CEDAR PARK, Texas – For the fifth time in six years, the Texas Stars will begin their quest for the AHL’s coveted Calder Cup. After finishing the 2013-2014 season with the league’s best record, the defending Calder Cup Champions had to bear down over the last six weeks of this season just to make the playoffs, finishing as the fifth seed in the western conference with a record of 40-22-13-1 (94 points)
They will take on a tough Rockford IceHogs team, a team they lost to four times during the regular season. Rockford is seeded fourth and finished with a record of 46-23-5-2 (99 points).
“We had a lot of injuries and call-ups (when we played them) and some guys were fluctuating back and forth between the AHL and ECHL,” Head Coach Derek Laxdal said. “We really haven’t had any depth playing against them. I don’t think they’ve seen our full lineup yet, so hopefully that plays into our hands moving forward.”
Forward Greg Rallo was a part of the team that went to the Calder Cup finals in the team’s first year of competition. Rallo left Texas to play for the San Antonio Rampage, but felt he had a better opportunity to win a Calder Cup championship with the Stars.
“I want to win a Calder Cup,” Rallo said. “This is one of the best places to try to do it. There are some similarities between this team and the first year team I played on. We have a really good leadership group.”
Rallo didn’t seem to be too concerned with the 0-3-1 regular season record against Rockford.
“The regular season is behind us now,” Rallo added. “We played them tough every game. They are a quality team, but we want to take care of business. We match up well.”
While the Stars are an offensive-minded team, they will depend heavily on their defense and goaltending.
“Right now we’re playing with ten defensemen,” Laxdal said. “So we can plug in anybody we want to. If we need a physical game, we can put in (Scott) Valentine. If we need a puck moving game, we can put in (Matt) Mangene. We’ve got some tough choices. Some guys may not play. That’s just the way it is.”
Goaltenders Jack Campbell and Jussi Rynnas were solid down the stretch and they want to carry that momentum into the playoffs.
“Yussi’s played great all season,” Campbell said. “He’s given us a chance and I feel really confident in my game, giving us two really good goalies right now. It’s a luxury having two guys that can go in at any time.”
The Stars are also strong on the offensive side of the puck.
Devon Shore
Photo by Christina Shapiro
“The confidence is in the room all the way from the top line down,” Rallo said. “(Justin) Dowling and (Brendan) Ranford are coming on strong and we got (Brett) Ritchie and (Curtis) McKenzie back (From the NHL’s Dallas Stars). The young guys like Devon Shore and (Jason) Dickinson coming into the lineup are going to play a big role down the stretch.”
Shore was good on both sides of the puck, scoring four goals and two assists in 19 games. Dickinson was recently assigned to Texas after completing four years with Guelph Storm in the OHL where he scored 84 goals and 147 assists in 253 games. He played in the Stars’ final two games of the season and assisted on three goals.
Jason Dickinson
Photo by Christina Shapiro
“Dickinson and Shore are so mature for their age,” Campbell said. “Shore’s played tremendous and Dickinson is newer, but already looks like a great player and we’re excited to have them.”
The key to the series will be for Texas to first get out in front and defend their home ice in the short best of five series.
“(Best of five) is different” Team Captain Maxime Fortunus said. “Things happen quickly and you don’t have time to sit around and observe what’s going to happen. You want to be king at your house, but if you want to win a championship, you have to win your games on the road.”
To get out in front, the Stars will have to play their game and not Rockford’s.
“They are solid defensively and we have to get pucks to the net,” Laxdal said. “They’re a physical club that likes to play an intimidating brand of hockey. They’re a good club that is well-coached, good defensively and have some scoring depth. We’ve got to do a great job of protecting our goaltenders and limit their shots on net. The last thing we want to do is go to Rockford down 0-2 because they’re very good at home.”
The Stars begin their cup defense on April 24th and 25th at the Cedar Park Center. Game three will be in Rockford on April 29th and if necessary, games four and five will be in Rockford on May 1st and 2nd..
Contact the writer at: mitch.cooper@prohockeynews.com
Twitter: @PHNHockeyEditor
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