RECAP: Stars Snap IceHogs Streak

CEDAR PARK, Texas – The Texas Stars ended the Rockford IceHogs win streak with a 5-3 victory on Wednesday night. Two late second-period goals for the Stars gave Texas the edge over Rockford. Lukas Reichel scored his first goal since joining Rockford back in February. David Gust scored his 100th professional goal to give Rockford a 2-1 lead, and Cole Guttman scored his fourth goal in his last four games. Drew Commesso finished with 26 saves on 30 shots.

In the first period of play, Reichel scored his first AHL goal of the season on the power play. Michal Teply received a pass at the blue line from Ethan Del Mastro before setting up Reichel with the puck on the right face-off circle. Reichel received the pass turned and sent a wrist shot over the shoulder of Remi Poirier to give Rockford a 1-0 lead (12:02).

Early in the second frame, Derrick Pouliot scored on a shot that was tipped in the air off a stick to even the score at one goal apiece (5:39).

With a few minutes remaining in the middle period, Gust sent a shot from the goal line on the right side of the net that bounced off Poirier and off the helmet of a Texas defender into the net giving Rockford their second lead of the night (17:21). The goal marked the 100th career goal for Gust.

Shortly after, Mavrik Bourque scored with under a minute left to play (19:09). With 1.5 seconds left in the period, Curtis McKenzie scored to take a 3-2 lead into the final period of play (19:58).

Four minutes into the final frame of regulation, Jack Becker took advantage of a loose puck at center ice and scored on a breakaway opportunity (3:16).

Rockford pulled Commesso from the net with under four minutes to play. Wyatt Kaiser sent a pass to Rem Pitlick who sent a one-timer from the blue line to the net that tipped off the stick of Guttman to cut the lead down to just one goal (16:17).

Rockford pulled Commesso from the net for a second time with under two minutes left. On the break toward the offensive zone, Texas cleared the puck and regained possession in the offensive zone courtesy of Curtis McKenzie who shot the puck into the empty net (18:27).

Rockford returns to the BMO Center on Saturday to face off with the San Jose Barracuda. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.

SATURDAY, MARCH 16 AT 7 PM: TICKET + 2 DRINKS FOR $20

In celebration of St. Patrick's Day weekend, we're offering our "Wet Your Whistle Wednesday" deal on a Saturday! Get a ticket and two drink tickets (good for beer, soft drinks, or water) for just $20. It's also First Responders Appreciation Night, presented by JM Construction. The Rockford IceHogs and JM Construction are proud to honor our local first responders by providing a free ticket to first responders along with a discounted ticket rate for any additional tickets needed.

SUNDAY, MARCH 17 AT 4 PM: ST. PADDY'S SPECIALTY JERSEY LIVE AUCTION

The IceHogs will wear specialty St. Patrick's themed jerseys, presented by Insurance King with media partner B103, and fans will have the opportunity to bid on the jerseys in our live postgame auction and get the player-worn jerseys right off the players' backs! Players will also sign the jerseys and pose for photos with the auction winners. All proceeds from the live auction will benefit the IceHogs Community Fund.

Tune In LIVE on the Icehogs Broadcast Network Presented by BMO

Watch and listen to every game this season on the IceHogs Broadcast Network presented by BMO! Listen from your favorite device, at home, or on the road at IceHogs.com and on the IceHogs app, and watch LIVE on AHLTV and selected games in High Definition on The365! Fans can also tune in on all of Mid-West Family’s local stations including 104.9 The X, B103, 95.3 The Bull, and Rockford Greatest Hits 100.5 and featured on Rock River Current, the Stateline’s premiere source for local events, news, and culture.