Stephen Johns and
Esa Lindell battle for the puck in front of Maxime Lagase
Photo by Todd Reicher
ROCKFORD, Ill. – The Texas Stars offense started fast with three first period goals, and finished with a 7-2 win over the Rockford IceHogs on Sunday evening at BMO Harris Bank Center.
Greg Rallo scored a pair of goals and Matej Stransky added another give Texas the three-goal lead in the first. Devin Shore (assist) and Esa Lindell (goal, assist) each extended their point streaks to four games, and Maxime Lagace stopped 34 shots in his second straight start to earn the win.
The Stars (4-0-0-0) return home on Wednesday to face the Stockton Heat on Back to the Future night at 7:30 p.m. at Cedar Park Center.
After scoring his first at 4:41, Rallo’s second goal of the opening period came on the power play at 8:04 for his third man-advantage tally of the season and fourth overall. Stransky snapped home a wrist shot less than two minutes later from the slot off Derek Hulak’s centering feed to extend the Texas lead to 3-0 after one.
33 seconds into the second, Branden Troock drove the net through the left circle and beat Rockford’s Mark Visentin for his first of the season. Visentin finished the night with the loss after stopping 23 of 30 Texas shots in his second appearance of the season for the IceHogs (1-3-0-0).
The offense continued for the Stars in the third with goals from Gemel Smith at 3:56 and Lindell’s first of the year at 5:11 to make it a 6-0 Texas lead. The IceHogs found the scoresheet with goals by Ryan Haggerty and Jeremy Morin midway through the third. Julius Honka slipped a back door pass to Remi Elie late in the game for the rookie forward’s first goal of his professional career and a 7-2 final.
The win marks the first time in franchise history the Stars have started a season 4-0-0-0. Shore assisted on Rallo’s power play goal for his team-leading seventh point of the season.
Texas finished 2-for-6 on the power play while the IceHogs went 0-for-4.
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