Patrick WilliamsTheAHL.com Features Writer
A crucial win against a top opponent. rally around their captain. They have fun playing pressure games and winning.
Wednesday night was one of those memorable nights for the Texas Stars, a team that struggled significantly early in the season before rallying to become one of the AHL's most dangerous clubs in the second half of the season.
The Stars took a 2-0 lead on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks, perhaps their top rival and closest pursuer in the Central Division playoffs, allowing the Admirals to score three straight goals. But Texas held on and tied the game on the defense Trey TaylorWith a goal in the third period, the Admirals defeated the Admirals 4-3 in a six-round penalty shootout.
It was a great night as they celebrated their captain Curtis McKenzie800th career game.
It was also a night reminiscent of last season, when they spent the entire season battling the Admirals for the Central Division title before beating Milwaukee in the Western Conference Finals.
But this year’s Star Club did not Justin Hekovianlast season's Dudley (Red) Garrett Memorial Award winner as the AHL's outstanding rookie. Same as defender Kyle Capobianco and Alex Petrovichhe was also promoted to the Dallas Stars. head coach Neil Graham Headed to Dallas as an assistant. Matthij BlumelLeague-leading 39 free-agent goals.
For the new head coach Toby Petersonwho likes McKenzie and assistant coaches Max Fortunus and Travis Moran Winning the Calder Cup with the Stars in 2014 had a lot of obstacles to overcome early on. Texas lost its first six games of the season and sat with a 10-15-3-1 record on New Year's Eve morning.
But a game at Iowa State on Dec. 31 could turn the Stars' season around. That night, they survived a wild scoring drive in the final minute of regulation and won 3-2 in overtime. They have now won 13 of their last 19 games and enter the weekend tied for third with Manitoba and five points ahead of Milwaukee.
texas striker Cameron Hughes and Cole Lind Knows what special teams is like; both made back-to-back Calder Cup finals with Coachella Valley before joining the Dallas organization last year. Hughes represented the Stars in last week's AHL All-Star Classic and leads the team with 44 points this season. Atul HailiHe has returned from injury after scoring 24 goals last season. defensive player Vladislav Kolyachonok Returned to the team after detouring to Boston via waivers last month. they have Remy Poirier He was able to keep things tight on many nights even as the team around him went through some early rough patches.
Players returning from last season know they can handle both competition and pressure.
“If you can play in the big moments,” Hughes said, “like big, high-pressure games, then I think when you go through the regular season, we can look back at those moments and play that way.”
But all of these high-pressing skills only matter when a team is in contention.
Peterson's team returns to Milwaukee for a rematch Friday night, the final regular-season game for the fourth consecutive spring when the two teams meet in the playoffs. Then head to Chicago on Saturday night for another crucial division game — the first of seven remaining games between the Stars and Wolves.
But before Texas can consider the Calder Cup playoffs, they must first earn an invitation. Hughes is optimistic about continuing his pursuit of his first Calder Cup championship.
“I like the depth we have,” the eight-year pro said. “I think we have four lines. We play at a pretty fast pace… We have some guys that have made huge strides in some important roles.”
About two decades in the American Hockey League, TheAHL.com feature writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. In 2016, he received the AHL's James H. Ellery Memorial Award for outstanding coverage of the league.
