What an inaugural year for hockey in Austin! They’ve exceeded everybody’s expectations, probably the AHL too. I figured as long as they were better than the San Antonio Rampage, I would be happy. Qualifying for the playoffs was a nice ending to the regular season but landing the number two spot was impressive. Then they swept the Rockford Icehogs which got me to thinking…these guys have a chance to unseat the Hershey Bears, the team I correctly predicted to be the guys everyone will be sweating. Too bad there’s no money to be made betting and handicapping the AHL since I am 50 percent (at best) on the NHL.
Anyway, I didn’t go to the watching party at the CPC because Jeremy had another engagement and I wanted to write on my site (surprise!). I did listen to the game on the radio via the Internet. Boy oh boy did my Stars keep me on the edge, especially when they were down by two goals at the half-way point. All wasn’t lost yet in my opinion. OK, things were looking ugly. The Hamilton Bulldogs were outshooting the Stars by a ratio of 3-1. However, in hockey, all your team needs is a lucky break to shift the momentum in your favor and it was exactly what my Stars received. Eventually, they tied the game, took the lead, nailed a GAG (Go-Ahead Goal) and ran out the clock.
Now it’s on to face the Hershey Bears next week! What are our chances? If they’re as lucky as they’ve been against Chicago and Hamilton, both number one teams in their respective divisions, I think we got a shot at winning this thing. Stars in six games. The series doesn’t come to Austin for a while longer. I will have stocked up on Hershey candy bars by then to help intimidate the opposition.