Stars Prevail 7-6 over IceHogs in Shootout Thriller

Nov 23, 2019

CEDAR PARK, Texas – The Texas Stars, American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, had an offensive explosion as they topped the Rockford IceHogs 7-6 in the shootout on Hockey Fights Cancer Night at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. Michael Mersch, Nick Caamano and Jason Robertson each recorded three points in the victory. The win stopped a 12-game winless streak and was the Stars first victory since Oct. 19 at home.

 

Six minutes into the game, extended time in the defensive zone burned Texas as Alexandre Fortin collected a pass from Adam Boqvist and put a quick shot past Landon Bow. The Stars answered with the equalizer just four minutes later. Caamano carried the puck into the offensive zone along the boards and passed it to Robertson who took a shot on goal from the right circle. On the play, the puck deflected off the stick of an IceHogs defender and past Kevin Lankinen. Shortly thereafter Tanner Kero slid a rebound to Mersch off Joel L’Esperance’s initial shot. The forward then put his fifth goal of the season past Lankinen to give the Stars a 2-1 advantage. Battling through a penalty kill with 4:35 left in the period, Tyler Sikura converted on a turnover, sneaking the puck under the legs of Bow to level the score at two. 

 

Rockford quickly broke the tie to begin a busy second period. John Quenneville and Fortin stole the puck and carried it into the zone, exchanging passes before Quenneville took Bow one-on-one. The winger danced around Bow’s pad to create space for his first goal of the game. Nine minutes later, the forward added another tally thanks to a pass from Adam Boqvist that allowed him to tip in the puck. Moments later, Texas seized a chance on the man advantage as Emil Djuse dished the puck to L’Esperance from the blue line. At the top of the circle, L’Esperance fired a shot toward the goal that bounced off a Rockford defender and into the net. The IceHogs were whistled for another penalty less than a minute later, and Texas took advantage of the opportunity once again. Caamano parked in front of Lankinen as Robertson took a shot from the circle. With perfect timing, Caamano cleaned up the shot and tied the contest at four. However, Rockford tacked on a last-minute power play goal to take a 5-4 lead into the final frame. The IceHogs finished the night 2-for-2 on the man advantage while the Stars scored three power play goals on five chances.

 

The Stars came out of the second intermission hot and wasted no time netting the equalizer. Joel Kiviranta battled to keep the puck in the offensive zone and Mersch gained possession after the fight. He handed it off to Gavin Bayreuther at the blue line and the defenseman then shot a laser past Lankinen for the game tying goal, his second of the year. With seven minutes to break the tie, Robertson net his second of the night off of a faceoff win by Rhett Gardner. On the play, Caamano directed the puck toward the net and Robertson got a piece of the shot, deflecting it into the net. Rockford eventually tied the game at six to force overtime as Brandon Hagel cleaned up a rebound off a pad save by Bow. 

 

After a scoreless overtime period, the two teams began the shootout. Kero and Boqvist took their shot in the opening round but were stopped by the opposing goaltender. Robertson then took his chance and put Texas on the board, tossing the puck into the top corner of the net. However, Rockford’s Dylan Sikura matched the goal to keep the score even. After Anthony Louis and Quenneville both came up empty in round three, L’Esperance ripped a shot through the legs of Lankinen and Bow stopped Joseph Cramarossa to seal the Stars victory. 

 

Texas faces the Iowa Wild on Tuesday, Nov. 26 for the team’s second consecutive home game. Puck drop is 7 p.m. between the Stars and Wild in their third matchup this season.

 

Written by Stevie Golding

Photo Credit: Taylor Sammarco

 

Game Info	Shots	Goaltenders	3 Stars (Xerox Business Solutions Southwest)
Boxscore	TEX: 36	W: Landon Bow (TEX)	1: Joel L'Esperance (TEX)
Photo	RFD: 36	L: Kevin Lankinen (RFD)	2: Nick Caamano (TEX)
Video			3: Michael Mersch (TEX)