100 Degree Hockey - Texas Stars Hockey News

With Six Games Left, Texas Has a Legitimate Shot at Home Ice Advantage

2026-04-07T07:00:00.001-05:00

(Credit: Texas Stars)

On Friday night, the Texas Stars clinched the playoffs with seven games left to play.

Nicholas Kingman discussed here Sunday how unbelievable that feat is from where the team started. Go read that one before I drop another one on you.

This team has a legitimate shot at earning home ice advantage in the first round.

Really.

Texas sits only two points back of the Chicago Wolves, who they just bounced in back-to-back games to end their regular season series with a 7-1 record.
With only six games remaining for both teams, Chicago faces a strength of schedule up at .546 with games against Grand Rapids, Milwaukee (3), Manitoba and Rockford.
In their final six games, Texas' strength of schedule is the lowest in the league at .462. The Stars close against Iowa (2), Manitoba (2) and Rockford (2). Only Manitoba looks to make the postseason while Iowa and Rockford are the third- and fifth-worst teams in the league.

Texas absolutely has a puncher's chance here at closing out the season as the second-best team in the division. It may be by the thinnest of margins, but the Stars have the whole thing right in front of them. Winning two against Chicago in those always important 'four-point games' was crucial to making this possible. If Texas had lost the weekend series, we wouldn't be discussing this with the same conviction.

And not to get into it too much (but of course we will because that's what we're here for) the Stars also have some nice things going for them on the tiebreaks, as of this morning.

Regulation wins -- Texas 26-23
Regulation and overtime wins -- Texas 31-28
Total games won -- Texas 35-31
Points in the season series -- Texas 14-3.

Points in the season series is already settled. The tiebreakers wouldn't go any further than that because Texas would win on that one. Everything before that win change before the final horn on the regular season, but Texas is in pole position for a tiebreak if it comes to it.

Another interesting thing to note about Texas and Chicago that will surely come up if the most likely scenario comes to pass and they play each other in the playoffs: the season series of eight games between these teams didn't start until January 10. By that point, the Stars were past their doldrums and well on the way to figuring it out. In those games against Chicago, Texas is 7-1. They're also 24-12 in the 2026 calendar year. Their 7-game winning streak from January 18 to February 7 is tied for third-longest such streak in the league behind behemoths Grand Rapids and Providence.

So just take that as you will in determining how this Stars team is going to show up for Game 1.

Someway, Somehow, the Texas Stars Are Back in the Calder Cup Playoffs

2026-04-05T11:36:00.005-05:00

(Credit: Nicholas Kingman/100 Degree Hockey)

It feels like a lifetime ago when the fans at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park were losing their composure.

When the Texas Stars tied for their worst loss in franchise history — a 10-1 drumming to the seemingly invincible Grand Rapids Griffins — it was no shocker to hear the hardest chant for a head coach to swallow in professional sports.

“Fire Toby,” accompanied by rhythmic clapping over and over and over again until out of the line of sight and into the safe confines of the locker room.

Stars head coach Toby Petersen, in his first year on the job, heard his name in the stands while walking back into the locker room in defeat. At the time, Texas was one of the worst teams in the AHL, with a dismal 5-9-1 record.

The loss was so jarring that Texas captain Curtis McKenzie walked out of the tunnel and voluntarily spoke with the media.

“We just got to look inside and find the drive on why we play this game and find some compete,” McKenzie said following the 10-1 loss. “That effort there, probably no one in the lineup there looked like we should be in this league tonight.”

For much of the early part of the season, the only production came from the Stars' blueline, with the only forward really doing anything offensively being Cameron Hughes.

Much of the Texas roster was 'green' for large swaths of the season, with a bunch of younger bottom-six forwards being thrust into major ice time.

Petersen was also missing major pieces like Arttu Hyry and fellow Finn, Samu Tuomaala, due to injury. The valuable veteran presence was also gone, with Kyle Capobianco and Alex Petrovic up in Dallas for the entire year.

It took until January for the Stars to wade out of the mud to finally find their identity, but they are now doing it at the right time — in the heart of the playoff crunch.

“The progress this team has shown throughout the course of the season is remarkable,” Petersen said during a recent postgame scrum. “I can’t say enough about the leadership, the guys buying in and doing the right things.”

Much of Texas’ success has fallen on the shoulders of netminder Remi Poirier, who has started the second-most games in net in the entire AHL this season. Behind the play of Poirier, the Stars have been able to dig themselves out of the early season hole.

And like he did last season during his second-half resurgence, Poirier dominated the month of March with a 7-2 record for a 2.27 goals allowed average and a .934 save percentage. In all, Poirier is 14-2 in the last full month of games.

“When you struggle the most, you learn the most when you struggle,” Poirier said. “We took the lesson from the beginning of the year and kept going. You’re going to lose a couple of games in a row — it’s going to happen, but just show up to the next one.”

Despite the Stars bolstering zero 'hot' prospects on their roster, general manager Scott White has done it again, picking up diamonds in the rough like Texas native Cross Hanas this past offseason for his most productive professional season, and signing another group of talented college kids to load up on the playoff push.

The Stars have also found production from Matthew Seminoff, Jack Becker, and Harrison Scott in the back half of the season.

Somehow, Texas revived a season that was quickly drowning for its fifth consecutive appearance in the Calder Cup playoffs. As it stands right now, the Stars will avoid a first-round tilt, nestled comfortably at the Central Division’s third seed with six games left in the regular season.

“There’s been some ups and downs, but we've battled through, and in the end we’ve persevered,” Petersen said. “After a lot of the games, we’ve talked about perseverance… there’s been some bumps and bruises, but our guys keep finding ways to win hockey games.”

Texas Comes From Behind, Takes Down Chicago 4-2

2026-04-04T22:49:00.008-05:00

(Credit: Logan Foust/Texas Stars)

The Texas Stars, time and time again, have continued to grind out hockey games, turning them into wins, especially in the back half of this season.

Down by a goal heading into the final period, the Stars were able to tattoo a trio of goals in the final 20 minutes, with Texas captain Curtis McKenzie icing the game with an empty netter to seal the Stars' 4-2 come-from-behind victory past the Chicago Wolves.

Likely to face each other down the road in the Calder Cup Playoffs, in the regular season series, the Stars have been dominant against the Wolves, closing out the series with an impressive 7-1 record.

“We've kind of had their number this year… we want them,” Harrison Scott said. “We're confident going into games against them and excited going forward.”

After an almost 31-minute defensive deadlock, the night quickly turned into a rapid-fire offensive performance. Within the span of a minute, three goals were scored, with the Wovles cracking open the night with two.

Chicago forward Felix Unger-Sorum broke the seal with a deep one-timer from the right faceoff circle and finally beat Texas goaltender Remi Poirier. Less than a minute later on their next offensive possession, Wolves defenseman Charles Alexis-Legault chipped in the puck for the second goal of the night.

Texas finally prevailed, cutting the deficit back to one with Scott scoring his third goal of the weekend after getting a multitude of scoring looks in the first half of the game. While Scott was credited with the goal, the Wolves defenseman accidentally kicked the puck while defending the Stars forward just outside the crease.

To the fans' amusement, the goal was replayed on the video board a couple of times while both teams were setting up for the neutral zone face-off.

“We just needed the momentum,” Scott said. “We're kind of sitting in the room like ‘we get one, we'll get three.’ And that was kind of our message going into the third — We just needed to crack the seal.”

The momentum carried over into the final period, forward Matthew Seminoff was able to maintain his balance near Chicago goaltender Cayden Primeau's net to punch in defensemen Trey Taylor’s deflected shot to tie the game up at two early in the period.

The Stars hunkered down, fending off a Wolves power play attempt late in the game and flawlessly plugged any shooting lane on Chicago’s extra man advantage. Following the kill, Texas flew down the ice, cashing in on a three-on-two rush, with Jack Becker rocketing a wrist shot for the game-winning goal.

“They did a good job of just sticking to our game plan, and eventually we broke through and got the result we wanted,” head coach Toby Petersen said.

Chicago pulled Primeau with 2:27 seconds, much earlier than other teams in the league. While the Wolves had possession of the puck for the final two minutes of the night, the Stars and Poirier maintained their composure defensively.

“[Remi Poirier] has been playing unbelievable,” Scott said. “Just knowing we have a guy like him in the back gives us that confidence going forward that you know he's gonna be there for us.”

Texas will face the Iowa Wild on Tuesday at 7 PM CT at the H-E-B Center in Cedar Park, Texas.

Tonight's lines
Hanas-Becker-Hryckowian
Lind-Shlaine-Seminoff
Stranges-Scott-McKenzie
Ertel-Chisholm

Bertucci-Anderson
Taylor-Krys
Karow-Minnetian
Looft

R. Poirier

Injuries, scratches, and notes
J. Poirier, Kolyachonok, Martino, McDonald (scratch)
Wheatcroft, Tuomaala (injury)

Tonight's attendance was 6,778, a sellout.

AHL Gamesheet - Texas v. Chicago - April 4 2026

Poirier Continues to Dazzle, Stars Top Wolves 3-1 for Sixth Win in the Season Series

2026-04-03T22:52:00.006-05:00

(Credit: Texas Stars)

The AHL's goalie of the month, Remi Poirier, continued his domination as the Stars took down the Wolves 3-1. If the season ended today, the Wolves would be the Stars' first round playoff opponent. Both squads showed playoff intensity, but it was the Stars who overcame losing their third-period lead and earned the huge two points. Those two points also clinched the playoffs for the team that started the season 0-5-1.

It’s gonna be repeated a few times here, but Poirier was truly exceptional tonight. “When you're in the zone, everything is a little slower,” Poirier said post-game. “The play is all slower, the puck that's coming, everything that you see is all different. So it's always a great feeling when you're in that little bubble. In the zone, I call it.”

Poirier was very clearly “in the zone” from the get-go. He was arriving at one-timer chances already square, almost as if he knew where the puck was going before it was passed. His vision and concentration were also world-class; even on awkward plays like a deflected shot that was looping over his head, he calmly stood and snagged it with his glove hand. That looks a lot easier than it is, for a goaltender whose first instinct is to drop to the butterfly.

Artem Shlaine continued his trend of game-winning goals; not many this season have been prettier than his tally tonight, though. Fresh off an injury, the Russian hit the turbo to get on the breakaway and slide his game-winning goal five-hole. Shlaine finding a way to get it done, even without Cameron Hughes in the lineup, is supremely important for this club, and he continues to get the goals when the Stars need them most.

This was a great playoff-style showing for Texas and a huge confidence booster against the team they’re very likely to face in the postseason. The Stars are 6-1 against these Wolves this season, and they seem to be trending in the right direction as they head into the playoffs.

“We want to keep getting better, basically in all aspects,” head coach Toby Petersen said when asked about what the focus is on before the postseason. “Playoff winning teams share certain characteristics, certain traits, in their games, and those are the things we're going to be focused on.”

Texas started the game strong, outshooting the Wolves 8-2 in the first fifteen minutes. That segment included the Stars' first tally, a firm wrister from Harrison Scott that just snuck under the arm of the Chicago netminder. It followed several connected shifts of powerful forechecking from Texas, so the goal felt well-earned at that point.

The Wolves made an impressive push at the end of the opening frame, forcing Poirier to make several spectacular saves to maintain the lead. They also drew a penalty that spanned the intermission, but Texas was able to kill both ends of it.

Despite the Stars surviving the penalty, Chicago kept forcing their will on the game and dominated the second period. Texas was only able to muster one shot on goal at five-on-five, and the home side spent almost the entirety of the middle segment hemmed in their own end. Again, Poirier really was the difference here.

A bit of nastiness brewed at the end of the second as Jeremie Poirier was very clearly boarded from behind in the offensive zone. Every Star on the ice immediately rushed to his defense, all of them looking for a piece of the offending Wolf. That’s a good sign of playoff toughness for the Stars and hopefully a precursor to a very physical playoff series between these two squads.

The Stars got into some penalty trouble in the third, not ideal when trying to maintain a one-goal lead. Chicago made them pay for it with a pretty simple cross-crease pass and one-touch deflection to tie the game at one a piece midway through the final frame.

Texas was in full lockdown mode at that point in the game, seemingly content to try and win 1-0. That makes it tough to flip your mindset and find another goal, but the Stars got some help in the form of a four-on-four segment after some post-whistle disagreements. Jeremie Poirier was the key feature in several good looks that really woke up the Stars' offense.

That led to Kole Lind (who was in the box for the Wolves' tying goal) chipping a lead pass for Shlaine, who blazed between the pair of Chicago defenders and on a breakaway from the blueline in, snuck the puck five-hole to retake the lead with just six minutes remaining.

Chicago aggressively pulled their goalie with well over three minutes left in regulation, seemingly catching the Stars off guard. They got some zone time and were committed to putting traffic in front of Poirier. That ultimately never culminated in much of a scoring chance. Eventually, Scott tallied his second of the night on the empty net, giving the Stars a big win in the first game of the weekend.

Tonight’s win, along with the Moose loss, gives the Stars some breathing room beneath them in the standings and pulls them within four of Chicago, just above them. Texas will look to shrink that down to two tomorrow night at 7 PM at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park.

Tonight’s lines
Hughes-Shlaine-Seminoff
Hanas-Becker-Lind
Stranges-Scott-McKenzie
Ertel-Chisholm-Pearson

Taylor-Krys
Anderson-Bertucci
Karow-J. Poirier

R. Poirier

Injuries, scratches and notes
Minnetian, Kolyachonok, (scratch)
McDonald, Looft (warm-up)
Wheatcroft, Tuomaala (Injured)

Tonight’s attendance was 6,279.

AHL Gamesheet - Texas v. Chicago - April 3 2026

Road Warrior Remi Poirier Wins March's AHL Goalie of the Month as Texas Looks Toward Postseason

2026-04-03T16:30:00.004-05:00

(Credit: Logan Foust/Texas Stars)

Somewhat quietly, Remi Poirier has been the AHL's best goaltender for a while. The French-Canadian tender, who just broke the Stars' franchise record for wins, went a blistering 7-2-0 in March and saved 93.4% of shot against. That gaudy save percentage is especially notable in a year where goalie save percentages have been down across the NHL and AHL.

You have to throw in here that Poirier did most of this work on the road. Among his nine contests in the month, six were away from Cedar Park. He went 5-1 in those starts.

It's the second such award for Poirier, who has solidified his place in the Texas Stars history books forever and as the third tender in the Dallas system right now.

Texas will need Poirier every bit as locked in as he was in March as Texas faces off against four different Central Division foes to end the regular season. Tonight against Chicago could be a playoff preview for the currently three seeded Stars.

Here's the release:

The American Hockey League announced today that Texas Stars goaltender Remi Poirier has been named the league’s Goaltender of the Month for March.
Poirier, 24, went 7-2-0 last month with a 2.27 goals-against average, and a .934 save percentage to earn the monthly award for the second time in his career, becoming the first Stars goaltender to do so. The fourth-year pro went 7-0-0 in March 2025 to claim the Goaltender of the Month award for the first time.
Poirier has set single-season career highs this year for games played, wins, saves and minutes, boasting a 23-17-4 record with a 2.62 GAA and .913 SV% in 44 appearances. He set a Texas franchise record on Mar. 25 at San Jose when he made 33 saves in a 3-2 triumph for his 65th career win with the Stars.
The Farnham, Quebec native was drafted by Dallas in the sixth round (185th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft.

Texas Scores Two in Third, Tops San Jose 2-1 in Comeback

2026-03-31T23:59:00.000-05:00

(Credit: San Jose Barracuda)

The final game of a six-game road trip can be a grind—especially when four regular starters are sidelined. That was the situation for the Texas on Tuesday at Tech CU Arena against the San Jose Barracuda.

Missing from action were: Arttu Hyry, Cameron Hughes (both callups), Artem Shlaine and Trey Taylor. The Stars dug deep and came from behind in the third period to win 2-1, ending their road trip with a 3-3 record.

Due to injuries and callups, the Texas dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen for the first time this season. With lines in flux, the visitors struggled to find rhythm early and spent much of the opening period under pressure. The Barracuda outshot the Stars 14-5 in the frame, but Texas managed to escape without conceding, thanks in large part to several key shot blocks.

San Jose broke through just over five minutes into the second period when Filip Bystedt beat Rémi Poirier low on the stick side. Texas had a prime chance to respond moments later when Sean Chisholm sprung for a shorthanded breakaway but was turned aside by Laurent Brossoit.

As the period wore on, the physicality ramped up. Heavy hits and post-whistle scrums became routine. Barracuda forward Brendan Hoffmann powered to the net hard and collided with Poirier, causing him to get knocked backward, but no penalty was assessed on the play.

The frustration from the Stars bench was evident as several calls went against them. At one point, head coach Toby Petersen was visibly animated, shouting at officials following a delay of game penalty.

Needing a spark offensively, Texas found it almost immediately to start the third period. Just over a minute in, Cross Hanas pounced on a rebound from Matthew Seminoff and beat Laurent Brossoit to tie the game.

Just 16 seconds later, Dylan Hryckowian gave the Stars a 2-1 lead, scoring his first professional goal and extending his point streak to three games. Not only was the goal clutch, it proved to be the game-winner.

Strong defensive play by Texas, combined with timely saves from Poirier (43 saves), carried them through the remainder of the contest, securing a 2-1 victory and two crucial road points.

Next up, the Stars return to the H-E-B Center on Friday April 3rd at 7 PM to take on the Chicago Wolves.

Tonight’s lines
Hanas-Lind-Seminoff
Martino-Becker-Hryckowian
Stranges-Scott-McKenzie
McDonald-Chisholm

Bertucci-Krys
J. Poirier-Karow
Minnetian-Kolyachonok

Anderson

R. Poirier

Injuries, scratches and notes
Hyry, Hughes (callup)
Taylor, Ertel, Looft (scratch)
Wheatcroft, Tuomaala, Shlaine (injury)

Tonight’s attendance was 1,512.

AHL Gamesheet- Texas at San Jose - March 31 2026

Cameron Hughes Earns First Dallas Stars Recall, Will Play Against Boston

2026-03-31T11:51:00.000-05:00

(Credit: Texas Stars)

The Dallas Stars announced yesterday that Cameron Hughes, who has led the Texas Stars in scoring wire-to-wire, has been recalled to the NHL. Further reporting today from the NHL post-skate press conference indicates that he will make his debut for Dallas tonight against Boston. The Bruins were Hughes' first NHL team, and he played two games with the club before signing with Seattle and then Dallas.

Hughes has been the motor for the Texas Stars' recovery to playoff position since their horrendous start in October and November. Texas media man John Peterson loves to remind us all that Hughes is the leading scorer in the AHL since Thanksgiving. Even without that caveat, he is leading the AHL in assists (50) and currently sits tied for second for overall scoring (66).

It looks like he'll play on a line with Arttu Hyry and Oskar Bäck. It would be an insanely formidable line in the AHL, but against NHL competition, they may not make it to double-digit minutes. In order for Hughes to show his game, he'll need to hope for some offensive zone time and ability to distribute the puck. Bäck had a traditional lack of finish in Texas and Hyry only just sniped his first NHL goal. Either or both will need to find some finish to benefit Hughes' game.

Here's the release:

Dallas Stars General Manager Jim Nill announced today the club recalled forward Cameron Hughes from the Texas Stars, Dallas’ primary development affiliate in the American Hockey League.

Hughes, 29, has enjoyed a career year for Texas, achieving personal bests for assists and points. He leads the AHL with 50 assists and shares second with 66 points (16-50—66). The eighth-year pro has appeared in all 63 of Texas’ games and participated in the AHL All-Star Classic for the first time February in Rockford. Hughes has 20 multi-point games this season, seven different three-point games, and a four-point game (1-3—4) on Feb. 28 vs. San Diego.

The veteran forward is in his second season with the Stars organization and has totaled 123 points (39-84—123) in 132 regular season games. Additionally, he compiled 19 points (4-15—19) in 14 Calder Cup Playoff games in 2025. Hughes has skated in 456 AHL games for Providence, Coachella Valley and Texas during his career, and has picked up 349 points (121-228—349). He has also appeared in two NHL contests for the Boston Bruins, most recently May 11, 2021 at Washington.

The Edmonton, Alberta native was originally selected by Boston in the sixth round (165th overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft.

Stars Tagged With Five Unanswered in 6-3 Loss at Bakersfield

2026-03-28T23:58:00.007-05:00

(Credit: Bakersfield Condors)

Some nights you got it and some night you don't. The 6-3 defeat Texas was handed tonight in Bakersfield was less inspiring than even the scoreline would suggest after some dead cat bounce goals in the third period to make it look respectable. After scoring the first goal of the night, the Stars ceded five straight to truly end the night in the second period.

Texas' opening goal came in the second period with a beauty of a shot off the left wing dot from Sean Chisholm, his third of the year. Chisholm also earned a fighting major in the game but did not find an assist to complete the Gordie Howe hat trick.

From there, Bakersfield just turned up the heat repeatedly. Texas had trouble clearing the zone on shift after shift and saw it end up behind Arno Tiefensee more times than anyone would want. Tiefensee got tagged with the loss, stopping 34 shots and dropping to 10-6-0-1 on the year.

By the end of the second, it was 3-1 Condors. The hosts would add two more to start the final frame and put things out of reach. Texas would claw back two tallies with a tip play by Harrison Scott and an individual effort from Cross Hanas.

An empty net goal would end the comeback chances for the visitors, who drop to 2-3 on their lengthy Pacific road trip. Their last game of the trip is Tuesday against San Jose at 9 PM CST.

Injuries, scratches and notes
Hyry (callup)
Karow, J. Poirier, Minnetian (scratch)
Shlaine, Wheatcroft, Tuomaala (injury)

Tonight’s attendance was 5,522.

AHL Gamesheet - Texas at Bakersfield - March 28 2026

Texas Stars Can't Complete Comeback, Fall to Bakersfield 4-3

2026-03-27T23:59:00.000-05:00

(Credit: Bakersfield Condors)

With only 10 games left in the regular season and time quickly running out before it is pencils down for the Texas Stars, they set out for their final trip through California with hopes of taking a big step to clinching their spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs.

They stumbled on that trip tonight, falling to the Bakersfield Condors 4-3 Friday night at Dignity Health Arena.

Texas' defense corps provided the scoring all night for the Stars as Tristan Bertucci, Jeremie Poirier, and Luke Krys all scored from the back end, but it was not enough to complete the comeback.

The Stars found themselves down early after two crucial breakdowns in defensive coverage put them in a 2-0 hole.

James Hamblin skated into an open lane after a badly timed line change left him wide open for Condors captain Seth Griffith to find with a picture perfect pass to make it 1-0.

Bakersfield struck again after an extended stay in the Stars’ zone. Quinn Hutson was able to force a turnover from Trey Taylor that set up a sizzling cross-ice pass for Isaac Howard to eventually fire past Stars goaltender Remi Poirier to make it 2-0 at 11:42 of the first period.

The Stars would eventually find their footing toward the end of the first period and were back in the game when a point shot from Bertiucci got past a screened Calvin Pickard.

That momentum carried over into the second period when another shot from the blueline, this one from Jeremie Poirier, found the back of the net to make it 2-2.

Twenty-eight seconds later, though, the Condors were back up on top when a net front scrum ended with Sam Poulin digging up a loose puck and putting Bakersfield back up 3-2. Bakersfield would make it 4-2 thanks to a shot from Viljami Marjala.

Krys put the Stars back into position to tie when he capped off a shorthanded rush to make it 4-3 at 14:31 of the third period, but Texas would not be able to get another puck past Pickard before the end of regulation time.

Texas will get another shot at the Condors Saturday night as they kick off the final 10-game stretch of the regular season.

Tonight’s lines
Hughes-Shlaine-Seminoff
Lind-Becker-Hryckowian
Stranges-Scott-McKenzie
Ertel-Hanas-Martino

Taylor-Krys
J. Poirier-Karow
Bertucci-Kolyachonok

R. Poirier

Injuries, scratches and notes
Hyry (callup)
Anderson, Minnetian, McDonald, Looft (scratch)
Wheatcroft, Tuomaala (injury)

Tonight’s attendance was 4,693.

AHL Gamesheet - Texas at Bakersfield - March 27 2026

Dallas Signs Aram Minnetian, Continuing the Spring ELC to ATO Pipeline

2026-03-26T18:55:00.006-05:00

(Credit: Boston College Athletics)

With two ATOs already in the fold, Texas added another yesterday as Dallas signed 2023 fourth round defenseman Aram Minnetian to a standard three-year ELC. Minnetian is expected to join the team this weekend in Bakersfield.

The Stars drafted Minnetian out of the US NTDP. After his 18 year old season, the New Jersey native went to Boston College for three years. He finished his collegiate career with 35 points in 111 games and a decent plus-46 rating, including plus-15 just this season.

Minnetian is a proven winner at the international level as well with gold medals in the trophy case from the 2025 IIHF U20 World Juniors and the 2023 U18 tourney as well. Prior to this season, BC ranked at the top of Hockey East in the regular season and captured the conference's championship in 2024 as well.

As with Jack Anderson and Dylan Hryckowian, Texas fans should expect to see Minnetian in the lineup as soon as he is available, which should be this weekend. Minnetian will wear #15 for Texas.

In a separate move, Texas assigned forward Kaleb Pearson to Idaho, where he promptly score the opening goal in his first game back.

Remi Porier Becomes Texas Stars Franchise Wins Leader

2026-03-26T16:03:00.002-05:00

(Credit: Nicholas Kingman/100 Degree Hockey)

There can only be one person at the mountain top, and that person for the Texas Stars franchise is Remi Poirier.

Poirier earned his 65th career victory in a gritty, 3-2 victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Wednesday to pass former record holder, Landon Bow, as the franchise's all-time wins leader, earning the mark 13 games faster.

This season also marked his career high in wins with 22 as the Stars' primary option in net this year — Texas still has 11 games left in the regular season.

“It's like every game he has a couple of big saves to keep it in our favor,” head coach Toby Petersen said about Poirier in San Jose. “ I can't say enough about Remi either. He's always on his game, just battling through traffic.”

But No. 65 was not easy for Poirier, and a common theme for much of the 2025-26 season for Texas — it was on the shoulders of Poirier’s labor that kept the Stars in the game for the majority of the night.

The Stars struggled to get anything going on the offensive side of the ice early, besides a couple of unsuccessful shifts near San Jose goaltender Laurent Brossoit.

Outside of two fluky goals in the first on the Barracuda’s first power play of the night and a quick goal in the final minute of the second period, Poirier made routine saves, keeping the game a one-goal deficit for much of the third.

The veteran netminder was shelled with 35 shots, stopping 33 in the Stars' come-from-behind victory, 3-2 victory in San Jose.

“Tonight, I think a lot of it was just like he made the saves look like a routine,” Petersen said. “He was camped out in the right spot, he was making good reads, that’s something he does a lot of.”

Out of qualified goaltenders this season, Poirier is one of only three netminders to start 42 games, tied for first with Cleveland’s Ivan Fedotov and Rochester’s Devon Levi.

Despite the Stars' slow start to the season, Poirier still has one of the best goals allowed averages with 2.63, ranking him 16th in the league.

In the past offseason, Poirier inked a two-year, two-way contract with Dallas, keeping him in the organization for at least until the 2026-27 season.

Texas will continue its longest road trip of the season against the Bakersfield Condors on Friday at 9 p.m. CT at Dignity Health Arena in Bakersfield, California.

Jack Becker Contributes Three Points in Stars Come-From-Behind Victory over Barracuda

2026-03-25T23:49:00.008-05:00

(Credit: Meredith Breuer-Williams/San Jose Barracuda)

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Texas Stars forward Jack Becker earned his first star of the game with conviction. Without him on the ice, it would be hard to say Texas even pulls this one out over the San Jose Barracuda.

Becker had his hand on all three goals scored by the Stars in tonight’s game, firing the first goal of the night and providing a pair of assists on Luke Krys and Kole Lind’s game-winner in the final period.

Down by one in the final period, Texas rallied from its deficit in the final 10 minutes of regulation, putting two goals behind San Jose netminder Laurent Brossoit to take a 3-2 victory Wednesday evening at Tech CU Arena.

“The resiliency we showed down 2-1 going into the third — We stuck to our game plan,” head coach Toby Petersen said. “We didn't stray from the game plan… that's the one thing I like the most.”

The rally came despite the Stars' struggles on the power, going 0-for-5 tonight behind a stingy Barracuda penalty kill. Texas improves to 2-1 on its longest road trip of the season, just in time for the final push for the final spots in the standings.

“It feels great — gutsy win,” Becker said. “[It] took the whole 60 minutes really, so it really feels good, and we just keep pushing, since it's that time of year, and those points really matter.”

Becker is working with a somewhat new line of Lind and newly-signed Northeastern forward Dylan Hryckowian, the brother of 2025 AHL Rookie of the Year, Justin Hryckowian. As the top line tonight in San Jose, the trio was impressive anytime they were on the ice.

In an offensive zone faceoff, Becker won the draw swiftly, flipping the puck back to Stars defensemen Trey Taylor at the point and quickly tossing it to his linemate, Luke Krys, for a better read. Krys fired a wrist shot to tie the game up at two with a little under 10 minutes left in regulation.

“When you go down 2-1 at the end of the second there. It's tough with those momentum minutes. So we knew that the next goal was going to be really important,” Becker said. “It was kind of a sigh of relief, and like, 'hey, we can win this game.’”

Unable to get anything going on its fifth and final power play of the night, Texas caught some momentum late on its next couple of possessions.

In a battle for the puck behind Brossoit's net, Becker and forward Cross Hanas were able to wrangle the puck from the deadlock. Becker was able to dish it to Lind, chipping the puck in for the game-winner.

Becker scored the game's first goal, sailing into traffic and keeping the puck for himself despite Hryckowian being open to his right. Becker was able to punch a shot past Brossoit to take an early 1-0 lead.

San Jose quickly stormed back from its deficit. Barracuda forward Colin White won a quick draw face-off and dumped the puck into Poirier’s net on San Jose's first shot of the power play, finding the back of the net.

That would not be the only “fluke” goal scored by the Barracuda. In the final minute of the second period, both San Jose and Texas struggled to gain control of the puck near Poirier's net. San Jose forward Egor Afanasyev was able to pickpocket near the net for the turnover and the quick goal.

Texas will continue its longest road trip of the season against the Bakersfield Condors on Friday at 9 p.m. CT at Dignity Health Arena in Bakersfield, California.

Tonight's lines

Lind-Becker-Hryckowian

Hughes-Shaline-Seminoff

Stranges-Scott-McKenzie

Chisholm-Hanas-McDonald

Taylor-Krys

Anderson-Karow

Bertucci-Kolyachonok

Poirier

Injuries, scratches and notes
Hyry (call-up)

J. Poirier, Ertel, Martino, Looft (scratch)
Wheatcroft, Tuomaala (injury)

Tonight's attendance was 2,952.

AHL Gamesheet - Texas at San Jose - March 25 2026

Too Little, Too Late: Stars Trounced 7-2 by Silver Knights

2026-03-22T21:53:00.003-05:00

(Credit: Henderson Silver Knights)

The Texas Stars were steamrolled Sunday night by the Henderson Silver Knights in a 7-2 blowout. The Stars trailed the entirety of the game; simply exiting their own zone seemed like a monumental task at times. This was an especially astonishing dropoff in play after the Stars won a spirited 6-3 game against the Knights the night before.

The common trope in a poor effort like this is to blame the netminder, but that would be a wild oversimplification. Arno Tiefensee was peppered all night with breakaways and odd-man rushes that would have been too much even for the league's top goalies. That being said, Tiefensee’s play did leave something to be desired, much like the rest of the team.

It’s hard to find anything good in this one. The Stars could not break the Knights' forecheck all game. The only clean exits came in the form of high flips, a play where it’s very difficult to maintain possession. Their turnovers, misreads and general lack of defensive execution had them chasing the Knights all game long. This was one of the worst showings from Texas as of late.

If you had to pick something positive for Texas, it would probably be Matthew Seminoff's power play goal scored after the contest was out of hand in the third; it was his fourth in five games. He’s grown extremely comfortable in the dangerous bumper spot right at the top of the crease on the power play. His quick hands and ability to swiftly elevate the puck have given him success in that spot where time is of the essence.

Henderson stormed out of the gates, scoring just 19 seconds into the contest. Raphael Lavoie snuck behind Luke Krys and got a mini breakaway from the blue line in. He pretty calmly lifted a wrister over the pad of Tiefensee to take the early 1-0 lead.

The Knights kept that momentum going as they continued to dominate the first frame, outshooting Texas 12 to 1 and scoring a second goal about midway through off a deflected point shot. Texas’ single shot on goal was the lowest SOG total in a period all year for the Stars.

Texas could not exit their zone as the Knights sent wave after wave of forecheckers against the Stars' defense. That pressure forced the Stars to repeatedly ice the puck, further fueling Henderson’s attack. That continued throughout the night.

The second was no better for the Stars, and it started as a mirror image of the first, with an early Knights goal. Just over a minute in, Henderson found a late trailer on the rush who beat the blocker of Tiefensee from the low slot.

The Stars were given a couple of gifts later in the middle frame as the Knights took back-to-back minor penalties, essentially giving the Stars four minutes on the man advantage. That segment of power play hockey ended with a short-handed breakaway goal for the Knights, putting an exclamation point on the Stars' poor power play effort and overall play up to that point.

The Knights netted two more tallies, one at the end of the second and one at the beginning of the third, to bring the score to 6-0, before the Stars mercifully put a couple of pucks in the Knights’ net. The first was the aforementioned power play tally from Seminoff. Karow found the second just a few minutes later with a seeing-eye snapshot through traffic just a few minutes later.

The Knights quickly dispelled any inkling of a comeback with their seventh goal of the night, again on an odd-man rush. The remainder of the game ended without much excitement. An especially sad sight in a mostly empty building.

The Stars will need to wash this one away quickly as they head to San Jose for a midweek tilt against the Barracuda. That game will be on Wednesday at 9 PM, where Dylan Hryckowian is expected to make his much-anticipated professional debut for the Texas Stars.

Tonight’s lines

Hughes-Shlaine-Seminoff

Hanas-Becker-Lind

Stranges-Scott-McKenzie

Ertel-Chisholm-Pearson

Taylor-Krys

Anderson-Kolyachonok

Karow-Poirier

Tiefensee

Injuries, scratches and notes

Hyry (callup)

McDonald, Ertel, Looft, Hryckowian, Martino (scratch)

Wheatcroft, Tuomaala (injury)

Tonight’s attendance was 2,248.

AHL Gamesheet - Texas at Henderson - March 22 2026

Stars Offense on Fire: Texas Tops Henderson 6-3 to Kick Off Six Game Road Trip

2026-03-21T23:29:00.003-05:00

(Credit: Henderson Silver Knights)

The Texas Stars hung on to defeat the Henderson Silver Knights 6-3 in a high-scoring slugfest to kick off their six-game road trip. The Stars snapped the Knights' six-game winning streak and are now on a four-game winning streak of their own. The two points earned put Texas back into third in the Central Division and just four points behind the second-place Chicago Wolves.

The Stars' offense remained hot in this one. They have reached four goals or more in six of their last eight games. This is a stunning turnaround for a team that was one of the league's worst goal-scorers to start the season, and now they're one of the hottest offenses in the entire AHL.

The Stars’ top line was once again their best as the trio Cameron Hughes, Artem Shlaine and Matthew Seminoff each recorded at least two points. Hughes got three thanks to his third-period empty-net goal. The league leader in assists picked up two more tonight, including a beautiful saucer to Shlaine on a go-ahead goal just 10 seconds into the second period.

Jack Anderson made his professional debut tonight for Texas, and he is hard to miss. The 6’6” defenseman slotted in for Michael Karow tonight, adding some much-needed size to the Stars' back end. Other than the sporadic positional error, he was solid defensively and even hit the crossbar in the dying embers of the game.

The Stars are absolutely rolling now, and they're doing it with a suddenly high-powered offense. If they can find a way to combine this offense and the staunch defense they displayed in the middle part of the season, they may turn into a playoff darkhorse.

Jeremie Poirier got things started five minutes into the contest, sneaking a tricky backhand off the rush in for the Stars' first goal. Curtis McKenzie made a sweet cross-zone pass to Poirier on that play to pick up his 300th AHL assist. Poirier has been on almost a point per game pace since joining the Stars. The Poirier addition seems so much more important now that Capobianco will be staying in Dallas for the remainder of the season, and he’s been incredibly effective in the offensive zone.

The Knights punched back with two goals of their own and put the Stars on the back foot for most of the remainder of the first period. Their first tally was on the power play after a suspect hooking call on Kole Lind in the offensive zone. The Knights made a quick pass from behind the net into the slot and easily one-timed it past Remi Poirier. Their second was an accidental change-up off the rush that somehow snuck between Poirier’s legs as it slowly slid along the ice.

Despite that slip-up, Poirier made an incredible 40 saves on the night, his third-most saves in a game this season. The Stars were absolutely floundering in the middle of the first period, and without the French-Canadian, the game could’ve gotten out of hand before the Stars had a chance to get their offense rolling. Poirier is really heating up as the Stars head down the final stretch of the season.

The Stars were outshot 17-8 in the first, but somehow found a way to finish the period tied thanks to yet another power play goal from Seminoff in the final 30 seconds. Artem Shlaine partially fanned on his own shot from the slot, but the puck slid right to Seminoff, who snapped it home. That was Seminoff’s eighth power play goal of the season and his third in four games.

Texas started the scoring just 10 seconds into the middle frame. The AHL’s leading assist man, Cameron Hughes, made a slick cross-zone saucer pass to Shlaine. The Russian rookie made quick work of the setup and sniped a one-timer past the Knights' netminder. Just 30 seconds of game time separated the Stars’ second and third goals.

The Stars were still outshot in the second period, but they did a much better job of keeping the Knights’ shots to the perimeter of the zone and started getting some more extended time in the Knights’ end. That zone time eventually led to Jack Becker tapping home a puck in the crease after a Luke Krys point shot hit traffic in front and fell at the net mouth, giving the Stars a 4-2 lead heading into the second intermission.

The Stars had two massive penalty kills in the third period against the league's best power play unit from Henderson. Remi Poirier sparkled again, making six massive saves and maintaining the Stars’ two-goal lead.

The Knights would not go quietly, though. Tanner Laczynski made an incredible play, knocking down a point shot and pulling it around Poirier to cut the lead to one with five minutes remaining. The Stars' defense stopped all drama, however, as they quickly deposited two empty net goals, not giving the Knights much of a chance 6-on-5.

Texas will look to push their winning streak to five games tomorrow night as they take on Henderson once again at Lee’s Family Forum.

Tonight’s lines
Hughes-Shlaine-Seminoff
Hanas-Becker-Lind
Stranges-Scott-McKenzie
Martino-Chisholm-Pearson

Taylor-Krys
Poirier-Bertucci
Anderson-Kolyachonok

Poirier

Injuries, scratches and notes
Hyry (callup)
McDonald, Karow, Ertel, Looft (scratch)
Wheatcroft, Tuomaala (injured)

Tonight’s attendance was 4,757.

AHL Gamesheet - Texas at Henderson - March 21 2026

Northeastern's Dylan Hryckowian Signs Two-Year NHL Deal, Joins Texas on ATO

2026-03-20T15:59:00.000-05:00

(Credit: Jim Pierce/Northeastern University Athletics)

In a move that was certainly anticipated but wasn't sure enough to seem guaranteed, the Dallas Stars managed to snag college free agent forward Dylan Hryckowian on a two-year NHL entry-level deal. He will join Texas on an amateur tryout for the remainder of this season.

Dylan is, of course, the brother of last year's AHL Rookie of the Year and current accidental Renaissance painting subject Justin.

Dylan Hryckowian is three years younger than Justin. The two played together for one season at Northeastern. Dylan has maintained a pretty even scoring pace in his collegiate year with a point per game in his first two and 37 in 30 in his final season. All of that put him on the collegiate free agent radar coming into this season. Dylan described his own game as being a "fast-paced winger" with a lot of north-south and who can make plays and score.

Dallas extended a development camp invite last summer after Justin's success in the AHL.

Obviously, many are going to look at Dylan and expect a carbon copy of his brother. That's not fair to him as a player or a person, of course. He is his own man and will make his own way. With that being said, it's not a bad path to follow if he can make it happen: instant impact forward on an ATO, AHL Rookie of the Year in year one then chief ... stuff disturber in the NHL a year later.

The development pipeline continues to pay dividends on itself. The Stars got Justin and now certainly got Dylan because of Justin. As I wrote in November 2024 about Justin's decision to join Dallas:

Ultimately, the decision to join Dallas was not a difficult one. The Stars, headed by [then] two-time GM of the Year Jim Nill, have a reputation that precedes them. Hryckowian said that everyone he dealt with was “first class” and that everyone he spoke with about the organization agreed that they did things the right way.

“Every conversation was positive,” he said. “I really appreciate the honesty from them and how up-front they were during the process.”

With Texas on its longest road trip of the year, Dylan will likely make his debut away from home. The team expects him in the lineup no earlier than Wednesday against San Jose.

Cross Hanas Leads Texas Stars Past Chicago Wolves in Comeback Victory

2026-03-18T23:34:00.009-05:00

(Credit: Andy Nietupski/Texas Stars)

Down by two goals with a big fat zero next to the Texas Stars logo has been a common occurrence for this edition of the Stars. But time and time again, Texas manages to find a way in the win column by the final horn.

The Stars rallied from a two-goal deficit and just six shots on net to sweep the Chicago Wolves in their midweek games and go 3-1 during their four-game home stand, with a 5-4 victory Wednesday night at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park.

“Halfway through the second period, I think we just started winning some battles, playing more physical,” Stars forward Cross Hanas said. “We knew that they were in their third game in four nights with a travel day. So we're kind of in on that, trying to turn them over there at the end.”

Stealing Stars head coach Toby Petersen’s favorite analogy of poor play, Texas was taking on “a lot of water” in the game's first thirty minutes, firing a measly six shots on Wolves' goaltender Amir Miftakhov while Arno Tiefensee was being shelled on his end.

Tiefensse was able to hold his own for most of the night, especially during the tough showing in the first half of the game, but a poor turnover by Texas in the neutral zone led to Chicago scoring its second goal on the night.

“We've had Remi [Poirier] do that several times throughout the year, and Arno did it tonight, really held us in there,” Petersen said. “Things were a little tough for us, so it was great to see the way he played tonight.”

Something had to break for the Stars offensively or this game was going to get ugly fast. With all of the young skaters struggling, it was up to the old man, Stars captain Curtis McKenzie, to take matters into his own hands on the next shift.

McKenzie gave juice to a 'sleepy' Stars team, wrapping around the net and stuffing the puck past Miftakhov’s left skate for the first of three Texas goals scored in the middle frame.

“That was the turning point,” Petersen said about the McKenzie goal. “We were sleepy to start. They played a great game to start — they were all over us. We were having trouble getting possession of the puck and maintaining possession.”

Harrison Scott picked up two points on the evening, a helper on McKenzie's momentum-shifting goal and one of his own, tying the game up at two apiece.

Texas native Cross Hanas gave the Stars the lead late in the second period, connecting with a pass from Kole Lind on a rush. Hanas caught Miftakhov falling and found a wide-open net to take the lead with a little over two minutes left in the period.

Despite a comfortable lead, the Wolves were not letting up so easily. Wolves defenseman Charles Alexis-Legault made it a one-point game off a deep wrist shot from the point. Hanas was able to put Texas back up by two on the power play with the help of Jack Becker tossing Hanas the puck in the high slot for the goal.

“[Becker] made a great play, getting low with the puck,” Hanas said. “Seas parted, called for it, and the shot went in.”

Wolves forward Josiah Smith picked up his second goal of the game when Chicago pulled Miftakhov for the 6-on-5 late in the game. The Stars held to their victory despite a strong push by the Wolves in the final minute.

Stars forward Kaleb Pearson, making his third appearance in the AHL, was able to get in on the offensive explosion, opening up the third period with his first AHL goal.

Texas will head out on its longest road trip of the season, first starting with the Henderson Silver Knights on Saturday at 8 PM CT at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, Nevada.

Tonight's lines
Hughes-Shlaine-Seminoff
Hanas-Becker-Lind
Stranges-Scott-McKenzie
Martino-Chisholm-Pearson

Taylor-Krys

Karow-J. Poirier

Bertucci-Kolyachonok

Tiefensee

Injuries, scratches and notes
Hyry (callup)
McDonald, Anderson, Ertel (scratch)
Looft (warm-up)
Wheatcroft, Tuomaala (injured)

Tonight's attendance was 5,951.

AHL Gamesheet - Texas v. Chicago - March 18 2026

Texas Stars Open ATO Season Signing Dallas ELC Defenseman Jack Anderson

2026-03-18T10:59:00.000-05:00

(Credit: Michigan Tech Athletics)

It wouldn't be a Texas Stars season without an ATO signing from Michigan Tech or Ferris State. This year, Michigan Tech wins the mantle with the Stars signing defenseman Jack Anderson out of college to an amateur tryout deal following the announcement of his two-year entry-level contract with the Dallas Stars.

Anderson played three seasons at Lindenwood University, a small private school in the suburbs of Anderson's native St. Louis, Missouri. For his final season, he transferred to Michigan Tech and wore an "A" for the Huskies. He moved to the Upper Peninsula along with his Lindenwood head coach, Bill Muckalt, who took the head job this season, and defensive coach Benton Maass, who also made the same move to follow Muckalt. Former Texas Star Tyler Shelast is also on staff at Michigan Tech with 13 years under his belt there.

Anderson profiles as a big man defenseman. He's 6'6 and 225 pounds. He had his best offensive season of his collegiate career at Tech, leading the defense with 11-13=24. At the conclusion of the season, Anderson was named the CCHA Defensive Defenseman of the Year in addition to earning All-CCHA First Team Honors.

His time in Cedar Park will not be his first time playing for a Texas-based team as he skated a single season for the El Paso Rhinos in the NAHL. He amassed 136 penalty minutes in 57 games there.

With Texas stacked up relatively well on defense, you'd have to imagine Anderson skates only occasionally in a 6/7 role this season. His ELC ensures he'll be in the mix next year.

Poirier Holds the Line: Stars Grind Out 2-1 Win Over Wolves

2026-03-17T23:15:00.001-05:00

(Credit: Mason Zimmerman)

The Chicago Wolves came to Cedar Park on Tuesday night carrying a slide and a scouting report. They knew what Texas had done to Bakersfield two nights earlier: six goals, a dominant goaltender, and an offense that had finally remembered what it felt like to run.

What the Wolves couldn’t know was whether that was a one-game heater or something more permanent. By the time the final horn sounded on a grinding 2-1 Texas victory, the answer was clear.

This team doesn’t need a blowout to win anymore. Sometimes they just need Remi Poirier and twenty seconds.

Texas wasted no time sending a message. Just twenty seconds in, Cameron Hughes took a feed from Artem Shlaine, set up by a sharp pass from Matthew Seminoff, and lifted the puck past Wolves netminder Cayden Primeau before the home crowd had fully settled into their seats.

It was the kind of goal that shifts the entire weight of a game before either team has found its legs, and the H-E-B Center felt it immediately.

What followed was sixty minutes of defensive chess. Neither team gave the other much room. Lines were organized, passes were clean, and both squads spent long stretches neutralizing each other in the middle of the ice. Texas Stars head coach Toby Petersen had warned his group all week: the Wolves are a handful.

“They’re a good team. They’re a dangerous team," said Petersen. "They’ve got some big D and some talented defensemen. We’re always aware of that.”

Chicago proved the point in the final two minutes of the second period, erupting for six shots on goal in a frantic late surge. Poirier answered every one.

By the time Cross Hanas sealed it with an empty-netter with just under two minutes left in regulation, the only drama remaining was Noel Gunler’s late tally with 32 seconds left. A goal that made the final score look closer than the game ever felt.

It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t the kind of night that fills a highlight reel. But in late March, with the playoff picture tightening by the day, a boring win counts exactly as much as a beautiful one.

Remi Poirier was everything Toby Petersen needed him to be and then some. After Texas went up 1-0 in the opening seconds, the Wolves threw everything they had at him . Six shots on goal in the first frame alone, in a period where Chicago was clearly trying to reset the tone.

He stopped all of them. Through the second, as Chicago dominated a long shift in the Stars’ zone and pushed hard in the final two minutes, Poirier held firm.

He carried a shutout bid all the way to the 59:28 mark before Gunler finally solved him with the outcome already decided.

"He’s been awesome. He’s been our best player all year. You know, both games last weekend, the game against Bakersfield - that was unbelievable." said Cameron Hughes of Poirier. "He’s a hell of a goalie, just a competitor, a gamer. He’s always going to bring it. And yeah, he’s been outstanding all year."

For much of this season, Poirier was the reason Texas stayed in games they had no business winning. Now he’s the reason games that are won stay won. That’s a different kind of value, and it’s one this team has built around.

The Wolves are too good to take lightly, and Petersen isn’t doing that. But he knows what this team is built on right now. “It’s good for our guys that we’re just finding ways to win games right now," said coach Petersen. "All we can control is whether or not we go out there and get the W, and from there, chips fall in our favor.”

The race for home ice and playoff seeding in the Central runs through games exactly like this one: division opponents, tight margins, points taken from a team sitting ahead of you in the standings.

Grand Rapids has already secured their spot. Everything else - seeding, home ice, the right to play in May, is still being decided. Every point counts twice right now.

One win doesn’t clinch anything, and this team knows that better than anyone. They’ve been in the position of letting good weeks dissolve before. But something about this stretch feels different.

The structure holds in the third period now, the penalty kill bends without breaking, and the roster has learned how to win the game in front of them rather than the one they wished they were playing. Tuesday wasn’t the kind of night that gets remembered in April. But it’s the kind of night that makes April possible.

Remi Poirier held the line for 59 minutes. Twenty seconds was all Texas needed. That’s a winning formula.

Texas returns to the ice Wednesday night against the Chicago Wolves at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. Puck drop is 7:00 PM CT.

Tonight's lines:

Hughes-Shlaine-Seminoff.
Hanas-Becker-Lind
Stranges-Scott-McKenzie
Martino-Chisholm-Pearson

Taylor-Krys
J. Poirier-Karow
Bertucci-Kolyachonok

R. Poirier

Injuries, scratches and notes
Hyry (callup)
McDonald (scratch)
Ertel, Looft (warm-up)
Wheatcroft, Tuomaala (injured)

Tonight’s attendance was 6,225.

AHL Gamesheet - Texas v. Chicago - March 17 2026

Offense Awoken: Stars Dominate Condors 6-2 in Penalty-Laden Affair

2026-03-14T22:43:00.002-05:00

(Credit: Texas Stars)

The Stars rolled over the Condors with a 6-2 blowout in their second game of the weekend. Tallies from Cameron Hughes and Antonio Stranges in the first two minutes kicked off an offensive explosion, earning the Stars a pivotal two points to tie the Moose for third in the Central Division.

The six goals were a sight for sore eyes after the Stars only managed to net one in the prior game. “We did generate more [offense] just by keeping it simple, getting pucks deep,” head coach Toby Petersen said postgame. “We talked about making sure we weren't over complicating things by trying to make extra passes. That's just typical hockey stuff, typical smart hockey.”

Despite the lopsided final score, Texas was taking on water in the first period, getting outshot 17-10. The Stars bent, but they didn’t break, thanks in large part to goaltender Remi Poirier. “There were some big performances tonight, but none were bigger than Remi [Poirier],” Petersen said. “Heartbreaker that we gave up the goals at the end of the game. That was a shutout-worthy performance, but he was just awesome all night, and especially in the first.”

The Condors turned it into fight night once the score felt out of reach. Three of the Condors' top four penalty-minute leaders dropped the gloves, and they used their experience in delinquency to their advantage, pretty easily winning all four fights (Clattenburg got in two fights for the Condors). The game totaled 92 penalty minutes with three misconducts. Despite the outcome of the fights, Matthew Seminoff was pleased with how his team responded to the aggression of Bakersfield.

“We might not be the biggest team, but we stick up for each other, and guys are willing to go to battle for each other. I think throughout the year we've learned how to do that. We've done a great job of just sticking up for each other and playing physical when we need to.”

Overall, this was an impressive response to the previous game's lack of offense. The Stars proved their offensive woes are truly behind them, and a one-game faltering was just that, one game. They also managed the heightened physicality relatively well, which will only ramp up as they head down the stretch and into the playoffs. They might need some boxing lessons to win a fight, though.

The Stars roared into this game with two goals in less than two minutes. The first was a point shot by Trey Taylor that hit traffic in front and fell right to Hughes at the top of the crease. Texas’ leading point scorer made quick work of that opportunity, lifting it top shelf past Condors goalie Calvin Pickard, who got yanked after the first period. Stranges scored the second with a top corner snipe off the rush. Stars captain Curtis McKenzie earned his 500th career AHL point on the tally with a primary assist.

“We were celebrating in [the dressing room] with him," said Petersen. "Just kind of excited for him. I was there for the first one, so to see 500 and 501…, is pretty special. So it's awesome, great milestone for [McKenzie]. It's not an easy number to reach, and not many guys do it.”

Bakersfield responded with an offensive onslaught of their own, but they could not find their way past Remi Poirier. He stopped 17 shots from the Condors following the Stars' second goal, many of them off the rush and on one-timers. His best of the night was on the penalty kill, where he made a diving glove save, stopping what would’ve been a sure goal.

Texas survived the push by Bakersfield and even responded at the end of the frame. Harrison Scott snuck a wrister five-hole off a three-on-one rush, giving the Stars the 3-0 lead in a period where it felt like they were on the back foot.

The Stars were even better in the middle frame, scoring three more goals, running away with the game, and taking a 6-0 lead into the second intermission. Two of the three were power play goals from Seminoff, a welcome sight following the Stars' 0-for-6 power play run the night before. Seminoff's second was a beauty; he took the puck straight to the net along the goal line and snapped the pill to the far corner from in tight.

Michael Karow netted the fifth goal of the night on a nifty one-touch shot as he was tripped from behind. Immediately following the goal, Ethan Keppen cross-checked Jeremie Poirier in the face in retaliation for a slash he received earlier in the play. Karow, in the middle of the celebratory hugs, dropped the gloves, chased down Keppen, and the pair threw knuckles. Keppen would be ejected after saying something to the officials when he was finally released from the box following the fight.

The third saw some continued fisticuffs and two goals from the Condors in garbage time to spoil Poirier’s shutout bid, but the frame was ultimately inconsequential.

Texas will look to take this momentum into a big midweek, two-game series against the division rival Chicago Wolves, starting Tuesday at 7:00 PM at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park.

Tonight’s lines
Hughes-Shlaine-Seminoff
Hanas-Becker-Lind
Stranges-Scott-McKenzie
Martino-Chisholm-Pearson

Taylor-Krys
Poirier-Karow
Bertucci-Kolyachonok

Poirier

Injuries, scratches and notes
Hyry (callup)
McDonald (scratch)
Ertel, Looft (warm-up)
Wheatcroft, Tuomaala (injured)

Tonight’s attendance was 6,778, a sellout. It was Texas' ninth sellout of the season.

AHL Gamesheet - Texas v. Bakersfield - March 14 2026

Zero for Six: Power Play Failures Haunt Texas in 4-1 Loss to Bakersfield

2026-03-13T23:09:00.005-05:00

(Credit: Texas Stars)

The Texas Stars' old struggles surfaced again this evening as Friday night was a reminder of the early season scoring doldrums that got Texas to this point. In a game that offered chances for offensive pop, Texas couldn’t find the extra jolt it needed, falling 4-1 to the Bakersfield Condors at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park.

The game swung on a handful of sequences Texas will want back, most notably a struggling power play that went 0-for-6 on the night. While the Stars held the Condors to just five shots on goal in the second period, they were unable to capitalize on three separate man-advantage opportunities in that frame alone.

Head coach Toby Petersen didn’t sugarcoat the special teams breakdown. “It was tough, for sure,” he said. “We had troubles with our entries, certainly an area that we’ll be looking at. Once we have the puck in the zone, we’ve got the guys who can make things happen. But we really had trouble getting into the zone and getting possession. We had a couple of turnovers that cost us.”

When asked whether the unit was trying to do too much on the rush instead of simplifying, Petersen acknowledged the tension between style and simplicity. “You can always just dump and chase. That’s always an option,” he said. “But the way our team has entered the zone throughout the season, it’s one of the top in the league, but tonight wasn’t the case. It’s an area we’re going to go back and look at. There’s always something to be said for simplifying.”

The Stars' rhythm may have been impacted before the puck even dropped. Artem Shlaine was a late scratch just before the start of the game, forcing a shift of the second, third, and fourth-line centers. This last-minute shuffling left the lines working to find chemistry throughout the first frame and beyond.

With two centers already up in Dallas and Shlaine unable to go, Texas was forced to lean on its depth. Petersen gave credit to the players who stepped into bigger roles. “It’s an opportunity for guys like Sean Chisholm, Jack Becker, and Cross Hanas,” he said. “They had to work through some of the tough stuff in the game, but they did a great job.”

Last weekend in Chicago, Texas showed how quickly it can change a game’s temperature: four unanswered after allowing the opener one night, then a 7–6 shootout win the next where the Stars survived a defensive-coach nightmare by making the last saves and burying the right looks.

Tonight, the margins didn’t land in Texas’ favor and in March, that’s often the whole story. Whether the Stars were chasing an early deficit or watching a tie slip away, the problem wasn’t effort as much as timing.

Bakersfield didn’t need a flood - they only needed a few openings, and they capitalized on them. The lines struggled to find a rhythm throughout the evening, as passing was often forced and missed the intended receivers.

The night actually began with a spark for the home crowd. Curtis McKenzie got Texas on the board first at 5:11 in the opening period. However, the lead was short-lived as the Condors’ Sam Poulin scored just after a Harrison Scott penalty expired to tie the game at 1-1.

The momentum shifted permanently in the second frame when Condors forward Seth Griffith scored just after a set of matching penalties expired, giving Bakersfield a lead they would not relinquish.

In the final minutes, Texas pulled goaltender Remi Poirier for the extra attacker twice in an attempt to claw back, mirroring their late-game heroics from March 8 in Chicago.

But not every game has a sequel.

Instead of a comeback, the Stars suffered from a turnover in front of the empty net. Bakersfield found the back of the net twice to seal the 4-1 victory.

There’s no time to sit with it. The season is down to the portion where every game adds pressure to the next one, and the Stars will need the fastest possible correction. The kind that starts with one honest video session, one sharp practice and a choice to make the next night look different.

The Stars return to the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park to take on the Bakersfield Condors for game two on Saturday at 7:00 PM.

Tonight’s lines
Hughes-McDonald-Seminoff
Martino-Scott- Lind
Stranges-Becker-McKenzie
Hanas-Chisholm-Ertel

Taylor-Krys
J. Poirier-Karow
Bertucci-Kolyachonok

R. Poirier

Injuries, scratches and notes
Hyry (callup)
Shlaine (scratch)
Tuomaala, Wheatcroft (injury)

Tonight’s attendance was 6,415.

AHL Gamesheet- Texas v. Bakersfield - March 13 2026

Stars Complete Weekend Sweep of Wolves, Win 7-6 in Shootout

2026-03-08T19:04:00.002-05:00

(Credit: Chicago Wolves)

In a game that would keep most defensive coaches up at night, the Stars managed to come up with one more save than Chicago, claiming a 7–6 shootout victory and sweeping the weekend series at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois.

Matthew Seminoff led the Stars offensively with two goals and an assist, while Cameron Hughes contributed three assists. In net, Rémi Poirier made several key stops in relief, including denying two of Chicago’s three shootout attempts to help secure the win.

After a slow start the night before, the Stars came out flying to open the first period, scoring twice in less than two minutes. The first goal came when Curtis McKenzie skated around the net and fed a pass to a crashing Antonio Stranges, who buried the puck past Chicago netminder Amir Miftakhov.

Less than 30 seconds later, Cross Hanas' sharp angle shot from the left circle gave the visitors a quick 2–0 lead.

Chicago responded later in the period when Bradly Nadeau cut the deficit in half, beating Stars goaltender Arno Tiefensee low on the glove side to make it 2–1. The home team found the equalizer with just over eight minutes remaining in the opening frame. Cal Foote fired a shot past Tiefensee on the blocker side to tie the game at 2–2.

Things didn’t get much better for Tiefensee. Shortly after, Noel Gunler scored from between the circles to give Chicago a 3–2 lead. The goal prompted Stars head coach Toby Petersen to make a change in net, sending Poirier into the contest with five minutes remaining in the period. The move appeared to settle things down briefly for the Texas, as the period closed without either side adding another goal.

The second period opened with two strong saves from Poirier, keeping the Texas Stars within one goal. Chicago was unable to extend its lead early, and just three minutes into the period the Stars pulled even. Seminoff poked a rebound past Miftakhov to tie the game.

The Wolves answered moments later when Nadeau deflected a wrist shot from the blue line by Domenick Fensore past Poirier on the glove side. The goal was Nadeau’s second of the night and restored Chicago’s lead at 4–3.

Pressing their advantage, Chicago struck again midway through the period. Juuso Välimäki capitalized on a roughing penalty by Kole Lind, scoring on the power play to extend the Wolves’ lead to 5–3.

Entering the final period trailing by two goals, the Stars needed a spark to get back into the game and they didn’t have to wait long. Just 12 seconds into the frame, Seminoff slid a shot past Chicago netminder Miftakhov for his second goal of the game. Shortly after, Curtis McKenzie tied the contest, beating Miftakhov high on the blocker side.

Not to be outdone, Michael Karow collected a rebound and buried it giving Texas a remarkable 6–5 lead, capping a stretch in which the Stars scored three goals in less than four minutes.

Chicago, quickly running out of time, caught a break when Harrison Scott was called for tripping with 1:29 remaining. With the Wolves desperate for a goal, Skyler Brind’Amour delivered, tipping in a shot to tie the game with just 42 seconds left sending the home crowd into a frenzy.

The overtime period saw a huge save by Poirier to keep the score level, eventually sending the game to a shootout, where clutch goals by Hughes and Lind secured the victory for the Stars.

Tonight’s lines

Hughes-Shlaine-Seminoff

Martino-Scott-Lind
Stranges-Becker-McKenzie
Hanas-Chisholm-McDonald

Taylor-Krys
J. Poirier-Kolyachonok
Looft-Karow

Tiefensee (pulled)

Poirier

Injuries, scratches and notes
Hyry (recalled)

Ertel, Bertucci (scratch)

Tuomaala, Wheatcroft (injury)

Tonight’s attendance was 15,902

AHL Gamesheet- Texas at Chicago - March 8 2026

Arttu Hyry Scores Twice as Texas Stars Cruise to 4-2 Win Over Chicago Wolves

2026-03-07T22:15:00.005-06:00

(Credit: Chicago Wolves)

The Texas Stars entered the penultimate month of the AHL regular season fourth place in the Central Division and winners of six in their last 10 games. With the clock toward the playoffs ticking down and a secure spot to the dance far from secured the Stars needed to make sure they started the stretch run with a bang.

Luckily for the Stars, Arttu Hyry lit the fuse that led to a 4-2 bang Saturday night at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois.

The Stars spotted Chicago an opening goal before scoring four unanswered goals, including two from Hyry, while Remi Poirier turned aside 28 shots to secure a crucial two points and pull even on points with the idle Manitoba Moose for third place in the Central Division.

The game started out on even terms as the Wolves and Stars exchanged high danger chances early in the first period. It looked as if Matthew Seminoff had put the Stars up first as he beat Wolves goaltender Cayden Primeau on the glove side, but the puck pinged off the crossbar and across the crease never crossing the goal line.

The quick shot opened up a counter rush that ended with the opening goal coming off the stick of Nikita Pavlychev.

It was a lead that would last approximately 10 minutes as Jack Becker was able to cash on a rebound after crashing the net to tie the game 1-1 at 13:58 of the first period.

That set the table for Hyry.

The Finn, fresh from a trip to Dallas, welcomed himself to the game with a beautiful shot to the far-side post to make it 2-1 at 16:20 of the first. Not satisfied with one goal, Hyry tipped a Cameron Hughes shot just 30 seconds after his first to make it 3-1 and put the Stars in control at the end of the first period.

Seminoff would not be denied a goal a second time as he added his own snipe to make it 4-1 at 6:47 of the second period.

Victor Neuchev would get one back for Chicago to make it 4-2 in the third period, but it was not enough for the Wolves to salvage any points in Game 1 of the weekend series.

The two will clash again Sunday afternoon at 3PM.

Tonight’s lines
Hughes-Hyry-Seminoff
Shlaine-Scott-Lind
Stranges-Becker-McKenzie
Ertel-Chisholm-Martino

Taylor-Kolyachonok
J. Poirier-Krys
Bertucci-Karow

R. Poirier

Injuries, scratches and notes
McDonald, Looft (scratch)
Wheatcroft, Hanas, Tuomaala (injury)

Tonight’s attendance was 8,919.

AHL Gamesheet - Texas at Chicago - March 7 2026

Stars Win Offensive Slugfest on Lind’s Breakaway OT Winner

2026-02-28T22:49:00.004-06:00

(Credit: Texas Stars)

Kole Lind’s breakaway, overtime goal sent the Stars’ sellout crowd home happy in a 6-5 slugfest against the San Diego Gulls. Tonight's contest could not have been anymore different than last night's tight-checking 2-1 game. The Stars found the goals they needed, though, to overcome a two-goal deficit and split the weekend series.

Lind’s game-winner was an absolute beauty and was really needed for Lind, who had a rough night otherwise. He got a breakaway from center ice in overtime but had a Gull defender draped on him like a blanket the whole way. He muscled through the contact and lifted the game-winner over the San Diego goalies’ shoulders from his knees to secure the two points for Texas.

“That feels like the story of the year for me,” Lind said when asked if he felt like he was fighting through a lot to get the overtime goal. “Just, not getting a bounce, or breaking my stick at the wrong time, but [I] stuck with it all night, and the rest of the team did a heck of a job to keep us in that game and give us a chance to go win it in overtime.”

Hughes and Shlaine's connections in the third were masterful. They’ve become commonplace for Hughes, who is going to have to start an orchard soon with all the apples he’s picking up. “Hughes has been incredible for us all year,” head coach Toby Petersen said post-game. “ He just goes out there and puts his nose downwards. And it's great to watch and see him get rewarded like that in a big game like this, where we needed the win.”

The Stars started this one on the wrong foot, giving up a power play goal just two minutes into the game, but Texas pushed back hard, utilizing a strong forecheck to generate chance after chance and eventually leading to a power play opportunity of their own. On that man advantage, newcomer Jeremie Poirier flipped a backhand pass to Cameron Hughes at the top of the zone. Hughes unleashed a wrister from the high slot that easily sailed past the Gulls' netminder, tying the game up at one a piece.

Texas kept up that pressure throughout the remainder of the period and drew another call in the final few minutes of the frame. Despite being down a man, San Diego went up the ice right after the faceoff on an odd-man rush and squeaked a shot through Tiefensee’s five-hole. Despite controlling the majority of play, Texas found themselves down after one.

Texas carried their same pace of play into the next frame and immediately got their goal back. Poirier lofted up a looping prayer of a shot from the point that somehow found its way to the back of the net. It felt like Texas was due for some luck, and they definitely got it there.

Just a few minutes later, the Stars game fell apart. They gave up two goals in less than two minutes due to some suspect passes in their own zone. On the first, Ertel got leveled at his own blueline and couldn’t get the puck out, eventually leading to a shot from the high slot beating Arno Tiefensee. The second was an unfortunate clearing attempt from Lind that hit Harrison Scott in the ankle. That led to an unassisted breakaway goal to give the Gulls the two-goal lead. This felt like a big inflection point in the contest and a brutal gut punch to a Stars team that was largely playing quite well.

Speaking of punches, they flew just a few minutes later when Sean Chisholm absolutely walloped Roland McKeown, who had just cup checked Kyle McDonald after the play. This was one of the better fights of the year. Chisholm landed a load of punches and skated to the box with a torn jersey while encouraging the crowd to get on their feet, to which the Stars faithful gleefully obliged. “Got to give a big shout out to [Chisholm], “Lind said. “Unbelievable fight got the momentum back our way.”

As Lind said, that tilt seemed to put Texas back on track as they re-established forecheck and went back to work. That forecheck led to the Stars' third goal, where Curtis McKenzie gave Antonio Stranges an absolute gift in front of the Gulls' net. Stranges deposited that grade A chance with ease and shrunk the deficit back down to one.

The Stars carried the momentum from the fight and the goal into the third and rolled over San Diego to start the period, thanks to repeated connections between Hughes and Shlaine. Shlaine tapped in a backdoor layup just a minute and a half into the final frame, thanks to a quick feed from Hughes. The go-ahead goal was similar but better. Hughes sent another pass across the zone, this time a no-look backhand saucer. Shlaine got it on one hop, right on his tape, and knocked home his second of the period to give Texas their first lead of the night.

That felt like the end of the story. Stars should continue to smother the Gulls and ride off into the sunset, but San Diego went off script. Nikolas Brouillard made a tremendous individual effort break into the zone and beat Tiefensee on the glove hand. Really felt like Tiefensee should have had that one. On the replay, you could see he lifted his glove as the shot came, but the puck ended up going right where his glove hand was before the shot. A tough night seeing the puck for the German.

Both sides had a few more chances before regulation ended, but overtime felt inevitable after the last San Diego goal. Texas started the extra period with some solid defense, which eventually led to the puck squirting out of their zone and gave Lind the previously mentioned breakaway opportunity. Thanks to some dogged work from Lind and an especially spiffy finish, the Stars fans went home happy.

The Stars head on to an important road trip to Chicago next weekend, where they’ll look to jump Manitoba in the standings and earn the first-round bye. The first game of the two-game set is Saturday, March 7th, at 7 pm.

Tonight’s lines
Hughes-Shlaine-Seminoff
Martino-Scott-Lind
Stranges-Becker-McKenzie
Ertel-Chisholm-McDonald

Taylor-Kolyachonok
Poirier-Krys
Bertucci-Karow

Tiefensee

Injuries, scratches and notes
Hyry (callup)
Bergsland (scratch)
Wheatcroft, Hanas, Tuomaala (injury)
Looft (warm-up)

Tonight’s attendance was 6,778, a sellout.

AHL Gamesheet - Texas v. San Diego - February 28 2026

Stars Fall Short in Return to Cedar Park Despite Dominant Effort

2026-02-27T22:56:00.003-06:00

(Credit: Andy Nietupski / Texas Stars)

The Texas Stars returned to the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park on Friday night, ending a 20-day hiatus from their home ice. Entering the contest with a 24-22-3-1 record, Texas looked to ignite some late-February momentum as the push for the post-season begins.

Despite a relentless offensive drive and a historic lack of whistles, the San Diego Gulls managed to spoil the homecoming, skating away with a narrow 2-1 victory in front of a capacity crowd of 6,778.

History and fresh faces defined the pre-game chatter. This matchup marked only the 25th meeting between these two clubs. Much of the focus tonight remained on Jérémie Poirier, making his highly anticipated home debut in a Stars sweater.

Head Coach Toby Petersen warned that the Gulls were largely the same high-motor team as last season. "They can get up and go," Petersen noted, questioning if Texas could stick to their system to keep the Gulls at bay.

For forty minutes, they did exactly that.

The opening period was a track meet. Both sides traded chances in a fast-moving frame that saw San Diego hold a slim 11-9 shots on goal advantage. Remi Poirier stood tall early, turning aside several Gulls opportunities to keep the game scoreless.

The Stars' top line of Cameorn Hughes, Artem Shlaine and Matthew Seminoff looked dangerous late in the period, suffocating the Gulls in their zone. It appeared Texas had broken the ice with just 18 seconds remaining when Kole Lind tucked the puck past Gulls netminder Calle Clang.

However, the celebration was cut short. After an official review, the goal was waved off as it was determined the puck was kicked into the net.

Texas emerged for the second stanza with renewed urgency, peppering Clang with five shots in the first five minutes. The pressure paid off at the 4:25 mark when Jérémie Poirier found the back of the net during a chaotic scrum in the crease, giving the home crowd exactly what they came for.

The lead was short-lived, however. Less than two minutes later, Gulls forward Nathan Gaucher evened the score at 1-1. Despite the equalizer, Texas dictated the pace, outshooting San Diego 8-4 midway through the frame and adhering to Petersen’s "keep them at bay" mantra through superior puck movement.

The final period was a statistical anomaly. Texas dominated possession, outshooting the Gulls 8-1 in the first seven minutes alone. Seminoff, Antonio Stranges and Tristan Bertucci led a relentless assault, but Clang remained a wall. Against the flow of play, Justin Bailey managed to chip one past Remi Poirier to give San Diego a 2-1 lead -- a lead they would not relinquish.

In a bizarre statistical twist, the game ended with zero power play opportunities for Texas. This marks the first time in franchise history the Stars have gone two consecutive games without a single man-advantage.

After the game, Coach Petersen praised Jérémie Poirier’s impact. "His mobility was in full display tonight. He got the puck in the blue line, even on the goal, he made some nice plays just to drive it deep."

Regarding the lack of power plays, Petersen remained pragmatic but frustrated. "It’s frustrating because we needed one, but that said, you earn your power play opportunities. The more time you spend in the offensive zone, the more opportunities the team has to interfere or trip. We’ve just got to keep working on the things we can control."

Texas, now 24-23-3-1, will have a chance to even the series Saturday night when the Gulls return to the H-E-B Center for game two, with puck drop scheduled for 7:00 PM CT.

Injuries, scratches, and notes
Hyry (callup)
Bergsland, Looft (scratch)
Hanas, Tuomaala, Wheatcroft (injury)

Tonight's attendance was 6,778, a sellout.

AHL Gamesheet - Texas vs San Diego - February 27 2026

Considering Possible Texas Stars Playoff Scenarios and the Elephant in the Room

2026-02-25T07:00:00.056-06:00

(Credit: Texas Stars)

It's officially post-All-Star and this year post-Olympics. The trade deadline looms. March starts this weekend, and I regret to inform you that we'll all jump ahead by an hour in just a week and a half.

Sorry about that.

This time of year also brings the start of playoff speculation in the American Hockey League. Due to the unbelievable start they had to their season (and their continued strong play), the Griffins could be the first team to clinch a playoff spot this evening if they can defeat Manitoba.

Texas, somehow and someway, found its footing after a once-in-a-decade bad start to the season. Now, we are honestly and truly discussing potential first round playoff matchups for the Stars. You could have made a decent amount of money betting on this outcome back in November. The odds weren't looking good.

Illusions in the Standings

The very first thing to note about the standings is that they are an illusion. Texas had an absolutely packed schedule up until now and had, until Sunday, played five more games than the team behind them in the division, Manitoba. When you shake out the standings by point percentage, things look a bit more rational. Manitoba, with 46 games played, has a 0.554 points percentage to Texas' 0.520 and the two swap places in the standings.

Based on where Manitoba is now, Texas would need to finish the season with an additional 28 points more than they have now in the remaining 22 games. That's 14-8 or a .636 win percentage. That rate may sound elevated but consider how Texas has been playing since the new year started. On Jan 1, Texas sat at 11-15-3-1. Since then, they've torn up the standings with a 13-7 record, winning at nearly a 2:1 rate and sitting exactly on track for those 80 or so points they would need to best Manitoba.

Wait, Why Are We Avoiding the 4/5 Matchup?

Of course, it's better to win more games. That's a simple sports statement. You want to win, not to lose.

But the Stars winning more and earning that third seed gets them a date with the Chicago Wolves and a home start in a best-of-five series that they'll have to win on the road if they want to win it. Texas is evens with Chicago so far this year at one apiece.

The 4/5 matchup, which also guarantees two home dates if not three, would be against Milwaukee. The Stars are 6-2 against the Admirals this season as their perennial playoff foes have stumbled from their high heights much as the Stars had earlier in the season.

Look, I know it sounds insane to say you'd rather have the 4/5 than the 2/3 matchup, but you'd at least have home ice advantage, an opponent you've won against consistently and therefore a good chance to advance. Of course, all of this might be moot because...

The ~~Elephant~~ Griffin in the Room

No matter where Texas, Chicago, Manitoba or Milwaukee (or Rockford maybe) land in the playoff race, there's a very, very slim chance than anyone but the Grand Rapids Griffins advances out of the division. The Griffins heard footsteps behind them from Providence and rattled off a 6-0 streak and 8-2 in their last ten. They're back to cooking with gas, cruising at 0.830.

Is the entire Central Division just a waiting room to die by the sword of the Griffins in May? Perhaps, but there should be some fun times before we get there.

The Stars return home from their Midwest swing for a pair against San Diego starting Friday at 7 PM.