ROCKFORD, Ill. – The Texas Stars and Rockford IceHogs are facing off in a rematch of last year’s playoffs. Only this time, it’s the Stars who have the upper hand. The IceHogs swept the Stars in 2022, but now Rockford is on the verge of elimination. Texas won the first two games of the series on the road and has a chance to sweep this week.
Game 1 was a back and forth affair, with the IceHogs and Stars trading goals for two and a half periods until the Stars pulled away with the 5-3 win. Game 2 was a much tighter affair than indicated by the 4-1 final score.
Two late goals from Texas, including an empty-net goal in the final 30 seconds of the game, inflated the score. Until that point, it was a closely contested 2-1 game. The game was far more reminiscent of last year’s goaltending duel between Rockford’s Arvid Soderblom and Texas’s Matt Murray.
Stars captain Curtis McKenzie opened scoring early in the first period by doing what he does best: crashing the net and picking up a loose puck. Riley Barber, the leading scorer for the Stars in the regular season, also scored twice. Barber’s first goal ended up standing as the game winner.
Rockford has struggled on the power play through both the regular season and the playoffs so far. They could not cash in on any of their four opportunities in Game 2. The Stars did an excellent job of blocking shooting lanes and keeping the IceHogs to the perimeter when they had possession.
Texas did the same at even strength, as well. They frequently were able to disrupt Rockford’s passing plays. In the crucial third period, the IceHogs were only able to put six shots on goal. While Rockford put 27 total shots on Murray, he was very rarely forced into making difficult saves.
Despite taking a 2-0 series lead on the road, the Stars aren’t getting ahead of themselves. After the game on Sunday, Barber spoke about the team’s mindset as they prepared to head back home to Texas.
“We know it’s not over and they’re a good team over there. They have great players,” Barber said. “But we knew that if we came in here and played the right way and play physical & tough, we’d be at a good spot.”
Stars head coach Neil Graham echoed Barber’s thoughts on keeping the right mindset going forward.
“Every time you win a game, it’s important to recognize it and recognize the work. And then when we get home, we gotta forget about it. We have to rewatch the game, see areas where we can improve, see areas that we did a really good job and make sure that’s identified also. And then, you got to show up on time for Game 3.”
The Stars have an experienced leadership group who know what it takes to play at this level. Barber had lengthy playoff runs with the Hershey Bears early in his AHL career. McKenzie won the Calder Cup in 2014, his rookie season with the Stars. He later appeared in two consecutive Calder Cup Finals (2018 with Texas and 2019 with the Chicago Wolves). Defenseman Alex Petrovic hasn’t had a ton of playing time in the post-season but has had a lengthy professional career, including 263 NHL games.
“It’s kind of been a testament of our group throughout the season and I think our veterans did an excellent job in the start of the year of really helping us through, teaching the young guys what it’s like to be pros,” Graham said regarding his leaders. “And then, during the dog days, I thought you saw a lot of our young players — and our first year pros especially — really elevate their game, and they helped us through a stretch where some fatigue could be in the lineup. So they really picked each other up all year.”
Barber’s making his first playoff appearance since 2019, where he recorded six points in nine games with the Bears. Between the COVID-related disruptions in 2020 and 2021 (and missing the playoffs last year with the Grand Rapids Griffins), Barber is excited to have the opportunity to extend his season.
“This is why you play. You don’t want to be at home watching. I’ve been that the past two years and you always want to be the team playing at the end,” Barber said when asked about returning to the playoffs. “I got lucky my first year and was able to do it and I thought that, you know, I’d be back every year. So you know, it took about eight or nine years or whatever it is to maybe have a shot at it again and you know, I don’t take that lightly.”
The Stars and IceHogs meet in Texas for Game 3 of the series on Wednesday, May 3, at 7:00 PM CT. A Stars win would clinch the series and set them up for a showdown with the winner of the Manitoba Moose/Milwaukee Admirals series.
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