Heading into the weekend the Varsity Stars knew they were in for some tough competition.  In the last three games before the Christmas break the Stars were playing three teams from the tops six bracket.  Having already dropped the Thursday contest in Graz 4-1 the L.A. team wanted to bounce back and finish the first part of the season on a positive note.

On Saturday, the boys headed to Villach to play.  The next day they would play in Innsbruck to complete the mini-road trip.  In Saturday’s game the Stars had a solid first period as the game started out as a close-checking match.  No scoring in the first.  In the second period Villach broke the tie at 11:45. 

The Stars pushed hard to start the third period and pulled even on a goal from Philipp Poschmann.  The assists went to Alexej Miskovez and Gonzalo Ruiz.   The Stars were playing a well but lost their composure, taking too many penalties.  Villach took advantage and at 8:21 of the third period pulled ahead.  Villach added an empty net goal to seal the game in the final minute.  Varsity lost their second straight game; final score 3-1. 

The boys stayed over in Villach and were up early Sunday to travel to Innsbruck for an 11:00 start. It was a tough first period in Innsbruck and the Stars were down 2-0 at the end of the first.  The boys bounced back in the second period, trading goals with Innsbruck to trail 3-1 heading into the third.  It was an individual effort by Florian Wallner shorthanded that put the Stars on the board.  Despite having several power play chances the Stars managed only one goal in the second.

The third period again saw the Stars take too many penalties.  Innsbruck took advantage scoring twice in the third period, the final goal on the power play to seal the victory 5-1.  The Stars’ lack of discipline combined with difficulties scoring contributed to L.A.’s third loss in a row and tough last three games before Christmas.  Maybe Santa will see fit to bring some scoring magic to the Stars for the new year and the second half.  In reality it will be essential for the Stars to get back to basics, be disciplined and increase their work ethic in order to compete with the top bracket when play resumes after the break.