CEDAR PARK, Texas -- Opening their 30th anniversary season, the Grand Rapids Griffins were powered by Carter Mazur’s first professional hat trick in a 4-3 victory over the Texas Stars at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park on Friday. The three goals marked the first hat trick in any kind of opener – season, road, or home – in franchise history.

Mazur returned to the ice for the first time since March after coming off of a season-ending injury in his NHL debut with the Detroit Red Wings last campaign. Alongside the hat trick, Eduards Tralmaks tallied Grand Rapids' first goal of the season during his team debut. Alex Kannok Leipert recorded his first two assists as a Griffin and Sebastian Cossa logged 32 saves, 12 of which came in the final 20 minutes. Newcomer John Leonard also registered his 100th pro assist in his 250th AHL game. 

At the 6:47 mark of the opening period, Grand Rapids drew first. Directly off the draw, Kannok Leipert let a shot rip toward the front of the net that ricocheted off Tralmaks and past Remi Poirier. With 9:58 left in the frame, the Stars tied things up when Arttu Hyry received a pass from behind the net and sent a one-timer flying into the top left corner. 

Grand Rapids' William Lagesson received a double minor at the 11:02 mark of the first. However, Sheldon Dries had the best attempt on Texas’ power play with a short-handed chance, and the squad ultimately killed off its only penalties of the contest. 

The second period was highlighted by a two-goal performance from Mazur. At the 5:23 mark, Tyler Angle sent a drop pass to the winger, who rang a shot off the right post and over the glove of Poirier, reclaiming a 2-1 for the visitors. With 8:02 left in the stanza, Grand Rapids received a power-play opportunity and Mazur connected on a wrister from the high slot for the team’s third goal of the game. 

Texas came to fight in the third period, scoring two goals in the opening 5:41 to knot the score at 3-3. First, Matthew Seminoff picked up the puck in the neutral zone and scored from Cossa’s right side at 2:37. Three minutes and four seconds later, the Stars tied it with a slapshot from above the right circle courtesy of Antonio Stranges. 

With 3:04 remaining, Mazur polished off his night and tied his career high for points in a game by recording his first hat trick. The Jackson, Michigan, native cleaned up a loose puck in front of the net for the game-winning goal. Pulling Poirier with 1:26 worked to no avail for the home team, ultimately giving the Griffins their first road-opening win since 2019. 

Notes

• Ian Mitchell, Kannok Leipert, Leonard, Tralmaks and Angle all logged their first points with Grand Rapids during their debuts.
• The Griffins won a road opener for the first time since 2019, when they defeated the Rockford IceHogs, 8-5. The team improved to 2-5 in its last seven road openers.
• The last hat trick recorded by Grand Rapids was by Joe Snively on Dec. 28, 2024 at the Cleveland Monsters.

Box Score
Grand Rapids 1 2 1 - 4
Texas 1 0 2 - 3

1st Period-1, Grand Rapids, Tralmaks 1 (Kannok Leipert, Becher), 6:47. 2, Texas, Hyry 1 (Stranges, Kolyachonok), 10:02. Penalties-Lagesson Gr (double minor - high-sticking), 11:02.

2nd Period-3, Grand Rapids, Mazur 1 (Angle, Kannok Leipert), 5:23. 4, Grand Rapids, Mazur 2 (Leonard, Mitchell), 11:58 (PP). Penalties-Hughes Tex (interference), 11:31; Ertel Tex (slashing), 14:50.

3rd Period-5, Texas, Seminoff 1 (Scott, Ertel), 2:37. 6, Texas, Stranges 1 (Capobianco, Hyry), 5:41. 7, Grand Rapids, Mazur 3 (Dries, Lagesson), 16:56. Penalties-Lind Tex (slashing), 14:08.

Shots on Goal-Grand Rapids 6-12-10-28. Texas 14-7-14-35.
Power Play Opportunities-Grand Rapids 1 / 3; Texas 0 / 2.
Goalies-Grand Rapids, Cossa 1-0-0 (35 shots-32 saves). Texas, Poirier 0-1-0 (28 shots-24 saves).
A-6,023

Three Stars 
1. GR Mazur (hat trick); 2. TEX Stranges (goal, assist); 3. TEX Hyry (goal, assist)

Record/Next Game 
Grand Rapids: 1-0-0-0 (2 pts.) / Sat., Oct. 11 at Texas 8 p.m. EDT
Texas: 0-1-0-0 (0 pts.) / Sat., Oct. 11 at Texas 7 p.m. CDT

Photo by Texas Stars