SAN ANTONIO, TX – Dakota Joshua’s tie-breaking tally with 3:51 left in the third period held up as the game-winner, as the San Antonio Rampage (16-18-11) earned a 3-2 win over the Texas Stars (21-20-4) in front of 12,184 fans for the Pink in the Rink game at the AT&T Center.
The Texas Stars play the San Antonio Rampage during the first period of an AHL hockey game, Friday, Jan. 31, 2020, in San Antonio. (Darren Abate/AHL)
Nolan Stevens notched a goal and an assist, and Ville Husso made 29 saves to earn his 11th win of the season in net. The Rampage moved to within three points of the Stars for the final playoff spot in the Central Division.
With the game tied 2-2, Joshua snapped a wrist shot from the high slot through a screen from Texas defenseman Reece Scarlett. The rising shot beat Texas goaltender Landon Bow to the glove side for Joshua’s second goal of the season, and his first career game-winner.
The Rampage were winners for the sixth consecutive Pink in the Rink game, improving to 9-0-1 all-time on the 10th anniversary of the event.
The Rampage jumped out to a 2-0 lead early in the first period. Stevens cashed in for a power play goal at 1:38 of the first period whenKlim Kostin found him in the slot with a no-look, between-the-legs feed for Stevens’ eighth goal of the season.
San Antonio has scored power play goals in five of the six meetings with the Stars this season.
At 4:06 of the first, Stevens was the distributor when his no-look pass from behind the Stars net found Jordan Nolan at the bottom of the left circle for Nolan’s seventh of the year and a 2-0 San Antonio advantage.
Jason Robertson got the Stars on the board with his first of two goals on the evening, whacking in a rebound at the side of the Rampage net at 19:00 of the first period for his 16th of the season.
After a scoreless second period, Robertson tied the game at 13:07 of the third with a backhander from the bottom of the left circle up under the crossbar, a power play goal for his second of the night.
Robertson has three multi-goal games this season, and six goals in his last nine games.
The Rampage won consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 2. Their victory snapped a personal four-game winning streak for Bow, and improved San Antonio’s record to 5-0-1 against the Stars this season. They are 3-1-2 in their last six games overall.
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