Texas Stars Pull Out OT Victory Over Rockford IceHogs
Cedar Park, TX – The Texas Stars (34-22-3-4, 75 Points) defeated the Rockford IceHogs (37-18-1-5, 80 Points) 4-3 in overtime on Friday night in front of 5,878 fans at Cedar Park Center. Stars center Travis Morin scored 2:40 into overtime, leading Texas to its fifth win over the Hogs this season. Texas captain Landon Wilson scored two goals as the Stars improved to 18-11-1-2 at home. Texas goalie Matt Climie (17-14-3) made 26 saves in the win. Rockford goalie Corey Crawford (18-13-2) stopped 29 of 33 Stars shots in the loss. Texas hosts the Houston Aeros on Saturday, March 6th at 7:00 PM.
Rockford opened the scoring 5:40 into the first period. Winger Pete MacArthur fired a wrist shot from the high slot past Stars goalie Matt Climie on the stickside, taking a 1-0 IceHogs lead. At 11:39, Rockford increased their lead to 2-0 when winger Derek Nesbitt found a rebound in the Texas crease for his second goal of the year.
Texas cut the Rockford lead to 2-1 at 4:38 into the second period. Right wing Ray Sawada received a backdoor feed from Warren Peters and sent a wrist shot past the glove of IceHogs goalie Corey Crawford. Stars left wing Landon Wilson tied the game 2-2 at 8:40. In his first game back from a 25-game absence due to an injury, the Stars Captain scored his third goal of the season, beating Crawford with a shot from the crease. Centers Aaron Gagnon and Greg Rallo assisted Wilson’s tally. The Stars took a 3-2 lead when Wilson scored his second goal of the night at 12:04. Forward Travis Morin found Wilson open in front of the net for the go-ahead goal. Defenseman Dan Jancevski also tallied an assist on Wilson’s fourth goal this season.
The IceHogs tied the game 3-3 with 7:19 remaining in the third period. Center Matt Keith tipped a shot from Danny Richmond in the crease, beating Climie and forcing overtime.
At 2:40 of the overtime period, Stars center Travis Morin fired in a rebound past Crawford for the victory. Morin leads the Stars with 39 points this season. The game-winning goal was assisted by defenseman Trevor Ludwig and Rallo.
The Stars continue the State Farm Lone Star Faceoff by hosting the Houston Aeros on Saturday, March 6th at 7:00 PM. The first 2,000 children 12 and under will receive a Texas Stars youth jersey t-shirt. Also on Saturday, fans may purchase the State Farm Family 4-Pack, which includes four tickets, four sodas and four hot dogs for $44.00. Texas plays at home against the Peoria Rivermen on Wednesday, March 10th at 7:30 PM. On Wednesday, fans who bring an HEB Brand non-perishable food item will receive $5.00 off their ticket price. All games can be heard on the Stars flagship station ESPNAustin 104.9 FM “The Horn” or ESPNAustin 1530-AM.
Tickets for any of the Stars 40 regular season home games at Cedar Park Center are on sale, starting as low as $9.00 a seat. Individual game tickets may be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000, by going online at www.ticketmaster.com or by visiting any local Ticketmaster outlet.