The second round of the playoffs begins for both Dallas Stars' affiliates this weekend. The Texas Stars will kick things off later tonight against the Milwaukee Admirals. That should be a good series if you have been following the season series between both teams. The Idaho Steelheads will begin their second-round series on Saturday night against the Kansas City Mavericks. You should watch these playoff series If you love minor league hockey playoffs.
Cedar Park will be happy when Lian Bichsel takes the ice for the Texas Stars. For those who haven't kept tabs on the Texas Stars this season, Bichsel decided to go back overseas to play for his junior club. Now that his season overseas is over, he will return to the Stars to help them against the Admirals. For those attending the game, I don't know how much energy he will have in him during game one.
They will take on the Milwaukee Admirals in the second round of the playoffs. They are the AHL affiliate of the Nashville Predators. Texas must stop top-scorer Egor Afanasyev if they want to advance to the third round of the playoffs. Afanasyev has 27 goals and 27 assists during the regular season. He will give them fits for the entire sixty minutes. Zach L'Heureux is another player that Texas must defend as well. He has 19 goals and 29 assists going into the series with the Stars.
Over in the ECHL, the Idaho Steelheads made quick work of the Allen Americans in the first round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs. They will take on a tough Kansas City Mavericks team in the second round Saturday. Forward Ty Pelton-Bryce is the Steelheads's top scorer and a player to be a difference-maker in the second round. He has three goals and nine assists going into the second round of the playoffs. He prefers to set up his teammates on the ice before being a scoring threat.
The Mavericks's top scorer during the regular season was Patrick Curry. He finished the regular season with 39 goals and 48 assists. So far in the Kelly Cup Playoffs, Curry has three goals and two assists. He will be the primary player that the Steelheads must stop from being a factor on offense. They also have a goalie tandem, like the Boston Bruins, that are tough to crack. You can expect both of their goalies to be a factor in the series trying to slow down the Steelheads.