Grand Rapids Reporter

The Grand Rapids Griffins finished off their road trip with a 3-1 loss against the Texas Stars at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park, giving the Griffins a .500 record.

This was the first time the Griffins did not earn points against the Stars this season, with the team going 2-1-1-0, the Griffins reported on their site. Grand Rapids went 2-2 on the road trip, where they also faced the Iowa Wild.

"The Griffins concluded the road season series against Texas with a 2-1-1-0 record, which marked the first time Grand Rapids finished above the 0.500 mark at Texas since the 2015-16 campaign," the Griffins said.

Texas started the game off hot with a goal at 3:48 by Joel L'Esperance, the Griffins reported. Ryan Shea took a shot long from the left-wing circle and L'Esperance knocked the puck home on the deflection. Anthony Louis, along with Shea, was credited with an assist. Grand Rapids then tied up the game with 3:17 left in the first period on its third power play of the game. Kyle Criscuolo sent a pass to Ryan Murphy, who launched a backhanded shot to the top-right corner. Turner Elson also recorded an assist on the play.

In the second period, the Stars took the lead at the 10:27 mark when Jordan Kawaguchi scored for the first time this season, the Griffins reported. Kawaguchi shot the puck past goalie Calvin Pickard for the goal. Curtis McKenzie and Ty Dellandrea had assists. With 3:46 left in the game, L'Esperance scored his second goal of the night on a rebound he knocked in off of his own shot to secure the 3-1 win. Also assisting on the goal was Jeremy Gregoire.

Criscuolo has now made points in two straight games. The goal from Murphy made him the league leader in the category for defenseman with a total of 9 goals. Grand Rapids has also now scored during a power play in five of its last six games.