AHL Texas Stars

Game Day Preview Milwaukee at Texas

Published on November 26, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Texas Stars News Release


Texas and Milwaukee meet for the second time this season and tenth time in history. The two teams played a total of eight times last year with the Stars taking the season series by posting a 5-3-0-0 mark against the Admirals. Texas enters tonight's game as winners of five of their last six. The Stars are coming off a 5-3 win over Houston on Wednesday night at Cedar Park Center. Milwaukee has lost four straight heading into tonight's game at Texas. The Admirals are coming off a 4-1 loss at Oklahoma City on Tuesday evening.

Texas is 7-4-0-0 at home this year and 5-5-0-0 in the last ten games played. The Stars are one game into a seven-game home stand and will not see a road game until December 8th at Rockford. Milwaukee is 5-6-0-2 on the road this season and 5-3-0-2 in the last ten games played. The Admirals are deeply entrenched in a ten-game road trip, posting a 3-3-0-1 record over the first seven games. The Admirals will also visit Houston and San Antonio for a game before heading home.

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.

In recognition of his achievement, Bachman will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming Stars home game.

Drafted in the fourth round by the Dallas Stars in 2006, Bachman is currently 5-2-0 (1.91, .937, 2 SO) for the season and ranks among the AHL's leaders in both goals-against average and save percentage. The 23-year-old native of Salt Lake City, Utah, spent two years at Colorado College and then split his rookie professional season in 2009-10 between the ECHL's Idaho Steelheads and the Stars, for whom he went 4-4-0 (2.15, .932) in eight appearances.

What's Ahead:

DATE OPPONENT TIME TV/RADIO

Saturday, Nov. 27 vs. San Antonio 7:00 PM 104.9 FM

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

* All times listed are local time

Upcoming Home Games and Promotions:

San Antonio at Texas on Saturday, November 27, 2010 at 7:00 PM - - First 2,500 fans will receive a Texas Stars hat

- State Farm Family Four Pack (4 tickets, 4 sodas, 4 hot dogs $44)

GAME RECAPS:

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 (6-2-0) 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.

Milwaukee 0 at Texas 2 11/20/10

The Texas Stars defeated the Milwaukee Admirals 2-0 in front of 5,716 fans on Saturday night at Cedar Park Center. Texas goalie Richard Bachman stopped all 26 shots to secure his second shutout of the season and third in his AHL career. Stars forwards Greg Rallo and Raymond Sawada each scored in the team's fourth straight victory. The Stars snapped a Milwaukee seven-game unbeaten in regulation streak and improved to 6-4-0-0 at home. Milwaukee goalie Mark Dekanich (8-2-2) stopped 30 of 32 shots in the loss.

The Texas Stars

After 18 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 6-2-0 with a 2.04 goals against average and a .931 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.

The Milwaukee Admirals

The Milwaukee Admirals are the AHL Affiliate of the Nashville Predators. Head Coach Lane Lambert is in his third season with the Admirals. Milwaukee returns eight players from last year's team that posted 41-30-2-7 mark (91 points).

Newcomer Linus Klasen leads the Admirals with 15 points in 17 games played, including a team-high nine goals. The Swedish newcomer was signed as a free agent over the summer by the Predators. Klasen is playing in his first North American pro season. He was named the AHL Player of the Month in October after scoring seven goals in his first seven games. Right wing Andreas Thuresson is second on the team with 12 points in the first 19 games of the year. Veteran center Steve Begin has played for the Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars, Montr=E9al Canadians and Calgary Flames. Begin tallied five goals and nine assists in 77 games with the Bruins last year. This season, Begin has registered a goal and an assist in 13 games with Milwaukee.

Defenseman Jonathon Blum enters his second season with Milwaukee. He is fifth on the team with eight points (all assists). Last season, Blum finished fourth among the Admirals with 41 points in 80 games as a rookie. Last year he ranked 12th among all rookies in points and 14th among all AHL defensemen.

In net, the Admirals feature goalies Mark Dekanich (8-3-2) and Jeremy Smith (1-1-0). Dekanich is among the league leaders in a handful of categories for goalies. His 1.81 goals against average and .938 save percentage both rank fifth in the league. He is also tied for fourth with eight wins. Dekanich was drafted in the 5th round (146th overall) by the Nashville Predators in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. Smith was drafted in the 2nd round by Nashville.

Special Teams

After finishing second overall last season on the penalty kill, the Stars rank 19th overall at 81.4%. Texas sits 13th in the AHL, converting 18.5% of its power plays. The Admirals are 25th overall on the power play, converting 14.5% of the time. Milwaukee is 24th in the AHL on the penalty kill, stopping 79.7% of its opponents' power plays.

Offense and Defense

The Texas Stars are seventh overall in team defense, allowing 2.61 goals against per game. Texas is ranked 16th out of 30 teams, scoring an average of 2.78 goals per game. Milwaukee's defense ranks third overall with a 2.47 goals against per game. The Admirals sit 24th offensively, averaging 2.58 goals per game.

Check out the Texas Stars Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from November 26, 2010


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