CEDAR PARK, Texas – The Texas Stars defeated Peoria 6-5 in overtime in front of 5,090 fans on Saturday night at Cedar Park Center. Texas forward Matt Fraser scored his second goal of the night 2:00 into overtime, lifting the Stars to a dramatic victory. Center Travis Morin had a goal and three assists, while right wing Ray Sawada added a goal and an assist. Fraser, Morin and Sawada combined for nine points on the evening, ending the Stars three-game losing streak. Defensemen Philip Larsen had three assists and Brad Lukowich had two assists. Texas goalie Richard Bachman (2-2-0) stopped 34 of 39 shots and registered an assist in the victory. Peoria center Phil McRae tallied a hat trick and defenseman Mark Cundari chipped in a goal and an assist. Peoria goalie Jake Allen stopped 11 of 16 shots before he was relieved by Ben Bishop (1-3-0). In 32 minutes of play, Bishop stopped 11 of 12 shots for the loss.
The Stars started the scoring early in the first period, Travis Morin pushed a shot past Allen to grab the 1-0 lead. Left wing Matt Fraser and defenseman Brad Lukowich set up the play at 34 seconds into the game. The Rivermen responded at 2:28 with a goal by defenseman Mark Cundari. Center T.J. Hensick supplied the assist to tie the game 1-1. Texas grabbed its second lead of the night at 5:13 with a goal by right wing Ray Sawada. Morin and defenseman Philip Larsen each tallied an assist on the power-play tally, giving the Stars a 2-1 lead. The Stars strengthened their lead less than a minute later at 6:28 of the first. Left wing Luke Gazdic scored off an assist from Lukowich for the 3-1 score. Peoria trimmed Texas’ lead to 3-2 with a goal by center Phil McRae at 14:15. The Rivermen tied the game 3-3 on the power play at 16:33. Derek Nesbitt netted his first goal of the year with help from Hensick. Peoria claimed a 4-3 lead with 1:13 remaining in the first period as McRae notched his second goal of the night. Defenseman Cade Fairchild and right wing Jay Barriball each had an assist. Texas tied the game 4-4 late in the first with 44 seconds remaining. Fraser found the back of the net with after a nice pass from Sawada.
Texas jumped out to a 5-4 lead at 11:55 of the second period with a power-play goal by defenseman Dan Spang. Spang’s goal was set up by Larsen and goaltender Richard Bachman.
The Rivermen scored on the power play at 10:26 of the third period, tying the game 5-5. McRae scored his third goal of the night to force the extra session. Left wing Brett Sterling and defenseman Danny Syvret each picked up an assist.
The Stars sealed a 6-5 victory two minutes into overtime as Matt Fraser scored the game-winning goal on the power play. Larsen and Morin each had a helper on the game-winning tally.
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