GRAND RAPIDS, Mich – The Texas Stars defeated the Grand Rapids Griffins 4-3 in front of 7,272 fans on Friday night at Van Andel Arena. Stars goalie Tyler Beskorowany (1-2-0) made 44 saves, including 17 in the third period for his first AHL victory. The Stars built a 4-0 lead and hung on for the 4-3 win, their first victory in regulation in four trips to Grand Rapids. Forwards Greg Rallo, Mathieu Tousignant and Sean Backman netted goals as the Stars improved to 5-4-0-0 on the road this season. Center Travis Morin scored a goal and added an assist as Texas picked up its ninth win in the last 14 games. Defenseman Brad Lukowich picked up two assists for the second straight game. Griffins goalie Joey MacDonald (4-3-1) stopped 20 shots in the loss.
The Stars got off to a quick start at Van Andel Arena with the first goal coming at 6:16. Stars right wing Sean Backman buried a rebound off a Brad Lukowich shot, giving Texas a 1-0 lead. Cody Chupp also picked up the assist on Backman’s fourth goal of the year. Texas made it 2-0 at 15:23 when Mathieu Tousignant scored off a rebound of a Ray Sawada shot. Stars center Travis Morin picked up the second assist on Tousignant’s fifth goal of the year. Texas capped off the first period with its third goal of the night at 18:57, when Morin redirected a Severin Blindenbacher shot past Griffins goalie Joey MacDonald. Texas defenseman Trevor Ludwig added an assist on Morin’s tenth goal of the year.
In the second period, Texas expanded its lead to 4-0 with a power-play goal at 4:09 by Greg Rallo. The Stars right wing snapped a wrist shot over the shoulder of goalie Joey MacDonald for his eighth goal of the year from Colton Sceviour and Brad Lukowich. The Griffins stormed back to trim the Texas lead to 4-2 prior to the end of the period with a pair special-teams goals. Defenseman Brandon Smith scored a shorthanded goal at 12:33, trimming the Stars lead to 4-1. Grand Rapids center Jamie Johnson tallied a power-play goal with 1:22 to go in the period, bringing the Griffins within two goals at 4-2.
The Griffins made a strong push in the third period, outshooting Texas 18-5 and scoring a power-play goal with less than a minute remaining in regulation. Forward Ilari Filppula scored his tenth goal of the year at 19:12 to pull Grand Rapids within a goal for the 4-3 final.
The Texas Stars will head to Milwaukee on Saturday at 7:30 pm 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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