AHL Texas Stars

Game Day Preview - San Antonio at Texas

Published on November 27, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Texas Stars News Release


Texas and San Antonio meet for the third time this season and 15th time in history. The two teams played a total of 12 times last year with the Stars taking the season series by posting an 8-4-0-0 mark against the Rampage. The Stars took the first two games of the season series this year with a pair of wins in October over the West Division leaders. Texas enters tonight's game as winners of five of their last seven. The Stars are coming off a 1-0 loss at home to Milwaukee on Friday night at Cedar Park Center. San Antonio has won seven straight heading into tonight's game at Texas. San Antonio is coming off a 5-3 win at Houston on Friday evening.

Texas is 7-5-0-0 at home this year and 5-5-0-0 in the last ten games played. The Stars are two games into a seven-game home stand and will not see a road game until December 8th at Rockford. San Antonio is 5-1-1-0 on the road this season and 8-2-0-0 in the last ten games played. The Rampage lead the AHL with 31 points and are tied for the league lead with 15 wins.

Dallas Recalls Defenseman Severin Blindenbacher From Texas

The Dallas Stars announced on Tuesday that the club has recalled defenseman Severin Blindenbacher from the Texas Stars, Dallas' primary development affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL).

Blindenbacher, 27, has appeared in eight games for Texas, scoring one goal and three assists for four points with four penalty minutes. He represented Switzerland at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, recording one goal and one assist in five games. Blindenbacher signed as a free agent with Dallas on July 1, 2010.

Stars Recall Sean Backman, Assign Tristan King to Idaho

Texas announced on Sunday that the team has recalled right wing Sean Backman from the Idaho Steelheads and reassigned rookie forward Tristan King to Idaho. Backman spent five games in Idaho, scoring two goals and totaling four points. Prior to his assignment to Idaho, Backman played in eight games for Texas, picking up a goal and an assist for two points. King, a 20-year old rookie, scored twice and set up two others for four points in nine games with Texas.

Stars Goalie Richard Bachman Named AHL Player of the Week

The American Hockey League announced on Monday that Texas Stars goaltender Richard Bachman has been named the Reebok/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Nov. 21, 2010. Bachman went a perfect 3-0-0 in three starts for the Stars last week, stopping 87 of 90 shots (0.97, .967) along the way.

Bachman began his week by turning aside 26 of 28 shots in an 8-2 win over Chicago last Tuesday. On Friday, Bachman made 35 saves and denied four of Oklahoma City's five shootout bids as the Stars took a 2-1 road decision from the Barons. And on Saturday, he earned his second shutout of the season with 26 saves in a 2-0 home-ice triumph over Milwaukee.

What's Ahead:

DATE OPPONENT TIME TV/RADIO

Tuesday, Nov 30 vs. Oklahoma City 7:30 PM 104.9 FM

Friday, Dec. 3 vs. San Antonio 7:30 PM 1530 AM

Saturday, Dec. 4 vs. Houston 7:00 PM 104.9 FM

Tuesday, Dec. 7 vs. Manitoba 7:30 PM 104.9 FM

Wednesday, Dec. 8 at Rockford 6:36 PM 104.9 FM

* All times listed are local time

Upcoming Home Games and Promotions:

Oklahoma City at Texas on Tuesday, November 30, 2010 at 7:30 PM - * H-E-B Night - Bring any H-E-B store branded non-perishable food product and receive a $5 discount.

GAME RECAPS:

Milwaukee 1 at Texas 0 11/26/10

The Texas Stars were defeated by the Milwaukee Admirals 1-0 in front of 5,198 fans on Friday at Cedar Park Center. Milwaukee goalie Mark Dekanich (9-3-2) stopped 29 shots for his third shutout of the season, ending the Admirals four-game winless skid (0-3-0-1). Milwaukee center Steve Begin broke a scoreless game with 6:34 left in the third period to give the Admirals the win. Texas goalie Richard Bachman (6-3-0) stopped 28 of 29 shots in the loss.

Houston 3 at Texas 5 11/24/10

The Texas Stars defeated the Houston Aeros 5-3 in front of 4,489 fans on Wednesday at Cedar Park Center. Texas center Aaron Gagnon scored twice on the night, helping the Stars build a 3-0 lead. Texas held on for the two-goal win behind goals by Fabian Brunnstrom, Travis Morin and Ondrej Roman. Defenseman Dan Spang and Colton Sceviour both had two assists, as Texas improved to 7-4-0-0 at home. Houston goalie Anton Khudobin (6-5-1) stopped five of eight shots in 16:46 of play and Matt Hackett (4-4-1) suffered the loss with 15 saves on 17 shots. Texas goalie Richard Bachman stopped 25 shots and gained an assist in the victory.

Texas 2 at Houston 4 11/21/10

Houston, TX - The Texas Stars were defeated by the Houston Aeros 4-2 in front of 8,587 fans on Sunday night at the Toyota Center. Center Jarod Palmer scored off a rebound with 1:39 left in regulation, breaking a 2-2 tie and giving the Aeros their third straight win over the Stars this season. Texas right wing Greg Rallo scored a goal and added an assist as the Stars saw their four-game winning streak come to an end. Texas goalie Tyler Beskorowany (0-1-0) made his AHL debut, stopping 27 of 30 Houston shots in the loss. Houston goalie Anton Khudobin (6-5-1) stopped 31 of 33 Texas shots in the win.

The Texas Stars

After 19 games of action, center Travis Morin leads Texas in scoring with seven goals and 17 points. Right wing Greg Rallo has moved into second on the team in scoring with ten points in 18 games played. Dan Spang is third on the team with nine points, and he is the leader among team defensemen in scoring. Left wing Francis Wathier, center Mathieu Tousignant and center Aaron Gagnon are tied for fourth in team scoring with eight points each. Wathier is second on the team with six goals scored and first with four power-play markers. Left wing Luke Gazdic leads Texas with 34 penalty minutes.

Texas Stars goalies Richard Bachman and Tyler Beskorowany split time in net for Texas. Brent Krahn is currently out with an injury. Krahn has appeared in nine games, posting a 5-4-0 mark, a 2.93 goals against average and a .898 save percentage. Bachman has appeared in ten games, going 6-3-0 with a 1.93 goals against average and a .934 save percentage. Bachman ranks sixth overall in the AHL for goals against average and seventh in save percentage. Beskorowany made his AHL debut on Sunday at Houston.

The Stars 24-man roster is composed of three goalies, seven defensemen and 14 forwards. Texas returns 15 players from the 2010 Western Conference Championship squad. The players range from ages 20 to 34 with an average age of 24.16. Eight players are 22-years old or younger. The roster is made up of six different nationalities. The roster also features 17 NHL draft picks, including ten Dallas Stars draft picks.

Two Reach the Century Mark

Tonight, the Texas Stars will play the 100th game in the team's short history. Two players have played every game in team history. Center Travis Morin and right wing Colton Sceviour have played in 99 straight games for the Stars and tonight mark's the 100th consecutive game for the pair. Counting the 2010 Calder Cup run to the finals, the two have played in 123 straight games for Texas. Morin is the club's all-time leader with 41 assists and 69 points in 99 regular season games. Sceviour has ten goals and 28 assists for 38 points in 99 appearances.

The San Antonio Rampage

San Antonio starts its first full season with Ray Edwards as head coach, who took over for Greg Ireland 18 games into last season. Edwards went on to post a 30-23-0-9 record in the final 62 games of the year. The Rampage return 13 players from their 2009-10 squad.

Mathieu Beaudoin leads the Rampage in scoring and he ranks tied for seventh in the league with 22 points scored. Right wing Brett MacLean is second on the team in scoring with 19 points in 20 games played. Left wing Mikkel Boedker is third on the team with 18 points, followed by Alexandre Picard's 15 points in 15 games played. Defenseman Garrett Stafford leads all Rampage defenders with 15 points in 15 games played.

San Antonio's Brett MacLean is back after leading the team with 30 goals and 65 points in 76 games last season. Also, veteran winger Ryan Hollweg is back for another season with San Antonio. Hollweg posted ten points and 93 penalty minutes in 53 games with the Rampage last year. Mikkel Boedker returns after scoring 38 points in 64 games with San Antonio last season. Boedker also played in 14 NHL games with Phoenix. Acquired in a late season trade, Alexandre Picard racked up 15 points in 16 games with San Antonio in the last month of the season. Picard finished the year with 26 goals in 58 AHL contests.

The Rampage sport many new additions up front, including Tim Stapleton and Andrew Ebbett. Stapleton tallied 30 goals and 59 points in 73 games with the Chicago Wolves in 2009-10. Ebbett played in 61 NHL games last year with Chicago, Anaheim and Minnesota.

In net, the Rampage pair Matt Climie with Al Montoya. Climie went 21-17-3 with a 2.46 goals against average and a .919 save percentage in 43 games with Texas in 2009-10. Climie is 9-3-0 with a 2.06 goals against average and a .935 save percentage. Montoya is 6-2-0 with a 2.88 goals against average and a .901 save percentage.

You Look Familiar....

Three former Texas Stars were signed in the offseason by the Rampage's NHL Affiliate, the Phoenix Coyotes. Defenseman Garrett Stafford, forward Mathieu Beaudoin, and goalie Matt Climie were all a part of the Stars 2010 Western Conference Championship squad. They expected to play against Texas on Saturday.

Beaudoin is tied for the Rampage lead with nine goals and 13 assists, as well as leading the team with 22 points. Stafford has already enjoyed a call-up to the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes and he is leading the team in points among all defensemen with 15 in 15 games played. He is currently tied for second among all AHL blueliners, one point behind the leader. Climie is ranked seventh in the AHL for goals against average and sixth in save percentage. He sits second in the league in wins with nine.

Special Teams

After finishing second overall last season on the penalty kill, the Stars rank 17th overall at 82.4%. Texas sits 16th in the AHL, converting 17.2% of its power plays. San Antonio is second overall on the power play, converting 21.9% of the time. San Antonio is 24th in the AHL on the penalty kill, stopping 80.9% of its opponents' power plays.

Offense and Defense

The Texas Stars are fifth overall in team defense, allowing 2.53 goals against per game. Texas is ranked 19th out of 30 teams, scoring an average of 2.63 goals per game. San Antonio's defense ranks fourth overall with a 2.50 goals against per game. The Rampage sit fifth offensively, averaging 3.40 goals per game.

Check out the Texas Stars Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from November 27, 2010


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