It only took 94 seconds for the Texas Stars to completely flip the complexion of tonight's game. Trailing 4-2 with five minutes left in the third, Texas potted two shorthanded goals, completing a hat trick for Gemel Smith, and then pushed ahead 5-4 with an even-strength tally from Brandon DeFazio.
"We knew we could come back and we just had to play the right way," said Gemel Smith, whose hat trick was the first of his pro career. "We weren't happy about the first two periods. We just needed to push and push."
The game has to be a major confidence boost for a team that needs to nearly run the table to make the playoffs at this point.