CEDAR PARK, Texas – Tuesday night, the Texas Stars ended a three-game losing streak by defeating the visiting San Diego Gulls 3-1.
Antonio Stranges put the Stars on the board first when he skated the puck into the Gulls’ zone and beat goaltender Tomas Suchanek with a wrist shot from the high slot. The Stars took the 1-0 lead into the second period.
The Gulls tied the game 1-1, four minutes into the second period when Nikita Nesterenko on a breakaway carried himself and the puck past Stars goaltender Matt Murray and into the back of the net. The tie would not last long as Keaton Mastrodonato slid a backhand shot off a rebound at the top of the crease past Suchanek making it 2-1 into the third.
In the third period despite being down by only one goal, the Gulls lacked urgency and were ultimately outshot by the Stars 12-4 in the period. The Stars capped off the night when Mavrik Bourque gathered the puck off a blocked shot from Oskar Back and buried it into the empty net from 130′ away.
Matt Murray received the win by stopping 17 of 18 shots. Tomas Suchanek took the loss stopping 28 of 30.
The three Stars of the night:
- TEX – A. Stranges
- TEX – K. Mastrodonato
- TEX – M. Murray
Check out the photo gallery from Inside The Rink’s Rick Crossman for highlights from the game.
