AHL Texas Stars

Gameday Preview - Oklahoma City at Texas

Published on November 30, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Texas Stars News Release


Texas and Oklahoma City meet for the third time this season after the two teams split a pair of games in Oklahoma City earlier this month. The teams will play a total of ten times this year, including four more games at Cedar Park Center after tonight. Texas enters tonight's game having won six of the last eight games. The Stars are coming off a 5-2 win at home over San Antonio on Saturday night at Cedar Park Center. Oklahoma City enters tonight's game after dropping a 5-3 decision at Lake Erie on Saturday afternoon. The Barons are in the midst of a five-game road trip.

Texas is 8-5-0-0 at home this year and 6-4-0-0 in the last ten games played. The Stars are three games into a seven-game home stand and will not see a road game until December 8th at Rockford. Oklahoma City is 6-2-0-0 on the road this season and 6-3-0-1 in the last ten games played.

Numerous players are tied for the series lead with two points apiece. Texas center Travis Morin has a goal and an assist for two points in the series. Oklahoma City's Chris Vandevelde, Johan Motin, Linus Omark, Shawn Belle and Jeff Petry each have two points in the season series. Stars goalie Richard Bachman is 1-0-0 with a 1.42 goals against average and a .955 save percentage. Bachman has stopped 42 of 44 Barons shots in two appearances. Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers is 0-0-1 with a 0.93 goals against average and a .971 save percentage in one game against Texas.

Dallas Assigns Defenseman Severin Blindenbacher to Texas

The Dallas Stars announced on Tuesday that the club has assigned defenseman Severin Blindenbacher to the Texas Stars, Dallas' primary development affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL).

Blindenbacher, 27, did not play in Dallas during his recall. So far this season, he has appeared in eight games for Texas, scoring one goal and three assists for four points with four penalty minutes. He represented Switzerland at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, recording one goal and one assist in five games. Blindenbacher signed as a free agent with Dallas on July 1, 2010.

What's Ahead:

DATE OPPONENT TIME TV/RADIO

Friday, Dec. 3 vs. San Antonio 7:30 PM 104.9 FM

Saturday, Dec. 4 vs. Houston 7:00 PM 104.9 FM

Tuesday, Dec. 7 vs. Manitoba 7:30 PM 104.9 FM

Wednesday, Dec. 8 at Rockford 6:35 PM 1530 AM

Friday, Dec. 10 at Grand Rapids 6:00 PM 104.9 FM

* All times listed are local time

Upcoming Home Games and Promotions:

San Antonio at Texas on Friday, December 3, 2010 at 7:30 PM - * 3-2-1 Friday's ($1 hot dogs, $2 sodas, $3 domestic drafts)

* The first 2,500 fans receive a Texas Stars Fleece Blanket compliments of Toyota

Houston at Texas on Saturday, December 4, 2010 at 7:00 PM - * First 2,500 fans will receive a Texas Stars Scarf compliments of Sweet Leaf Tea

* State Farm Family Four Pack (4 tickets, 4 sodas, 4 hot dogs $44)

GAME RECAPS:

San Antonio 2 at Texas 5 11/27/10

The Texas Stars defeated the San Antonio Rampage 5-2 in front of 5,961 fans on Saturday night at Cedar Park Center. Stars forwards Greg Rallo and Francis Wathier each scored and added an assists as Texas snapped San Antonio's seven-game winning streak. Defenseman Brad Lukowich also set up two goals as Texas improved to 8-5-0-0 at home this season. Texas forwards Raymond Sawada, Fabian Brunnstrom and Sean Backman also scored as the Stars improved to 3-0-0-0 against the West Division leaders this season. Texas goalie Richard Bachman (7-3-0) stopped 19 of 21 shots for the win. San Antonio goalie Matt Climie (9-4-0) stopped 27 of 31 shots for the loss.

Milwaukee 1 at Texas 0 11/26/10

The Texas Stars were defeated by the Milwaukee Admirals 1-0 in front of 5,198 fans on Friday at Cedar Park Center. Milwaukee goalie Mark Dekanich (9-3-2) stopped 29 shots for his third shutout of the season, ending the Admirals four-game winless skid (0-3-0-1). Milwaukee center Steve Begin broke a scoreless game with 6:34 left in the third period to give the Admirals the win. Texas goalie Richard Bachman (6-3-0) stopped 28 of 29 shots in the loss.

Houston 3 at Texas 5 11/24/10

The Texas Stars defeated the Houston Aeros 5-3 in front of 4,489 fans on Wednesday at Cedar Park Center. Texas center Aaron Gagnon scored twice on the night, helping the Stars build a 3-0 lead. Texas held on for the two-goal win behind goals by Fabian Brunnstrom, Travis Morin and Ondrej Roman. Defenseman Dan Spang and Colton Sceviour both had two assists, as Texas improved to 7-4-0-0 at home. Houston goalie Anton Khudobin (6-5-1) stopped five of eight shots in 16:46 of play and Matt Hackett (4-4-1) suffered the loss with 15 saves on 17 shots. Texas goalie Richard Bachman stopped 25 shots and gained an assist in the victory.

The Texas Stars

After 20 games of action, center Travis Morin leads Texas in scoring with seven goals and 17 points. Right wing Greg Rallo has moved into second on the team in scoring with 12 points in 20 games played. Dan Spang and left wing Francis Wathier are tied for third on the team with ten points each. Spang leads all Stars defensemen in scoring. Center Mathieu Tousignant is fifth in scoring with nine points followed by forwards Aaron Gagnon, Fabian Brunnstrom and Colton Sceviour with eight points each. Wathier is tied for the team lead with seven goals scored and he is first with five power-play markers. Left wing Luke Gazdic leads Texas with 36 penalty minutes.

Texas Stars goalies Richard Bachman and Tyler Beskorowany split time in net for Texas. Brent Krahn is currently out with an injury. Krahn has appeared in nine games, posting a 5-4-0 mark, a 2.93 goals against average and a .898 save percentage. Bachman has appeared in 12 games, going 7-3-0 with a 1.94 goals against average and a .932 save percentage. Bachman ranks sixth overall in the AHL for goals against average and seventh in save percentage. Beskorowany made his AHL debut at Houston on November 21st.

The Stars 25-man roster is composed of three goalies, eight defensemen and 14 forwards. Texas returns 15 players from the 2010 Western Conference Championship squad. The players range from ages 20 to 34 with an average age of 24.16. Eight players are 22-years old or younger. The roster is made up of six different nationalities. The roster also features 17 NHL draft picks, including ten Dallas Stars draft picks.

Two Reach the Century Mark

Saturday night marked the 100th game in the Texas Stars' short history. Two players have played every game in team history. Center Travis Morin and right wing Colton Sceviour each played in their 100th consecutive regular season game with Texas on Saturday night against San Antonio. Counting the run to the 2010 Calder Cup Finals, the two have played in 123 straight games for Texas. Morin is the club's all-time leader with 41 assists and 69 points in 100 regular season games. Sceviour has ten goals and 29 assists for 39 points in 100 appearances.

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 leads the Barons with 23 points in 22 games played, including a team-high 12 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. Omark is fourth overall in the AHL with 12 goals this season.

Left wing Alexandre Giroux is tied for second with Liam Reddox on the Barons with 20 points each. The former Hershey Bear has a team-high 14 assists in 22 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.

Left wing Liam Reddox is second on the team in scoring with 11 goals, placing him tied for seventh in goals scored. Reddox also leads the team with a +10. Center Brad Moran is fourth on the team in scoring with 19 points on eight goals and 11 assists.

Shawn Belle recently returned from a recall to the Edmonton Oilers. Despite his recall, Belle is still tied for sixth in the AHL for points by a defenseman with 15, including 13 helpers. He spent last season with the Hamilton Bulldogs, falling to the Texas Stars in the Western Conference Finals. Belle is joined on the blueline by Jeff Petry, a rookie out of Michigan State. Petry was drafted by Edmonton in the second round (#45 overall) in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. Experienced defensemen Richard Petiot, Alex Plante and Taylor Chorney help round out the defense.

In net, the Barons feature goalies Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers and Bryan Pitton. Fellow goalie Martin Gerber was recalled to Edmonton after starting 9-4-0, with a 2.56 goals against average and a .911 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 3-3-1 this year, sporting a 2.84 goals against average and an .894 save percentage. Pitton is 1-1-0 with a 3.52 goals against average and a .891 save percentage.

Special Teams

After finishing second overall last season on the penalty kill, the Stars rank 21st overall at 81.0%. Texas sits 14th in the AHL, converting 17.9% of its power plays. The Barons are 10th overall on the power play, converting 18.6% of the time. Oklahoma City is fifth in the AHL on the penalty kill, stopping 88.0% of its opponents' power plays. Texas is 1-for-12 on the power play against Oklahoma City, while the Barons are 2-for-9 against the Stars.

Offense and Defense

The Texas Stars are sixth overall in team defense, allowing 2.50 goals against per game. Texas is ranked 18th out of 30 teams, scoring an average of 2.75 goals per game. Oklahoma City's defense ranks 15th overall with a 2.86 goals against per game. The Barons sit fourth offensively, averaging 3.45 goals per game.

Check out the Texas Stars Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from November 30, 2010


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