AHL Texas Stars

Game Day Preview Oklahoma City at Texas

Published on December 20, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Texas Stars News Release


Texas and Oklahoma City meet for the fourth time this season. Texas has taken the last two games of the series, including the last meeting on Nov. 30 at Cedar Park Center, a 5-2 win for the Stars. The teams will play a total of ten times this year, including three more games at Cedar Park Center after tonight.

The Stars are 10-6-2-1 at home this season and 4-3-2-1 in the last ten games. Texas has collected points in eight of the last ten games and 14 of the last 19. Texas is tied for the fewest road games in the AHL (12) and is second in the league for most home games played (19). The Stars are coming off a 3-2 overtime loss at home.

Oklahoma City is 8-4-0-1 on the road this year and 3-5-0-2 in the last ten games played. Oklahoma City has dropped its last three games by a margin of 9-3. The Barons are outscoring their opponents 46-37 on the road.

Texas center Travis Morin and Oklahoma City center Chris Vandevelde are tied for the series lead with three points per skater. Numerous players are tied for second in the series scoring race with two points apiece. Stars defenseman Philip Larsen, forwards Greg Rallo and Mathieu Tousignant, all have two points in the series. Oklahoma City's Teemu Hartikainen, Liam Reddox, Johan Motin, Linus Omark, Shawn Belle, Ben Ondrus and Jeff Petry each have two points in the season series. Stars goalie Richard Bachman is 2-0-0 with a 1.66 goals against average and a .947 save percentage. Bachman has stopped 71 of 76 Barons shots in three appearances. Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers is 0-1-1 with a 2.85 goals against average and a .920 save percentage in two games against Texas. Barons goalie Martin Gerber is 1-0-0 with a 1.00 goals against average and a .967 save percentage.

Dallas Assigns Gagnon and Bachman to Texas, Texas Stars Assign LeMay to Allen

The Dallas Stars announced on Wednesday that the club has assigned goaltender Richard Bachman and center Aaron Gagnon to the Texas Stars, Dallas' primary affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL). The Texas Stars also announced that the club has assigned goalie Adrien LeMay to the Allen Americans of the Central Hockey League (CHL).

Bachman, 23, made his NHL debut with Dallas on Dec. 11 at Phoenix. He played in nine minutes and made four saves with no goals against. The Salt Lake City native has spent the majority of this season with Texas, posting a 9-4-1 record with a 2.01 goals-against-average and a .931 save percentage. He was drafted by Dallas in the fourth round (120th overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Gagnon, 24, has skated in five games for Dallas this season and recorded his first NHL point (assist) Dec. 6 at Columbus. He has played most of 2010-11 with Texas, appearing in 20 games and collecting nine points (5g, 4a) and six penalty minutes. The 5-11, 186-pound center led Texas in scoring in the club's inaugural season last year with 27 goals and 31 assists.

Adrien LeMay returns to Allen where he's played 11 games, going 8-2-0 with a 2.99 goals against average and a .905 save percentage. LeMay has yet to make his AHL debut.

What's Ahead:

DATE OPPONENT TIME TV/RADIO

Sunday, Dec. 26 at Houston 4:05 PM 104.9 FM

Tuesday, Dec. 28 at Oklahoma City 7:05 PM 104.9 FM

Thursday, Dec. 30 at Abbotsford 9:00 PM 104.9 FM

Friday, Dec. 31 at Abbotsford 8:00 PM 104.9 FM

* All times listed are local time

GAME RECAPS:

Hamilton 3 at Texas 2 (OT) 12/18/10

The Texas Stars were defeated by the Hamilton Bulldogs 3-2 in overtime on Saturday night in front of 6,518 fans at Cedar Park Center. Hamilton center Dustin Boyd scored twice, including the overtime game-winning goal 1:07 into the extra session. Bulldogs goalie Curtis Sanford (11-5-0) stopped 31 of 33 shots in the victory. Texas goalie Richard Bachman (10-5-1) stopped 30 of 33 shots in the loss. Stars centers Travis Morin and Aaron Gagnon both scored on the night.

Texas 3 at San Antonio 12/17/10

The Texas Stars defeated the San Antonio Rampage 3-0 on Friday night in front of 6,202 fans at the AT&T Center. Texas goalie Richard Bachman (10-4-1) stopped 41 shots in his return from the NHL's Dallas Stars. Bachman made 18 saves in the first period and coasted to his third shutout of the year, the fourth of his AHL career. Stars forwards Greg Rallo, Luke Gazdic and Francis Wathier each scored as the Stars picked up their fourth shutout in eight all-time visits to the AT&T Center. Rampage goalie Joe Fallon (0-1-0) stopped 19 of 21 shots in the loss.

Manitoba 3 at Texas 1 12/14/10

The Texas Stars were defeated by the Manitoba Moose 3-1 in front of 4,220 fans on Tuesday night at Cedar Park Center. Manitoba goalie Eddie Lack (8-6-2) stopped 39 of 40 shots, including all 19 Texas shots in the third period to preserve the 3-1 victory. Manitoba center Marco Rosa scored 7:57 into the third period, breaking a 1-1 tie, as the Moose snapped a four-game winless skid. Stars right wing Greg Rallo scored the lone Texas goal in the first period. Texas goalie Tyler Beskorowany (2-4-0) stopped 30 of 32 shots for the loss.

The Texas Stars

After 31 games of action, center Travis Morin leads Texas in scoring with 13 goals and 27 points. Right wing Greg Rallo is second on the team in scoring with 19 points (10g-9a) in 31 games played. Left wing Francis Wathier is third on the club with 16 points. Wathier is tied for second in goals scored (10) and also tied for the team lead with five power-play goals. Right wing Colton Sceviour is tied for third on the team with ten assists and he is tied for fourth on the team with 14 points. Fabian Brunnstrom is tied for fourth overall on the team with 14 points. Dan Spang leads all defensemen with 13 points and he is sixth overall in points. Forwards Ray Sawada and Mathieu Tousignant are tied for seventh overall with 12 points each. Defensemen Brad Lukowich and Philip Larsen are tied for second on the team with 11 assists. Tousignant is also second on the team with 43 penalty minutes, 13 behind Luke Gazdic's 56 penalty minutes.

Texas Stars goalies Richard Bachman and Tyler Beskorowany fill the net for Texas. Brent Krahn is currently out with an injury. Bachman has appeared in 18 games, going 10-5-1 with a 1.94 goals against average and a .935 save percentage. Bachman ranks fifth overall in the AHL for goals against average and fifth in save percentage. From Nov. 16 - Dec. 7, Bachman started 10 of 11 games before receiving a call up to Dallas. In his absence, Beskorowany started in five straight games, stopping 144 of 154 (.935 %) in his last four games. Overall, Beskorowany is 2-4-0 with a 3.36 goals against average and a .910 save percentage. Krahn has appeared in nine games, posting a 5-4-0 mark, a 2.93 goals against average and a .898 save percentage.

Shooting Stars

Center Travis Morin has a point in eight of his last 11 games, after having a four-game scoring streak snapped on Friday in San Antonio. Over the 11-game stretch, Morin has six goals and ten points. Right wing Raymond Sawada had his six-game point streak halted on Tuesday against Manitoba. Sawada has collected a point in eight of his last 12.

The Oklahoma City Barons

The Oklahoma City Barons are the AHL Affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers. Head Coach Todd Nelson is the first coach in team history, guiding the club in its inaugural season. Nelson spent the last two years as an assistant coach with the NHL's Atlanta Thrashers prior to his first head coaching job in the AHL.

Left wing Linus Omark was leading the Barons in scoring at the time of his recall to Edmonton. Omark had 26 points in 26 games played, including 13 goals. Omark was selected by the Oilers in the fourth round (#97 overall) in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. Omark is playing in his first North American pro season.

Left wing Alexandre Giroux leads the Barons in scoring with a team-high 18 assists and 28 points in 31 games played. Giroux spent the last four years with the Hershey, winning two Calder Cups and making three Finals appearances. Giroux led the AHL in goals scored the last two seasons. The veteran winger scored the OT game-winning goal for Hershey at Cedar Park Center in a pivotal Game 5 of the 2010 Calder Cup Finals. Giroux's winner capped a 2-1 win for the Bears and sent the series back to Hershey with 3-2 series lead intact.

Liam Reddox leads Oklahoma City with 15 goals and he is second on the team with 27 points in 31 games played. Reddox sits in the top ten for goals scored and in the top 20 for plus-minus with a team-high +12. Colin MacDonald sits one goal behind Reddox with 14 and his 18 points are sixth best on the team. Center Brad Moran is fourth on the team in scoring with 24 points on nine goals and 15 assists.

Rookie Jeff Petry is among the top scoring defenseman in the AHL with seven goals and 20 points in 31 games played. Petry was drafted by Edmonton in the second round (#45 overall) in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft out of Michigan State. Shawn Belle is second in scoring for all Barons defensemen with 15 assists and 17 points in 28 games played. Belle spent last season with the Hamilton Bulldogs, falling to the Texas Stars in the Western Conference Finals. The two are joined by experienced defensemen Richard Petiot, Jake Taylor, Alex Plante, and Taylor Chorney.

In net, the Barons feature goalies Martin Gerber and Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers. Gerber is 11-7-1, with a 2.43 goals against average and a .916 save percentage. Gerber also played for the NHL's Ottawa Senators, Anaheim Ducks, Carolina Hurricanes, and Toronto Maple Leafs. Fellow tender, Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers is a second-round pick (#31 overall) of Edmonton in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. Drouin-Deslauriers played in 48 games for Edmonton last season, going 16-28-4 with a 3.26 goals against average and a .900 save percentage. Drouin-Deslauriers is 4-4-2 this year, sporting a 3.27 goals against average and an .888 save percentage.

Special Teams

After finishing second overall last season on the penalty kill, the Stars rank 26th overall at 79.0%. Texas sits 24th in the AHL, converting 15.5% of its power plays. The Barons are 18th overall on the power play, converting 16.6% of the time. Oklahoma City is second in the AHL on the penalty kill, stopping 88.1% of its opponents' power plays. Texas is 1-for-16 on the power play against Oklahoma City, while the Barons are 2-for-11 against the Stars.

Offense and Defense

The Texas Stars are tied for eighth overall in team defense, allowing 2.68 goals against per game. Texas is ranked 17th out of 30 teams, scoring an average of 2.87 goals per game. Oklahoma City's defense ranks 18th overall with a 2.94 goals against per game. The Barons sit seventh offensively, averaging 3.23 goals per game.

Check out the Texas Stars Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from December 20, 2010


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