AHL Texas Stars

Gameday Preview - Texas at Abbotsford

Published on March 4, 2012 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Texas Stars News Release


Texas Stars (24-28-2-2, 52 points) at Abbotsford Heat (31-21-3-2, 67 points)

Texas and Abbotsford meet for the seventh time this season. The matinee game marks the final visit of the season to Abbotsford for Texas. The Heat leads the season series after sweeping the first four games and taking five of six. Texas's lone win came on on Jan. 11, a 2-1 win at home. The Stars are 1-4-0-1 against Abbotsford this season. The Stars and the Heat will play a total of eight games this season. Sunday is the 15th all-time meeting in AHL history between the two teams; Texas is 5-7-0-2 in the previous 14 meetings. Abbotsford is 9-5-0-0 all-time against Texas. The Heat is currently tied for the fourth spot of the Western Conference playoff race. Texas is 12 points back of the eighth and final playoff spot.

Texas has four wins in its last ten games, going 4-6-0-0 over that span. The team is coming off a 2 -1 loss in Abbotsford on Fri d ay night . The Stars will play a pair of road games in Abbotsford over the weekend prior to returning home for a season-long seven-game home stand. Texas is 10-19-0-1 on the road this season. After starting the season 7-5-0-0 away from home, the team has struggled with a 3-14-0-1 record over the last 18 road games. The Stars have lost a team record eight straight road games after picking up their last victory on foreign ice at Chicago on Jan. 18. Texas is in the middle of a crucial stretch of division games, where the team will play eight out of nine games against division foes. The Stars are 12-18-0-2 against the West Division. Texas' scoring has been spread out evenly this season, with 45 first-period tallies and 64 second-period markers. Since Dec. 3 (last 36 games), Texas has outscored the opposition 46-35 in the second period after getting outscored in the middle frame 26-18 in the first 20 games. The Stars lead the opposition in second-period scoring with a 64-64 edge. The club has been outscored by the opposing team 181-164 for the season. Texas is 12th in the league with a 2.93 goals per game average and it ranks 28th defensively with a 3.23 goals against average. The Stars are 15-0-1-1 when leading after two periods of play, but they are 3-24-0-0 when trailing after two periods of play. The team is 12-11-2-2 in games decided by one goal this season. Texas and Manchester are tied for second in the AHL with five overtime wins this season, going 5 (OTW)-2 (OTL)-2 (SOW)-2 (SOL) when tied after regulation. The Stars are tied for second in the AHL with ten shorthanded goals this season.

Abbotsford returned home from a five-game road trip with a 2-1 win over Texas on Friday night. The game marked the beginning of a six-game home stand with visits from Texas, Houston and Peoria. The Heat is 11-11-3-0 at home this season and 5-3-0-2 in the last ten games played. Abbotsford has picked up points in four straight games (3-0-0-1). The visitors have outscored the Heat at home this season, posting a 67-54 advantage. Since January 6th, the team is 9-12-1-2 after starting the year 22-9-2-0. The club is 20-3-2-1 when scoring the first goal of the night. Abbotsford is 13-9-1-0 against the West Division this season. The Heat is 6-5-3-0 in one-goal games at home this year. Abbotsford is tied for the AHL lead with six shootout wins this season (6-2). The club has produced the most goals this season in the second period, besting the opposition 50-48 in the middle frame. The team has 38 first-period goals and 41 third-period tallies. Abbotsford sits third best in the AHL with a 2.51 goals against average and the team places 30th in the league with a 2.42 goals per game average. The Heat is 13-1-1-1 when leading after one period and 17-2-0-1 when leading after two. They are 17-10-0-0 when outshooting the opposition and 14-7-2-0 when tied after one period of play. The team ranks among the top ten in the AHL with 17 one-goal victories this season (17-7-3-2).

In the previous six games between the teams, Abbotsford outscored Texas 16-10, including a 3-2 shootout win in the first meeting of the season. Goalie Leland Irving was the biggest difference in the first two games, stopping 69 of 72 (95.8%). Goalie Danny Taylor has stopped 131 of 135 shots (.971) in four starts. Texas is 3-for-32 on the power play against Abbotsford and 14-for-18 on the penalty kill. Jon Rheault leads all scorers with seven points in five games against Texas. Stars center Travis Morin has five assists in six games versus Abbotsford.

Texas Stars

Center Travis Morin and winger Matt Fraser lead Texas in scoring. Morin is the clubhouse leader with a team-record 40 assists and 48 points in his first 56 games played. He ranks in the top ten of the AHL for assists. Rookie forward Matt Fraser is second in scoring with 43 points in 53 games. He leads the team with 26 goals scored and 187 shots on net. Fraser sits in the top five of the AHL for goals scored. Fraser is sixth overall among all rookies in points and first in shots. He needs one goal to tie the Stars single-season record of 27 goals in one season - set twice (Aaron Gagnon - 09-10 and Greg Rallo 10-11). Ryan Garbutt was called up on Friday, February 17th, scoring his first NHL goal in his third NHL game at Montreal. Garbutt had 16 goals and 33 points in 50 games with Texas at the time of his recall.

Colton Sceviour, Francis Wathier and Scott Glennie round out the top scorers for Texas. Colton Sceviour is second on the team with 25 assists and he is third with 39 points. Sceviour has a point in 13 straight home games, dating back to Dec. 27. Francis Wathier is tied with Luke Gazdic for the team lead in penalty minutes with 80 each. Scott Glennie is fourth overall on the team with 31 points off 12 goals and 19 assists in 52 games played. Wathier has 12 goals and 18 assists for 30 points in 55 games played.

Jordie Benn leads all defenders and he ranks in the top ten of the AHL among defensemen with nine goals. He also is first among Texas blueliners with 25 points in 52 games played. Veteran Brad Lukowich is second among team defenders with 22 points off 18 assists and four goals in 49 games played. Dan Spang is tied second on the team for assists among all defenders with 17. Brenden Dillon is tied for second among all defensemen with 17 assists and he is first among D-men with 73 penalty minutes. Veteran defender Maxime Fortunus has 17 points in 49 games. He is the highest scoring defenseman in team history with 74 points.

Goalies Andrew Raycroft and Tyler Beskorowany split time in net for Texas. Raycroft is 8-9-1 with a 3.07 goals against average and a .895 save percentage in 18 starts for the Stars. Raycroft has been pulled from each of his last two road starts (at OKC on 2/22 and at RCH on 2/10). Beskorowany is 8-14-0 with a 3.24 goals against average and a .892 save percentage. Beskorwany has stopped 180 of the last 198 shots (.909) in his last five starts.

Special Teams

The Stars have converted 54 of 259 power plays for a 20.8% conversion rate, as Texas is fourth overall in power play percentage. The Stars have killed off 178 of 217 opponents' power plays (82.0%), ranking 17th overall on the penalty kill. Texas has the fewest penalty kills in the AHL. The Heat is second in the AHL on the penalty kill, stopping 85.9% of their opponents' power plays. Overall, Abbotsford ranks 18th in the AHL on the power play after going 39-for-226 (17.3%).

The Abbotsford Heat

Recently acquired defenseman Brian Connelly is tied for the team-lead in scoring with a team-high 36 assists and 41 points through 54 games played. Connelly was picked up in a trade between Calgary and Chicago, sending him to the Heat from Rockford. In his first ten games with Abbotsford, Connelly has five assists. He played in 44 games with Rockford, scoring five goals and totaling 36 points. Connelly ranks second in the AHL for points and assists by a defenseman. Forward Krys Kolanos returns to the Heat after a ten-game stint with the Calgary Flames. He posted one assists and two penalty minutes with the Flames. Kolanos paces Abbotsford in scoring with 19 goals and 22 assists for 41 points in 35 games. He leads the team with 176 shots on goal, nine power-play goals and eight first goals. Veteran center Ben Walter is second on the team with 27 assists and third in points with 40 points in 57 games played. Right wing Jon Rheault is third on the team with 15 goals and fifth overall in scoring with 30 points in 41 games played. Right wing Hugh Jessiman recently joined the Heat after his PTO was not renewed mid-season by the Lake Erie Monsters. Prior to his departure from Cleveland, Jessiman had 21 goals and 29 points in 50 games played. In his first seven games with the Heat, he has a goal and four points. Defenseman Clay Wilson helps round out the Heat's scoring. Wilson has 22 assists and 33 points in 51 games played. He is second among all AHL defenders with 11 goals and eighth overall in points by a defender.

In net, the Heat sport goalie Danny Taylor as Leland Irving was called up to Calgary recently. After starting the year in Springfield, Taylor is 11-9-1 with a 2.40 goals against average and a .928 save percentage with Abbotsford. Overall, he is 16-12-1 with a 2.45 GAA and a .924 save percentage. Leland Irving has split his time this season between Calgary and Abbotsford. In 28 games with the Heat, he is 17-9-1 with a 2.31 goals against average and a .915 save percentage. In five games with the Flames, Irving went 1-1-3 with a 3.26 goals against average and a .915 save percentage.

Sawada Sent to St. John's, Forney and Weller Added to Texas

The Texas Stars announced numerous roster moves on Friday afternoon. The Dallas Stars have reassigned right wing Raymond Sawada from the Texas Stars to the St. John's IceCaps, the AHL affiliate of the NHL's Winnipeg Jets. In return, Winnipeg reassigned forward Michael Forney from the Colorado Eagles (ECHL) to the Texas Stars, Dallas' AHL affiliate. In a separate AHL deal, St. John's traded forward Shawn Weller to the Texas Stars for future considerations.

Forney is a third-year pro who spent the bulk of this season with the Colorado Eagles of the ECHL. In 53 games with Colorado, he scored 20 goals and totaled 51 points. He ranked fourth in goals and in assists for Colorado. The 23-year old was scoreless in three games with St. John's this year. Forney played for Texas Head Coach Jeff Pyle in Gwinnett from 2009-11, compiling 32 goals and 60 assists for 92 points in 129 games. Forney also played in 12 games for the AHL's Chicago Wolves, picking up two assists. Prior to turning pro, Forney played two seasons at the University of North Dakota from 2006-08. The Thief River Falls, MN native was drafted in the third round (#80 overall) by Atlanta in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Weller is fifth-year pro out of Glens Falls, NY. The 6-foot-2, 205 pounder has played in 41 games for St. John's this season, scoring ten goals and setting up 14 others for a total of 24 points. In 273 AHL games, the 25-year old has 42 goals and 42 assists for 84 points with St. John's, Abbotsford, Manitoba and Binghamton. Weller was drafted in the third round (#77 overall) by Ottawa in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

Over the last three seasons, Sawada has played in 143 games for the Texas Stars. During his time in Cedar Park, the 27-year old scored 25 goals and added 39 assists for 64 points. He also played in 30 Calder Cup Playoff games for the Stars, including the 2010 run the Calder Cup Finals. Dallas drafted Sawada in the second round (#52 overall) in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

LAST THREE GAMES

Texas 1 at Abbotsford 2 3/2/12

The Texas Stars were defeated by th e Abbotsford Heat 2-1 in front of 3,609 fans at the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre on Friday night. Heat forwards Krys Kolanos and Ben Walter each scored a power-play goal 2:27 apart in the first five minutes of the game and Abbotsford goalie Danny Taylor took care of the rest, stopping 22 of 23 Texas shots for the win. Texas goalie Andrew Raycroft (8-9-1) suffered the loss despite making a game-high 27 saves. Forward Angelo Esposito scored the team's lone goal in the defeat, as Texas fell to 10-19-0-1 on the road this season.

Houston 5 at Texas 2 2/25/12

The Texas Stars were defeated by the Houston Aeros 5-2 in front of 6,429 fans at the Cedar Park Center on Saturday night. Aeros center Chad Rau led the way, scoring one goal and setting up two others, helping his team end a four-game winless skid. Veteran forward Jeff Taffe also netted two goals, as Houston improved to 6-2-2-1 against Texas this season. Houston goalie Matt Hackett stopped 21 of 23 shots for the win. Stars' defenseman Jordie Benn registered two assists. Defenseman Brenden Dillon and right wing Colton Sceviour each scored for the Stars. Texas goalie Tyler Beskorowany ( 8-14-0) stopped 32 of 37 shots as the Stars lost.

Houston 2 at Texas 3 2/24/12

The Texas Stars defeated the Houston Aeros 3-2 in front of 5,654 fans at the Cedar Park Center on Friday night. Texas goalie Tyler Beskorowany stopped 39 of 41 shots to hold off Houston and give his team the win. Stars' left wing Francis Wathier scored the game-winning goal early in the third period. Two Texas skaters had multi-point nights. Center Scott Glennie registered a goal and an assist, while right wing Colton Sceviour put up two assists in the win. Center Angelo Esposito also scored for the Stars, who picked up their 11 th home win in the last 15 tries. Aeros' forward Justin Fontaine added two assists in the loss. Defenseman Kris Fredheim and right wing Jon DiSalvatore scored for the Aeros. Houston goalie Darcy Kuemper stopped 30 of 33 shots as the Aeros fell to 16-10-0-3 on the road.

What's Ahead:

DATE OPPONENT TIME RADIO

Sunday, March 4 at Abbotsford 3:00 PM (CT) 104.9 FM

Wednesday, March 7 vs. Grand Rapids 7:30 PM 104.9 FM

Friday, March 9 vs. San Antonio 7:30 PM 104.9 FM

Saturday, March 10 vs. San Antonio 7:00 PM 104.9 FM

* All times listed are central time

Check out the Texas Stars Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from March 4, 2012


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