Texas Stars 2012 – Pre-Season: Two Curses Broken!

In 2009, it was a 2-1 victory over San Antonio (in their house) and the Stars went on to win the Calder Cup. The very first Texas Stars game in Cedar Park saw the Rampage return revenge with a 4-3 win (did I mention that Calder Cup win yet?).

2010 had the Stars victorious against the Oklahoma City Barons 2-1 in the OK state, but meanwhile, back in Cedar Park, the OKC Barons win 4-2 under our roof.

2011 was shaping up to be more of the same, the first pre-season game back in Cedar Park saw the Houston Aeros slip by with a 3-2 shootout win.

Well now the Aeros better hope a whupped behind is covered under Obamacare because the Stars BROKE the pre-season opener curse with a 7-2 win! For those keeping score at home, this is the Texas Stars very first pre-season win in Cedar Park!

Now, let’s look at the numbers against Houston over the years when it comes to ahem, breaking the ice with these inaugural match ups (these are all pre-season): 2009 – Houston wins (3-2), 2010 – Houston wins (4-2), 2011 – Houston wins (again!), 5-2. 2012 – TEXAS WINS (7-2)!

So there you have it, 2 curses broken with the win over Houston this year! First win with the first game in our house and first career win over first game against Houston!

I know pre-season doesn’t mean much, but I thought it was worth sharing. More attention will be paid to the first regular season game against Houston on 10/20/12 (I’ll run those numbers later).

I will be watching very close to Friday, October 5th’s game against San Antonio in Cedar Park where our matchup numbers don’t look so hot over the years so stay tuned for that update!

Photo Credit: Texas Stars

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Much thanks to the following websites for helping me compile the aforementioned stat.s: HundredDegreeHockey and Texas Stars

Hockey Countdown – Day 73 with #73 Brad Lukowich

You’ll only need to flip the calendar 2 more times until we get to hockey season! I’ll save a lot more info on my favorite Texas Star, Brad Lukowich when we get to 37 days (his jersey number for Texas). When Brad plays with Dallas as he’s been called up several times to do, he wears #73 so we can focus on some of his great moments with Dallas with this post.

From Wikipedia: Brad Lukowich (born August 12, 1976) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who plays for the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League. He has won the Stanley Cup once in his career, with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004. He was on the roster of the Dallas Stars when they won the cup in 1998–99 but did not play enough games to get his name on the Cup.

Congratulations on an impressive career in the NHL and of course the AHL, Brad!

Follow Brad Lukowich on Twitter

It’s going to take a miracle…

Well, the Texas Stars are eliminated out of the playoffs (note: at least they WERE 1st to reach last place in the Western Division, but I don’t think they award that) and unless the following happens, the Dallas Stars will be eliminated as well (from ESPN):

“Here’s a look at how the Stars can catch each of the teams they are still chasing the Western Conference playoff race. The Stars would only need to tie each team in the standings since they would own the first tiebreaker, which is regulation/overtime wins.

Los Angeles: The Stars would have to win both their final two games and the Kings would have to lose both their two remaining games against San Jose in regulation.

Phoenix: The Stars would have to win both their final two games and the Coyotes would have to lose their two remaining games, which are at St. Louis (Friday) and at Minnesota (Saturday).

San Jose: There are two ways to catch the Sharks. The Stars would have to win both their final games and the Sharks would have lose their remaining two games against the Kings and at least one of those losses would have to be in regulation. The second scenario is that the Stars go 1-0-1 in their remaining two games and the Sharks lose both their games against the Kings in regulation.”

So yeah, you’re reading that right…we’re hoping that certain teams lose so we can tie for a playoff spot…

This has been a heartbreaking season for both the AHL and NHL Stars teams as the Texas Stars came out of the gate on fire in the pre-season but lost 6 out of 7 of the first games and would continue with the “win one, lose a few” trend throughout the year. They say you don’t win the cup in November, but you can sure lose it. There were some 3 win waves but they were often met with 4 loss slides.

Once winter hit in Central Texas (ha, winter and Texas in the same sentence), the Texas Stars couldn’t quite maintain their footing as the slide, call-ups and injuries mounted.

Dallas was a bit of a different story, most of the season Dallas was within striking distance of a playoff spot and at times sat at 1st or 3rd place in the Western Division, but we know that all teams have been fighting hard for that playoff spot in the WD and a few losses and other teams getting the W’s they need can turn the standings upside down in an instant.

At this point, I’m just going to enjoy the games for what they are. I have tickets for the remaining (Texas) Stars games and I know those guys are going to do the best they can for the fans (as Gazdic tells below). I appreciate that several of our Texas Stars were called up to Dallas, some for short stints and others for long-term contracts.

For Dallas, I hope everything goes in our favor, it’s going to be a long summer as is, let’s not make it any longer than it has to be.