AHL Texas Stars

Gameday Preview - Abbotsford at Texas

Published on January 29, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Texas Stars News Release


Texas and Abbotsford meet for the third time this season and seventh time in AHL history. The teams played a pair of games at the end of December with the Stars taking both games at the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre. Texas is 4-2-0-0 all-time against the Heat after the home team won every game of the series last year. Texas will host the fourth and final meeting of the series on March 1, 2011.

The Stars are 13-7-3-1 at Cedar Park Center this season and 5-4-1-0 in the last ten games played. Texas has wins in six of the last nine road games and points in seven of its last ten road outings. Texas is 21-11-1-2 against the West Division this season. The Stars are the least penalized team in the league accruing only 11.87 penalty minutes a game. The Stars are 13-1-3-2 in one-goal games this year. The Stars are coming off a 2-1 win in Oklahoma City on Friday.

Abbotsford is 8-10-1-3 on the road this year and 5-3-0-2 in the last ten games played. The Heat are winless in the last three games (0-2-0-1). Abbotsford is four games into a ten-game road trip that started on January 21 and ends on February 9 in Rochester. The Heat have been outscored 63-52 on the road this year and 70-54 at home. Abbotsford is 8-5 in shootouts this season and has a 14-3-2-5 in one-goal games this season. The Heat have the have scored the fewest goals in the league at 106 and they are 8-12-0-2 against teams from the West Division this year. Abbotsford lost 4-3 in a shootout at Houston on Friday night.

In the two previous meetings this year, Stars centers Mathieu Tousignant (1g-1a) and Travis Morin (2a) were the only two players to pick up two points. Twelve other Texas skaters have picked up a point in two games against Abbotsford. The Heat scored one goal in the two games against the Stars. Rookie Greg Nemisz has their lone goal and Ryan Stone has the only assist. Texas goalie Richard Bachman is 1-0-0-0 against the Heat this season, posting a 1.00 goals against average and a .974 save percentage. Stars goalie Tyler Beskorowany, who is currently in Idaho (ECHL), picked up his first AHL shutout in Abbotsford on December 31st. The Heat started Leland Irving in both games against Texas. He was winless (0-2-0) with a 3.03 goals against average and a .872 save percentage.

AHL Tabs Wathier for All-Star Game

The Texas Stars, in conjunction with the American Hockey League, announced on Thursday that left wing Francis Wathier has been added to the 2011 Western Conference All-Star Team. Wathier will replace Texas center Travis Morin who is unavailable for the game. The 2011 AHL All-Star game is at 7 p.m. on Monday, January 31 with the Eastern Conference meeting the Western Conference in Hershey, PA at the Giant Center.

Dallas Returns Morin and Gagnon,

The Dallas Stars announced on Thursday that the team has assigned centers Travis Morin and Aaron Gagnon to the Texas Stars, Dallas' primary affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL).

Gagnon, 24, has appeared in nine games for Dallas this season, recording two assists, including his first NHL point (Dec. 6 at Columbus). The 5-11, 186-pound center has spent the majority of this season with Texas, skating in 33 games and collecting 16 points (9g, 7a). Gagnon led the Texas Stars in scoring during the 2009-10 season with 58 points (27g, 31a). The Quesnel, British Columbia, native was signed by Dallas as a free agent on Feb. 2, 2007.

Morin, 27, made his NHL debut against Edmonton in a 3-1 win Wednesday night, recording 10:07 minutes of time on ice. He has recorded 32 points (13g, 19a) in 45 games this season for Texas. The 6-2, 195-pound center played 80 games last season for Texas, finishing second on the team in scoring with 52 points (21g, 31a). Morin was signed as a free agent on July 12, 2010 and was originally selected in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft (ninth round, 263rd overall) by the Washington Capitals.

Morin is Texas' all-time leading scorer with 50 assists and 84 points in 125 games. He is one of two players to suit up for every game in team history. Dallas Assigns Wathier

The Dallas Stars announced on Tuesday that left wing Francis Wathier has been assigned to the Texas Stars.

Wathier, a 6-4, 208-pound forward from St. Isidore, Ontario, has appeared in one game this season for Dallas on Jan. 21 against Calgary. Wathier, 26, has played in 42 games for Texas so far this season and has recorded 22 points (12g, 10a). In 2009-10, he recorded 40 points (19g, 21a) and 101 penalty minutes in 76 games with Texas. Selected by Dallas in the sixth round (185th overall) at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, Wathier made his NHL debut last season with Dallas, appearing in five games and recording five penalty minutes.

What's Ahead:

DATE OPPONENT TIME TV/RADIO

Friday, Feb. 4 at Houston 7:35 PM 104.9 FM

Saturday, Feb. 5 vs. Oklahoma City 7:00 PM 104.9 FM

Tuesday, Feb. 8 vs. Houston 7:30 PM 104.9 FM

* All times listed are central time

GAME RECAPS:

Texas 2 at Oklahoma City 1 1/28/11

Oklahoma City, OK - The Texas Stars defeated the Oklahoma City Barons 2-1 on Friday night in front of 5,321 fans at the Cox Convention Center. Forward Colton Sceviour scored the game-winner and set up the first goal of the night to lead the Stars to victory. Texas goalie Richard Bachman (17-10-2) stuffed the Barons attack with a 28 saves on the night, including 15 saves in the third period to preserve the win. Stars forward Aaron Gagnon also scored, as Texas improved to 21-11-1-2 against the West Division. Oklahoma City goalie Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers (7-8-2) made 32 saves in the defeat, as the Barons fell to 1-3-0-2 against Texas this season.

San Antonio 1 at Texas 2 (OT) 1/24/11

The Texas Stars defeated the San Antonio Rampage 3-2 in overtime on Monday night in front of 4,339 fans at Cedar Park Center. Texas right wing Greg Rallo had a three-point night, including the game-winning goal 31 seconds into overtime for the victory. Rallo also scored the game-tying goal with 6:38 left in regulation to go along with an assist in his 300th career pro game. Texas goalie Richard Bachman stopped 27 of 29 shots to preserve the win and bring Texas to 13-7-3-1 at home. Stars center Aaron Gagnon scored a goal and added an assist as Texas moved to 5-1-0-1 against San Antonio this season. San Antonio center Bracken Kearns had two assists, while forward Alexandre Picard and defenseman Maxime Goncharov netted goals for the Rampage. San Antonio goalie Matt Climie (16-11-0) made 37 saves as Texas outshot San Antonio 40-29.

Milwaukee 1 at Texas 2 SO 1/22/11

The Texas Stars defeated the Milwaukee Admirals 2-1 in front of a sold out crowd of 6,863 fans at Cedar Park Center on Saturday night. Texas goalie Richard Bachman stopped 28 of 29 shots in regulation, as well as four of five in the shootout to preserve the win. Milwaukee goalie Jeremy Smith (7-4-1) made 25 saves in regulation, as well as stopping three of five in the shootout loss. Right wing Greg Rallo scored the team's lone regulation goal, as the Stars improved to 12-7-3-1 at home. Defenseman Roman Josi notched the only goal for the Admirals early in the third period to force overtime.

The Texas Stars

After 46 games of action, center Travis Morin leads Texas in scoring with 13 goals and 19 assists for 32 points. The All-Star center leads Texas with 19 assists. Right wing Greg Rallo is second on the team in scoring with 29 points (15g-14a) in 46 games played. Ralllo leads the team in goals and with 143 shots on net. Right wing Colton Sceviour (9g-16a) is third among all skaters on the team in points with 25. Left wing Francis Wathier is fourth on the team with 23 points in 43 games played, amassing 12 goals and 11 assists. Dan Spang is fifth overall on the team with 20 points. Spang is also third on the team in assists (16) and leads all defensemen in shots on goal (94). Defensemen Brad Lukowich is second on the team with 17 assists. Left wing Luke Gazdic's 70 penalty minutes lead the team.

Texas Stars goalies Richard Bachman and Adrien LeMay fill the net for the Stars. Brent Krahn is currently out with an injury. Bachman has appeared in 31 games, going 17-10-2 with a 2.15 goals against average and a .927 save percentage. Bachman ranks seventh overall in the AHL for goals against average and eighth in save percentage. Bachman has started 16 of the last 18 games. Goalie Adrien LeMay has yet to make his AHL debut. In 17 games with the CHL's Allen Americans, the rookie was 11-2-0 with a 3.10 goals against average and a .897 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.

Abbotsford Heat

The Abbotsford Heat are the AHL Affiliate of the Calgary Flames. Head Coach Jim Playfair is the first coach in team history, guiding the club to a 39-29-5-7 (90 points) mark in 2009-10. Playfair is a veteran coach with nine years of head coaching experience and a total of 16 years behind the bench counting his time as an assistant. He led the Saint John Flames to a Calder Cup Championship in 2001 and served as the Head Coach of the NHL's Calgary Flames in 2006-07, posting a 43-29-0-10 mark.

The Heat return 13 players from last year's squad, including both goalies and five defensemen. Forward Matt Keith leads Abbotsford with 15 goals and 24 points in 48 games played. The former Rockford IceHog leads the club with 139 shots on net and five power-play goals. Right wing Jon Rheault (8g-13a) is second on the squad with 21 points in 48 games played. Right wing Greg Nemisz is third on the team with 20 points and second with 11 tallies in 48 games of action. Rookie defenseman T.J Brodie leads the team with 16 assists and is fourth on the team with 18 points in 41 games played. Brodie has a team-high ten power-play assists. Rookie center Lance Bouma (10g-7a) is fifth in team scoring with 17 points, followed by Keith Seabrook's 16 points (4g-12a). The Heat are without Carter Bancks, who racked up 12 points in the first 18 games. Veteran defenseman John Negrin and veteran forward Kris Chucko are also out for the Heat.

In net, the Heat feature Leland Irving, Matt Keetley and J.P. Lamoureaux. Irving has seen the bulk of the workload in net with 39 appearances. The former first round pick of Calgary is 18-15-2 with a 2.38 goals against average, a .908 save percentage and three shutouts. Irving ranks among the league leaders in wins (tied for 1st), minutes played (2nd - 2,194), goals against average (11th), saves (5th - 942) and shootout wins (1st - 7). Keetley is 0-6-1 in eight appearances this season, sporting a 3.62 goals against average and a .858 save percentage. Lamoureaux is 3-1-1 with a 2.24 goals against average and a .910 save percentage.

Familiar Faces

Texas Stars Head Coach Glen Gulutzan spent six seasons in the Calgary Flames system as the head coach of the ECHL's Las Vegas Wranglers. During his time in Las Vegas, Gulutzan coached current Abbotsford goalie Matt Keetley, as well as defenseman Gord Baldwin.

Special Teams

After finishing second overall last season on the penalty kill, the Stars rank 28th overall at 77.8%. Texas sits 20th in the AHL, converting 16.4 % of its power plays. The Heat are 28th overall on the power play, converting 13.1% of the time. Abbotsford is 18th in the AHL on the penalty kill, stopping 81.7% of its opponents' power plays.

Offense and Defense

The Texas Stars are seventh overall in team defense, allowing 2.59 goals against per game. Texas is ranked 17th out of 30 teams, scoring an average of 2.78 goals per game. Abbotsford's defense ranks 13th overall with a 2.77 goals against per game. The Heat sit last out of all 30 teams offensively, averaging 2.21 goals per game.

Check out the Texas Stars Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from January 29, 2011


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