Monsters Edge the Stars in Shootout, 2-1
Jan 7, 2017Boxscore
Photos
Postgame Video
Shots:
Stars - 39
Monsters - 29
Stars Take Three of Four Points Against Defending Champions
CEDAR PARK, Texas -- The Texas Stars fell 2-1 to the Cleveland Monsters in a four-round shootout in Cedar Park on Saturday evening.
The first three rounds of the shootout saw the two Western Conference teams go tit-for-tat before Stars Captain Travis Morin rang a shot off of the post and forward Alex Broadhurst found his way past netminder Maxime Lagace to earn the win for the Monsters.
“I thought we had [the game] with that last shootout shot by Herbert, but we just couldn’t close it,” said Texas Stars Head Coach Derek Laxdal.
The first period of action saw forward Caleb Herbert score the first goal of the game, and his third of the season, for the home team off of a redirect that he backhanded past goaltender Anton Forsberg at the 3:49 mark. Forward Ethan Werek, who was credited with the assist, now sits one point shy of 100 in his AHL career.
“I think that me, Fyten and Werek have found some good chemistry with the times that we do get out there,” said Herbert. “We just go out here, and we try to create energy and get to the net. I think, tonight, we were getting some of the bounces, and they were going our way.”
Forward Nick Moutrey scored the only marker of the second period to even the score at one goal a piece.
Neither team was able to put the puck in the back of the net once the game was tied, despite numerous chances for both clubs. Cleveland was awarded a penalty shot halfway through the final period of action, but forward Sonny Milano was denied by Lagace. The two goaltenders remained perfect until the fourth round of the shootout.
Texas and Cleveland both continued to struggle as Texas finished 0-for-7 and the Monsters went 0-for-4. In the two-game set overall, both teams combined to go scoreless in 21 man-advantage chances.
“A couple of the things we worked on during the week translated into our game,” said Laxdal. “I liked what we saw, especially on the penalty kill. I’m not very happy with the power play. I think it was zero for 12 over the two games, and that’s an area we really have to look at and address to get on the same page.”
The Stars, after playing nine out of their last 11 games at home, embark on a four-game road trip that begins Wednesday at 9 p.m. CST as they take on the division rival Ontario Reign.
| Three Stars: 1. Broadhurst (CLE) 2. Herbert (TEX) 3. Lagace (TEX) |
Goaltenders: W - Forsberg L - Lagace |
Photo Credit: Andy Nietupski/Texas Stars