Texas Dominates San Jose with 7-2 Win
Apr 13, 2021SAN JOSE, California – The Texas Stars, American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, roared out to a 4-0 lead in the first period against the San Jose Barracuda and never looked back as they took the first of four games this week 7-2. The team finished the game with three power play goals for just the second time and their second highest goal total this year.
Nick Baptiste began a stretch of four goals in less than nine minutes for the team as Riley Damiani fed a pass across the offensive zone for an easy tap-in. The winger’s 11th goal of the season ranks among the top 10 in the AHL and second most on the Stars this year.
Next it was Anthony Louis firing his seventh tally of the year and beginning a career-best four-point game. The winger cut into the high slot after a pass from Cole Schneider and ripped it into the back of the net for his first tally in eight outings. Louis factored for three more assists in the game and became the third Stars player to record a four-point game this year, joining Adam Mascherin and Schneider.
Defenseman Ben Gleason got the excellent power play night started for Texas in the final two minutes of the period. After a battle in the right corner, the puck bounced into the high slot for Gleason, who stepped in and blasted a slap shot from the hashmarks. The puck rolled past Alexei Melnichuk in goal and crossed the line for his second goal of the year. Texas scored their three power play goals on their first three chances and the game ended while the team was on their fourth chance.
Jake Slaker connected with Riley Tufte 29 seconds later as Texas closed out the period with their fourth tally. Louis halted a San Jose clearing attempt and Slaker rushed to the right circle before tossing a pass across the top of the crease. Tufte jammed his third goal of the year into the net to take a commanding lead into the locker room.
While Texas was excellent on the power play, so was San Jose. They opened up the middle period with a 5-on-3 chance in the first three minutes and capitalized twice on the advantage. Robbie Russo launched a shot on a high rebound at 2:52 and Max Letunov added another on a rebound at the side of the net at 4:11. Each goal was assisted on by Joachim Blichfeld who had the only multi-point game for San Jose. Overall, both he and Alex True were on the ice for seven of the nine goals scored in the game.
Texas quickly countered with their second power play goal. Adam Mascherin was set up on a cross-ice pass by Louis before hammering it into the net at the bottom of the right circle. His 14th goal of the year came just before the halfway point of the game and made it 5-2 Texas.
Before the second intermission, Texas added another unassisted goal to the scoresheet. Josh Melnick scooped up a loose puck in the offensive zone after Baptiste had drawn three defenders toward him as he crossed over the line. Going one-on-one with the goaltender, Melnick lifted a backhander up and under the cross bar for a 6-2 advantage in the final three minutes of the second period. It also ended a nine-game goal drought for the alternate captain.
The Stars final goal was collected by Mascherin on a similar play with Louis and Thomas Harley. From the bottom of the right circle, Mascherin connected on a one-timer for his team leading 15th goal of the year. The winger is second in the AHL in goals and his 28 points also rank second (15-13=28) in the AHL. He is also three goals away from tying his career high from his rookie season in 2018-19 where he net 18 goals in 75 games.
In goal Adam Scheel made 30 saves for the third time since joining the Stars and earned his first pro win in the process. Melnichuk stopped 20 shots and was handed his fifth loss in 10 starts this year.
The teams have a quick turnaround and will take the ice again tomorrow at Solar4America Ice at San Jose with the puck hitting the ice at 7 p.m. CT.
Photo Credit: Kavin Mistry, San Jose Barracuda
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| Game Info | Shots | Goaltenders | 3 Stars (Xerox Business Solutions Southwest) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boxscore | TEX: 27 | W: Adam Scheel (TEX) | 1: Adam Mascherin (TEX) |
| Photo | SJ: 32 | L: Alexei Melnichuk (SJ) | 2: Anthony Louis (TEX) |
| Video | 3: Jake Slaker (TEX) |