Denis Gurianov broke a scoreless tie with 13:06 to go in regulation and Mike McKenna made 47 saves as the Texas Stars advanced to the Pacific Division Finals with a 1-0 win over the Ontario Reign on Tuesday night.
The Stars eliminated the Reign, three games to one, for their first series victory since winning the Calder Cup in 2014. Texas will face either Tucson or San Jose in the second round.
Gurianov buried the rebound of a Roope Hintz shot for the only offense of Game 4, his second goal of the series.
McKenna (3-1), who stopped all 44 shots he faced in relief to backstop Texas to a double-overtime win in Game 3 on Sunday, picked up the first shutout of his Calder Cup Playoff career. He finished the series with a save percentage of .957 and a shutout streak of 132:25 intact.
Cal Petersen (1-3) made 28 saves for Ontario in the loss.
All three of Texas’s wins in the series were by one-goal margins; the Stars tied for the AHL lead with 23 one-goal wins during the regular season.
Pacific Division Semifinals – Series “H” (best-of-5)
P2-Texas Stars vs. P3-Ontario Reign
Game 1 – Thu., Apr. 19 – TEXAS 4, Ontario 3 (OT) | Recap
Game 2 – Fri., Apr. 20 – Ontario 5, TEXAS 1 | Recap
Game 3 – Sun., Apr. 22 – Texas 5, ONTARIO 4 (2OT) | Recap
Game 4 – Tue., Apr. 24 – Texas 1, ONTARIO 0
