CEDAR PARK, Texas – The Texas Stars were defeated by the IceHogs 5-1 in front of 4,756 fans at Cedar Park Center on Sunday night. Rockford goalie Hannu Toivonen (19-16-4) stopped 30 of 31 shots faced for the win. IceHogs center Jeff Taffe had a goal and two assists, while forwards Ben Smith and Brandon Pirri both had a goal and an assist on the night. Texas center Travis Morin had the lone goal for Texas, as the Stars fell to 22-11-3-3 at home this season. Texas goalie Tyler Beskorowany (7-7-1) stopped 30 shots in the loss. The Stars travel to Peoria for a 7:05 PM meeting with the Rivermen on Wednesday night.
Center Peter LeBlanc opened up the scoring to give Rockford a 1-0 lead. Right wing Ben Smith assisted on the play at 6:46 of the first period. With two seconds remaining in the period, IceHogs defenseman Brian Connelly extended the lead to 2-0 on the power play. Centers Jeff Taffe and Brandon Pirri each received an assist to end the first period of play 2-0 Rockford.
Just 36 seconds into the second period, Rockford pushed its lead to 3-0 with a goal from Pirri. Taffe supplied the assist for Pirri’s 11th goal of the year. The Stars responded with a one-timer from center Travis Morin on the power play at 13:55. Center Aaron Gagnon and right wing Ray Sawada each tallied an assist for a 3-1 score after 40 minutes of play.
At 5:54 in the third, Taffe slipped the puck back Beskorowany to give the IceHogs a 4-1 tally. Left wing Rob Klinkhammer and defenseman Ryan Stanton each assisted the play. Rockford right wing Ben Smith tipped the puck in at 7:16 for his 18th goal of the year. Defensemen Shawn Lalonde and Garnet Exelby each helped push the IceHogs lead to 5-1.
Texas travels for a two-game road trip, facing the Peoria Rivermen on April 6 at 7:05 PM.
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