Going into this weekend, Texas had a tough challenge with Colorado. Colorado’s AHL club is a top-tier team with a mix of veteran and young talent, like the NHL team. AHL full-timers like T.J. Tynan and players with NHL experience like Jacob MacDonald and Matthew Phillips have led the way. In contrast, young players Oskar Olausson and Jean-Luc Foudy offer some secondary scoring. The Eagles sit tied for first in the Pacific Division, tied with both the Calgary Wranglers and Ontario Reign at 63 points, 1 point ahead of the 4th place Coachella Valley Firebirds. This weekend was going to be tough for Texas.
In Friday’s game, Texas kept the game competitive with a back-and-forth first period and good goaltending at both ends. The game felt extremely fast, with multiple rush chances for both teams. Arttu Hyry scored on the Power Play off of the rush from a Kyle McDonald pass to make it 1-0 Texas, but the rest of the 2nd period was stressful. Colorado kept pushing into the 3rd period, where they equalized on the Power Play early and had two more breakaways that Poirier ultimately stopped to keep the game 1-1.
Texas continued to take tough penalties under pressure from Colorado, and the Eagles capitalized on the Power Play with 2.5 minutes left. However, Arttu Hyry came up clutch with a net-front goal with just over a minute left in regulation to force overtime.
In overtime, Kyle Capobianco looked like a forward when he intercepted a pass, moved on his defender, and scored top-shelf to win the game for Texas. This was a big win for the club, beating a top AHL team at home.
In Saturday’s game, Kyle Looft fought Tye Felhaber and won handedly early in the first period to set the tone for the game. After going down 1-0, Kyle McDonald tied the game on a 2-on-0 pass, but Colorado fired right back with 2 quick goals followed by two more goals later in the first to go up 5-1 only 19 minutes into the game.
This resulted in Magnus Hellberg getting pulled for Remi Poirier, which rarely happens. Texas had lost the game at this point despite 40 minutes left with such a strong opponent in Colorado. Texas got exposed on the rush one more time to go down 6-1 but did not go down without a fight (literally). It was a tough finish to the weekend, but it was good for the club to get 2 of 4 points and fight back after a challenging first period in game 2 from the team and Hellberg.
Player of the week: Kyle McDonald
Week Stats:
GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|
2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Season Stats:
GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|
37 | 5 | 3 | 8 |
Overall, Texas has not been able to push itself into the upper echelon of AHL teams this season. At one point, they were the highest-scoring team in the AHL, but now they are average in both Goals For and Goals Against. The team's identity is unsure because the high-skill, high-powered offensive identity from earlier this year has slowed down.
Texas has a critical week ahead, with two games against division rival Grand Rapids. Texas is at 59 points, and Grand Rapids is at 58, although Texas has three games in hand. Getting three out of four points against Grand Rapids would be huge for Texas’ playoff push. The following month of games is a must-watch hockey for Texas Stars fans.
Week ahead:
- Tue Feb 25, 2025 vs. Grand Rapids
- Wed Feb 26, 2025 vs. Grand Rapids
- Sat Mar 1, 2025 vs. Chicago