AHL Texas Stars

Game Preview - San Antonio at Texas Stars

Published on December 27, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Texas Stars News Release


San Antonio Rampage (14-14-1-0, 29 points) at Texas Stars (13-14-0-1, 27 points)

The Texas Stars and the San Antonio Rampage meet for the fifth time this season. The Rampage leads the season series after taking three out of the first four games. San Antonio took the last meeting between the two teams, a 4-2 win at AT&T Center on December 18. The Rampage are 2-1-0-0 at home against Texas and 1-0-0-0 at Cedar Park Center this season. This marks the 27th all-time meeting between the two teams that will play a total of 12 games this season, including five more games at Cedar Park Center. Texas posted a 6-2-0-2 mark over San Antonio in 2010-11 and they own the all-time series with a 15-9-0-2 record. The Stars are 9-2-0-1 in 12 games at Cedar Park Center against the Rampage. Texas is 6-7-0-1 all-time at AT&T Center, putting up five shutouts in 14 visits. The Stars' lone win in the season series was a 4-0 shutout at AT&T Center on November 6. The Stars trail the Rampage by two points for fourth place in the West Division.

The Stars have five wins in their last ten games, going 5-5-0-0 over that span. Texas is coming off a 3-2 win at Houston prior to the holiday break. The Stars have taken three of the last five games (3-2-0-0) and five of the last eight (5-3-0-0). The Stars are 5-7-0-1 at home this season, having outscored their opponents 41-40 on the scoreboard. Texas has taken two of the last three games at Cedar Park Center by a combined score of 11-4. The Stars are 6-10-0-1 against the West Division this season. The team is in the middle of a stretch where nine of ten games will be against division rivals. The Stars' next four games will be against division rivals. Texas' scoring has been spread out evenly this season, with 27 first-period tallies and 31 second-period markers. The Stars have been outscored in second period of play 32-31 and 85-83 overall. Texas is 12th in the league with a 2.96 goals per game average. The team has 42 goals over its last 17 games. The Stars are 10-0-0-1 when leading after two periods of play, but they are 0-13-0-0 when trailing after two periods of play. The team is 6-6-0-1 in games decided by one goal this season. Texas leads the AHL with four overtime wins this season, going 4-0-0-1 when tied after regulation.

San Antonio comes into its fifth meeting of the season with a five-game points streak (4-0-1-0). The Rampage had a string of four straight wins ended Monday night in Houston. The Rampage fell to the Aeros 2-1 in OT, falling to 1-3-0-0 against their rival this season. It also marked the first overtime loss of the season for the team. San Antonio is 6-3-1-0 in the last ten games and 6-6-1-0 on the road this season. The Rampage has been outscored 36-33 away from home ice this season. The Rampage is two games into a stretch where five of six are on the road. The team has dropped five of its last seven road games. San Antonio has only given up nine goals in the last six games played. The club is 11-2-1-0 when scoring first this season. The Rampage is 7-8-1-0 against the West Division this season. The team's next three games will be against division rivals. San Antonio has been outscored in every period this season, including a 27-14 differential in the third period of play. The Rampage has scored 24 second-period goals and 25 first period goals. San Antonio is 8-1-0-0 when leading after the first and 10-1-0-0 when leading after the second. The Rampage is 1-12-0-0 when trailing after two periods of play.

The two teams have been even on the scoreboard in this year's series with 11 goals per side. The Stars are 4-for-19 on the power play against the Rampage this year and 15-of-17 on the penalty kill. Rampage defenseman Colby Robak leads all skaters in the series with four assists and five points in four games against Texas. Center Mark Cullen has two goals and four points in four games versus the Stars. The Rampage is without Bill Thomas and Michal Repik, who has combined for eight points against Texas. Goalie Jacob Markstrom is 2-0-0 with a 2.01 GAA and a .949 save percentage against the Stars this season. Texas left wing Francis Wathier has two goals and two assists against the Rampage on four games this year. Defenseman Maxime Fortunus is tied for the series lead with four assists in four games. Texas goalie Tyler Beskorowany is 0-1-0 with a 4.03 goals against average versus San Antonio.

Stars Add Ian Lowe From Idaho

The Texas Stars announced on Tuesday the team has signed center Ian Lowe to a PTO (professional tryout agreement).

Lowe played the first 30 games of his pro career with the Idaho Steelheads, Texas' ECHL affiliate. The 5-foot-9, 175-pound center was third on the team with 12 assists and 19 points. The 24-year-old rookie played the last four years at Bemidji State University. In 142 WCHA games, Lowe netted 37 goals and set up 42 for 79 collegiate points.

What's Ahead:

DATE OPPONENT TIME RADIO

Tuesday, December 27 vs. San Antonio 7:30 PM 104.9 FM

Thursday, December 29 at Abbotsford 9:00 PM (CT) 92.5 FM

Friday, December 30 at Abbotsford 9:00 PM (CT) 92.5 FM

Friday, January 6 at San Antonio 7:00 PM 104.9 FM

Saturday, January 7 vs. Rockford 7:00 PM 104.9 FM

* All times listed are central time

LAST THREE GAMES

Texas at Houston 12/21/11

The Texas Stars defeated the Houston Aeros 3-2 in front of 5,741 fans at the Toyota Center on Wednesday night. Stars forward Ryan Garbutt scored twice over a 1:08 span of the second period, erasing a one-goal deficit and pushing Texas to victory. Stars goalie Tyler Beskorowany turned aside 27 Houston shots, including nine in the third period, giving the club its third win at Toyota Center this season. Defenseman Hubert Labrie also added a goal for Texas, as the team improved to 8-7-0-0 on the road this year. Houston goalie Matt Hackett suffered the loss with 22 saves.

Texas 2 at San Antonio 4 12/18/11

The Texas Stars were defeated by t he San Antonio Rampage 4-2 in front of 5,339 fans at AT&T Center on Sunday. Forward Bill Thomas led San Antonio to its third win over Texas, scoring twice and setting up one other for three points. San Antonio goalie Jacob Markstrom stopped 45 of 47 Stars shots, including 35 in the last two periods combined. Stars rookie forward Matt Fraser extended his points streak to seven games, scoring his team-leading 14th goal of the year. Forward Ondrej Roman also scored, as Texas fell to 7-7-0-0 on the road this season. Texas goalie Tyler Beskorowany stopped 29 shots in the defeat.

Rochester 2 at Texas 6 12/17/11

The Texas Stars defeated the Rochester Americans 6-2 in front of 5,754 fans at Cedar Park Center on Saturday night. Stars center Ryan Garbutt scored two goals and added two assists to lead Texas to a win. The Stars scored six unanswered goals, including four in the second period, improving to 5-7-0-1 at Cedar Park Center this season. The Stars also netted two shorthanded goals in the win. Defenseman Brenden Dillon notched a goal and an assist for Texas. Brad Lukowich, Francis Wathier and Mike Hedden also scored for the Stars, who received goals from five different skaters. Texas goalie Jimmy Spratt stopped 14 shots in his first AHL goaltending appearance. Two Rochester skaters registered multi-point nights. Defenseman T.J. Brennan and right wing Evan Rankin each had a goal and an assist. Rochester goalie Drew MacIntyre stopped 21 of 27 shots as the Americans fell to 2-8-4-0 on the road.

Texas Stars

Center Travis Morin and winger Matt Fraser lead Texas in scoring. Morin is the clubhouse leader with 22 assists and 26 points in his first 28 games played. He ranks in the top ten of the AHL for assists and he is among the AHL leaders with 11 power-play helpers. Morin recently ran a string of five straight road games with an assist. He has eight assists in his last 10 games played. Rookie forward Matt Fraser is second in scoring with 22 points in 28 games. He leads the team with 14 goals scored and 102 shots on net. Fraser is tied for fourth in the AHL with seven power-play goals and he is seventh overall in the AHL in rookie scoring. Fraser has an eight-game scoring streak, potting five goals and nine points over that span.

Forwards Francis Wathier and Ryan Garbutt round out the top scoring forwards for Texas. For the season, Wathier has six goals and 11 assists for 17 points in 28 games played. Center Ryan Garbutt has 19 points (6g-13a) in 28 games. Garbutt leads Texas with 48 penalty minutes, followed by Luke Gazdic, who has 47 minutes in 28 games played. Garbutt leads Texas and is tied for fourth in the AHL with 19 minor penalties. The second-year forward has four goals and six points in his last four games. Right wing Raymond Sawada is fifth overall in team scoring with six goals and ten assists for 16 points in 25 games played.

Jordie Benn leads all Texas defensemen in scoring with seven goals and 14 points in 28 games played. He ranks tied for second in goals scored among all AHL defensemen. Veteran defenseman Dan Spang is tied for second among all Texas defenseman with 13 points off two goals and 11 assists in 28 games. Rookie Brenden Dillon (2-11-13) is tied with Spang in points and he is first among D-men with 34 penalty minutes. Defender Maxime Fortunus has ten points in 24 games, while Captain Brad Lukowich has seven points in 24 games played.

Goalies Tyler Beskorowany and Jimmy Spratt split time in net for Texas, while goalie Richard Bachman remains on recall to Dallas. Beskorowany is 5-8-0 with a 2.79 goals against average and a .900 save percentage. Since Bachman's recall, Beskorwany has started eight of the last nine games, going 4-4-0 with a 2.52 goals against average and a .905 save percentage. Spratt made his AHL debut on December 17, netting his first AHL win with 14 saves in a 6-2 win over Rochester.

Special Teams

The Stars have converted 28 of 136 power plays for a 20.6% conversion rate. The Stars have failed to register a power-play goal in 12 of their first 28 games. The team has experienced a bit of a slump on the extra-man advantage, going one for the last 30 power plays since December 3. Texas has scored more than one power-play goal nine times this season. The Stars are tied for sixth in the league with 28 power-play goals this season. Texas ranks seventh overall in power play percentage at 20.6%. The Stars have killed off 95 of 113 opponents' power plays (84.1%), ranking eighth overall on the penalty kill. The Stars have killed off 55 of the last 60 penalties (91.7%). The Rampage is 29th overall in the AHL on the penalty kill, stopping 76.3% of their opponents' power plays. Overall, San Antonio ranks last in the AHL on the power play after going 11-for-109 (10.1%).

Rallo Returns From Florida - Former Star Made NHL Debut On December 18

Florida Panthers Executive Vice President & General Manager Dale Tallon announced last Monday that center Greg Rallo has been returned to the San Antonio Rampage (AHL).

Rallo, 30, made his NHL debut for the Florida Panthers on Sunday, December 18th. He failed to register a point in his debut after spending six professional seasons in the AHL and ECHL. He has recorded 10 points (7-3-10) and four penalty minutes in 25 games with the Rampage this season. The center has played in 359 games in his professional career, registering 202 points (95-107-202). The Gurnee, Ill., native was signed by Florida as a free agent on July 2 and has yet to appear in a NHL regular season game. The right wing played in two seasons for Texas from 2009-11. In 147 games with the Stars, Rallo scored 45 goals and totaled 98 points.

The San Antonio Rampage

The Rampage has seen a lot of roster movement lately. The team recalled forwards A.J. Jenks, Joe Devin and Garrett Wilson from their ECHL affiliate in Cincinnati. They also recalled David Marshall from Grande Valley of the CHL. The moves follow a series of transactions made by their NHL Affiliate, the Florida Panthers. The team recalled forwards Tim Kennedy, Bill Thomas, Michal Repik and Evgeni Dadonov. The four forwards have combined for 16 goals, including Thomas' nine tallies.

Center Bracken Kearns leads San Antonio in scoring with a team-high ten goals and 19 points in 24 games played. He also leads the team with five power-play goals this season, nearly half of his team's entire season total of PPGs (11). Kearns has five points in his last seven games. Defenseman Colby Robak is second on the team in scoring. Robak has five goals and 13 assists for 18 points in 29 games played. The second-year pro ranks tied for eighth in scoring among all AHL defensemen. His +15 rating is the fourth best rating in the league. Center Mark Cullen is tied for third in team scoring with 17 points, including a team-high 14 assists in 21 games played.

San Antonio features two goaltenders this season led by Jacob Markstrom. Florida drafted him 31st overall in the 2008 NHL Entry draft. He is 5-6-0 with a 2.50 goals against average and a .918 save percentage. Markstrom is 3-3-0 in his last six starts, posting a 1.67 goals against average and a .946 save percentage. Dov Grumet-Morris is 4-1-0 in five starts, with a 1.59 goals against average and a .936 save percentage.

Check out the Texas Stars Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from December 27, 2011


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