Stars Fall to Stockton in Goaltending Duel, 1-0
Oct 21, 2015Boxscore
Photos
Postgame Video
Shots:
Stars - 36
Heat - 33
Lagace, Gillies Combine for 68 Saves in Tight Battle
CEDAR PARK, Texas -- Maxime Lagace and Jon Gillies traded saves all night long, but a power play goal for the Stockton Heat with 4:42 left in the third period was the difference as the Texas Stars suffered a 1-0 loss on Wednesday in front of 5,726 in attendance at Cedar Park Center.
Freddie Hamilton tallied the game-winning goal with a wrist shot from the left circle that beat a screened Lagace for the forward’s second goal of the season. The Stars’ (4-1-0-0) rookie netminder finished with 32 saves, while Gillies of the Heat (2-1-0-0) earned his second shutout of the season stopping 36.
The Stars hit the road on Saturday when they visit the Iowa Wild at 7 p.m.
After each team rang scoring opportunities off the post in the opening period, both goaltenders settled in and dueled throughout the contest. On the Stars’ second power play chance of the game late in the middle period, Lagace turned aside Stockton’s leading scorer, Derek Grant, on a shorthanded breakaway. Texas then broke into a 4-on-2 rush immediately following the play which Gillies swallowed up quickly on a shot from the slot. On a Stockton power play in the closing minutes of the second, Lagace upped the ante with a flurry of saves on a sequence in front of the net to keep the game scoreless.
Midway through the third period, Travis Morin found a loose puck on the doorstep, but Gillies sprawled across the crease on his stomach to take the veteran’s first goal of the season away with a glove save.
The game was the first of six meetings between the two members of the AHL’s Pacific Division. Devin Shore and Esa Lindell of the Stars saw their four-game point streaks come to an end. The Heat finished 1-for-4 on the power play while the Stars went 0-for-3.
The Texas Stars are the primary development affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars and currently in their seventh season at Cedar Park Center. Full season, 24-game and 12-game ticket packages for the 2015-16 campaign are on sale now. For more information, call (512) GO-STARS (467-8277) or visit TexasStars.com.
| Three Stars: 1. Jon Gillies (STK) 2. Maxime Lagace (TEX) 3. Freddie Hamilton (STK) |
Goaltenders: W - Gillies L - Lagace |
Photo Credit: Christina Shapiro/Texas Stars