Peters Backstops Stars to a 2-1 Win over Rampage
Feb 4, 2017| Boxscore Photos Postgame Video |
Shots: Stars - 28 Rampage - 23 |
Ebert scores game-winning goal for Texas
CEDAR PARK, Texas -- Justin Peters backstopped the Texas Stars to a 2-1 victory over the San Antonio Rampage on Saturday night at H-E-B Center at Cedar Park.
The veteran goaltender, who earned his first victory in a Stars sweater, turned aside 21 of the 23 shots he faced from the Rampage (21-22-4-0) to tie a season-high .957 SV% for Texas (21-20-1-2) and snap a five-game skid for the home team.
The first period of play saw Peters turn away all six of the shots he faced from the visiting team, including a breakaway opportunity from Rampage Captain Joe Whitney, in addition to newly acquired defenseman Justin Hache dropping the gloves in his debut for the Stars and forward Ethan Werek scoring his fourth goal of the season.
“For the whole 60 minutes, I thought we were real tight, real sound, had real good structure and that’s what coach has been preaching to us,” said Peters. “So, to have a tight game like that, and be able to come through, is a confidence builder. Hopefully we can take that moving forward.”
Werek’s opening tally, which came off of a feed from rookie forward Mike McMurtry at the 17:46 mark of the opening frame, held up as the lone spark of offense between the two clubs until San Antonio forward Felix Girard found his way to the back of the net on a breakaway chance with 3:43 remaining in the second.
Texas and San Antonio would remain knotted at 1-1 until defenseman Nick Ebert scored the game-winning goal, and his sixth goal of the season, after he launched a shot from the right point with 2:54 remaining in the game.
“We played a really hard game tonight, and I think we need to bring that intensity, that level, every game,” said Ebert. “I think we could be a really special team, and the second half of the year is going to be huge for us.”
From there, the Stars hunkered down defensively as their Pacific Division rivals pulled netminder Jeremy Smith, who stopped 26 of 28 shots on net, to gain an extra attacker for the final minutes of play to no avail.
“The same as last Saturday, I liked the response of our group from a Friday night loss,” said Head Coach Derek Laxdal. “We played really hard…It was a full team effort and a full 60 minutes, and it had a playoff atmosphere.”
The Stars return to action on Feb. 10 and 11 as the team squares off against the Tucson Roadrunners for a divisional-matchup in Cedar Park.
| Three Stars: 1. Nick Ebert (TEX) 2. Ethan Werek (TEX) 3. Justin Peters (TEX) |
Goaltenders: W - Justin Peters L - Jeremy Smith |
Photo Credit: Andy Nietupski/Texas Stars