STARRY NIGHT

CEDAR PARK, Texas – Tied 2-2 after 40 minutes for the second time in as many nights, the Grand Rapids Griffins used a trio of third-period goals to defeat the Texas Stars 5-2 on Saturday at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park.

Assigned earlier today by the Detroit Red Wings for a second conditioning stint, Jimmy Howard turned aside 31 shots to earn his second win in three starts in a Grand Rapids uniform. The result also gives the Griffins their sixth consecutive regular season victory against the Stars on foreign ice dating back to the 2013-14 campaign.

Texas (25-27-1-2) started the scoring 6:15 into the hockey game when Cole Ully redirected Nick Ebert’s point shot inside the right post past a screened Howard.

Evgeny Svechnikov responded on the power play for the Griffins (37-16-1-2) just past the halfway point of the first frame. Tyler Bertuzzi sent the puck to Joe Hicketts down low, who quickly flipped a backhanded pass through the slot to Svechnikov at the right circle for a one-timer into an open net for his 16th goal of the year.

The same line gave Grand Rapids its first lead with 4:08 remaining in the opening period, this time working at even strength. Svechnikov escaped pressure in the right corner and set up Bertuzzi for a wrist shot off the left post and in to become the ninth Griffin to score 10 or more goals this season.

The Stars scored the lone goal of the middle stanza when Travis Morin’s no-look pass from near the left corner reached Mark McNeill alone in front for a shot into the top right corner at the 4:28 mark.

Eric Tangradi scored what proved to be the game-winning goal nearly six minutes into the final frame. Matthew Ford won a faceoff to the left of Justin Peters and forced his way to the bottom of the right circle before shoveling the puck across to Tangradi on the doorstep for a tap-in.

The Griffins were given their fourth and final power play opportunity after McNeill caught Brian Lashoff with a high stick at the 15:59 mark. In desperate need of a goal, the Stars opted to apply pressure in the offensive zone only to surrender a 3-on-1 of their own, resulting in Ben Street taking a Matt Lorito pass and burying the puck over a sprawling Peters with 3:37 to play. Lorito added an empty-netter 23 seconds later to send Texas to its seventh defeat in eight games.

Grand Rapids finished 2-for-4 on the man advantage despite playing without Tomas Nosek and Martin Frk while Texas failed to convert on three opportunities. Peters blocked 25 shots in defeat.

The Griffins continue their Texas-sized road trip on Tuesday as they face the San Antonio Rampage with puck drop from the AT&T Center set for 8 p.m. EST.

Notes: The Griffins are 18-0 when scoring five or more goals and have scored at least four times in 10 of 13 games since the AHL All-Star break…Lorito has eight points (3-5–8) in three games against Texas this season…Howard won his first AHL contest away from Van Andel Arena since a 4-1 victory over the Hamilton Bulldogs in Game 6 of the 2009 North Division Semifinals.

Three Stars: 1. GR Bertuzzi (goal, assist); 2. TEX McNeill (goal, assist); 3. TEX Ully (goal, assist)