Stars Prevail in 5-4 Victory Over Eagles

Mar 10, 2020

LOVELAND, Colorado – The Texas Stars, American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, topped the Colorado Eagles 5-4 in their first-ever trip to Budweiser Events Center. After Colorado battled back from a significant deficit in the third, Rhett Gardner played hero to lead the Stars to their third consecutive victory.

 

Colorado struck first in the back-and-forth affair. After a pair of turnovers in the defensive zone, Matin Kaut tipped the puck to Dan Renouf at the point. The defenseman then ripped a quick shot from the blue line the deflected off Colin Campbell up and over Jake Oettinger for his eighth goal of the year.

 

Texas responded 17 seconds later to shift momentum to their side. Brad McClure carried the puck into the zone and threw it behind the net. Nick Caamano then hustled to hold off an Eagles defenseman behind the net, clearing a path for Oula Palve to fire the loose puck from the right side of the crease. The forward lifted the puck top-shelf on Hunter Miska to level the score as the netminder was scrambling to get back in position. Exactly one minute after the equalizer, Jerad Rosburg recorded his career point in his professional debut. Josh Melnick battled through traffic and gained control of the puck off of the wall. From there, Melnick dished it to Rosburg, who walked his way into the slot and fired a blast over the glove hand of Miska and into the back of the net.

 

After killing off a trio of penalties to open the second period including an extended 5-on-3, the offense exploded for three goals to take a 4-1 lead over Colorado. After collecting a pass from Rosburg, Gavin Bayreuther wasted no time firing a laser at Miska. The puck glanced off the goaltender’s pad and into the net. Two minutes later, Texas took advantage of their first and only power play of the night. Jason Robertson controlled the puck in between the two circles and slid it to Joel L’Esperance, who was perfectly set up in the right circle for a backdoor goal.

 

Facing a three-goal deficit, Colorado quickly fired back to level the score at four ahead in two minutes before the second intermission. After Josh Dickenson was denied by Oettinger on a wrap-around, Julien Nantel grabbed the puck and put it behind Oettinger. Shortly thereafter, Colorado battled in front of the net and Campbell pushed past Oettinger on a rebound to tip the puck in past the goalie’s skate. Finally, Colorado started the game over at four via a quick shot from Nantel that was rifled past Oettinger’s glove before rattling the post and into the net.  The Stars called a time out to slow the momentum down and took the 4-4 score into the third period.

 

Only two minutes into the final frame, Gardner net the eventual game-winning goal to fuel Texas’ victory. Palve swiftly entered the zone with the puck through three Eagles defenders and passed it off to Dillon Heatherington at the blue line. After the Stars captain blasted a shot toward the net, Gardner redirected the shot past Miska for the go-ahead goal. In the final moments, Oettinger made a series of saves to hold the advantage for Texas, despite a late push from Colorado.

 

The Stars were perfect on special teams going 1-for-1 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill. Oettinger earned his third straight win in another impressive 43-save outing, stopping 122 shots in his last three victories. Miska suffered the loss after surrendering five goals on 23 shots he faced.

Texas looks to extend their win streak to four games as they rematch Colorado tomorrow night at Budweiser Events Center. The team then heads to Tucson, Arizona for a pair of weekend games against the Roadrunners.

Written By Stevie Golding
Photo Credit: Mcallaster Miller
 

Game Info	Shots	Goaltenders	3 Stars (Xerox Business Solutions Southwest)
Boxscore	TEX: 23	W: Jake Oettinger (TEX)	1: Rhett Gardner (TEX)
Photo	COL: 47	L: Hunter Miska (COL)	2: Julien Nantel (COL)
Video			3: Colin Campbell (COL)