Rickwood scores twice in debut as Stars rout IceHogs 6-1

Ellis Rickwood did not need long to announce himself to the American Hockey League. The forward scored twice in his professional debut, powered Texas past Rockford 6-1 at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park on Friday, and walked away with first-star honors as the Stars got a timely lift in the second-to-last game of the regular season.

Rickwood’s first goal came at 7:27 of the opening period, with Curtis McKenzie and Cross Hanas setting up the play. From there, Texas kept rolling. Trey Taylor added another first-period goal, Michael Karow scored in the second, Cameron Hughes padded the lead, and Matthew Seminoff finished the scoring late. Rockford’s only response came from Brett Seney in the third period, long after the game had tilted firmly toward the Stars.

The result mattered beyond the final margin. Texas entered the night coming off losses to Iowa and Manitoba, and the Stars needed a sharper answer heading into the final weekend. They found one by controlling play, outshooting the IceHogs 36-23 and keeping Drew Commesso under constant pressure in the Rockford net. Rémi Poirier handled the other end cleanly for Texas, stopping 22 of 23 shots.

Rickwood’s night carried more weight because of how recently he arrived. Texas signed him to a standard player contract for 2026-27 on April 14 and brought him in on an amateur tryout for the rest of this season. Listed by the club at 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, the right-shot forward from Brantford, Ontario, was born July 2, 2002, and came to Cedar Park after playing at the University of North Dakota. The move already looks like a useful one for Texas, which suddenly has another forward who can turn a late-season opportunity into immediate production.

The Stars also had Christian Fitzgerald in the lineup, and both players were making their professional debuts, but Rickwood’s impact was the loudest. He did not just survive the jump to the pro game. He scored early, scored again, and helped turn a penultimate-season home date into a statement win as Texas prepared to face Rockford again on Saturday.