AHL Texas Stars

Game Preview - Texas at Hamilton

Published on March 12, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Texas Stars News Release


Texas and Hamilton meet for second and final time this year, their fourth regular season meeting in AHL history. The teams played twice last year with the Stars taking the season series by posting a 1-0-0-1 mark against the Bulldogs. Hamilton took the only meeting this season with Texas on December 18th at Cedar Park Center. The Bulldogs erased a 2-0 lead in the last 6:30 of the third period and scored 1:07 into overtime for the 3-2 win. Texas is 1-0-1-1 all-time against the Bulldogs. The home team has yet to win a game in the all-time regular season series. The Stars and Bulldogs met in the 2010 Western Conference Finals, with Texas edging Hamilton in seven games. The Stars took the Western Conference crown after winning the final two games of the series at Copps Coliseum.

Texas is 16-12-1-3 away from Cedar Park Center this season and 3-3-1-3 in the last ten games. Texas is 11-7-1-4 in its last 23 meetings. Five of the last eight games for Texas have gone into a shootout or overtime. Texas has collected points in seven of the last ten games. The Stars concluded a five-game home stand on Monday, going 2-2-0-1 over that span. The team began a five-game road trip on Friday in Syracuse, making stops in Hamilton, Toronto and Winnipeg before returning on March 22nd to face Houston. The Stars are 28-14-2-4 against the West Division this season and 6-7-2-1 against the North Division this season. Texas is the second least penalized team in the league accruing 13.2 penalty minutes a game. The Stars are 19-2-4-6 in one-goal games this year and 20-0-1-1 when leading after two periods of play this season.

Texas will play the next four games outside of the West Division and six of the next seven. The Stars have 14 games remaining on the schedule, including six at Cedar Park Center. The final seven games of the regular season will be against the West Division and over a stretch of the first ten days of April. Texas will play division rivals Chicago, Oklahoma City (2), Rockford, San Antonio, Milwaukee and Peoria down the stretch.

Hamilton is 18-14-1-2 at home this year and 5-3-0-2 in the last ten games played. The Bulldogs are in a stretch of seven of nine games at home. Over the previous eight games, the club is 4-3-0-1, including three straight games at home without a win (0-2-0-1). The Bulldogs have outscored their opponents 94-84 on home ice this season and 88-78 on the road. Hamilton is 4-1 in overtimes this season and 6-5 in shootouts this year.

The Bulldogs are 26-9-1-0 when scoring the first goal of the night for a total 36 times this season. The club is 6-6-1-1 in 14 games against teams from the West Division. Hamilton has outscored its opponents 51-40 in the first period of play and 66-60 in the second period. The club has a 20-4-1-0 mark when taking a lead into the first intermission and a 20-1-0-1 record when leading after the second period. When trailing after two periods of play, the Bulldogs are 4-12-1-1.

Texas Reveals Clear Day Roster

Cedar Park, TX - The Texas Stars of the American Hockey League announced on Tuesday the 2010-11 Clear Day Roster, which consists of 20 skaters and two goaltenders.

According to AHL by-laws, only the players listed on a team's Clear Day Roster are eligible to compete in the remainder of the AHL regular season and in the 2011 Calder Cup Playoffs, unless emergency conditions arise as a result of injury, recall or suspension. Teams may also add signed junior players or players on amateur tryout contracts after Clear Day, but only once their respective junior or college seasons are complete. The Stars Clear Day Roster consists of 13 forwards, seven defensemen and two goaltenders.

Goaltenders: Richard Bachman, Tyler Beskorowany. Defensemen: Jordie Benn, Maxime Fortunus, Philip Larsen, Trevor Ludwig, Brad Lukowich, Dan Spang, Matt Stephenson. Forwards: Sean Backman, Cody Chupp, Aaron Gagnon, Luke Gazdic, Travis Morin, Greg Rallo, Ondrej Roman, Raymond Sawada, Colton Sceviour, Brandon Segal, Mathieu Tousignant, Tomas Vincour, Francis Wathier. In residence: Scott McCulloch

A player in residence can only be used during the remainder of the regular season or the playoffs if a combination of three members of the 22-man roster are injured, recalled or suspended. The complete list of Clear Day rosters can be found at www.theahl.com

Texas Assigns Monast to Idaho, Recalls Neal

The Texas Stars announced on Tuesday that the club has assigned forward Michael Neal and defenseman Guilluame Monast to the Idaho Steelheads, Texas' ECHL Affiliate. On Friday, the Stars recalled Neal from Idaho under emergency conditions.

Neal is in his second pro season after spending the bulk of his rookie season with Idaho. Neal has played in 16 games for Texas this year, scoring three goals and totaling 12 penalty minutes. This season, the Whitby, ON native has played in 37 games for the Steelheads, scoring six goals and totaling 13 points. Last season, Neal played in 57 games for the Steelheads, posting 15 points on five goals and ten assists. The 21-year old also skated in six games for the Texas Stars without registering a point. Neal was drafted in the fifth round (#149 overall) in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft and he is the younger brother of Pittsburgh Penguins forward James Neal.

Monast has one assist in nine games for Texas over three separate recalls from Idaho. He registered his first AHL point with the Stars this season at Lake Erie on Feb. 16. In 41 games for Idaho this year, Monast has one goal and seven assists while adding 22 penalty minutes. The Quebec native spent his rookie season with Idaho, setting up six goals in 68 games played, helping the Steelheads reach the 2010 Kelly Cup Finals. Monast attended training camp in Dallas and in Texas each of the last two years.

What's Ahead:

DATE OPPONENT TIME TV/RADIO

Sunday, March 13 at Toronto 2:00 PM 104.9 FM

Friday, March 18 at Manitoba 7:30 PM 1530 AM

Sunday, March 20 at Manitoba 2:00 PM 1530 AM

Tuesday, March 22 vs. Houston 7:30 PM 1530 AM

* All times listed are central time

GAME RECAPS:

Texas 0 at Syracuse 1 SO 3/11/11

The Texas Stars were defeated by the Syracuse Crunch 1-0 in a shootout on Friday night at the Oncenter War Memorial. Syracuse goalie J.P. Lavasseur stopped 34 Texas shots in regulation and overtime for the shutout. The Crunch netminder also stopped two of five shootout attempts to preserve the win. Texas goalie Richard Bachman made 25 saves in regulation, but only stopped one of five attempts in the shootout loss. Syracuse forward Patrick Maroon scored the decisive goal in the shootout.

Syracuse 3 at Texas 1 3/7/11

The Texas Stars were defeated by the Syracuse Crunch 3-1 on Monday at Cedar Park Center. Syracuse goalie Ray Emery stopped 27 of 28 shots as the Stars fell to 18-10-3-3 at home this season. Crunch left wing John Mitchell had a goal and an assist as Syracuse scored its 11th road win of the year. Stars defenseman Brad Lukowich scored the team's lone goal. Texas goalie Tyler Beskorowany stopped three of six shots to suffer the loss. Richard Bachman (22-14-4) stopped all 13 shots faced in a relief effort.

Houston 1 at Texas 3 3/5/11

The Texas Stars defeated the Houston Aeros 3-1 Saturday night in front of 6,544 fans at Cedar Park Center. Stars left wing Brandon Segal scored the game-winning goal and finished with an assist to lead the Texas attack. Center Aaron Gagnon and defenseman Philip Larsen each tallied two assists on the night, as Texas ended a six-game losing skid to Houston. Stars goalie Tyler Beskorowany (6-5-1) stopped 29 shots as Houston outshot Texas 30-25. Defenseman Maxime Fortunus and right wing Greg Rallo also scored as Texas pulled within two points of second place in the West Division. Houston left wing Jon DiSalvatore scored the Aeros lone goal. Houston goalie Matt Hackett (15-13-3) stopped 23 of 25 shots for the loss.

The Texas Stars

After 66 games of action, right wing Greg Rallo leads the team lead in points with 41 (21g-20a) in 66 games played. Ralllo also leads the team with 21 goals and 204 shots on net. Center Travis Morin is second for Texas in scoring with 13 goals and 21 assists for 34 points in 50 games played. Morin returned to the lineup on Monday after missing the previous 14 games with an injury. Dan Spang is third overall on the team with 33 points. He leads the team lead in assists (24), as well as all defensemen in goals (9) and shots on goal (136). Colton Sceviour is tied for fourth on the team with 21 assists and fourth with 32 points in 64 games played. Left wing Francis Wathier is second on the team with 16 goals and 144 shots in 54 games played. Defensemen Brad Lukowich and Maxime Fortunus are tied for second on the team with 22 assists each. Left wing Luke Gazdic leads the team with 101 penalty minutes.

Right wing Brandon Segal has eight assists and ten points in his last ten games played. Center Aaron Gagnon has seven assists and eight points in his last eight games played.

Texas Stars goalies Richard Bachman and Tyler Beskorowany fill the net for the Stars. Bachman has appeared in 44 games, going 22-14-5 with a 2.27 goals against average and a .924 save percentage. Bachman ranks in the top ten in the AHL for goals against average and save percentage. Bachman has started 28 of the last 37 games. Goalie Brent Krahn has appeared in 12 games, posting a 6-6-0 mark, a 3.20 goals against average and a .895 save percentage. Krahn is out with an injury. Overall, Beskorowany is 6-6-1 with a 2.50 goals against average and a .925 save percentage.

Career Highs...

Several Texas Stars have set new career highs over the last few weeks. Defenseman Maxime Fortunus recently set a new career high for points and assists in one season. He currently has 26 points and 22 assists, surpassing his mark of 18 assists in 2006-07 with the Manitoba Moose. Last season, Fortunus set a career-high with 11 goals and 23 points in 72 games for Texas. Right wing Greg Rallo has a new career high of goals in a season with 21. Rallo tallied 19 in 69 games with Texas in 2009-10.

The Hamilton Bulldogs

Hamilton started the season with new Head Coach Randy Cunneyworth, who took over for Guy Boucher. The Tampa Bay Lightning named Boucher the club's head coach over the summer after he led the Bulldogs to a 52-17-3-8 regular season mark, the second highest point total (115) in the AHL. The Bulldogs return 12 players from the 2009-10 squad that went the Western Conference Finals.

Left wing Nigel Dawes leads Hamilton in scoring with 33 goals and 54 points in 55 games played. Dawes recently joined the Bulldogs after he was traded from Atlanta to Montreal in a deal involving Ben Maxwell. Dawes has six goals and ten points in eight games with Hamilton since the trade. Despite getting recalled to Montreal after 35 games with Hamilton, center David Desharnais is second on the team with 45 points and first with 35 assists. Right Aaron Palushaj is second among active skaters with 25 assists and 40 points in 55 games with the Bulldogs. Right wing J.T. Wyman has 14 goals and 30 points in 64 games with Hamilton. Kyle Klubertanz and Brendan Nash are tied for the team lead among defensemen with 27 points on the season.

In net, the Bulldogs pair James Sanford with Drew MacIntyre. Sanford was among the league's best in 2009-10, going 23-11-3 with a 2.13 goals against average and a .916 save percentage in 41 games with Hamilton. Once again, Sanford is ranked among the league leaders with a 22-13-2 mark, a 1.93 goals against average and a .930 save percentage. McIntyre was acquired ina the Montreal-Atlanta trade along with Dawes. On the season, he is 14-7-2 with a 2.78 goals against average and a .909 save percentage. In five starts for Hamilton, MacIntyre is 2-2-1 with a 2.31 goals against average and a .921 save percentage.

Special Teams

After finishing second overall last season on the penalty kill, the Stars rank 27th overall at 78.4%. Texas sits 20th in the AHL, converting 16.8% of its power plays. Hamilton is eighth overall on the power play, converting 19.6% of the time. The Bulldogs are 16th in the AHL on the penalty kill, stopping 82.7% of its opponents' power plays.

Offense and Defense

The Texas Stars are 10th overall in team defense, allowing 2.73 goals against per game. Texas is ranked 22nd out of 30 teams, scoring an average of 2.71 goals per game. Hamilton's defense ranks fourth overall with a 2.53 goals against per game. The Bulldogs sit 15th offensively, averaging 2.84 goals per game.

Check out the Texas Stars Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from March 12, 2011


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