Gameday Preview - Rockford at Texas
Published on April 3, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Texas Stars News Release
Texas and Rockford meet for the sixth and final time this season. Sunday marks the 14th all-time meeting in AHL history between the two teams. The Stars lead the all-time series with a 9-4-0-0 record against the Hogs, including a 4-2-0-0 mark at home. The Stars claimed the last meeting with the Hogs, posting a 2-1 win at Cedar Park Center on February 12th. It marked the only time this season that Texas posted a regulation win over Rockford. The Stars are coming off a 2-0 shutout loss at Oklahoma City on Saturday night. The IceHogs are also coming off a shutout loss at Oklahoma City, falling 7-0 on Friday night.
Texas is 22-10-3-3 at Cedar Park Center this season and 6-3-0-1 in the last ten games. The Stars had a season-high five-game winning streak snapped on Saturday at Oklahoma City. Texas has collected points in seven of the last ten games. The team concluded a four-game home stand on Friday with Chicago, finishing with four straight wins at home. The Stars played in Oklahoma City on Saturday and then returned home on Sunday to host Rockford. The Stars outscored their opponents 16-6 over the course of the home stand. The Stars are 30-15-2-4 against the West Division this season and 10-9-2-1 against the North Division this season. Texas is the least penalized team in the league accruing 12.77 penalty minutes a game. The Stars are 21-4-4-6 in one-goal games this year and 24-0-1-1 when leading after two periods of play this season.
The IceHogs are 16-16-2-3 on the road this season and 6-4-0-0 in the last ten games played. The Hogs rank seventh overall in the AHL, averaging 19.00 penalty minutes per game. The IceHogs have been outscored 110-88 on the road this year. Rockford is 21-25-3-4 against the West Division this season. With 48 goals scored in the first period of play this year, the IceHogs rank 29th in the AHL for the fewest first-period goals scored. Rockford sits seventh in the AHL, allowing only 28.63 shots per game.
Through five games of the season series, Hogs forward Jeff Taffe leads all scorers with six assists and eight points. Defenseman Maxime Fortunus leads Texas in scoring with five assists and six points. Right wing Colton Sceviour, forward Ondrej Roman and defenseman Dan Spang each have five points in the season series.
Stars goalie Richard Bachman is 1-1-0 with a 1.51 goals against average and a .946 save percentage against the Hogs. Goalie Brent Krahn is 2-0-0 with a 3.70 goals against average and a .877 save percentage. Tyler Beskorowany is 0-1-0 with a 7.02 goals against average and a .811 save percentage in one start against Rockford. Rockford's Hannu Toivonen is 2-0-1 with a 3.77 goals against average and a .876 save percentage against Texas. Alec Richards is 0-2-0 with 2.40 goals against average and a .902 save percentage against the Stars.
Stars Sign Schultz
The Texas Stars announced on Friday that the club has signed forward Stephen Schultz to an ATO (amateur tryout agreement).
The 23-year old rookie turns pro after a four-year career at Colorado College from 2007-11. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound forward posted WCHA highs as a senior this year, scoring 17 goals and totaling 45 points in 43 games played. In his final two years as a Tiger, Schultz set up 43 goals and totaled 65 points in 71 games. For his collegiate career, Schultz scored 36 goals and totaled 86 points in 127 contests. The rookie played with current Texas Stars goalie Richard Bachman and forward Scott McCulloch at Colorado College.
Lukowich Named Texas' 2010-11 IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year
Cedar Park, TX - The Texas Stars are proud to announce that Brad Lukowich has been named the team's winner of the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year award for his outstanding contributions to the Central Texas community during the 2010-11 season.
Lukowich is now one of 30 finalists for the AHL's 2010-11 Yanick Dupre Memorial award is named after the former Hershey Bears forward and AHL All-Star who died in 1997 following a 16-month battle with leukemia. The winner of the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award will be announced by the American Hockey League in the coming weeks.
The Stars Streak
The Stars season-long, five-game winning streak came to an end on Saturday night in Oklahoma City. Over that span, the team outscored its opponents 21-8. The Stars were seven for 28 on the power play (25%) and 20-for-21 on the penalty kill. Over the five games stretch, Greg Rallo had five goals and five assists for ten points, while also posting a +7. Colton Sceviour had five goals and four assists over the five games. Six skaters had at least one point per game over the streak. Defenseman Maxime Fortunus was a +7 over that span. In his five starts, goalie Richard Bachman was 5-0-0-0 with a 1.40 goals against average and a .947 save percentage. He stopped 126 of the last 133 shots he has faced.
What's Ahead:
DATE OPPONENT TIME TV/RADIO
Sunday, April 3 vs. Rockford 5:00 PM 104.9 FM
Wednesday, April 6 at Peoria 7:05 PM 104.9 FM
Friday, April 8 at Milwaukee 7:00 PM 1530 AM
Saturday, April 9 vs. Oklahoma City 7:00 PM 1530 AM
Sunday, April 10 at San Antonio 4:00 PM 104.9 FM
* All times listed are central time
LAST GAME RECAP:
Texas 0 at Oklahoma City 2 4/2/11
The Texas Stars were defeated by the Oklahoma City Barons 2-0 in front of 8,833 fans at Cox Convention Center on Saturday night. Oklahoma City goalie Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers made 22 saves for his second consecutive shutout. Despite 33 saves, Texas goalie Richard Bachman suffered the loss. Oklahoma City defenseman Kevin Montgomery and forward Alexandre Giroux each scored for the Barons, ending the Stars five-game winning streak.
Chicago 2 at Texas 3 OT 4/1/11
The Texas Stars defeated the Chicago Wolves 3-2 in overtime in front of 5,710 fans at Cedar Park Center Friday night. Defenseman Philip Larsen scored the game-winning goal for Texas just 38 seconds into overtime, reducing the team's magic number to clinch a playoff spot to four points. The win also extended the team's streak to five straight. Right wing Colton Sceviour and defenseman Maxime Fortunus each tallied a goal in regulation on the night as Texas improved to 22-10-3-3 at home. Texas goalie Richard Bachman stopped 29 of 31 shots for the win as Chicago outshot Texas 31-24. Defenseman Jaime Sifers and center Andre Deveaux each notched a goal in the Wolves loss. Chicago goalie Peter Mannino stopped 21 shots for the loss.
Grand Rapids 1 at Texas 5 4/1/11
The Texas Stars defeated the Grand Rapid Griffins 5-1 in front of 6,040 fans at Cedar Park Center Saturday night. Texas goalie Richard Bachman stopped 29 of 30 shots for the win, which extended the team's streak to a season-high four straight. Four Texas skaters had multi-point nights in the contest, led by Colton Sceviour's second straight three-point night. Forwards Greg Rallo, Francis Wathier and Ray Sawada each tallied two points, as the Stars improved to 21-10-3-3 at home this year. Grand Rapids goalie Jordan Pearce stopped 13 of 15 shots in the loss.
The Texas Stars
After 75 games of action, right wing Greg Rallo leads the team in points with 53 (26g-27a). Ralllo also leads the team with 26 goals and 243 shots on net. He is tied for second in the league with seven game-winning goals and he ranks third for shots on goal. Center Travis Morin is second for Texas in scoring with 18 goals and 24 assists for 42 points in 59 games played. Morin returned to the lineup on March 7th after missing 14 games with an injury. Colton Sceviour is third on the team with 41 points and he is fourth with 25 assists in 73 games played. Dan Spang is fourth overall on the team with 36 points. He is tied for third on the team in assists (26), as well as leading all defensemen in goals (10) and shots on goal (163). Left wing Francis Wathier is second on the team with 18 goals and 167 shots in 63 games played. Defenseman Maxime Fortunus leads the team with 28 assists in 69 games played. Center Mathieu Tousignant leads the team with 109 penalty minutes.
Texas Stars goalies Richard Bachman and Tyler Beskorowany fill the net for the Stars. Bachman has appeared in 52 games, going 27-17-5 with a 2.19 goals against average and a .927 save percentage. Bachman ranks in the top ten in the AHL for goals against average and save percentage. Bachman has started 35 of the last 46 games. Overall, Beskorowany is 7-6-1 with a 2.51 goals against average and a .923 save percentage. 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.
Record Breaker
Rookie goalie Richard Bachman has set numerous team records this year. With 27 wins on the season, Bachman has passed Matt Climie's team record of 21 wins last season. The 23-year old Bachman has topped Brent Krahn's mark of five shutouts in 2009-10. Bachman recorded his sixth shutout of the season on March 22nd against Houston. His 52 appearances have surpassed Climie's record of 43 appearances in one year. Bachman also passed Climie's mark of 2,539 minutes played, seeing a total of 3,011 minutes in the Stars crease this year. The second-year pro and AHL rookie goalie is the Stars all-time leader in most goalie categories. Bachman is 31-20-5 all-time in 59 appearances with Texas. He has played 3,398 minutes, posting a 2.17 goals against average and a .927 save percentage with seven shutouts.
Rallo Closes In On Team Record
Texas right wing Greg Rallo is closing in on the team record for goals in one season. Rallo tallied his 26th goal of the year on March 26th, pulling him within one goal of the team mark. Center Aaron Gagnon scored 27 goals in 78 games last season to set the current team mark. Rallo has already blown away the team mark for shots on goal in one season. He is third overall in the AHL with 243 shots. In 2009-10, left wing Francis Wathier posted 159 shots on goal. Rallo is tied for second in the league with seven game-winning goals this season. The fifth-year pro has career highs for goals (26), assists (27) and points (53). He is the only remaining skater to have suited up in all 75 games played this year. The fifth-year pro is second all-time among Texas skaters with 144 games played and first all-time with 45 goals. Rallo is three points ahead of Travis Morin for the team's all-time lead with 97 points.
Rockford IceHogs
Rockford Head Coach Bill Peters enters his third season with the IceHogs. Peters guided the Hogs to a second straight 40-win season last year. Prior to joining the IceHogs, Peters was the head coach for the WHL Spokane Chiefs for three seasons. In his final year in the WHL, he led the Chiefs to the 2007-08 Memorial Cup championship.
Center Jeff Taffe leads the IceHogs in scoring with 26 goals and 57 points in 69 games played. Defenseman Brian Connelly leads Rockford with 39 assists and is second with 48 points in 75 games played. Connelly has collected a team-high 18 assists on the power play. Left wing Rob Klinkhammer is third on the team with 25 assists and 39 points in 71 games. Center Brandon Pirri is fourth on the team with 35 points in 65 games. Rookie Kyle Beach is fifth on the squad with 33 points off 14 goals and 19 assists in 66 games played. Beach is second on the team with 145 penalty minutes. Left wing Kyle Hagel's 220 penalty minutes in 72 games are tops among IceHogs. Hagel ranks in the top five in the AHL for penalty minutes and major penalties.
Goalie Alec Richards is 15-21-1 with a 2.93 goals against average and an .897 save percentage. Hannu Toivonen splits time with Richards in net going 18-16-4 mark, a 2.95 goals against and an .905 save percentage.
Rockford also features former Texas Stars defenseman Ivan Vishnevskiy, who has 15 points in 46 games for the Hogs. Vishnevskiy played in 51 games for the Texas Stars in 2009-10, before Dallas traded him to Atlanta in the Kari Lehtonen deal. In the offseason, Vishnevskiy was traded by the Thrashers to the Blackhawks, who then assigned him to Rockford.
Special Teams
After finishing second overall last season on the penalty kill, the Texas Stars penalty kill is 20th overall at 80.4%. The Stars penalty kill has been superb since March 5, stopping 45 of the last 47 attempts (95.7%). Texas ranks 20th best in the AHL, converting on 17.2% of its power plays. The IceHogs are 23rd overall on the power play, converting 15.4% of the time. Rockford is 26th overall on the penalty kill, stopping 80.2% of their opponents' power plays.
Offense and Defense
The Texas Stars are tied for seventh overall in team defense, allowing 2.63 goals against per game. Texas is ranked 20th out of 30 teams, scoring an average of 2.76 goals per game. Rockford's defense ranks 22nd overall with a 3.12 goals against per game. The Hogs sit tied for 27th offensively, averaging 2.59 goals per game.
American Hockey League Stories from April 3, 2011
- Admirals Lose to Rivermen 4-3 - Milwaukee Admirals
- Whale Stop Skid, Win 4-2 - Connecticut Whale
- Reslient Rivermen Top First Place Admirals - Peoria Rivermen
- Texas Stumbles Against Rockford 5-1 - Texas Stars
- Hogs Bounce Back and Trounce Texas 5-1 - Rockford IceHogs
- Wolves Release Huxley - Chicago Wolves
- Defensive Shutdown Leads to 3-2 Win - Albany Devils
- P-Bruins Fall to Sharks 2-1 - Providence Bruins
- Sharks Claw out 2-1 Win Over Bruins - Worcester Sharks
- Minnesota Wild Recalls Gillies, McMillan from Aeros - Houston Aeros
- B-Sens Earn Point in Shootout Loss to Devils - Binghamton Senators
- Crunch Fall to Penguins, 5-3 - Syracuse Crunch
- Whale Doubles Pirates - Portland Pirates
- David Gilbert Signed to ATO by Rockford - Rockford IceHogs
- Moose Clinch Berth in 2011 Calder Cup Playoffs - Manitoba Moose
- Manitoba Clinches Playoff Spot with 3-2 Win in Toronto - Manitoba Moose
- Senators Re-Assign Andre Benoit and Patrick Wiercioch to Binghamton - Binghamton Senators
- Gameday Preview - Rockford at Texas - Texas Stars
- Heat blank Griffins, 1-0 - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Heat shutout Griffins 1-0 - Abbotsford Heat
- Rivermen Comeback Ends in Overtime Loss - Peoria Rivermen
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