AHL Texas Stars

Texas Stars Gameday Preview - Texas at San Antonio

Published on January 27, 2012 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Texas Stars News Release


Texas Stars (20-18-1-2, 43 points) at San Antonio Rampage (22-18-2-0, 46 points)

The Texas Stars and the San Antonio Rampage meet for the seventh time this season. The Rampage leads the season series after taking four out of the first six games. Texas fell to 2-3-0-1 against San Antonio this season by dropping the last meeting, a 4-3 shootout loss at AT&T Center on Jan. 6. The Rampage is 3-1-0-0 at home against Texas and 1-0-1-0 at Cedar Park Center this season. This marks the 29th all-time meeting between the two teams that will play a total of 12 games this season, including four more games at Cedar Park Center. Texas posted a 6-2-0-2 mark over San Antonio in 2010-11 and they own the all-time series with a 16-9-0-3 record. The Stars are 10-2-0-1 in 13 games at Cedar Park Center against the Rampage. Texas is 6-7-0-2 all-time at AT&T Center, putting up five shutouts in 15 visits. The Stars trail the Rampage by three points for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

The Stars have six wins in their last ten games, going 6-2-1-1 over that span. With three straight wins, the Stars are in position to go three games over .500 for the first time all season. Texas is coming off wins over Chicago, Peoria and Houston. The Stars beat the Aeros 4-3 to earn their first shootout win of the year. Texas improved to 10-7-1-1 at home this season, outscoring the opposition 65-56 at Cedar Park Center. Texas has taken seven of the last nine home games and posted points in eight of the last nine. The Stars are 10-11-0-1 on the road this season, having been outscored by their opponents 67-60 on the scoreboard. The team has two road wins in the last seven attempts. The Stars are 9-12-0-2 against the West Division this season. Texas' scoring has been spread out evenly this season, with 39 first-period tallies and 50 second-period markers. Since Dec. 3 (last 21 games), Texas has outscored the opposition 32-17 in the second period after getting outscored in the middle frame 26-18 in the previous 20 games. The Stars lead the opposition in second-period scoring with a 50-44 edge. The club has outscored the opposing team 125-123 for the season. Texas is seventh in the league with a 3.05 goals per game average. Texas ranks 19th defensively with a 3.00 goals against average. The Stars are 14-0-1-1 when leading after two periods of play, but they are 2-16-0-0 when trailing after two periods of play. The team is 10-8-1-2 in games decided by one goal this season. Texas leads the AHL with five overtime wins this season, going 5-0-1-2 when tied after regulation. The Stars are tied for third in the AHL with nine shorthanded goals this season.

San Antonio comes into its seventh meeting of the season with five straight victories, the longest winning streak of the season. The Rampage is coming off a 4-3 shootout win in Houston on Sunday night. San Antonio is 7-3-0-0 in the last ten games and 12-11-0-0 at home this season. The Rampage has been outscored 66-52 on home ice this season. The team has won four of its last six games at the AT&T Center. San Antonio has only given up eight goals in the last five games played, improving to ninth in the league with a 2.74 goals against average. The club is 16-3-2-0 when scoring first this season. The Rampage is 12-11-2-0 against the West Division this season. San Antonio has been outscored in every period this season, including a 33-26 differential in the third period of play. The Rampage has scored 32 second-period goals and 36 first-period goals. San Antonio is 12-2-0-0 when leading after the first and 13-0-2-0 when leading after the second. The Rampage is 3-16-0-0 when trailing after two periods of play.

Texas Stars

Center Travis Morin and winger Matt Fraser lead Texas in scoring. Morin is the clubhouse leader with 33 assists and 38 points in his first 41 games played. He ranks in the top five of the AHL for assists and top ten of the league for power-play helpers. He recorded the 200th assist of his pro career on Friday night against Peoria. Rookie forward Matt Fraser is second in scoring with 35 points in 40 games. He leads the team with 21 goals scored and 144 shots on net. Fraser sits in the top ten of the AHL with nine power-play goals and he is fourth overall in the AHL for rookie scoring. The All-Star ranks second among all first-year skaters with 21 goals and he is first in shots on goal by a rookie. He tied a team record with four assists last Friday. Colton Sceviour, Francis Wathier and Ryan Garbutt round out the top scorers for Texas. Colton Sceviour is second on the team with 20 assists and he is third with 28 points. Sceviour has seven goals and 13 assists in his last 20 games. He is slated to become the first Texas Star to play in 200 games, needing two more games to reach the mark. He is expected to play his 200th game as a Star on Saturday. Center Ryan Garbutt has 26 points (10g-16a) in 41 games. Garbutt leads the team with 68 penalty minutes, followed by Luke Gazdic's 62 and Wathier's 61 minutes. Garbutt is tied for third in the AHL with six shorthanded points and second with four shorthanded assists. Rookie center Scott Glennie has 13 points in his last 13 games, scoring six goals and setting up seven others. Winger Mike Hedden has five points in his last six games. Stephen Schultz has three goals over the last two games.

Jordie Benn leads all defenders and is tied for second in the AHL with eight goals. He is also first among blueliners with 19 points in 37 games played. With six assists and nine points in his last ten games, Captain Brad Lukowich is second among Texas defensemen in scoring with 17 points in 37 games played. The 16-year pro posted a +3 rating on Friday night against Peoria. Dan Spang is tied for the lead among defensemen with 14 assists and third with 16 points. Rookie Brenden Dillon (2-13-15) is fourth in points and he is first among D-men with 43 penalty minutes. Veteran defender Maxime Fortunus has 15 points in 37 games.

Goalies Andrew Raycroft and Tyler Beskorowany split time in net for Texas. Raycroft was unbeaten in regulation (3-0-1) in his first four starts before suffering his first regulation loss on Saturday night in Milwaukee. He is 6-2-1 with a 2.41 goals against average and a .914 save percentage in nine starts for the Stars. Beskorowany is 6-10-0 with a 3.08 goals against average and a .891 save percentage.

Special Teams

The Stars have converted 43 of 195 power plays for a 22.1% conversion rate, as Texas ranks second overall in power play percentage. The team has 15 power-play goals over the last 11 games - going 15-for-52 over that span. The Stars have killed off 131 of 158 opponents' power plays (82.9%), ranking 13th overall on the penalty kill. The Stars have killed off 93 of the last 106 penalties (87.7%). The Rampage is 29th in the AHL on the penalty kill, stopping 77.5% of their opponents' power plays. Overall, San Antonio ranks 28th in the AHL on the power play after going 22-for-157 (14.0%).

The San Antonio Rampage

The Rampage saw a roster shake up on Thursday, when Florida sent forward Tim Kennedy to San Jose for defenseman Sean Sullivan, who was playing in Worcester for the Sharks AHL Affiliate. Sullivan has played in 32 games with the Worcester Sharks (AHL) this season scoring five goals with 19 assists. The Boston, Mass., native has appeared in 183 games with San Antonio (2006-07 & 2007-10) registering 89 points (21-68-89) and 69 PIM. On January 18th, Florida sent Evgeni Dadonov and A.J Jenks to Carolina for Jonathan Matsumoto and Mattias Lindstrom. Matsumoto has five points in his first three games with San Antonio. He leads the Rampage with 16 goals, 23 assists and 39 points in 44 games played this year. Mastumoto played 41 games in Charlotte prior to the trade, posting 34 points (13g, 21a).

Center Bracken Kearns is second for San Antonio in scoring with 12 goals and 30 points in 37 games played. He also leads the team with five power-play goals this season. Matsumoto scored seven PPGs with Charlotte. All-Star defenseman Colby Robak is tied for third on the team in scoring with 24 points. Robak has six goals and 18 assists for 24 points in 42 games played. The second-year pro ranks tied for tenth in scoring among all AHL defensemen and his +11 rating leads the team. Center Mark Cullen is tied for third in team scoring with 24 points off 19 assists in 30 games played. Former Star Greg Rallo has nine goals and 16 points in 36 games played this season.

San Antonio goalie Dov Grumet-Morris carries the load in net, with Andrew Volkening backing up. Jacob Markstrom is out with an injury. Grumet-Morris is 11-5-0 with a 1.99 goals against average and a .931 save percentage. He has started the last ten games for San Antonio going 7-3-0. Over that span, Grumet-Morris has a 2.17 g.a.a. and a .928 save percentage. Jacob Markstrom was 6-7-0 with a 2.75 goals against average and a .909 save percentage at the time of his injury.

Shorthanded Supremacy

The 2011-12 Texas Stars are rewriting the team record books for shorthanded goals. So far this season, Texas has an AHL-high six shorthanded goals scored at home this year. In all, the Stars rank in the top five of the AHL with nine shorthanded goals this season. In the Stars Inaugural season, the team mustered two SHGs at home and two on the road for four on the season. Texas scored two SHGs at home in 2010-11 and tallied three on the road for five in the team's second full season in the AHL.

Dallas Assigns Fraser, Vincour and Larsen to Texas

The Dallas Stars announced on Wednesday that the club has activated Jamie Benn from injured reserve retroactive to Jan. 14 and assigned Tomas Vincour, Philip Larsen, and Matt Fraser to the Texas Stars, Dallas' primary affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL).

Vincour, 21, has skated in 18 games for Dallas this season, earning one goal and two assists totaling three points. The Brno, CZE, native has been an even or plus player in 14 of his contests this season. Vincour played in 15 games for Texas earlier in the season, scoring 10 goals and totaling 13 points. The second-year pro was drafted in the fifth round (#129 overall) by Dallas in 2009.

Larsen, 22, has skated in 21 games for Dallas this season, scoring one goal and two assists in that span. The Esbjerg, DNK, native ranks second among Dallas defensemen with a +7 rating and is averaging 17:10 of time-on-ice per game. Earlier this season, Larsen became the first Danish-born defenseman to score an NHL goal since Poul Popiel in the 1971-72 season for the Vancouver Canucks. The young defenseman played in 10 games for Texas earlier in the season, setting up nine goals and racking up ten points. Dallas drafted Larsen with the 149th pick (fifth round) of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

Fraser, 21, played in his first career NHL game on Jan. 24, 2012 vs. the Anaheim Ducks scoring no goals or assists in 3:57 of ice time. Prior to his NHL recall, Fraser ranked second on the Texas Stars in scoring with 35 points (21g, 14a). He led the club with 21 goals and was tied for third overall in that category in the AHL. The 6-2, 207-pound forward was signed to a three-year entry-level contract by Dallas on Nov. 17, 2010.

Benn, 22, has missed the last five games recovering from appendectomy surgery. The 6-2, 205-pound forward leads the team with 29 assists and ranks second overall in scoring with 42 points (13g, 29a). Earlier this month, Benn was selected to participate in the 2012 NHL All-Star Game in Ottawa.

LAST THREE GAMES

Houston 3 at Texas 4 SO 1/21/12

The Texas Stars defeated the Houston Aeros 4-3 in a shootout in front of a sellout crowd of 6,863 fans at Cedar Park Center on Saturday night. Texas rallied in the third period to erase a one-goal deficit and the team scored on three of five shootout attempts to defeat its in-state rival. Stars right wing Colton Sceviour scored the game-tying goal at 9:58 of the third period and added a shootout goal for the win. Texas forwards Stephen Schultz and Mike Hedden scored within 1:20 of each other in the second period, dismissing a two-goal deficit. Texas goalie Andrew Raycroft (6-2-1) stopped 22 of 25 shots and three of five shootout attempts to preserve the club's first shootout win of the season.

Peoria 2 at Texas 6 1/20/12

The Texas Stars defeated the Peoria Rivermen 6-2 in front of 5,273 fans at Cedar Park Center on Friday night. Five Texas skaters had multi-point nights, led by winger Matt Fraser's four assists. Forward Stephen Schultz notched two goals and left wing Mike Hedden put up a goal and an assist, as the Stars powered past the Rivermen behind a three-goal second period. Center Travis Morin and defenseman Jordie Benn each added two assists, as the Stars improved to 9-7-1-1 at home this season. Texas goalie Andrew Raycroft stopped 21 of 23 shots as the team claimed its sixth win in the last eight home games. Rivermen defenseman Cade Fairchild and right wing Jonathan Cheechoo each scored in the loss. Peoria goalie Ben Bishop stopped 29 of 35 shots in the loss.

Texas 4 at Chicago 3 1/18/12

The Texas Stars defeated the Chicago Wolves 4-3 in front of 3,032 fans at the Allstate Arena on Wednesday. The Stars scored three goals in the second period, including the game-winning goal from defenseman Maxime Fortunus to close out the road trip with a one-goal victory. Jordie Benn and Matt Fraser also added second-period markers, as the Stars improved to 10-11-0-1 on the road this season. Texas Captain Brad Lukowich scored once and added an assist in the victory. Texas goalie Andrew Raycroft made 23 saves for the win. Rookie Scott Glennie also picked up two assists for the Stars.

What's Ahead:

DATE OPPONENT TIME RADIO

Friday, January 27 at San Antonio 7:00 PM 104.9 FM

Saturday, January 28 at Oklahoma City 7:00 PM 104.9 FM

All-Star Break

Thursday, February 2 at Houston 7:35 PM 104.9 FM

Saturday, February 4 vs. Charlotte 7:00 PM 104.9 FM

* All times listed are central time

Check out the Texas Stars Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from January 27, 2012


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