GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan – The Texas Stars, American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, answered the bell twice to tie the Grand Rapids Griffins tonight, but ended on the wrong side of a 6-3 finish at Van Andel Arena tonight.
Colin Campbell opened the scoring in the contest with two goals in the first 10 minutes of play. The forward’s first two goals were capitalized off turnovers in the Stars defensive end that rolled right to his stick. Both shots were part of a first period that featured 28 combined shots and five goals.
Back to back tallies by the Texas Stars equalized the game at 2-2. Joel L’Esperance net his tenth goal of the season at 11:20 on an individual effort in the offensive zone. The center broke through the Grand Rapids defense and tucked a shot off the shoulder of goaltender Harri Sateri. The Stars would tally another off the stick of Erik Condra three minutes later. The veteran notched his ninth goal of the campaign on a rebound in front of the crease. The puck slid through the legs of Sateri to tie the contest and extend Condra’s point streak to seven games.
Chris Terry scored his 13th goal of the season in the final minute of the period to retake the Griffins lead. Carter Camper dropped a pass off to the Grand Rapids leading goal scorer who scored his first of two goals in the game from the right circle.
After the intermission, Texas quickly responded and Adam Mascherin tied the game at 3-3. The rookie parked at the right side of the net as the Stars broke into the zone in transition. Denis Gurianov sent a pass to the left circle for Justin Dowling who tapped the puck to Mascherin at the right post. He jammed the loose rubber into the open net for his sixth goal in three games.
Big saves from Landon Bow early coupled with chances that included a shot off the cross bar in the second from Condra kept the Stars in the game until the horn ended the second period. Bow ended the night with 23 saves while his counterpart Sateri made 28 saves in the win.
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