After completing a weekend sweep of the Milwaukee Admirals and collecting points in three straight games, the Stars looked to carry that momentum onto the road against the Rockford IceHogs. Despite scoring just seconds into the game, Texas found itself chasing Rockford the rest of the way, falling 8-4 in a dominant performance by the IceHogs.
Any initial fears of a sluggish start after the holiday break were put to rest almost immediately. Just 14 seconds into the game, Matthew Seminoff pounced on a rebound in front of Rockford goaltender Stanislav Berezhnoy to give the Stars a 1-0 lead.