AHL Texas Stars

Gameday Preview - Rockford at Texas

Published on January 7, 2012 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Texas Stars News Release


Rockford IceHogs (12-18-1-3, 28 points) at Texas Stars (14-16-0-2, 30 points)

The Texas Stars and the IceHogs meet for the second time this season. This marks the 16th all-time meeting between the two teams that will play a total of four games this season. Texas leads the season series by taking the only game of the year between the two clubs, a 6-2 win in Rockford in late October. The last three games of the season series will be played in January. The Hogs visit the Cedar Park Center on January 7th and 8th. It will mark the only regular season visit to Cedar Park all season. The Stars return to Rockford on Monday, January 16th. The Stars lead the all-time series with a 10-5-0-0 record against the Hogs, including a 4-3-0-0 mark at Cedar Park Center.

The Stars have four wins in their last ten games, going 4-5-0-1 over that span. Texas recently finished a three-game road trip that saw the team lose all three. The Stars are coming off a 4-3 shootout loss in San Antonio on Friday night. The team dropped pair of losses in Abbotsford prior to the New Year. The Stars are 6-7-0-1 at home this season, having outscored their opponents 44-42 on the scoreboard. Texas has taken three of the last four home games. The Stars are 7-12-0-2 against the West Division this season. The team recently concluded a stretch where nine of ten games were against division rivals. Texas was 3-5-0-1 in the nine divisional games. Texas' scoring has been spread out evenly this season, with 30 first-period tallies and 36 second-period markers. The Stars have been even for second-period scoring with 36 goals per side. The Stars have been outscored 98-93 overall. Texas is 13th in the league with a 2.91 goals per game average. The team has 49 goals over its last 20 games. Texas ranks 24th defensively with a 3.06 goals against average. The Stars are 10-0-0-1 when leading after two periods of play, but they are 1-14-0-0 when trailing after two periods of play. The team is 7-7-0-2 in games decided by one goal this season. Texas leads the AHL with five overtime wins this season, going 5-0-0-2 when tied after regulation. The Stars are tied for second in the AHL with six shorthanded goals this season.

Rockford visits Cedar Park for the first and only time this season. The IceHogs come into Saturday's game after a 4-1 win in Houston over the Aeros on Friday night. The victory ended a 0-4-0-1 drought for Rockford. The Hogs are now 2-5-0-3 in the last ten games played. Rockford is 6-7-1-2 on the road this season, outscoring their opponents 65-52 away from home ice. The club is 6-5-0-2 when scoring first this season and 6-13-1-1 when allowing the game's opening goal. The IceHogs are 3-5-0-0 against the West Division this season. Rockford has allowed a league-high 44 first-period goals. The Hogs have been outscored in every period this season. Their closest goal margin is in the second period, where the team has been outscored 35-30. The club has been outscored 43-38 in the third period of play this season. Rockford is 4-2-0-0 when leading after the first and 10-1-0-1 when leading after the second. Rockford is 0-15-1-0 when trailing after two periods of play. The team is 5-13-1-1 when they outshoot their opponents. The IceHogs rank eighth best in the league offensively with 3.09 goals per game average. Rockford ranks last of 30 AHL teams with a 3.71 goals against average.

Matt Fraser Named AHL All-Star

The American Hockey League announced on Wednesday that Texas right wing Matt Fraser has been named to the 2012 Western Conference All Star Team.

Fraser leads Texas with 17 goals scored, placing him in a tie for fourth best in the AHL. Fraser is second on the Stars with 26 points in 32 games played. He ranks second overall in the league in goals by a rookie and he is tied for fifth overall in points by a rookie. Fraser's eight power-play goals are tied for first among rookies and his 119 shots are best among first-year players. The Red Deer, AB, native set a Texas record with a ten-game points streak from Dec. 3 to Dec. 29. Over the ten-game streak, Fraser scored seven goals and added five assists for 12 points.

Fraser turned pro after playing in 265 WHL games for Red Deer and Kootenay from 2006-11. Over the course of five WHL seasons, he netted 87 goals and set up 87 others to total 174 points. His best season came in 2010-11, where the 21-year old scored 36 goals and totaled 74 points in 66 games played. Fraser powered Kootenay in the playoffs, potting 17 goals and 27 points in 19 playoff games.

Benn Heads to Dallas, Dillon Returns and Berube Added

The Stars saw plenty of transactions over the last week, starting with defenseman Jordie Benn's call up to Dallas on Sunday. Dallas also called up defenseman Brenden Dillon on Monday, than reassigned the rookie back to Texas on Wednesday. Texas also signed defenseman Mike Berube to a PTO on Wednesday.

Benn, 24, co-leads all Texas defensemen in scoring, with seven goals and eight assists for 15 points in 31 games. Four of his seven goals have come on the power play. Jordie Benn is the older brother of current Stars forward Jamie Benn. The 6-0, 205-pound defenseman from Victoria, BC, made his NHL debut on Tuesday night, a 5-4 loss for Dallas at home to Detroit. Benn and his brother Jamie each registered an assist on the Stars first goal of the game. Jordie Benn signed a one-year free agent contract with Dallas on July 1, 2011. He played in 60 games for the Texas Stars last season, scoring two goals and 10 assists for 12 points with 39 penalty minutes.

Dillon was called up to Dallas, but never got to make his NHL debut prior to his re-assignment to Texas. The 21-year old has played in 32 games for Texas, scoring two goals and 11 assists for 13 points and 34 penalty minutes. He was signed to a three-year contract as a free agent on March 3, 2011. The 6-2, 198-pound defenseman played in 72 games with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL last season, scoring eight goals and 51 assists for 59 points.

Berube comes to Texas from the Allen Americans, Texas' Central Hockey League affiliate. The defenseman has two goals and nine points in 29 games with Allen this season. In 2009-10, Berube played for the Hartford Wolf Pack, going scoreless in four AHL games. The Edmonton, AB, native is in his third pro season, suiting up in 164 pro games between Allen, Hartford and Charlotte (ECHL). The 6-foot-1, 215-pounder played his junior hockey in the WHL for Vancouver, Red Deer and Prince George.

What's Ahead:

DATE OPPONENT TIME RADIO

Saturday, January 7 vs. Rockford 7:00 PM 104.9 FM

Sunday, January 8 vs. Rockford 5:00 PM 104.9 FM

Wednesday, January 11 vs. Abbotsford 7:30 PM 104.9 FM

Friday, January 13 at Grand Rapids 6:00 PM (CT) 92.5 FM

Saturday, January 14 at Milwaukee 7:00 PM 92.5 FM

* All times listed are central time

LAST THREE GAMES

Texas 3 at San Antonio 4 SO 1/6/12

The Texas Stars were defeated by the San Antonio Rampage 4-3 in a shootout in front of 7,867 fans at the AT&T Center on Friday night. San Antonio went three for three in the shootout, while the Stars failed to tally a shootout goal in the defeat. San Antonio goalie Dov Grumet-Morris (6-3-0) stopped 31 of 34 in regulation and three of three in the shootout win. Texas goalie Andrew Raycroft (0-0-1) stopped 27 of 30 in regulation and failed to make a save on three shootout attempts. Stars forwards Colton Sceviour, Matt Fraser and Eric Godard each scored in regulation, as the club moved to 8-9-0-1 on the road this season. Rampage forward Tim Kennedy scored two of his team's three power-play goals.

Texas 1 at Abbotsford 2 12/30/11

The Texas Stars were defeated by t he Abbotsford Heat 2-1 in front of 3,271 fans at the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre on Friday night. Abbotsford goalie Danny Taylor stopped 32 Stars shots, including 21 in the final two periods to preserve the win. Left wing Lance Bouma gave the Heat a 2-1 lead at 5:32 of the third period, scoring the eventual game-winning goal. Texas goalie Jimmy Spratt stopped 26 shots in the loss. Forward Stephen Schultz scored the Stars' lone goal in the defeat, as Texas dropped to 8-9-0-0 on the road this season.

Texas 3 at Abbotsford 5 12/29/11

The Texas Stars were defeated by the Abbotsford Heat 5-3 in front of 3,604 fans at the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre on Thursday night. Heat goalie Danny Taylor made 42 saves and forward Krys Kolanos added three points in the team's third straight win over the Stars this season. Taylor stopped 16 Texas shots in the second period and all 13 in the third period to improve to 11-5-0 on the year. Kolanos scored once and added two assists, as Abbotsford extended its streak to five straight games with a point on home ice. Heat forward Jon Rheault set up three goals, as his team moved to 7-4-0-0 against Texas all-time. Forwards Stephen Schultz, Scott Glennie and Colton Sceviour each scored, as Texas fell to 8-8-0-0 on the road this year. Texas goalie Tyler Beskorowany (6-9-0) stopped 24 shots in the defeat.

Texas Stars

Center Travis Morin and winger Matt Fraser lead Texas in scoring. Morin is the clubhouse leader with 26 assists and 30 points in his first 32 games played. He ranks in the top ten of the AHL for assists and he is among the AHL leaders with 12 power-play helpers. He has nine assists in his last 10 games played. Rookie forward Matt Fraser is second in scoring with 26 points in 32 games. He leads the team with 17 goals scored and 119 shots on net. Fraser is tied for second in the AHL with eight power-play goals and he is tied for fifth overall in the AHL in rookie scoring. He ranks second among all first-year skaters with 17 goals and he is first in shots on goal by a rookie. Fraser had a ten-game scoring streak end last Friday in Abbotsford. The run was the longest scoring streak in team history.

Forwards Francis Wathier and Ryan Garbutt round out the top scoring forwards for Texas. For the season, Wathier has six goals and 12 assists for 18 points in 32 games played. Wathier leads the team with a +7. Center Ryan Garbutt has 20 points (6g-14a) in 32 games. Garbutt leads Texas with 57 penalty minutes, followed by Luke Gazdic, who has 52 minutes in 32 games played. Garbutt leads Texas and is tied for fifth in the AHL with 21 minor penalties.

Veteran defenseman Dan Spang leads all Texas defenseman with 15 points off two goals and 13 assists in 32 games. He has six points in his last ten games. Rookie Brenden Dillon (2-11-13) is second in points and he is first among D-men with 34 penalty minutes. Defender Maxime Fortunus has ten points in 28 games, while Captain Brad Lukowich has eight points in 28 games played. Fortunus played in his 600th pro game on Friday night in San Antonio.

Goalies Tyler Beskorowany, Andrew Raycroft and Jimmy Spratt split time in net for Texas. Raycroft made his Texas debut with 27 saves in a 4-3 shootout loss at San Antonio on Friday. Beskorowany is 6-9-0 with a 2.89 goals against average and a .897 save percentage. Spratt is 1-1-0 with a 2.02 goals against average and a .909 save percentage.

Special Teams

The Stars have converted 29 of 154 power plays for an 18.8% conversion rate, as Texas ranks 14th overall in power play percentage. The team has experienced a bit of a slump on the extra-man advantage, going two for the last 48 power plays since December 3. The Stars have killed off 105 of 127 opponents' power plays (82.7%), ranking 13th overall on the penalty kill. The Stars have killed off 67 of the last 76 penalties (88.1%). The IceHogs are 30th in the AHL on the penalty kill, stopping 76.1% of their opponents' power plays. Overall, Rockford ranks 20th in the AHL on the power play after going 28-for-165 (17%).

The Rockford IceHogs

Center Brandon Pirri leads Rockford in scoring with a team-high 14 goals and 33 points in 32 games played. He also leads the team with 105 shots on goal. Defenseman Brian Connelly is second on the Hogs in scoring. He leads the team with 26 assists, including a team-high 11 power-play assists. Connelly ranks among the top scoring defenseman, sitting second overall in points and placing second in assists. Center Andrew Shaw was recalled to Chicago after scoring 12 times and totaling 21 points in 33 games. The feisty forward also ranked second on the team with 80 penalty minutes.

Former Texas Stars forward Brandon Segal is back in Rockford after playing for the Hogs in 2004-05. Segal suited up in 30 games for Texas last year, scoring seven goals and totaling 17 points. The right wing also played in 46 games for Dallas in 2010-11, scoring five goals and adding five more for a total of ten points. Segal signed a free agent contract with the Chicago Blackhawks for the 2011-12 season. Among active Rockford skaters, he is currently second on the team with 11 goals and third overall with 20 points in 34 games played. He is also among the worst of the Hogs with a -11 rating. The IceHogs also return left wing Jeremy Morin, a second round pick of Atlanta (#45 overall) in 2009. Morin has 20 points in 28 games this season.

Rockford features goalies Alexander Salak, Carter Hutton and Alec Richards. Salak is 3-6-0 with a 3.06 goals against average and a .893 save percentage. Hutton is 3-4-1 with a 3.39 goals against average and a .893 save percentage. Richards is 6-9-2 with a 3.65 goals against average and a .893 save percentage.

Check out the Texas Stars Statistics

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



American Hockey League Stories from January 7, 2012


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