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AHL Texas Stars

Gameday Preview - Texas at Abbotsford

December 30, 2010 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Texas Stars News Release


Texas and Abbotsford meet for the first time this season. The teams will play a pair of back-to-back games Thursday and Friday at the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre. Last year, the teams played four games, with the home team winning every game of the season series. Abbotsford outscored Texas 7-3 in a pair of games in early January of 2010. Texas then outscored the Heat at the Cedar Park Center 10-3 in a pair of games later that month. Overall, each team is 2-2-0-0 in the all-time series. After this week's two-game set, the teams will meet again on January 29th, 2011 in Cedar Park, TX. Texas will host the fourth and final meeting of the series on March 1, 2011.

The Stars are 8-5-0-1 away from Cedar Park Center this season. Texas has collected points in seven of the last ten games (5-3-1-1) and 17 of the last 22 (13-5-2-2 (.681). The stretch started after a team-record four straight defeats in early November. The Stars are coming off a 4-3 shootout win at Oklahoma City on Tuesday night. Texas continues a five-game road trip with two games in Abbotsford, BC (Thursday and Friday). The road trip ends in San Antonio before the team returns home on Saturday, January 8th to host Lake Erie. The Stars last four games have been decided by one goal. Texas is 10-1-2-2 in one-goal games this year.

Abbotsford is 9-6-0-1 at home this year and 4-5-1-0 in the last ten games played. The Heat are winless in three straight (0-2-1-0). Despite a winning record on home ice, Abbotsford has been outscored by the visiting team 43-39. The Heat are 7-8-0-1 against opponents from the West Division. Abbotsford is 10-3-1-3 in one-goal games this season.

Texas right wing Greg Rallo led all scorers with four assists and six points in four games against the Heat in 2009-10. Center Travis Morin also chipped in with two goals and two assists in four games. Defenseman Maxime Fortunus accounted for three points (2g-1a) in three games. Neither Texas goalie, Richard Bachman nor Tyler Beskorowany, have ever faced Abbotsford. Former Texas goalie Matt Climie played all four games last season, helping the Stars hold the Heat to a 2.50 goals per game average.

The top scorers against Texas for the Heat are not with the club this season. Forwards Brett Sutter, Jason Jaffray, David Van der Gulik, Colin Stuart and Riley Armstrong are not back with the team. The top returning scorers are defenseman Gord Baldwin and center Cam Cunning. Baldwin had two assists in the four games, while Cunning chipped in one goal in the season series. Goalie Matt Keetley played in three games against the Stars, going 2-1-0 with a 2.35 goals against average and a .909 save percentage. Fellow goalie Leland Irving has yet to face Texas.

Dallas Assigns Gagnon To Texas

The Dallas Stars announced on Thursday that the club has assigned center Aaron Gagnon to the Texas Stars, Dallas' primary affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL).

Gagnon, 23, has appeared in seven 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 24 games and collecting 11 points (7g, 4a). Gagnon led the Texas Stars in scoring in 2009-10 with 58 points (27g, 31a) in 77 games. He ranks among the Texas' all-time leading scorers with 34 goals and 35 assists for 69 points in 102 games.

The Quesnel, British Columbia, native was signed by Dallas as a free agent February 2, 2007.

What's Ahead:

DATE OPPONENT TIME TV/RADIO

Friday, Dec. 31 at Abbotsford 8:00 PM 1530 AM

Friday, Jan. 7 at San Antonio 7:05 PM 104.9 FM

Saturday, Jan. 8 vs. Lake Erie 7:00 PM 104.9 FM

Wednesday, Jan. 12 at Chicago 11:00 AM 1530 AM

Friday, Jan. 14 at Rockford 7:05 PM 104.9 FM

* All times listed are central time

GAME RECAPS:

Texas 4 at Oklahoma City 3 (SO) 12/28/10

Oklahoma City, OK - The Texas Stars defeated the Oklahoma City Barons 4-3 in a shootout on Tuesday night in front of 4,470 fans at the Cox Convention Center. Stars left wing Fabian Brunnstrom tied the game 3-3, scoring his sixth of the year with 49 seconds left in regulation. Texas Stars goalie Richard Bachman (12-5-2) took care of the rest, stopping 32 shots in regulation and three of five in the shootout to preserve the road win. Rookie forward Tomas Vincour started the rally with a goal 1:49 into the third period, bringing the Stars within striking distance. Oklahoma City goalie Martin Gerber (11-7-2) stopped 37 Texas shots in regulation, but allowed three goals on four attempts in the shootout loss. Texas right wing Greg Rallo also scored his 11th of the year. Despite two goals from center Brad Moran, Oklahoma City's winless streak slid to five games (0-4-0-1).

Texas 3 at Houston 4 (SO) 12/26/10

The Texas Stars were defeated by the Houston Aeros 4-3 in a shootout on Sunday afternoon in front of 7,513 fans at the Toyota Center. The Aeros outlasted the Stars in a seven-round shootout to take the win. Stars left wing Francis Wathier scored with 19 seconds left in regulation, tying the game 3-3 and forcing the eventual overtime and shootout. Houston right wing Jon DiSalvatore scored twice, as the Aeros ended a four-game slide. Texas goalie Richard Bachman (11-5-2) made 30 saves in the shootout loss. Houston goalie Matt Hackett (6-8-1) stopped 22 of 25 shots in the shootout win. Texas right wing Colton Sceviour scored a goal and added an assist as the Stars fell to 1-4-0-1 against Houston this year.

Oklahoma City 3 at Texas 4 12/20/10

The Texas Stars defeated the Oklahoma City Barons 4-3 on Monday night in front of 6,611 fans at Cedar Park Center. Stars' left wing Francis Wathier and defenseman Maxime Fortunus each recorded multiple-point efforts in the win. Oklahoma City right wing Colin McDonald added his 15th goal of the season while defenseman Shawn Belle had a multi-point night with a goal and an assist. Texas goalie Richard Bachman (11-5-1) stopped 20 of 23 shots in the victory. Oklahoma City goalie Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers (4-5-2) stopped 25 of 29 shots in the loss.

The Texas Stars

After 34 games of action, center Travis Morin leads Texas in scoring with 13 goals and 28 points. Right wing Greg Rallo is second on the team in scoring with 21 points (11g-10a) in 34 games played. Left wing Francis Wathier is third on the club with 20 points. Wathier is second in goals scored (12) and leads the team lead with six power-play goals. Right wing Colton Sceviour is fourth on the team in points with 18 (6g -12a). Fabian Brunnstrom and Dan Spang are tied for fifth overall on the team with 15 points each. Spang leads all defensemen in points and shots on goal (76). Defensemen Spang, Brad Lukowich and Philip Larsen are all tied for second on the team with 12 assists each. Left wing Luke Gazdic's 61 penalty minutes lead the team.

Texas Stars goalies Richard Bachman and Tyler Beskorowany fill the net for Texas. Brent Krahn is currently out with an injury. Bachman has appeared in 21 games, going 12-5-2 with a 2.09 goals against average and a .930 save percentage. Bachman ranks seventh overall in the AHL for goals against average and sixth in save percentage. From Nov. 16 - Dec. 7, Bachman started 10 of 11 games before receiving a call up to Dallas. He has started six straight games since returning from the NHL. During his absence, Beskorowany played in five straight games, stopping 144 of 154 (.935 %) in his last four games. Overall, Beskorowany is 2-4-0 with a 3.36 goals against average and a .910 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.

Milestones

A few Texas Stars will hit some milestones this weekend and within the next week. On Thursday night, defenseman Maxime Fortunus will play in his 400th AHL game. Fortunus also played in his 100th game with Texas on December 18th against Hamilton at Cedar Park Center. Forward Mathieu Tousignant will play in his 100th professional game on Thursday evening. Defenseman Trevor Ludwig played in his 100th AHL game last Sunday in Houston. Defenseman Matt Stephenson is sitting at 99 AHL games, while right wing Greg Rallo recently played in his 100th game with Texas on December 18th against Hamilton at home. Rallo needs 11 more games to reach his 300th pro game. Francis Wathier is four games shy of his 300th pro game.

Points from the Defense

The Texas Stars defensive core has accounted for seven total goals this season (7%), including three on the power play. Dan Spang leads the way with three goals, followed by Maxime Fortunus' two tallies. Captain Brad Lukowich and Severin Blindenbacher each have one goal this season. Second-year Stars Trevor Ludwig and Matt Stephenson, as well as rookie Philip Larsen have yet to score their first goal of the year. Last year, the Texas defense accounted for a total of 45 goals (18.9%), including 17 on the power play. Maxime Fortunus led the way with a career-high of 11, followed by Andrew Hutchinson (9), Garrett Stafford (7), Ivan Vishnevskiy (8), Dan Jancevski (3), Brad Lukowich (3), Trevor Ludwig (3) and Ethan Graham (1),

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 14 players from last year's squad, including both goalies and five defensemen. Offensively, forward Matt Keith leads Abbotsford with 12 goals and is tied for the team lead with 17 points in 34 games played. The former Rockford IceHog leads the club with 93 shots on net and four power-play goals. Right wing Greg Nemisz is second on the squad with nine tallies and he is tied for first with 17 points in 34 games of action. Rookie defenseman T.J Brodie leads the team with 13 assists and is third on the team with 14 points in 28 games played. Brodie has a team-high eight power-play assists. Defenseman Keith Seabrook (4g-9a) and rookie center Lance Bouma (7g-6a) are tied for fourth in team scoring with 13 points each. The Heat are without Carter Bancks, who racked up 12 points in 18 games. Right wing J.D. Watt leads the team with 73 penalty minutes in 27 games played.

In net, the Heat feature Leland Irving and Matt Keetley. Irving has seen the bulk of the workload in net with 28 appearances. The former first round pick of Calgary is 15-10-1 with a 2.27 goals against average, a .913 save percentage and three shutouts. Irving ranks among the league leaders in wins (1st), minutes played (1st - 1,609), goals against average (10th), shutouts (T-2nd), saves (4th - 642) and shootout wins (1st - 5). Keetley 0-5-1 in seven appearances this season, sporting a 3.38 goals against average and a .864 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 skaters Gord Baldwin (D), J.D. Watt (RW) and Hugo Carpentier (C).

Special Teams

After finishing second overall last season on the penalty kill, the Stars rank 27th overall at 77.9%. Texas sits 20th in the AHL, converting 16.5 % of its power plays. The Heat are 28th overall on the power play, converting 12.4% of the time. Abbotsford is 25th in the AHL on the penalty kill, stopping 79.9% of its opponents' power plays.

Offense and Defense

The Texas Stars are tenth overall in team defense, allowing 2.74 goals against per game. Texas is ranked 16th out of 30 teams, scoring an average of 2.94 goals per game. Abbotsford's defense ranks ninth overall with a 2.68 goals against per game. The Heat sit 29th out of 30 offensively, averaging 2.32 goals per game.

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