Stars Post Huge 5-3 Win Over Milwaukee to Split Road Trip

Anytime you can come out of a road trip with as many wins as losses, that's a good road trip. When you can seal up such a record by beating a perennial playoff contender and one of the top teams in the league, that's even better. For Texas, that was the story of the day.

A complete effort for the Stars put them over the Ads this afternoon in Wisconsin. A 2/4 effort on the power play, flawless PK, and solid and confident goaltending added up to a 5-3 victory. Ray Sawada collected three points in the game while Philip Larsen and Matt Fraser each had two.

Milwaukee jumped out to an early lead with a goal by Ryan Ellis, who snapped a pretty wrister from the circle to make it 1-0. Texas fought back on the power play with Ray Sawada collecting his third goal of the year with assists from Jordie Benn and Richard Bachman, his second assist of the year. Mark Van Guilder beat the Texas defense and goaltending with a sniper shot to make it 2-1 with 57 seconds left in the period. Milwaukee outshot Texas in the period 9-7.

Matt Fraser put the Stars on the board early in the second period to tie things at two. Sawada assisted for his second point of the night. Texas grabbed the lead on the power play with Travis Morin's 3rd goal of the year, assisted by Larsen and Fraser, to make it 3-2 just 4:14 into the period. The Ads' Zach Stortini took exception and scored his first of the year just last the 7 minute mark to knot things at three. The Stars would outshoot the Ads in the period, 15-9, but the teams would be tied after 40.

The third period was all Texas. With time winding down in the period, Ryan Garbutt slipped into the zone and backhand passed the puck to Tomas Vincour, who rifled it from the blue line to beat Jeremy Smith and take the lead at 4-3. The Stars held on in the last four minutes to keep Milwaukee from netting another. Francis Wathier added an empty net goal with just under a minute left, assisted by Larsen and Sawada, to make it a 5-3 final.

Texas handed Milwaukee's Jeremy Smith his first regulation loss (4-1-1) with the 5-3 victory. The Stars are now one game under .500 with the Toronto Marlies coming to town on Thursday.

Tonight's lines:
Gazdic-Sceviour-Glennie
Wathier-Garbutt-Vincour
Fraser-Morin-Sawada
Tousignant-Hedden-Schultz

Larsen-Lukowich
Dillon-Benn
Coyle-Spang

Bachman

Injuries, scratches, and notes:
Fortunus (day-to-day injury)
Godard (scratched)

Tonight's attendance was 2,742.

AHL Gamesheet - Texas at Milwaukee - October 30 2011

Comments