The Dallas Stars’ prospects continued their perfect run so far at the 2014 Traverse City tournament, cruising to a dominant 7-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres.
Brendan Ranford, Matej Stransky, Julius Honka and Gemel Smith were the key Stars players involved in the victory, although contributions came from all over the lineup, judging by the sheer number of names that kept popping up during the live radio feed. Philippe Desrosiers got the start in net and stopped 21 out of 24 shots, not including a fourth goal that was overturned because of an offside call.
Dallas opened the scoring early and often, holding a 3-0 lead after the first period. They kept the pressure on in the second, scoring three more goals and holding a 6-1 lead at one point. Special teams played a large role in the victory, as three of the Stars’ goals came with the man-advantage.
There appears to be some discrepancy regarding goals, between people that were reporting on the game, such as Mark Stepneski and the Sabres’ radio announcers, and the tournament’s statistical record-keepers. According to the official records, both Ranford and Stransky scored twice, while Honka, Ludwig Bystrom and Brett Pollock also potted goals. However, Pollock’s was initially credited to Stransky, while Stransky’s goal in the second period was initially reported to be Remi Elie’s.
Matej Stransky gives the Stars a 1-0 lead over Buffalo.
— Mark Stepneski (@StarsInsideEdge) September 15, 2014
Here are the goal scorers for the Stars Monday (despite what box score says): Stransky, Ranford, Ranford, Elie, Bystrom, Honka, Stransky.
— Mark Stepneski (@StarsInsideEdge) September 15, 2014
The official box score can be found here.
The 3-0 Stars will face off on Tuesday night’s championship game against the similarly 3-0 Columbus Blue Jackets. Game time is 6:00 p.m. CT.
Here is video of Elie’s second period tally:
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And some general footage of the start of the game:
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