Big First Period Leads Stars to 5-1 Victory over Eagles
Oct 15, 2022
CEDAR PARK, TX. – The Texas Stars netted three goals in the opening 20 minutes of play enroute to a 5-1 win over the Colorado Eagles on Saturday. Stars defenseman Alex Petrovic and forward Matej Blumel each notched a pair of goals in the victory, while goaltender Anton Khudobin backstopped the effort by turning aside 30 of the 31 shots he faced in the contest. Colorado defenseman Brad Hunt scored the Eagles lone goal in the loss.
Texas would put on a dominating display in the first period, starting with Blumel stuffing home a rebound from the top of the crease to give the Stars a 1-0 edge just 6:36 into the contest.
The lead would grow when Petrovic lit the lamp with a shot from the blue line that would put Texas on top 2-0 with 8:36 left to play in the first period. Just minutes later, it would be Petrovic who would finish off a cross-slot pass by snapping a shot past Eagles goalie Justus Annunen to stretch the Stars advantage to 3-0 at the 16:25 mark of the opening 20 minutes.
Texas would go on to outshoot Colorado 15-6 in the first period and carried a 3-0 lead into the intermission.
The hole would grow deeper for the Eagles in the second period, as a 5-on-3 power play would set up Blumel to step into a one-timer from the high-slot that would light the lamp and extend the Stars advantage to 4-0 at the 16:18 mark of the middle frame.
Another Texas man-advantage would lead to yet another goal, as forward Martin Studenic deflected a shot from the point past Annunen to put the Stars up 5-0 with only 12 seconds remaining in the second stanza.
A series of penalties in the final seconds of the second period would allow Colorado to begin the final 20 minutes of play on an extended 5-on-3 power play. The extra attackers would set up Hunt to hammer home a one-timer from the top of the right-wing circle to cut the Texas lead to 5-1 at the 1:21 mark of the third period. The Eagles would generate a total of 16 shots in the final frame, but would get no closer, falling by a final score of 5-1.
Annunen suffered the loss in net, allowing five goals on 37 shots, as Colorado finished the night 1-for-5 on the power play. The Stars cashed in on two of their six chances on the man-advantage.
Colorado will be back in action when they return home to take on the Calgary Wranglers on Friday, October 21st at 7:05pm MT at the Budweiser Events Center. Tickets for all regular season games are on sale now and start at just $21. Season tickets for the 2022-23 season are also on sale now and can be secured with a deposit of just $100 per seat by visiting ColoradoEagles.com or by calling the ticket department at (970) 686-7468.
