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AHL Texas Stars

Game Day Preview - Grand Rapids at Texas

March 25, 2011 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Texas Stars News Release


Texas and Grand Rapids meet for the fifth time this season and the 11th time in AHL history. The two teams will play a total of six games this season, including one more at Cedar Park Center. The last time the two teams met was on February 18th, a 3-2 shootout win for the Stars at Van Andel Arena. Overall this season, Texas is 2-1-1-0 against the Griffins, who are 2-1-0-1 in the season series. The Griffins lead the all-time series with a 6-2-0-2 record against the Stars, including a 3-1-0-0 mark at Cedar Park Center. The Stars are coming off a 3-0 win at home over Houston on Tuesday. The Griffins suffered a 5-1 loss at home to Toronto on Wednesday night.

Texas is 19-10-3-3 at Cedar Park Center this season and 5-4-0-1 in the last ten games. Seven of the last 14 games for Texas have gone into a shootout or overtime. Texas has collected points in six of the last ten games. The team recently concluded a five-game road trip Sunday in Manitoba. They made stops in Syracuse, Hamilton and Toronto before returning home, going 2-2-0-1 over the roadie. Sunday, Texas wrapped up a stretch where 13 of 18 games were on the road, going 7-7-1-3. Texas began a four-game home stand Tuesday night against the Houston Aeros. The team will welcome Grand Rapids for a pair of games this weekend and Chicago next Friday to round out the home-stand. The Stars are 30-14-2-4 against the West Division this season and 8-9-2-1 against the North Division this season. The Griffins are the last North Division team the Stars will see during the regular season. Texas is the least penalized team in the league accruing 12.83 penalty minutes a game. The Stars are 20-4-4-6 in one-goal games this year and 22-0-1-1 when leading after two periods of play this season.

The Griffins have charged back into the North Division playoff race, currently sitting in third, four points behind first place Lake Erie and two points back of second place Manitoba. The Griffins are only three points ahead of sixth place Abbotsford. Grand Rapids is 17-12-1-3 on the road this season and 7-2-1-0 in the last ten games played. The teams has posted a 3-1-1-0 mark over the last five road games. Over the last 15 games, the Griffins have been one of the better teams in the AHL, going 11-3-1-0. Grand Rapids is getting outscored 124-113 on home-ice, but the club has outscored their opponents 103-100 on the road. The Griffins are 17-10-0-4 against the North Division and 18-17-2-4 against the West Division this season. Grand Rapids is ninth overall in the league, averaging 18.71 minutes per game. The Griffins are 14-11-2-8 in one-goal games this season.

Griffins forward Ilari Filppula leads all scorers in the season series with four assists and five points in four games played. Three other Griffins have collected four points against Texas. Center Jamie Johnson leads his crew with three goals in four games. Captain Brad Lukowich (recalled to NHL Dallas), has four assists in four games to lead the Stars. Five other Texas skaters have three points each in the season series. Center Travis Morin has two goals and three points in three games. Mathieu Tousignant, Greg Rallo and Ray Sawada each has three points in the season series.

Texas goalie Richard Bachman has appeared in two games against the Griffins this year, going 1-1-0 with a 2.81 goals against average and a .891 save percentage. Tyler Beskorowany is 1-1-0 with a 3.02 goals against average and a .931 save percentage. Griffins' goalie Jordan Pearce is 1-0-0 with a 2.34 goals against average and a .932 save percentage.

Dallas Recalls Lukowich

Cedar Park, TX - The Dallas Stars announced on Tuesday that the club has recalled defenseman Brad Lukowich from the Texas Stars, Dallas' primary affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL), after he cleared re-entry waivers Tuesday morning.

Lukowich, 34, has skated in 67 games for the Texas Stars in 2010-11, tallying 27 points (4g, 23a) and 59 penalty minutes. He has dressed in 653 career NHL games, including 224 career games with Dallas from 1997-2002, posting 113 points (23g, 90a). The Cranbrook, BC, native helped Dallas win the Stanley Cup in 1999, playing in eight games during the playoffs, and won the Cup again in 2004 with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The 6-1, 200-pound defenseman played 13 games with Vancouver in 2009-10, collecting a goal and an assist. Lukowich spent part of last season with the Texas Stars during the club's inaugural season, skating in 29 games and recording 18 points (3g, 15a). He was signed as a free agent by Dallas on July 16, 2010.

Texas Signs Rookie Defenseman Brenden Dillon to ATO

Cedar Park, TX - The Texas Stars announced on Tuesday that the club has signed defenseman Brenden Dillon to an Amateur Tryout Agreement (ATO).

Dillon, a 20-year-old, recently finished his fourth season with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The defenseman finished first on the team with 51 assists and was second on the club with 59 points in 72 games played this season. The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder was also second on the team with 139 penalty minutes. For his WHL career, Dillon played in 280 games scoring 11 goals and adding 83 assists for 94 points, to go along with 362 penalty minutes. He made his AHL and pro debut on Tuesday.

Texas Recalls Defenseman Monast From Idaho

Cedar Park, TX - The Texas Stars announced on Monday that defenseman Guillaume Monast has been reassigned to the Texas Stars (AHL) from the Idaho Steelheads (ECHL).

Guillaume Monast has one assist in ten games for Texas over three separate recalls from Idaho. He registered his first AHL point with the Stars this season at Lake Erie on Feb. 16. In 48 games for Idaho this year, Monast has one goal and seven assists while adding 38 penalty minutes. The Quebec native spent his rookie season with Idaho, setting up six goals in 68 games played, helping the Steelheads reach the 2010 Kelly Cup Finals. Monast attended training camp in Dallas and in Texas each of the last two years.

What's Ahead:

DATE OPPONENT TIME TV/RADIO

Saturday, March 26 vs. Grand Rapids 7:00 PM 1530 AM

Friday, April 1 vs. Chicago 7:30 PM 104.9 FM

Saturday, April 2 at Oklahoma City 7:05 PM 1530 AM

Sunday, April 3 vs. Rockford 5:00 PM 104.9 FM

* All times listed are central time

LAST GAME RECAP:

Houston 0 at Texas 3 3/22/11

Cedar Park, TX - The Texas Stars defeated the Houston Aeros 3-0 in front of 6,863 fans at Cedar Park Center Tuesday night. Texas goalie Richard Bachman stopped all 20 shots faced for his sixth shutout of the year. Center Aaron Gagnon set up all three Texas goals in the win. Left Francis Wathier scored twice (ppg, shg) and Travis Morin also tallied a special team's goal on the night, as the Stars improved to 19-10-3-3 at home. Houston goalie Matt Hackett stopped 33 of 36 shots for the loss. The sellout crowd marked the fourth time this season the Stars have reached capacity at Cedar Park Center.

Texas 5 at Manitoba 1 3/20/11

The Texas Stars defeated the Manitoba Moose 5-1 in front of 11,889 fans at the MTS Centre on Sunday. Right wing Greg Rallo led the way with a hat trick, netting a power-play goal, regular strength goal and a shorthanded goal in the lopsided win. Rallo's hat trick was the Stars first of the season. Texas goalie Richard Bachman stopped 31 of 32 in the win. Defenseman Maxime Fortunus and center Travis Morin each had two assists as Texas finished 2-2-0-1 on its recent five-game road swing. Right wing Sean Backman and center Mathieu Tousignant each had a goal as the Stars improved to 18-14-1-3 on the road this year. Moose goalie Eddie Lack (24-19-3) was pulled after Texas beat him four times on 22 shots in 31:46 of work.

The Texas Stars

After 71 games of action, right wing Greg Rallo leads the team lead in points with 48 (24g-24a) in 71 games played. Ralllo also leads the team with 24 goals and 225 shots on net. He is tied for the league lead with seven game-winning goals and he ranks in the top five for shots on goal. Center Travis Morin is second for Texas in scoring with 18 goals and 23 assists for 41 points in 55 games played. Morin returned to the lineup on March 7th after missing 14 games with an injury. Dan Spang is third overall on the team with 35 points. He is for the team lead in assists (25), as well as leading all defensemen in goals (10) and shots on goal (151). Colton Sceviour is tied for third on the team with 23 assists and he is fourth with 34 points in 68 games played. Left wing Francis Wathier is second on the team with 18 goals and 157 shots in 59 games played. Center Mathieu Tousignant leads the team with 103 penalty minutes.

Texas Stars goalies Richard Bachman and Tyler Beskorowany fill the net for the Stars. Bachman has appeared in 48 games, going 24-16-5 with a 2.21 goals against average and a .926 save percentage. Bachman ranks in the top ten in the AHL for goals against average and save percentage. Bachman has started 31 of the last 42 games. Overall, Beskorowany is 7-6-1 with a 2.51 goals against average and a .923 save percentage.Goalie Brent Krahn has appeared in 12 games, posting a 6-6-0 mark, a 3.20 goals against average and a .895 save percentage. Krahn is out with an injury.

Record Breaker

Rookie goalie Richard Bachman has set numerous team records this year. With 24 wins on the season, Bachman has passed Matt Climie's team record of 21 wins last season. The 23-year old Bachman has topped Brent Krahn's mark of five shutouts in 2009-10. Bachman recorded his sixth shutout of the season on Tuesday against Houston. His 48 appearances have surpassed Climie's record of 43 appearances in one year. Bachman also passed Climie's mark of 2,539 minutes played, seeing a total of 2,772 minutes in the Stars crease this year. The second-year pro and AHL rookie goalie is the Stars all-time leader in most goalie categories. Bachman is 28-19-5 all-time in 55 appearances with Texas. He has played 3,159 minutes, posting a 2.18 goals against average and a .927 save percentage with seven shutouts.

Milestones...

Texas center Travis Morin has five goals and seven points in his last five games, scoring his 100th pro goal at Manitoba on Friday. Greg Rallo picked up an assist on Tuesday night, the 100th of his pro career. Left wing Francis Wathier is expected to play in his 300th AHL game on Saturday night.

The Grand Rapids Griffins

Grand Rapids Head Coach Curt Fraser returns for his third year with the team and his 18th year as a head coach or assistant coach at the professional level. He played 14 years in the NHL for Vancouver, Chicago and Minnesota from 1978-1990. Grand Rapids returns 11 players from the 2009-10 team that finished 34-39-3-4 and seventh in the North Division.

Forward Ilari Filppula leads Grand Rapids in scoring with 62 points in 68 games played. He is fourth on the team with 20 goals and first with 42 assists. He has 18 assists and 20 points in his last 14 games played. Tomas Tatar is second on the team in scoring with 32 assists and 23 goals for 55 points in 62 games played. Right wing Francis Pare is third on the squad with 23 goals and 53 points in 72 games played this season. Pare has ten goals and 16 points in his last 15 games played. Longtime Griffin Jamie Tardiff rounds out the Griffins top scorers. Tardiff leads the team lead with 26 goals and is fourth in points with 50 points in 69 games played.

The Griffins made numerous additions this summer, including center Jamie Johnson and left wing Chris MInard. Johnson posted 71 points in 80 games with Rochester, while Minard scored 22 goals in only 40 games with Springfield (AHL) in 2009-10. Johnson will miss tonight's game, serving the second game of a two-game suspension. He has 37 points in 71 games played this year. Rookie defenseman Brendan Smith was drafted by Detroit in the first round (27th overall) in 2007. In his first 57 AHL games, Smith leads all Griffins defenders with 20 assists and 32 points.

While Joey MacDonald is in the NHL with Detroit, the Griffins are using Jordan Pearce and David Brown in net. Pearce is 19-9-5 with a 2.78 goals against average and a .894 save percentage. Pearce is 11-4-0 with a 2.97 goals against average and a .905 save percentage since February 20th. Brown has an 0-0-0 record, with a 3.00 goals against average and a .882 save percentage. He backed up Tyler Beskorowany in early December for a Texas road game in Rockford.

Special Teams

After finishing second overall last season on the penalty kill, the Texas Stars penalty kill is 25th overall at 79.5%. Texas ranks 19th best in the AHL, converting on 17.2% of its power plays. The Griffins are 11th overall on the power play, converting 18.8% of the time. Grand Rapids is 20th overall on the penalty kill, stopping 81.4% of their opponents' power plays.

Offense and Defense

The Texas Stars are ninth overall in team defense, allowing 2.66 goals against per game. Texas is ranked 21st out of 30 teams, scoring an average of 2.73 goals per game. Grand Rapids defense ranks 21st overall with a 3.11 goals against per game. The Griffins sit ninth offensively, averaging 3.00 goals per game.

Check out the Texas Stars Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from March 25, 2011


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