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Texas Stars

Stars Weekly (Week 8) - Stars Complete Home Stand, Grab Three Points In Week 7

November 27, 2012 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Texas Stars News Release


Texas began the week with a gunfight against the Oklahoma City Barons on Wednesday night at Cedar Park Center. After conceding a goal in the first two minutes, the Stars scored three straight to take a 3-1 lead. Cam Barker started the scoring with a long shot from the blue line that found its way home and later in the period Colton Sceviour scored a dazzling shorthanded goal from the high slot to put Texas in the lead. Jordie Benn then registered his first goal of the year, a power play strike, which gave the hosts a two-goal cushion. That lead evaporated in the second period as the Barons' young guns found the net four times in the span of 8:17 to reclaim the upper hand. Antoine Roussel scored the Stars' second shorthanded goal of the contest to cut the Oklahoma City lead to one, but Martin Marincin blasted in a power play goal with 88 seconds left in the third period to cap off a 6-4 Barons win.

While offense was the featured attraction on Wednesday, Friday's encounter with the Abbotsford Heat focused around solid defense and excellent goaltending. Cristopher Nilstorp bounced back from allowing six goals to the Barons by stopping the first 28 shots he faced. However, it was the 29th Abbotsford shot on goal that decided the outcome. Scoreless through regulation, the Heat won the opening faceoff of overtime raced in and, after Nilstorp denied a Sven Baertschi effort, defenseman Chris Breen collected the loose puck and crushed a slap shot that rattled the twine a mere eight seconds into the extra session. Even though Texas was held off the scoreboard for the fourth time this year, the team earned a point and the penalty kill was a perfect 8-for-8 against the Abbotsford power play.

The Stars capped off the week with a successful Sunday afternoon trip to San Antonio. After going behind midway through the first period, Travis Morin started the scoring with his fourth goal of the season, taking a nice pass from Jamie Oleksiak and sliding the puck through the legs of goaltender Dov Grumet-Morris. Drew Shore put the Rampage back in front early in the second period, but it was the last time the home side would be ahead. Francis Wathier then put on a passing display as the Stars scored twice in the span of 27 seconds to take a 3-2 lead. Wathier found Matt Fraser for a power play goal at 13:02 and then fed Brenden Dillon for another one-timer; it was Dillon's first goal of the season. San Antonio rallied in the third period as Shore's second goal of the game tied the score at three. That lasted a mere 46 seconds before Texas reclaimed the lead when Fraser found Colton Sceviour for a beautiful tip-in goal. Scott Glennie then added an empty net goal to ice the game 5-3. Cristopher Nilstorp made his sixth consecutive start in goal for the Stars, but became ill during the game and had to leave after the second period with a 3-2 lead. Rookie Jack Campbell played the third period and stopped 13-of-14 shots to record his third win of the season. The Stars five-goal performance on Sunday was the most scored by the team in one game this year; they have scored four goals on four occasions.

Week 8 Preview:

The Stars head north for four games in six days in Week 8, part of a ten day road trip, and their first long sojourn away from Texas this season. All four games this week, and the first of Week 9, will come against teams from the Midwest Division; facing everyone but Chicago on this trip. The Stars have played 11 of their first 16 games at the friendly confines of Cedar Park Center and will now play 10 of their next 13 games on the road. They begin the excursion on Tuesday, November 27th with a 7:00 p.m. faceoff with the Rockford IceHogs at BMO Harris Bank Center. Then it's off to Michigan for back-to-back games with the Grand Rapids Griffins on Friday, November 30th and Saturday, December 1st at Van Andel Arena; both games get underway at 6:00 p.m. CST. Completing the week, and the team's third three-in-three of the year, Texas will travel back into Illinois for a 5:05 p.m. clash against the Peoria Rivermen on Sunday, December 2nd at Carver Arena.

Week 8 Schedule:

(All games are broadcast LIVE over the Internet at www.TexasStarsHockey.com and can be viewed via internet pay-per-view video on www.ahllive.com . All times listed in Central Time)

Tuesday, November 27 - 7:00 p.m. - BMO Harris Bank Center - Rockford, IL

@ Rockford IceHogs (9-8-0-1, 19 pts)

Tied-Second Place, Midwest Division

Team Notes: Rockford carries a three-game winning streak into their first meeting with Texas this season. The IceHogs swept a two-game series against Lake Erie last weekend in Cleveland. No. 1 goalie Carter Hutton started 14 of the team's first 16 games and backup goalie Alec Richards has started the last three games and has won all three; Hutton is tied for third in the league with seven losses. In 18 all-time meetings with Rockford, the Stars have a 11-6-1-0 record, including a 6-3-0-0 at BMO Harris Bank Center. The IceHogs are tied for 14th in the AHL in power play at 16.5% and are 12th in penalty kill (83.8%). Rockford is 22nd in the league in goals allowed per game (3.17). The IceHogs are third in the AHL in average penalty minutes (23.89), they are second in total penalty minutes (430), second in minors (125) and they lead the league in game misconducts (6). Leading Scorer: Martin St. Pierre (C) - 15 points (4 goals, 11 assists) and -2 in 18 GP. Leading Goaltender: Carter Hutton (G) - 3.02 GAA, 0.889 save pct., 5-7-1 in 14 GP. Who's Hot: Andrew Shaw (RW) - Has three points (2 goals, 1 assist) and a +3 rating in his last two games played. Adam Clendening (D) - Has six points (2 goals, 4 assists) in his last four games played. Ben Smith (RW) - Tied for second on the team in goals and has six points (3-3-6) in his last four games played. Joe Lavin (D) - Is on a three-game assist streak and has three assists and a +3 rating in his last three games played.

Friday, November 30 - 6:00 p.m. - Van Andel Arena - Grand Rapids, MI

@ Grand Rapids Griffins (10-5-1-1, 22 pts)

First Place, Midwest Division

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Saturday, December 1 - 6:00 p.m. - Van Andel Arena - Grand Rapids, MI

@ Grand Rapids Griffins (10-5-1-1, 22 pts)

First Place, Midwest Division

Team Notes: The Griffins used an eight game winning streak to storm to the top of the Midwest Division. However, their streak was snapped by the Milwaukee Admirals in a 3-2 loss on Sunday. Grand Rapids has the third best power play in the AHL at 23.1% and is tied for 13th in the league in penalty kill (83.5%). Rookie goalie Petr Mrazek made his AHL debut against Texas on Nov. 3rd and has started seven of the team's last nine games, winning six of those contests. The Griffins 4-1 win over the Stars was the first of their eight-game winning streak, after they had started the season 2-4-1-1. Grand Rapids ranks second in the AHL in goals per game (3.65). Leading Scorer: Gustav Nyquist (RW) - 19 points (9 goals, 11 assists) and +7 in 17 GP. Leading Goaltender: Petr Mrazek (G) - 2.53 GAA, 0.910 save pct., 6-1-0 in 7 GP. Who's Hot: Francis Pare (RW) - Is currently on a seven-game point streak and has 11 points (5 goals, 6 assists) and a +5 rating over that span. Tomas Tatar (LW) - Leads the team in goals, is second in points and has two current streaks: a three-game goal streak and a five-game point streak with seven points (6 goals, 1 assist) and a +1 rating in his last five games played. Gustav Nyquist (RW) - Leads the team in points, ranks seventh in the AHL in scoring and has six points (2 goals, 4 assists) in his last five games played.

Sunday, December 2 - 5:05 p.m. - Carver Arena - Peoria, IL

@ Peoria Rivermen (6-9-2-1, 15 pts)

Fifth Place, Midwest Division

Team Notes: Peoria Leading Scorer: T.J. Hensick (C) - 18 points (5 goals, 13 assists) in 18 GP. Leading Goaltender: Jake Allen (G) - 3.39 GAA, 0.895 save pct., 5-8-1 in 14 GP. Who's Hot: Sergey Andronov (LW) - Has five points (3 goals, 2 assists) and a +5 rating in his last four games played. Ian Cole (D) - Has five points (2 goals, 3 assists) in his last five games played. Cody Beach (RW) - Has four assists and a +5 rating in his last four games played. Mark Cundari (D) - Has five assists and a +5 rating in his last five games played.

Week 7 Game Results:

November 21, 2012 Oklahoma City 6 @ Texas 4

November 23, 2012 Abbotsford 1 @ Texas 0 - OT

November 25, 2012 Texas 5 @ San Antonio 3

Stars Player of the Week: (Week 7)

Colton Sceviour - RW - #7 3 GP, 4 points (2 G, 2 A), +2, 0 PIMs

Right wing Colton Sceviour had a strong week, recording four points (2 goals, 2 assists) and a +2 rating, as the Texas Stars secured three points in three games. The Red Deer, Alberta native had a season-high three point game (1 goal, 2 assists) and was named the game's second star on Wednesday in a 6-4 loss to Oklahoma City. After the team was shutout 1-0 in overtime by Abbotsford on Friday, Sceviour helped rally the Stars on Sunday as he broke a 3-3 tie and scored the game-winning goal deep in the third period in a 5-3 win at San Antonio; he was also named the first star of the game. Sceviour, who missed all of October with a broken hand suffered in the first period of Texas' first preseason game, now has seven points (3 goals, 4 assists) in nine games played and needs one more goal for his 50th career AHL goal.

Stars Quick Hits:

STARS NOTABLES: WEEK 7

- BLITZKRIEG - The Matt Fraser and Brenden Dillon scored goals a mere 27 seconds apart in the second period of Sunday's 5-3 win at San Antonio. It was the fastest two goals scored by the Stars this season.

- APPROACHING MILESTONES - Left wing Francis Wathier's next game for Texas will be his 400th AHL game. Wathier has 164 points (78 goals, 86 assists) and 551 penalty minutes in 399 career AHL games. Defenseman Maxime Fortunus is two games shy of his 650th pro game. The Stars captain has 197 points (54 goals, 143 assists) and 227 penalty minutes in 648 career pro games.

- ANOTHER QUICK STRIKE - Tied with Abbotsford heading into overtime, the Stars lost to the Heat when Chris Breen scored a mere eight seconds into the extra session. It was the fastest goal allowed by the Stars to begin a period this season.

- POWER PLAY KILLERS - Over the last seven games the Texas penalty kill has been very close to perfection. The Stars have killed off 33-of-36 power plays against during that span, an impressive 91.7% success rate, and have raised their overall PK percentage from 64.9% to 78.1%, a 13.2% increase.

- NO GOALS FOR YOU - Texas earn a point in a hard fought 1-0 overtime loss to Abbotsford on Friday night at Cedar Park Center. It was the fourth time this season that the Stars have not scored a goal in regulation or overtime; ironically they have earned three points in those four games (1-2-1-0).

- DOWN A MAN, UP A GOAL - The Stars scored two shorthanded goals against Oklahoma City on Wednesday, coming from Colton Sceviour and Antoine Roussel. It the first two shorthanded goals allowed by the Barons this season and it gave Texas four shorties for the year, tying them for second in the AHL; Binghamton leads the league with six.

- SCORING ACCOUNTS OPEN - Defenseman Brenden Dillon scored his first goal of the season in Sunday's win at San Antonio; he had six goals last year for the Stars. Also on Sunday defenseman Patrik Nemeth tallied his first career AHL point with the second assist on Colton Sceviour's game-winner in the third period; Nemeth had three assists in 46 games for AIK of the Swedish Elitserien and five assists in six games for Team Sweden at the 2012 World Junior Championships.

- AND THEN THERE WERE FOUR - Texas is one of only four remaining AHL teams that have not allowed a shorthanded goal against this season. The Stars, along with Binghamton, Chicago and Springfield lead the league in that category.

Stars Week 7 Transactions

November 20 - ADD - Hubert Labrie (D) - Reassigned by Dallas (NHL) from Idaho (ECHL).

November 20 - DELETE - Austin Smith (RW) - Reassigned by Dallas (NHL) to Idaho (ECHL).

November 20 - DELETE - Josh Robinson (G) - Returned on loan to Idaho (ECHL).

Texas Stars Team Leaders:

Games Played: 12 players tied (16)

Goals: Cody Eakin & Matt Fraser (6)

Assists: Francis Wathier (8)

Points: Cody Eakin (11)

Plus/Minus: Cody Eakin, Colton Sceviour & Tyler Sloan (+3)

Penalty Minutes: Antoine Roussel (70)

Power Play Goals: Matt Fraser (4)

Short Handed Goals: Cody Eakin (2)

Game-Winning Goals: Five players tied (1)

Shots: Cam Barker (53)

Shooting Percentage: Scott Glennie (40.0%)

Saves: Cristopher Nilstorp (259)

Wins: Cristopher Nilstorp (4)

GAA: Cristopher Nilstorp (2.60)

Save Percentage: Cristopher Nilstorp (0.896)

Shutouts: Cristopher Nilstorp (2)

The Texas Stars continue their six-game road trip on Tuesday, November 27th as they travel to Rockford for a 7:05 p.m. faceoff with the IceHogs at BMO Harris Bank Center. The Stars next home game is scheduled for Friday, December 7th as they host the Houston Aeros for a 7:30 p.m. faceoff. Come to Cedar Park Center for the beginning of Sing For Santa weekend and for Jack Campbell Mini Bobblehead giveaway night presented by Time Warner Cable. Pro-rated full and partial 2012-13 season seat packages are on sale now. For more information on Texas Stars season tickets call (512) GO-STARS (467-8277) or visit www.TexasStarsHockey.com.

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