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TEXAS LEADS HERSHEY IN CALDER CUP FINALS

Hersheyvs Texas preview
Leading the 2010 Calder Cup Finals series 2-0, the Texas Stars return home to the Cedar Park Center with a chance to finish off the Hershey Bears in front of the hometown fans.

Texas enters the contest riding a pair of one-goal victories over the Bears at the Giant Center, where the Bears had owned an 8-0 postseason record. The next two games, as well as a Game 5 if necessary, are scheduled for Texas.

Former Bear Travis Morin provided the heroics in the final seconds of Saturday’s game to secure the 4-3 victory for the Stars. With the game tied at 3-3 and 45.3 seconds left in regulation, the forward scored the game winner. The goal was Morin’s first since Game 7 of the West Division Finals on May 11 in Chicago and snapped an eight-game drought.

Texas forward Perttu Lindgren recorded a pair of assists, and Aaron Gagnon, Garrett Stafford and Mathieu Beaudoin also had goals for the Stars.

And Texas goaltender Matt Climie improved to 7-3 this postseason (2.51, .923) with 25 saves in net on Saturday.

Despite taking the loss, Hershey fought back from three one-goal deficits on Saturday with markers from Steve Pinizzotto, Francois Bouchard and Andrew Gordon. But the Bears have been plagued by lack of production during the power play, going 0-for-15 dating back to Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals against Manchester, including an 0-for-6 mark against Texas.

The first Stars’ victory came on Thursday, as winger Scott McCulloch’s goal with 2:10 to play in the third period gave the Stars a 2-1 win. For Hershey, the losses on Thursday and Saturday marked the first back-to-back regulation home losses of both the regular season and the playoffs.

The Bears have not suffered a three-game losing streak all season, but things may change Monday night as the Stars look to put the series out of reach on home ice.