Admirals Hand Stars Season-Ending Loss in Central Division Finals
May 21, 2023CEDAR PARK, Texas – The Texas Stars, American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, fell 5-2 to the Milwaukee Admirals in a winner-take-all Game Five in the Central Division Finals Sunday night at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park.
Adam Wilsby scored the first goal of the night to give the Admirals a 1-0 lead 8:12 into the opening period. Milwaukee then extended its lead to 2-0 at the 11:29 mark of the frame when Marc Del Gaizo beat Matt Murray with a shot through traffic from the left point. Joakim Kemell made it 3-0 Admirals 28 seconds later with a one-timer from the lift circle passed over by Kiefer Sherwood. With 58.5 seconds remaining in the first, the Admirals extended their lead to 4-0 after Kemell tipped in a shot by Del Gaizo.
Riley Damiani put the Stars on the board 1:48 into the second period when his shot from the slot sailed past Yaroslav Askarov’s glove and in.
In the third period, Nick Caamano snuck around Askarov and scored a short-handed goal that cut the deficit to 4-2 with 9:30 to go after the Admirals netminder left his net to play a loose puck near the high slot. However, Egor Afansyev iced the game with 28 seconds left to play, securing a 5-2 victory for the Admirals that advanced them past the Stars and into the Western Conference Finals to take on the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
Askarov earned the win in goal for Milwaukee after turning aside 37 of the 39 shots he faced. Murray came down with the loss after making 10 saves on 14 shots. In relief, Remi Poirier made 10 stops during the final two periods.
Texas Stars 2023-24 season tickets are on sale now. To reserve your seat or get more information, visit www.texasstars.com/tickets or call (512) GO-STARS.
Photo Credit: Andy Nietupski / Texas Stars
| Game Info | Shots | Goaltenders | 3 Stars (Ubeo Business Services) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boxscore | TEX: 39 | W: Askarov (MIL) | 1: Kemell (MIL) |
| Photo | MIL: 25 | L: Murray (TEX) | 2: Del Gaizo (MIL) |
| Video | 3: Damiani (TEX) |