CEDAR PARK, Texas — The Texas Stars ended 2016 with two lackluster losses to the San Diego Gulls. The Gulls came into Texas having lost seven straight games, but were able to dominate the Stars in back-to-back wins.
After a 4-0 drubbing, the Stars looked to bounce back. They played much better in the first period, but couldn’t solve Gulls goaltender Kevin Boyle who stopped 37 shots in the game.
“I thought the Boyle kid was outstanding in both games,” Head Coach Derek Laxdal said. “He gave up one goal in two games and gave them two good performances.”
The Stars took a 1-0 lead in the second period on a goal by Brendan Ranford, but the lead was short-lived. Chris Wagner tied the game 30 seconds later and the Gulls took the lead for good with a five on three power play goal by Stefan Noeson.
The Gulls, who came into the game with the worst-ranked power play unit in the AHL, added a power play goal by Keaton Thompson to solidify the 3-1 win.
Texas was 0-4 on the power play.
“We didn’t do enough on our power play,” Laxdal said. “We had some looks, but there’s not a lot of confidence right now on our power play. We tried to go with three different lines, but didn’t have any cohesiveness. When we did have an opportunity, we didn’t take it.”
The Stars had numerous scoring chances but passed up several shots and seemed to lack continuity.
“We’ve got some guys on our team that have been here two or three years that have a tendency to go on their own path,” Laxdal added. “They don’t want to do things the way we draw it up for the team.”
The Stars will try to solve their offensive woes next weekend when they host the Calder Cup Champion Cleveland Monsters for back-to-back games.
Contact the writer at: Mitch.cooper@prohockeynews.com
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