Texas, St. John's to meet for Calder Cup

The Texas Stars advanced to the Calder Cup Finals by beating the Toronto Marlies 6-2 on Tuesday night in Game 7 of the American Hockey League's Western Conference Final in Cedar Park, Texas.

Dustin Jeffrey scored twice in a six-goal blitz by the Stars that began late in the second period and wiped out Toronto's 2-0 lead.

The top affiliate of the Dallas Stars, led by second-year coach Willie Desjardins, finished with the best regular-season record in the AHL (48-18-3-7, 106 points), then beat Oklahoma City, Grand Rapids and Toronto to advance to the Calder Cup Finals for the second time in the franchise's five-year history.

The Stars will host the Eastern Conference-champion St. John's IceCaps, the top affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets, in Games 1 and 2 on Sunday and Monday. The IceCaps beat the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in six games, wrapping up the series earlier Tuesday with a 5-0 victory in St. John's, Newfoundland. The third-year franchise, which won the Atlantic Division with a 46-23-2-5 record (99 points) is making its first trip to the Calder Cup Finals.