Stars Drop Barons to Close Out Road Trip with a 5-2 Win
Jan 6, 2015OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- Derek Hulak tallied a pair of goals and four different players recorded multi-point games for the Texas Stars in a 5-2 win over the rival Oklahoma City Barons on Tuesday night at Cox Convention Center.
Jussi Rynnas turned in a 28-save performance for his ninth win of the season. Travis Morin (goal, assist), Matt Mangene (two assists), and Maxime Fortunus (two assists) each tallied multi-point games for the Stars along with Hulak. With the win, the Stars pull themselves within three points of San Antonio for second place in the AHL's West Division. The win also snaps a seven-game win streak for Oklahoma City.
The Stars (15-11-8-0) return home on Friday to host the Iowa Wild at 7:30 p.m.
Oklahoma City (23-8-2-2) opened up the game's scoring 5:51 into the first period as Kellen Jones beat Rynnas with a wrist shot from the right circle. However, the Stars responded with four unanswered goals and killed off a 5-on-3 power play for Oklahoma City to take a stranglehold on the game. Morin scored just 44 seconds after the Barons took a 1-0 lead with his 11th of the season. The recently selected All-Star forced a turnover in the offensive zone and drove the net, beating Baron's goaltender Laurent Brossoit at 6:35. Rookie forward Gemel Smith then added a rebound tally at 11:08 for his fifth goal in the last six games.
In period two, Hulak recorded his first of the night at 8:54 to make it a 3-1 lead for Texas on a rebound goal at the front of the net. Jesse Root then ended a counter-attack rush for the Stars by deflecting Mangene's shot for a goal at the halfway point of the second. Root's third of the season ended the night for Barons' goaltender Laurent Brossoit, who was pulled in exchange for former Star, Richard Bachman. Brossoit took the loss stopping 17-of-21 shots in 30 minutes of play.
Steve Pinizzotto struck two minutes into the third to close the Oklahoma City deficit to 4-2, but Hulak touched home his second of the night off Scott Glennie's crossing feed to finish an odd-man rush at 10:20.
Neither team tallied a power play goal as the Stars finished 0-for-2, and the Barons went 0-for-3. Texas killed off a 38-second two-man advantage for the Barons midway through the second period to preserve their three-goal lead. Rynnas did most of his work in the third period, when the Stars were outshot 14-4.
Texas and Oklahoma City have now split their first eight meeings of the season.
Photo Credit: Steven Christy/Oklahoma City Barons
| Three Stars: 1. Derek Hulak (TEX) 2. Maxime Fortunus (TEX) 3. Travis Morin (TEX |
Shots: Stars - 28 Barons - 29 |
Goaltenders: W - Rynnas L - Brossoit |