Blümel's Hat Trick Leads Stars to Dramatic Weekend Sweep

Mar 15, 2025

CEDAR PARK, Texas – The Texas Stars, American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, secured a thrilling 5-4 victory over the Cleveland Monsters on Saturday at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park, powered by a three-goal performance from Matej Blümel.

The Stars earned the weekend sweep in front of back-to-back sellout crowds, the 10th and 11th of the season, vaulting Texas into first place in the Central Division.

Jordan Dumais put the Monsters on the board first, just under 13 minutes into the game with a shot that fooled Magnus Hellberg from the hashmarks of the left circle. The Stars responded with 2:44 remaining in the opening frame to tie the game, as Alex Petrovic’s wrist shot was tipped in by Chase Wheatcroft, providing a moving screen in front of Monsters goaltender Pavel Cajan.

Just 46 seconds into the second period, Blümel put the Stars in front on the power play. Christian Kyrou slid a pass from the top of the point, and Blümel blasted it past Cajan from the top of the right circle. Matthew Seminoff extended the Texas lead at 8:11 with his first goal of the season, capitalizing on a broken play in the slot and firing the puck past Cajan. Rocco Grimaldi brought Cleveland back to within one with a power-play goal from a sharp angle at the bottom of the left circle.

With five minutes remaining in the second period, Blümel struck again on the power play, giving the Stars a 4-2 lead with his 30th goal of the season. This marks the second season in a row he’s reached the 30-goal milestone. In the final minute of the period, Cleveland defenseman Drew Bavaro cut the lead to 4-3 with a shot from the top of the right circle that beat Hellberg over the blocker.

Seven minutes into the third, the Monsters evened the score with a goal from a stretch pass off the end boards. The puck bounced out to Max McCue from the corner, who quickly fired it into the net.

With 45 seconds left in the game, Blümel completed the hat trick, scoring the game-winning goal to secure a 5-4 victory for the Stars. With his third goal, Blümel matched his total from last season (31), achieving the feat in 21 fewer games, and recorded his first career hat trick.

Hellberg stopped 32 of 36 shots faced in the Stars' victory, while Cajan made 27 saves on 32 shots in the Monsters' loss.

The Stars welcome the Ontario Reign on Tuesday for the first game of a two-game midweek series. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. Tickets are on sale 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: Ross Bonander

Game Info	Shots	Goaltenders	3 Stars (Ubeo Business Services)
Boxscore	TEX: 32	W: Hellberg (TEX)	1: Blümel (TEX)
Photo	CLE: 36	L: Cajan (CLE)	2: Seminoff (TEX)
			3: Grimaldi (CLE)