Palm Desert, CA - The Texas Stars squandered away a 2-1 lead by giving up three goals in the final 4:46 in the third - including two in the final minute - as they fell 4-2 to the Coachella Valley Firebirds in front of 9,141 at Acrisure Arena Saturday night.
The teams went back and forth in the opening minutes of the first with Coachella Valley getting multiple chances in a period that saw the Firebirds outshoot the Stars 18-11. Texas' netminder Remi Poirier met every challenge, sometimes in a spectacular way throughout the frame. The Quebec native never showed a chink in his armor until with 4:02 left in the first when Ryan Winterton got the scoring started when he banked one off of Poirier's back from a sharp angle to give the Firebirds the initial 1-0 lead.