Stars suffer heartbreaking loss

CEDAR PARK, Texas – The Texas Stars were five seconds away from taking a 3-2 series lead when the unthinkable happened. A weak clearing pass led to Milwaukee’s game-tying goal with 4.4 seconds remaining in regulation. The Admirals went on to win the game with 3:31 left in the first overtime period and need one win in Milwaukee to move on to the second round. “That’s hockey,” Stars’ defenseman Matt Stephenson said. “They scored a late goal to tie it and the momentum changed. We had some scoring chances in overtime, but they had more puck possession.” Texas pretty much dominated the play in regulation, but after a quick start in overtime seemed to lose steam. Milwaukee, on the other hand, looked energized throughout the overtime period, winning on a three-on-two rush when Ryan Thang slammed a slap shot from the right wing past Stars’ goaltender Richard Bachman.  

The Stars scored the game’s first goal at 10:20 of the first period when Ray Sawada pushed the puck past Milwaukee goalie Jeremy Smith. Assists went to Philip Larsen and Aaron Gagnon. The teams battled back and forth for two and a half periods while the goaltenders made a number of great saves. It looked like the game was over when, with about ten seconds to go in regulation, an attempted clearing pass towards an empty net only made it to center ice. The Admirals were able to quickly get the puck into the offensive zone where Gabriel Bourque tipped a loose puck over Bachman’s shoulder to tie the game at 1-1. Chris Mueller and Steve Begin got the assists. As the teams were leaving the ice between periods, Kelsey Wilson bumped Stars’ defenseman Brenden Dillon and a fight ensued. Both teams battled in the corner as they were leaving the ice and the coaches had to herd their players towards their respective locker rooms. “It’s playoff hockey and games are going to go like that,” Dillon said. Both teams had numerous scoring chances in overtime, but Thang’s goal put an end to the game and left the 6126 fans speechless. The Stars are hanging on by a thread, but there is still hope. “Last year we were down 3-2 to Hamilton and won two games in their barn,” Stephenson said. “We’re going to try to use that (to motivate us).” Game six and game seven (if necessary) will be played in Milwaukee where Texas has lost only one game this season. They’ll need to win both to have another shot at a Calder Cup final. Contact the writer at: mitch.cooper@prohockeynews.com