Tucson, AZ - The Texas Stars powered by a Mavrik Bourque hat trick and a three-assist night from Rhett Gardner, raced past the Tucson Roadrunners to a 7-3 victory in front of 4,419 Friday night at the Tucson Convention Center Arena.
Things started slowly for both clubs with neither accumulating many shots or chances for the majority of the first period as both teams seemingly spent the opening frame feeling each other out, tallying only nine-shots between the two team through the first seventeen minutes of the game.
Texas struck late in the period when Gardner retrieved a loose puck behind Tucson's net and sent it up the boards to Oskari Laaksonen at the right point.