AHL Texas Stars

Game Day Preview - Toronto at Texas

November 6, 2010 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Texas Stars News Release


Toronto Marlies (3-6-0-1, 7 points) at Texas Stars (6-5-0-0, 12 points)

Texas begins a three-game home stand on Saturday with the third all-time meeting with the Toronto Marlies. The Stars are in the midst of a three-game slide after dropping a pair of games to the Houston Aeros and Friday night's 6-1 loss at Oklahoma City. The five-goal deficit is the worst in team history. The Marlies are coming off a 3-2 shootout loss at Houston. Toronto is unbeaten in regulation in the last two games. Toronto is playing the second game of a ten-game road trip.

The Stars are 3-3-0-0 at Cedar Park Center this season and 5-5-0-0 in the last ten games. The Marlies are 2-1-0-1 on the road this season and 3-6-0-1 in their last ten games played.

Texas and Toronto met twice last season with the home team winning both games. Texas beat Toronto 5-1 last January at Cedar Park Center, while the Marliles beat the Stars 2-1 last February at Ricoh Coliseum. Forwards Travis Morin and Greg Rallo, as well as defenseman Maxime Fortunus recorded two points each in the series. Stars goalie Richard Bachman went 0-1-0 against Toronto, posting a 2.01 goals against average and a .939 save percentage.

What's Ahead:

DATE OPPONENT TIME TV/RADIO

Wednesday, Nov. 10 vs. Chicago 7:30 PM 104.9 FM

Tuesday, Nov. 16 vs. Chicago 7:30 PM 104.9 FM

Friday, Nov. 19 at Oklahoma City 7:05 PM 104.9 FM

Saturday, Nov. 20 vs. Milwaukee 7:00 PM 1530 AM

Sunday, Nov. 21 at Houston 4:05 PM 1530 AM

* All times listed are local time

Upcoming Home Games and Promotions:

Chicago at Texas on Tuesday, November 16, 2010 at 7:30 PM

* H-E-B Tuesday - Bring an H-E-B non-perishable food item to box office and receive a $5 discount

GAME RECAPS:

Texas 1 at Oklahoma City 6 11/5/10

Oklahoma City, OK - The Texas Stars were defeated by the Oklahoma City Barons 6-1 in front of 5,490 fans on Friday night at the Cox Convention Center. After the Stars took a 1-0 lead, the Barons rattled off six unanswered goals for their fifth straight win. Oklahoma City goalie Martin Gerber (7-4-0) made 29 saves for the win. Stars goalie Brent Krahn (4-3-0) took the loss, stopping 21 of 26 shots in 40:00 minutes of work.

Texas 2 at Houston 4 10/31/10

The Texas Stars were defeated by the Houston Aeros 4-2 on Sunday night in front of 3,353 fans at the Toyota Center. Houston goalie Anton Khudobin stopped 34 of 36 Texas shots to secure his second straight win. Aeros forward Carson McMillan scored 6:00 into the third period, breaking a 2-2 tie and pushing Houston in front for the remainder of the game. Texas goalie Richard Bachman made 24 saves in the team's first road loss this year. Stars forwards Mathieu Tousignant and Francis Wathier both scored in the defeat. Former Stars center Warren Peters scored once and added an assist on the game-winning goal for Houston.

Houston 3 at Texas 1 10/30/10

The Texas Stars were defeated by the Houston Aeros 3-1 on Saturday night in front of 5,516 fans at Cedar Park Center. Houston goalie Anton Khudobin stopped 29 of 30 Texas shots to secure his first win of the season and end the Aeros' six-game winless skid (0-5-1-0). Houston right wing Carson McMillan scored the game-winning goal late in the first period. Texas left wing Fabian Brunnstrom scored the lone Stars goal in the loss. Houston's Marco Scandella and Nate Prosser also scored in the win. Texas goalie Richard Bachman faced 17 shots and stopped 14 in the loss.

Texas 4 at Chicago 3 10/28/10

Rosemont, IL - The Texas Stars defeated the Chicago Wolves 4-3 on Thursday night in front of 3,718 fans at the Allstate Arena. Stars forward Fabian Brunnstrom buried a slapshot 1:08 into the third period for the game-winning tally and Texas hung on for its third straight win. Texas goalie Richard Bachman stopped 40 of 43 Chicago shots, including all 14 in the third period to preserve the victory. Stars rookie forward Tristan King scored a goal and added an assist as Texas improved to 3-0-0-0 on the road this year. Center Mathieu Tousignant and defenseman Maxime Fortunus also picked up goals in the victory. Chicago goalie Edward Pasquale (4-2-0) made 22 saves in the defeat.

Texas 4 at Rockford 3 SO 10/27/10

Rockford, IL - The Texas Stars defeated the Rockford IceHogs 4-3 in a shootout on Wednesday night in front of 2,096 fans at the Rockford MetroCentre. Stars center Mathieu Tousignant ended a nine-round shootout, beating Rockford's Hannu Toivonen to seal the road victory. The Stars continued their dominance at the Rockford MetroCentre, improving to 7-0-0-0 all-time. Texas goalie Brent Krahn (4-2-0) snagged the victory by stopping 28 shots in regulation and seven of nine in the shootout. Texas defenseman Maxime Fortunus, as well as forwards Aaron Gagnon and Tristan King scored in regulation. Rockford goalie Hannu Toivonen (3-1-1) made 28 saves in regulation and six of nine in the shootout defeat.

The Texas Stars

After 11 games of action, center Travis Morin leads Texas in scoring with four goals and nine points. Left wing Scott McCulloch is tied for the team lead with four goals in four games, and he is tied second on the team with five points. McCulloch has missed the last six games with an injury. Center Mathieu Tousignant is tied for second on the team with five points, and he is in a three-way tie for the team lead with 15 penalty minutes in 11 games. Forwards Tomas Vincour, Ondrej Roman, Francis Wathier, Colton Sceviour, Tristan King, Luke Gazdic, Aaron Gagnon and defenseman Philip Larsen are tied for fourth on the team with four points each. Wathier and Gazdic are also tied for the team lead with 17 penalty minutes.

Texas Stars goalies Brent Krahn and Richard Bachman split time between the pipes. Krahn has appeared in seven games, posting a 4-3-0 mark, a 3.20 goals against average and a .892 save percentage. Bachman has appeared in six games, going 2-2-0 with a 2.52 goals against average and a .918 save percentage. Both goalies have posted a shutout this year.

The Stars 25-man roster is composed of two goalies, eight defensemen and 15 forwards. Texas returns 15 players from the 2010 Western Conference Championship squad. The players range from ages 19 to 34 with an average age of 24.16. Eight players are 22-years old or younger, including two 19-year olds. The roster is made up of six different nationalities. The roster also features 17 NHL draft picks, including ten Dallas Stars draft picks.

The most notable forward returnees on the Stars roster include Aaron Gagnon, Travis Morin and Greg Rallo, three of the top scorers on the team in 2009-10. Gagnon scored a team-high 27 goals and totaled 58 points in a breakout year. Morin and Rallo also had breakout years. As an AHL rookie, Morin finished in the top ten for points by a rookie and was second on the team with 52 points. Rallo had a career-high 19 goals and 44 points on the year.

On defense, the Stars return Maxime Fortunus, Matt Stephenson and Trevor Ludwig. Also, veteran defender and two-time Stanley Cup Champion, Brad Lukowich rejoins the team. Last season, Lukowich started the year with Texas and played in the first 29 games. He was recalled to Vancouver on New Year's Day and did not return.

Both goaltenders saw action for Texas last season. Returning starter Brent Krahn played in 22 games, going 17-4-0 with a 1.83 goals against average and a .945 save percentage. His season was shortened due to injuries. Richard Bachman played in seven games for Texas last year, posting a 4-3-0 record, a 2.02 goals against average and a .933 save percentage.

The Toronto Marlies

The Marlies return 13 players from 2009-10 season that went 33-35-6-6 with 78 points and a fifth place finish in the North Division. Toronto coach Dallas Eakins returns for his second year as head coach. Eakins was named the third head coach in Marlies history in 2009.

Right wing Greg Scott returns to the Marlies for his second season. Last year, Scott was third on the team with 32 points in 71 games. Left wing Ryan Hamilton comes back for his third season after tying for a team-high 16 goals in 47 games.

In net, the Marlies return James Reimer who finished his sophomore season with the Marlies 14-8-0-2 with a 2.25 goals against average and a .925 save percentage in 26 games. Goalie Jussi Rynnas is a first-year pro who was signed as a free-agent by the Toronto Maple Leafs this year. Rynnas spent last season with the Finnish club Assat, posting a .929 save percentage and a goals against average of 2.50 in 31 games.

Rookie centerman Nazem Kadri leads the Marlies this season with nine points and five assists. In his final season of juniors, Kadri racked up 93 points in 56 games, including a team-high 58 assists for London of the OHL. Kadri is tied with centerman Justin Hodgeman for the team lead with four goals. Defenseman Keith Aulie and left wing Jay Rosenhill lead the team with 18 penalty minutes each.

"Special" Teams

After finishing second overall last season on the penalty kill, the Stars rank 20th overall at 81.0%. Texas sits 24th in the AHL, converting 11.1% of its power plays. The Stars have converted one of their last 24 power plays over the last five games. The Stars have gone 18 straight power plays without a conversion. The Marlies are 26th overall on the power play, converting 10.6% of the time. Toronto is 14th overall on the penalty kill, stopping 85.4% of its opponents' power plays.

Offense and Defense

The Texas Stars are 13th overall in team defense, allowing 2.91 goals against per game. Texas is ranked 23rd out of 30 teams, scoring an average of 2.55 goals per game. Toronto's defense ranks 21st overall with a 3.10 goals against per game. The Marlies sit 17th offensively, averaging 2.80 goals per game.

Check out the Texas Stars Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from November 6, 2010


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