanas (TEX)
			3: Watson (GR)