AHL Texas Stars

Gameday Preview - Abbotsford at Texas

Published on November 11, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Texas Stars News Release


Abbotsford Heat (8-4-1-0, 17 points) at Texas Stars (6-5-0-0, 12 points)

Texas and Abbotsford meet for the first of eight total meetings this season. The two teams will play back-to-back nights to start their season series. Friday's game is the ninth all-time meeting in AHL history between the two teams; Texas is 4-3-0-1 in the previous eight meetings. The two teams were placed in the West Division this season and will meet as many times this season as they did in the last two years combined. The 2009-10 series was dictated by the home team winning every game. In 2010-11, the road team won every game. The Heat have taken the last two meetings between the clubs, posting a 5-4 shootout win last January and a 5-3 win at Cedar Park Center last March.

The Stars are riding the wave of a season-high three-game winning streak. The Stars are coming off a 4-0 win at San Antonio last Sunday. Texas begins a stretch of three games in three nights on Friday. Saturday, the team hosts Abbotsford and on Sunday they return to AT&T Center to meet the Rampage in San Antonio. The Stars are 3-2-0-0 on home ice this season, with the last two victories at Cedar Park Center coming in overtime. Texas has outscored its opponents 22-17 at home this year. The Stars will play three games in the West Division this weekend. Texas is 2-3-0-0 in divisional games this season. Texas' scoring has been spread out this season, with 13 first-period tallies and 15 second-period markers. The Stars have outscored their opponents 12-10 in the third period of play. The Stars are the top ranked offensive team in the AHL with a 3.82 goals per game average. The Stars have wins in five of their last seven games.

Abbotsford is coming off a 5-3 win at Houston on Thursday night. Krys Kolanos and Jon Rheault paved the way with a pair of goals and both added an assist in the two-goal victory at the Toyota Center. Abbotsford is 5-4-1-0 in the last ten games played. The Heat are in the middle of three games over three nights. Abbotsford is also in the middle of a grueling seven-game road trip. The team will play twice in Texas, Oklahoma City and Houston, as well as one stop in San Antonio. The Heat is 6-1-0-0 on the road this season, outscoring opponents 22-14. Abbotsford is fourth best in the AHL on the road with a 29.7% power play. The Heat is also ranked in the top ten for penalty kill percentage, sitting sixth with an 89.2%.

Roman Recalled From Idaho

The Texas Stars announced on Wednesday that forward Ondrej Roman has been recalled from the Idaho Steelheads, the Stars' ECHL affiliate.

The 22-year old Roman played in six games for the Steelheads this year, posting two goals and totaling six points. He played two games in Texas without securing a point. Roman is in his second full season of pro hockey after playing in 72 games with Texas last year. As a rookie, Roman scored eight goals and set up 14 for a total of 22 points. The Ostrava-Prouba, Czech Republic, native is scoreless in two appearances for the Stars this season. Dallas drafted Roman in the fifth round (#136 overall) in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

Dallas Stars Update

The NHL Affiliate of the Texas Stars continues to be among one of the top teams in the NHL. Dallas handed Washington its first loss at home this season on Tuesday night, posting a 5-2 win over one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. Dallas (11-3-0, 22 points) leads the NHL in wins and points. They are in the midst of a four-game road trip playing some of the toughest teams in the NHL. Friday night, the Stars visit the Pittsburgh Penguins (9-3-3, 21 points). They round out their trip with a Saturday night game at Detroit (7-5-1, 15 points). Former Texas Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan and assistant coach Paul Jerrard are in their first year behind the Dallas bench. Former Texas Stars forward Jamie Benn is leading the way with a team-high 13 assists and 18 points in his first 14 games.

What's Ahead:

DATE OPPONENT TIME RADIO

Saturday, November 12 vs. Abbotsford 6:00 PM 104.9 FM

Sunday, November 13 at San Antonio 3:30 PM 104.9 FM

Friday, November 18 at Houston 7:35 PM 104.9 FM

Saturday, November 19 vs. Houston 7:00 PM 92.5 FM

Wednesday, November 23 vs. Chicago 7:30 PM 104.9 FM

* All times listed are central time

LAST THREE GAMES

Texas 4 at San Antonio 0 11/6/11

The Texas Stars defeated the San Antonio Rampage 4-0 in front of 4,157 fans at the AT&T Center on Sunday night. Texas goalie Richard Bachman stopped all 29 shots for his second shutout of the season. The win also marks Bachman's ninth all-time shutout with the Stars. Texas right wing Tomas Vincour extended his scoring streak to five games in the victory. His seventh goal of the season also marked his sixth straight game with at least a point. Left wing Francis Wathier registered a goal and an assist, extending his points streak to five games. Center Travis Morin also scored for Texas, improving its road record to 3-3-0-0. Defenseman Maxime Fortunus added two assists on the night, as the team moved above .500 for the first time since October 13th. San Antonio goalie Brian Foster stopped 29 of 33 in the loss.

Toronto 3 at Texas 4 OT 11/3/11

Cedar Park, TX - The Texas Stars defeated the Toronto Marlies 4-3 in overtime in front of 5,781 fans at Cedar Park Center on Thursday night. Texas left wing Francis Wathier scored the game-winning goal 45 seconds into overtime to lift the Stars to victory. Texas forward Colton Sceviour set up the game-winning tally, as well as scored the team's third goal of the night. The Stars held off a late charge from Toronto, which resulted in a 3-3 tie with less than a minute remaining in regulation. Marlies forward Ryan Hamilton forced the overtime with his second goal of the night. Stars rookie center, Scott Glennie posted his first career multi-point night with a goal and an assist. Texas forward Tomas Vincour scored for the fourth straight game, and Luke Gazdic set up two goals as the Stars improved to 3-2-0-0 at home this year. Marlies' center Joe Colborne continued to pace the AHL in scoring, registering a goal and an assist. Texas goalie Richard Bachman stopped 31 of 34 shots in the overtime win. Toronto goalie Jussi Rynnas stopped 28 of 32 shots faced for the loss.

Texas 5 at Milwaukee 3 10/30/11

Milwaukee, WI - The Texas Stars defeated the Milwaukee Admirals 5-3 at the Bradley Center on Sunday afternoon. Texas right wing Tomas Vincour blasted a one-timer past Milwaukee goalie Jeremy Smith with 3:35 remaining in regulation to break a 3-3 tie and put the Stars in the lead for good. Texas forward Raymond Sawada was instrumental in the club's second road win of the year, finishing with a goal and two assists. Travis Morin and Francis Wathier also added tallies as the Stars finished up their four-game road trip 2-2-0-0. Rookie Matt Fraser scored his team-leading eighth goal of the year and defenseman Philip Larsen added two assists in the victory. Texas goalie Richard Bachman stopped 22 Admirals' shots in the win, while Jeremy Smith suffered the loss with 25 saves on 29 shots.

Texas Stars

Center Travis Morin and right wing Raymond Sawada lead Texas in scoring; both have 13 points in 11 games played. Morin is among the AHL leaders with seven power-play assists and he is second on the team with nine assists. Sawada and Morin are six points back of the league lead in scoring. Rookie forward Matt Fraser is third in team scoring with 11 points. He leads the team with eight goals scored and 44 shots on net. Fraser is among the AHL leaders with five power-play goals and ranks among the best in the league for shots on net. Sawada is among the top five in the AHL with nine power-play points, followed by Morin with eight.

Dan Spang and Philip Larsen lead all Texas defensemen in scoring. Larsen leads all defensemen with eight assists and nine points in nine games. Spang is second on the team in scoring by defenders with six assists and eight points in 11 games played. Larsen is also tops in power-play assists for a defenseman, setting up five extra-man advantage tallies. The 21-year old is third among AHL defenseman in assists and third overall in points.

Forwards Tomas Vincour, Francis Wathier and Ryan Garbutt round out the top scorers for Texas. Vincour has nine points in ten games played. He has scored a goal in five straight games and is riding a six-game point streak. Garbutt has eight points in 11 games. He is tied for first on the team with a +3 and is third with 29 shots on goal. Wathier is in the midst of a five-game points streak. Over that span, Wathier has three goals and six points. The left winger has collected a goal in three straight games. Left wing Luke Gazdic leads the team in penalty minutes with 30, while Matt Fraser comes in second with 21 minutes.

Special Teams

After going 0-4 on the power play last Thursday against Toronto, the Texas power play responded with a 1-4 performance in San Antonio Sunday. Thursday marked only the third time in 11 games that the Stars did not register a power-play goal. The Stars lead the AHL with 18 power-play goals and a 33.3% conversion percentage. The power play has connected for at least a goal in eight of the Stars first 11 games. Six times the Stars have posted multiple power-play goals in a game this season. The team is 12 for the last 36. The Stars have killed off 20 of the last 24 penalties (83.3%). Texas ranks 27 th overall on the penalty kill at 76.5%. Abbotsford is 14-of-52 on the power play this season, ranking fourth best in the league at 26.9%. The Heat sport one of the top ten penalty kills in the AHL, stopping 85.0% of their opponents' chances.

This Date in Stars History.... November 11

The Stars have played once on November 11th, going 0-0-1-0 all-time on this date. On November 11th, 2009, Texas lost its' first game in overtime in team history. The Texas Stars were defeated by the Peoria Rivermen 5-4 in overtime in front of 3,835 fans at Carver Arena. Peoria defenseman Bryce Lampman scored his second goal of the night just 33 seconds into overtime to lift the Rivermen over the Stars. Texas forward Greg Rallo scored twice, as the Stars salvage a point and continued a streak of 14 games without a loss in regulation. Despite three assists from defenseman Brad Lukowich, the Stars had their five-game winning streak snapped. Texas goalie Matt Climie suffered the overtime loss, stopping 32 Rivermen shots. Peoria goalie Hannu Toivonen made 28 saves in the victory.

The Abbotsford Heat

The Heat had some major changes over the summer, starting with the departure of Head Coach Jim Playfair, who was hired by the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes as an associate coach. Calgary promoted Troy Ward as the new head coach of the Heat. Ward served as an assistant for Abbotsford in 2010-11 and in Houston in 2007-10.

In all, Abbotsford returns 15 players from the 2010-11 team that posted a 38-32-4-6 mark and missed the Calder Cup Playoffs by five points. The Heat roster features nine Calgary draft picks. The team lost last year's leading scorer, Matt Keith, who is currently not playing hockey after leading the club with 20 goals and 45 points in 77 games. With 12 goals and 34 points in 79 games played, Jon Rheault is the highest returning scorer from the 2010-11 squad. Rheault is a fourth-year pro who was originally drafted in the fifth round (#145 overall) in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by Philadelphia. Overall, he finished second on the team in points, assists and shots on goal.

One of the top defenseman from the 2010-11 team, T.J. Brodie, was called up to Calgary this week. Prior to his recall, Brodie had two assists and three points in 12 games. Last year, he was the Heat's top scoring defenseman, leading the team with 29 assists and finishing tied for second with 34 points in 68 games played. Brodie led the team with 16 power-play assists on the year. Center Greg Nemisz returns for his second pro season. He was Calgary's first pick (#25 overall) in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. He was fourth on the team in scoring as a rookie last year, scoring 14 times and totaling 33 points. The team also includes returnees John Armstrong and Stefan Meyer. Armstrong, a third round pick of Calgary in 06, had 17 points in 78 games for Abbotsford last year. Meyer was drafted by Florida in the second round (#55 overall) of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. Last season, Meyer scored 12 times and totaled 17 points in only 42 games played.

Abbotsford added veteran presence up front with the off-season additions of Ben Walter and Krys Kolanos. Walter led Lake Erie with 47 assists and 70 points in 77 games last season. The seven-year pro has scored 20 goals or more in five of his first six seasons in the AHL. Kolanos was a first round pick of Phoenix (#19 overall in 2000). His best AHL season came in 2007-08 with Quad City, where he scored 30 goals and posted 63 points in 65 games played.

In net, the Heat return Leland Irving, who posted career highs in games played (61), minutes played (3,437), wins (30), losses (24) and shutouts (8). He ranked among the top goalies in the AHL for most categories, including leading the league in shutouts and shootout wins (9). Calgary drafted him sixth overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. Joni Ortio backs up Irving in the Abbotsford crease. The Finnish native was drafted by Calgary in the sixth round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft (#171 overall).

Check out the Texas Stars Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from November 11, 2011


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central