AHL Texas Stars

Gameday Preview - Texas at Abbotsford

Published on December 29, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Texas Stars News Release


Texas Stars (14-14-0-1, 29 points) at Abbotsford Heat (20-9-2-0, 42 points)

Texas and Abbotsford meet for the third of eight total meetings this season. The two teams will play a pair of games in Abbotsford, starting on Thursday and ending on Friday night at the Abbotsford Sports and Entertainment Centre. Texas hosted Abbotsford for a pair of games in mid-November, with the Heat sweeping the weekend series. Texas is 0-1-0-1 against Abbotsford this season. Thursday is the 11th all-time meeting in AHL history between the two teams; Texas is 4-4-0-2 in the previous ten 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 has taken the last four meetings between the clubs, dating back to last season. Abbotsford is three points back of first place Oklahoma City and one point back of Houston in the West Division. Overall, the Heat has the eighth highest point total in the AHL. Texas is one point back of fourth-place San Antonio in the West Division.

The Stars have six wins in their last ten games, going 6-4-0-0 over that span. Texas is coming off a 3-2 overtime win at home over San Antonio on Tuesday night at Cedar Park Center. The Stars have taken four of the last six games (4-2-0-0) and six of the last nine (6-3-0-0). The Stars are 8-7-0-0 on the road this season, having been outscored by their opponents 45-42 on the scoreboard. Texas has taken three of the last five road games. The Stars are 7-10-0-1 against the West Division this season. The team is in the middle of a stretch where nine of ten games will be against division rivals. The Stars' next three games will be against division rivals. Texas' scoring has been spread out evenly this season, with 28 first-period tallies and 31 second-period markers. The Stars have been outscored in second period of play 33-31 and 87-86 overall. Texas is 11th in the league with a 2.97 goals per game average. The team has 42 goals over its last 17 games. The Stars are 10-0-0-1 when leading after two periods of play, but they are 1-13-0-0 when trailing after two periods of play. Texas picked up its first win of the season when trailing after two periods of play with a 3-2 OT win at home on Tuesday over San Antonio. The team is 7-6-0-1 in games decided by one goal this season. Texas leads the AHL with five overtime wins this season, going 5-0-0-1 when tied after regulation. The Stars are tied for the AHL lead with five shorthanded goals this season.

Abbotsford has dropped two out of the last three games after rattling off a season-long six-game winning streak from Dec. 2 to Dec. 16, The Heat recently lost 5-2 in Chicago on Dec. 22. Abbotsford is 7-2-1-0 in the last ten games played and 5-5-2-0 at home this season. The team leads the AHL with 15 road wins this season. The Heat has been outscored 32-26 in 12 home games this season, while outscoring its opponents 55-43 on the road. Abbotsford is tied for the league lead with five shootout wins this season (5-0). The Heat is 13-3-1-0 when scoring the game's first goal of the night. The club has produced the most goals this season in the second period, besting the opposition 31-21 in the middle frame. The team has 22 first period goals and 21 third period tallies. Abbotsford sits second best in the AHL with a 2.42 goals against average and they place 24th in the league with a 2.64 goals per game average. The Heat is 7-1-0-0 when leading after one period and 11-2-0-0 when leading after two. They are 12-5-0-0 when outshooting the opposition and 10-2-2-0 when tied after one period of play. The team is tied for third in the AHL with 11 one-goal victories this season (11-2-2-0).

In the previous two games between the teams, Abbotsford outscored Texas 6-3, including a 3-2 shootout win in the first meeting of the season. Goalie Leland Irving was the biggest difference, stopping 69 of 72 (95.8%) Texas shots over two nights. In the first meeting, he stopped 34 of 36 and did not allow a goal on three shootout attempts. The Heat posted a two-goal rally in the third period to force the shootout, including a goal in the last minute to tie the game 2-2. Abbotsford outscored Texas 3-1 in the middle period of the second game, hanging on for the two-goal win behind 35 saves from Irving. Texas is 1-for-13 on the power play against Abbotsford and 7-for-8 on the penalty kill.

Stars Add Ian Lowe From Idaho

The Texas Stars announced on Tuesday the team has signed center Ian Lowe to a PTO (professional tryout agreement).

Lowe played the first 30 games of his pro career with the Idaho Steelheads, Texas' ECHL affiliate. The 5-foot-9, 175-pound center was third on the team with 12 assists and 19 points. The 24-year-old rookie played the last four years at Bemidji State University. In 142 WCHA games, Lowe netted 37 goals and set up 42 for 79 collegiate points.

What's Ahead:

DATE OPPONENT TIME RADIO

Thursday, December 29 at Abbotsford 9:00 PM (CT) 92.5 FM

Friday, December 30 at Abbotsford 9:00 PM (CT) 92.5 FM

Friday, January 6 at San Antonio 7:00 PM 104.9 FM

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

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

* All times listed are central time

LAST THREE GAMES

San Antonio 2 at Texas 3 OT 12/27/11

The Texas Stars defeated the San Antonio Rampage 3-2 in overtime in front of a sellout crowd of 6,863 fans at the Cedar Park Center on Tuesday night. Texas right wing Colton Sceviour scored the game-winning goal 2:40 into overtime to lift the Stars past San Antonio. Left wing Matt Fraser netted the first two goals, as the Stars rallied from a one-goal deficit heading into the third period. Texas goalie Tyler Beskorowany stopped 24 shots as the Stars improved to 6-7-0-1 at home. Rampage left wing Eric Selleck and center James Wright each scored for San Antonio as they fell to 6-6-2-0 on the road. San Antonio goalie Dov Grumet-Morris stopped 31 shots as Texas outshot San Antonio 34 to 26.

Texas 3 at Houston 2 12/21/11

The Texas Stars defeated the Houston Aeros 3-2 in front of 5,741 fans at the Toyota Center on Wednesday night. Stars forward Ryan Garbutt scored twice over a 1:08 span of the second period, erasing a one-goal deficit and pushing Texas to victory. Stars goalie Tyler Beskorowany turned aside 27 Houston shots, including nine in the third period, giving the club its third win at Toyota Center this season. Defenseman Hubert Labrie also added a goal for Texas, as the team improved to 8-7-0-0 on the road this year. Houston goalie Matt Hackett suffered the loss with 22 saves.

Texas 2 at San Antonio 4 12/18/11

The Texas Stars were defeated by t he San Antonio Rampage 4-2 in front of 5,339 fans at AT&T Center on Sunday. Forward Bill Thomas led San Antonio to its third win over Texas, scoring twice and setting up one other for three points. San Antonio goalie Jacob Markstrom stopped 45 of 47 Stars shots, including 35 in the last two periods combined. Stars rookie forward Matt Fraser extended his points streak to seven games, scoring his team-leading 14th goal of the year. Forward Ondrej Roman also scored, as Texas fell to 7-7-0-0 on the road this season. Texas goalie Tyler Beskorowany stopped 29 shots in the defeat.

Texas Stars

Center Travis Morin and winger Matt Fraser lead Texas in scoring. Morin is the clubhouse leader with 23 assists and 27 points in his first 29 games played. He ranks in the top ten of the AHL for assists and he is among the AHL leaders with 11 power-play helpers. Morin recently ran a string of five straight road games with an assist. He has nine assists in his last 10 games played. Rookie forward Matt Fraser is second in scoring with 24 points in 29 games. He leads the team with 16 goals scored and 106 shots on net. Fraser is tied for second in the AHL with eight power-play goals and he is tied for fourth overall in the AHL in rookie scoring. He ranks second among all first-year skaters with 16 goals and he is first in shots on goal. Fraser has a nine-game scoring streak, potting seven goals and 11 points over that span. The run is 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 29 games played. Center Ryan Garbutt has 19 points (6g-13a) in 29 games. Garbutt leads Texas with 50 penalty minutes, followed by Luke Gazdic, who has 47 minutes in 29 games played. Garbutt leads Texas and is tied for third in the AHL with 20 minor penalties. The second-year forward has four goals and six points in his last five games. Right wing Raymond Sawada is fifth overall in team scoring with six goals and ten assists for 16 points in 25 games played. Forward Mike Hedden has four assists and six points in his last ten games played.

Jordie Benn leads all Texas defensemen in scoring with seven goals and 14 points in 29 games played. He ranks tied for second in goals scored among all AHL defensemen. Benn has not recorded a point in his last eight games, his longest drought of the year. Veteran defenseman Dan Spang is tied for first among all Texas defenseman with 14 points off two goals and 12 assists in 29 games. Spang recorded his 100th career AHL assist on Tuesday night's game-winning goal in overtime against San Antonio. Rookie Brenden Dillon (2-11-13) is tied with Spang in points and he is first among D-men with 34 penalty minutes. Defender Maxime Fortunus has ten points in 25 games, while Captain Brad Lukowich has eight points in 25 games played.

Goalies Tyler Beskorowany and Jimmy Spratt split time in net for Texas, while goalie Richard Bachman remains on recall to Dallas. Beskorowany is 6-8-0 with a 2.72 goals against average and a .902 save percentage. Since Bachman's recall, Beskorwany has started nine of the last ten games, going 5-4-0 with a 2.45 goals against average and a .907 save percentage. Spratt made his AHL debut on December 17, netting his first AHL win with 14 saves in a 6-2 win over Rochester.

Special Teams

The Stars have converted 28 of 140 power plays for a 20% conversion rate. The Stars have failed to register a power-play goal in 13 of their first 29 games. The team has experienced a bit of a slump on the extra-man advantage, going one for the last 34 power plays since December 3. Texas has scored more than one power-play goal nine times this season. The Stars are tied for sixth in the league with 28 power-play goals this season. Texas ranks tenth overall in power play percentage at 20%. The Stars have killed off 98 of 116 opponents' power plays (84.5%), ranking fifth overall on the penalty kill. The Stars have killed off 58 of the last 63 penalties (92.1%). The Heat is second overall in the AHL on the penalty kill, stopping 86.3% of their opponents' power plays. Overall, Abbotsford ranks fifth in the AHL on the power play after going 28-for-134 (20.9%).

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 from 2007-10. He has the Heat off to its best start in team history.

Forward Krys Kolanos leads the Heat offense with a team-high 15 goals and 30 points in 22 games played this season. He also leads the team with seven power-play goals, 12 power-play points and 107 shots on goal. The former first round pick of Phoenix (19th overall in 2000) has seven goals and 13 points in his last ten games played. The 30-year old winger has at least one point in nine of his last ten contests. His 30 points place him eighth in the league scoring race. Veteran center Ben Walter is second on the Heat with a team-high 16 assists and 22 points in 31 games played. Walter leads the team with ten power-play assists this year.

Right wing Jon Rheault is second on the team with ten goals and third overall in scoring with 21 points in 28 games played. He is second on the team with 74 shots on goal. Rookie Dustin Sylvester is fourth among forwards with 17 points in 30 games played. In his first pro season, Sylvester has seven goals and ten assists.

Clay Wilson leads all Abbotsford defensemen with 20 points in 31 games played. The offensive defender has six assists and eight points in his last ten games. Wilson ranks fourth in points among all AHL defensemen and he ranks in the top ten for assists. His six goals rank tied for fourth among defensemen. Fellow defenseman Brendan Mikkelson is second among Heat defenders with 14 points in 31 games played. Jordan Hendry is third overall on the team with 51 penalty minutes in 30 games played. He ranks tied for second among all AHL blueliners with 18 minor penalties this year.

In net, the Heat sport goalies Danny Taylor and Joni Ortio. Longtime netminder Leland Irving is on recall to Calgary after a great start. Irving was 15-7-0 with a 2.35 goals against average, three shutouts and a .914 save percentage with Abbotsford. Danny Taylor signed with the Heat on Dec. 2, joining the team after ten games in Springfield. Taylor is 5-2-0 with a 2.11 goals against average and a .935 save percentage with Abbotsford. Overall, he is 10-5-0 with a 2.37 GAA and a .924 save percentage. Joni Ortio backs up Taylor in the Abbotsford crease. The Finnish native was drafted by Calgary in the sixth round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft (#171 overall). Ortio is 0-2-0 with a 3.19 goals against average and a.857 save percentage. Taylor has started the last seven games and Ortio has not played since a 7-3 loss at Milwaukee in late November.

Check out the Texas Stars Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from December 29, 2011


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