RICKFORD, Ill – The Texas Stars were defeated by the Rockford IceHogs 8-5 on Wednesday night in front of 2,420 fans at the Rockford MetroCentre. Rockford defenseman Shawn Lalonde, as well as forwards Ryan Potulny and Jeff Taffe, each had a goal and two assists as the IceHogs used a five-goal second period to beat the Stars . Texas defenseman Dan Spang scored twice in the defeat as the Stars lost their first game in six visits to the Rockford MetroCentre. Left Wing Luke Gazdic and right wing Tomas Vincour also scored as Texas fell to 4-4-0-0 on the road this year. Texas goalie Tyler Beskorowany (0-2-0) stopped 30 shots in the defeat, while Rockford goalie Hannu Toivonen (4-5-2) made 25 saves in the win.
In the first period, the Stars jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead after Tomas Vincour tallied his third goal of the year at 2:06. Texas center Ondrej Roman took the puck behind the Rockford net and centered to the crease for Vincour, who finished off the play by beating Hannu Toivonen. The Stars doubled the lead at 13:17, Cody Chupp and Sean Backman worked the puck on the cycle in the IceHogs zone. Backman found left wing Luke Gazdic in the crease for his third goal of the year and a 2-0 Stars lead.
Rockford charged back into the game to start the second period. IceHogs defenseman Shawn Lalonde scored the team’s first goal of the night at 5:09, cutting the Texas lead to 2-1. Winger Kyle Hagel tied the game 2-2 with his first goal of the night at 6:34. The Stars countered with a pair of goals in less than three minutes, regaining their two-goal lead. Defenseman Dan Spang tallied his second goal of the year at 10:17, snapping a shot from the point through traffic for the 3-2 lead. Right wing Colton Sceviour set up Raymond Sawada’s fourth goal of the year at 12:38, pushing the Stars lead to 4-2. The IceHogs rallied with three unanswered goals to finish the period. Veteran Jeff Taffe scored his sixth goal of the year at 14:09 off a rebound to pull the Hogs within a goal at 4-3. Center Ryan Potulny put in a rebound for a power-play goal at 17:24, tying the game 4-4. Hagel picked up his second goal of the night off a rebound at 17:46, giving the Hogs a 5-4 lead. The Hogs added to their lead at 7:47 as Peter LeBlanc netted his first goal of the year for a 6-4 lead. Less than a minute later, forward Brandon Bolig tipped a shot into the Texas net for his second goal of the year and a 7-4 IceHogs lead. Texas trimmed the lead to 7-5 with Dan Spang’s second goal of the night with 3:00 minutes to go. Rockford’s Mathis Olimb sealed the victory with an empty-net goal at 17:17 for the 8-5.
The Stars set three team records in Rockford. The eight goals allowed in one game and five goals allowed in one period (second period) are the most allowed by a Texas Stars team. Goalie Tyler Beskorowany gave up a team-record seven goals in the defeat.
The Texas Stars remain on the road with a 6:00 pm (CT) faceoff in Grand Rapids on Friday, December 10th. The Stars will head to Milwaukee on Saturday before returning to Grand Rapids on Sunday afternoon to conclude a four-game road swing. Texas returns home to take on the Manitoba Moose on Tuesday, December 14th at 7:30 pm.
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