HOUSTON, Texas – The Stars were defeated by Houston 3-1 in front of 6,309 fans at the Toyota Center on Friday night. Houston’s Matt Hackett (11-10-0) made 30 saves on 31 Texas shots to preserve the win. After Texas winger Michael Neal gave the Stars a 1-0 lead, the Aeros countered with three unanswered tallies in the game, improving to 6-1-0-0 against the Stars this season. Houston forwards Robbie Earl, Jon DiSalvatore and Casey Wellman scored, as Houston improved to 5-0-0-1 in its last six games. Texas goalie Richard Bachman (14-10-2) stopped 28 of 30 shots in the loss.
The teams traded goals in first period, with the Stars striking first at 9:41. Rookie left wing Michael Neal scored his first goal in his first game with the Stars this season. Neal put in a rebound of a Colton Sceviour shot for the 1-0 lead. Defenseman Maxime Fortunus picked up an assist on the power-play goal.
The Aeros countered to tie the game 1-1 at 15:46 with Casey Wellman scoring his eighth goal of the season. Wellman was set up with a feed from behind the net by Patrick O’Sullivan.
The Aeros landed the only goal of the second period to take a 2-1 lead. Robbie Earl put in a rebound off a point shot by Casey Wellman. Defenseman Maxim Noreau also added an assist on the power-play goal at 5:15 of the middle frame.
With 15 seconds left in the third period, Aeros Captain Jon DiSalvatore scored an empty-net goal for the 3-1 final.
Texas returns home to face the Milwaukee Admirals on Saturday, January 22nd at 7:00 PM. The first 2,500 fans will receive a Texas Stars mouse pad courtesy of Heroic Efforts.
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