Stars Lead Slips Away against Firebirds

Jan 13, 2026

CEDAR PARK, Texas - The Texas Stars, American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, fell 5-2 to the Coachella Valley Firebirds after taking an early lead in the first period Tuesday evening at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park.

Texas opened the scoring four minutes into the first period when Justin Ertel notched his first goal of the year. Curtis McKenzie flipped the puck from the goal line to Ertel, who snapped the puck into the net from below the right faceoff circle. The Stars doubled their lead when Antonio Stranges knocked in the rebound off a hard shot from Jack Becker at the faceoff dot. Stranges has now scored in two straight games.

Coachella Valley cut their deficit to one after Ian McKinnon bounced the puck off Arno Tiefensee’s glove halfway through the middle frame.

Caden Price scored the equalizer for the Firebirds on a point shot eleven minutes into the third period. Jani Nyman gave Coachella Valley the lead just a minute later when he lifted the puck over the blocker of Tiefensee. Texas pulled Tiefensee for an extra attacker, but the Firebirds chipped in two empty net goals to give the visitors the win 5-2.

Tiefensee stopped 33 of 36 in the loss. Victor Östman earned the win after giving up two goals on 26 shots.

The Stars will continue their four-game homestand Wednesday evening with a rematch against the Firebirds. The game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. Tickets are on sale now at www.texasstars.com/tickets.

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: Andy Nietupski 

Game Info	Shots	Goaltenders	3 Stars (Ubeo Business Services)
Boxscore	TEX: 26	W: Östman (CV)	1: Nyman (CV)
Photo	CV: 38	L:  Tiefensee (TEX)	2: Price (CV)
			3: Ertel (TEX)