Poirier, Martino lift Texas Stars to 4-3 shootout win over Milwaukee

Remi Poirier’s late overtime save and his shootout heroics handed the Texas Stars a 4-3 shootout victory over the Milwaukee Admirals at UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena on Wednesday night, giving Texas the extra standings point after a regulation tie and an OT stalemate. The breakaway relay went six rounds, where Ayrton Martino sealed the win for the Stars.

Texas opened the scoring nine minutes into the first period on a power play. Tristan Bertucci found Arttu Hyry at the goal line, who fed Matthew Seminoff in the slot, and Seminoff “snapped it home to open the scoring.” That goal was the fourth time in the last five games the Stars had scored first. Seminoff struck again two minutes into the second period on the man-advantage after Cameron Hughes skated behind Magnus Chrona’s net and threaded a pass in front that Hyry couldn’t handle, with Seminoff there to bury it for a 2-0 lead.

Milwaukee chipped away before the second intermission. With eight minutes remaining in the second period, Cole O’Hara “found the puck in the slot through a slew of skaters, and flicked a shot into the net” to make it 2-1. The Admirals completed the comeback early in the third period as Reid Schaefer capitalized on Texas trouble in the defensive zone and “found just enough room between the post and Remi Poirier to tie the game at 2-2.” Josh Davies then gave Milwaukee its first lead 3:05 after Schaefer’s marker with a wrist shot from the right circle.

Texas answered two minutes after Davies’ goal during a four-on-four, when Trey Taylor sprinted down the left wing and “found room above the left shoulder of Chrona for the equalizer,” sending the game to a five-minute overtime. In the final minute of the extra session, Ryan Ufko was left all alone in the slot, but Poirier “gloved his game-winning bid.” Without a goal during the five-minute overtime, the game went to a shootout.

The shootout extended to six rounds, with Poirier stopping five of six attempts and Magnus Chrona credited with 25 saves in the shootout loss. Instagram play-by-play identified Martino as “the rookie out of Clarkson. Former third round pick. In on Crona. Martino scores. He lifts it over Crona and wins it for Texas. In”, the lift over Chrona clinched the 4-3 final for Texas.

The win underscored Poirier’s recent form. In a separate outing, 100degreehockey logged a 43-save performance by Poirier in a 4-3 Texas win over the Iowa Wild on Sunday, and noted Poirier and Magnus Hellberg combined for 70 saves off 75 shots that weekend. That background frames Poirier’s UW–Milwaukee performance as part of a string of high-volume, game-impact outings.

As the American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, Texas got a two-goal night from Seminoff and a clutch rookie moment from Martino, performances that provide concrete evidence of finishing ability on the man-advantage and breakaway composure under pressure. The two teams will meet again Friday night at 7:00 p.m. at UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena, with the rematch available on AHL TV on FloHockey.