Anyone who has ever spoken at any time to the head coach of the Texas Stars Neil Graham can attest to his calm, even-handed manner.
Losing 2-0 at 10:57 a.m. to the mighty Milwaukee Admirals last night didn't faze Graham. It was a disappointing start, but on the other hand, he wasn't taking any bows after Texas turned the game around and held on for a 6-3 win.
For those who believe that a hockey team takes on the personality of its coaching staff, the Stars can certainly be good proof of that.
“Take the first one, bank it, and fix it quickly,” Graham told reporters following the win. “We knew we weren't playing at our level. We needed to take a breath and get back to what we wanted to achieve.”
Once they achieved that level, results followed. The Stars scored six of the last seven goals, opening the game tied 3-3 with three goals in the third period.
“I think it was important to show some resilience,” Graham added.
He recently returned from Dallas, the regular season AHL MVP and leading scorer Mavrik Bourque came back in time to pocket a goal and three assists in the Game 1 win. And Lian Bichsel, reassigned earlier in the week after finishing his season with Rögle BK of the Swedish Hockey League, made his first Calder Cup Playoff roster. Bourque (2020) and Bichsel (2022) were both first-round draft picks by Dallas.
It ended in a missed attempt, though Devon LevyThe 60-save performance for the Rochester Americans in a double overtime loss at Syracuse last night was nothing new for the rookie netminder.
Levi, who won the Mike Richter Award as the top goaltender in men's college hockey in 2021-22 and 2022-23, led the NCAA with a .933 save percentage as a senior at Northeastern University last season. He had a share of the game's record save — 60 — in a 3-1 win over UConn on Feb. 25, 2022.
Levi owns a .940 save percentage through the first three games of the Amerks' series with the Crunch. With a .927 mark in the regular season, he ranked second in the league behind only Hershey Hunter Shepard.
― with files from Patrick Williams
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