Johann Bauer preserved the tie for the Stars, as he was great in between the pipes. For the first 40 minutes of the game, it seemed as though the Stars were on their way to putting up the same numbers they had over that last three games. Moving the puck well and using a balanced attack, the Villach squad was out-chancing the Stars group, but Bauer kept the game within reach.

The home team opened the scoring just 1:54 into the match, but the Stars responded just over five minutes later, as Fabio Klay,  on a two-on-one, used his teammate as a decoy and roofed a short-side shot over the shoulder of the Villach netminder from just inside the face-off circle.  The period ended in a 1-1 tie.

The second period saw the Stars again showing signs of undisciplined play, as a long-shift played a huge part into the second Villach goal. With the Stars’ forwards taking a lengthy shift and having a turn-over high in the offensive zone, the Eagles moved down the ice in a 3-on-2. The Stars forwards were out of gas and unable to back-check, allowing the Villach forward to snap a shot from high in the slot to beat Bauer, giving the home-team a 2-1 lead. As the period wore-on, it was the Stars who began taking the play to the Eagles, but were unable to capitalize.  After 40, the Eagles held a lead of 2-1.

The third was an up-and-down period for the visiting Stars, who showed sparks of coming to life, but a misguided powerplay in opening minutes of the frame saw the Eagles take advantage of a turn-over, scoring a short-handed marker just over two minutes into the third. This served as a bit of a wake-up call, as the Stars then pushed harder. Stefan Fellinger, sprung on a short-handed clear to centre by Fabio Kläy, was hauled down just as he was about to shoot. The official uncharacteristically called for a penalty-shot, and Fellinger made no mistake. Pulling Herzog left, then right, before going back left again and sliding it along the ice on the glove-side, Fellinger pulled the Stars to within one. Just over 30 second later, after the penalty to the Stars was over, Kläy picked up the puck heading down into the Eagles zone, delayed, and found a streaking Dylan Weber into the zone. Weber looked pass, Herzog committed, and the Swiss winger made no mistake, roofing the puck short-side to even the score. The rest of the period was littered with chances for both sides, but Bauer did his part to maintain the tie, as the Stars grabbed a point on the road, and took the season series with the Eagles, nabbing 3 out of a possible 4 points.

After the game, the Stars’ coach sighed a breath of relief before dissecting the game. “It was a better overall effort, no question. We were better, but not great. This break has been a killer for us, because we have not been prepared at all for our last three games. Our PP has been off, our timing in transition hasn’t been there, our discipline has waned... it all spirals. And this is the tough part: recovering, regrouping, and refocusing. Our players need to learn how to do that, because at this level and higher, it is not simply a switch that we can turn on and off.”

The Stars now await the outcoming schedule for the third round of play in the U-17 League.  Keep posted for upcoming games.