Dallas Stars hockey was officially back over the weekend when their prospect team hosted the Detroit Red Wings prospects in a two game series where both teams got a win under their belt.
The two games at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas were free to the public and the first look at real game competition for hockey-starved fans in Dallas. Previously, the Red Wings hosted their own tournament in Traverse City, Michigan, but rising costs led to the eventual end of that annual showcase last year.
While the Red Wings got off to a win in Saturday's game, the Stars came back with a thrilling 6-5 win on Sunday to end the weekend on a high note.
Among the standouts were defenseman Trey Taylor, who had already made his mark last season during the Texas Stars playoff run. Similarly, Harrison Scott played every playoff game for Texas last season and was given the top center role for the two games. Both players are great examples of free agent signings out of college.
The Stars have relied on those free agent signings because a lot of their draft capital has been shipped elsewhere in return for players to help Dallas in their playoff hunt, so the team needs other ways to keep their prospect pool competitive.
Also included in that category was Artem Shlaine, a Russian-born player from Arizona State who scored two goals in Sunday's win. 19-year-old free agent out of the WHL Jaxon Fuder scored two goals in the two games and opened the scoring Sunday.
The Red Wings went down 2-0 Sunday, but had a 4-2 lead and a 5-3 lead in the third, but Dallas bounced back to tie it and Ayrton Martino scored his second goal of the game to win it 6-5 late in the third.
It was a much better result than the 6-2 loss in Saturday's contest where Dallas went down 6-0 before getting two third period goals to make the score somewhat more respectable.
Now, those prospects will join training camp Thursday, with the first preseason game coming up on Saturday against the St. Louis Blues.
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