SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The Texas Stars were defeated by San Antonio 6-2 in front of 7,869 fans at AT&T Center on Friday night. San Antonio scored three goals in the first period and went on to end the Stars three-game winning streak. Six different Rampage skaters registered a multi-point night, as the team won its sixth straight game.
Rampage goalie Dov Grumet-Morris (12-5-0) stopped 23 of 25 for the win. Stars forwards Angelo Esposito and Tomas Vincour each scored in the loss, as the team fell to 10-12-0-1 on the road this season. Texas goalie Andrew Raycroft (6-3-1) took the loss, stopping 15 of 20 shots in 47:22 of play.
Tyler Beskorowany finished the game in net for Texas, stopping five of six.
San Antonio jumped out in front of Texas with a three-goal first period. The scoring started when right wing Greg Rallo netted his tenth goal of the season, giving the Rampage a 1-0 lead. James Wright and Scott Timmons helped set up the game’s opening goal. San Antonio scored twice in the final two minutes of the first frame. Timmons tipped a point shot by defenseman Michael Caruso, giving the Rampage a 2-0 lead with his seventh goal of the season at 18:09.
San Antonio extended its lead to 3-0 with five seconds remaining in the opening period. Forward Jonathan Matsumoto found Michal Repik for a one-timer in the high slot. Repik’s fourth goal of the season beat Texas goalie Andrew Raycroft to finish the first-period scoring.
The Stars cut into the Rampage lead at 4:08 of the second period. Center Angelo Esposito picked off a pass in the San Antonio zone and set up Tomas Vincour for the team’s first goal of the night. The goal extended Vincour’s streak to seven straight road games with a goal. His 11th tally of the year trimmed the Rampage lead to 3-1. San Antonio regained its three-goal lead at 7:19. Forward Jonathan Matsumoto finished off a centering pass from Michal Repik, scoring his 17th goal of the year and extending the team’s lead to 4-1.
Texas answered back at 17:47 of the period to cut the Rampage lead to 4-2. Defenseman Dan Spang found Ryan Garbutt in the right-wing circle for a one-timer. Garbutt’s shot was tipped in front by Esposito, his first goal as a Texas Star to make it a two-goal game.
San Antonio pushed its lead to 5-2 at 4:48 of the third period. Former Stars, Ondrej Roman scored his second goal of the season, his first with the Rampage, giving his new team a three-goal lead. The Rampage made it a 6-2 game at 7:46 of the third period, as Mark Cullen scored his sixth goal of the season.
Texas will travel to Oklahoma City on Saturday, January 28th at 7:00 p.m. After the All-Star break, Texas will wrap up a three-game road swing in Houston on Thursday, February 2nd. The Stars will host Charlotte at 7:00 p.m. at Cedar Park Center on Saturday, February 4th.
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