AHL Texas Stars

Gameday Preview - Texas at Chicago

Published on January 18, 2012 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Texas Stars News Release


Texas Stars (17-18-1-2, 37 points) at Chicago Wolves (21-13-1-3, 46 points)

The Stars and the Wolves meet for the third time this season. The Wolves lead the season series by taking both meetings against Texas this season. This marks the 17th all-time meeting between the two teams that will play a total of four games this season. Texas is making its final appearance at Allstate Arena. Chicago will be in Cedar Park for the series-season finale in April. Texas took the season series last year by posting a 6-0-0-0 mark against the Wolves. The Stars lead the all-time series with a 10-5-1-0 record against the Wolves, including a 6-2-0-0 mark in Chicago. Chicago is currently locked in a division race with the Charlotte Checkers, while the Stars are battling for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

The Stars have four wins in their last ten games, going 4-4-1-1 over that span. Texas is coming off a 2-0 loss at Rockford on Monday. Texas has back-to-back losses after posting a season-high five- game Points streak (3-0-1-1). Texas concludes an eight-day road trip in Chicago on Wednesday. The team also made stops in Grand Rapids, Milwaukee and Rockford. The Stars are 9-11-0-1 on the road this season, having been outscored by their opponents 64-56 on the scoreboard. Texas ended a three-game winless skid (0-2-0-1) on the road on Friday night with the win. The team has one road win in the last six attempts. The Stars are 8-12-0-2 against the West Division this season. The team is 6-6-1-0 against the Midwest Division this year. Texas' scoring has been spread out evenly this season, with 37 first-period tallies and 42 second-period markers. Since Dec. 3 (last 18 games), Texas has outscored the opposition 24-13 in the second period after getting outscored in the middle frame 26-18 in the previous 20 games. The Stars lead the opposition in second-period scoring with a 42-39 edge. The club has been outscored 115-111 overall. Texas is 14th in the league with a 2.96 goals per game average. Texas ranks 23rd defensively with a 3.03 goals against average. The Stars are 12-0-1-1 when leading after two periods of play, but they are 1-16-0-0 when trailing after two periods of play. The team is 8-8-1-2 in games decided by one goal this season. Texas leads the AHL with five overtime wins this season, going 5-0-1-2 when tied after regulation. The Stars is fourth in the AHL with seven shorthanded goals this season.

The Wolves are coming off a 5-3 loss at home to Lake Erie on Saturday night. The defeat ended a five-game winning streak for Chicago. The Wolves are 7-4-0-0 over the last ten games and they have a 12-6-0-2 mark at home this season. The team has outscored the opposition 55-37 at home this season. Chicago has 22 goals in the last six games played. Chicago ranks eighth best in the AHL defensively, allowing only 2.58 goals per game. Offensively, the Wolves are 13th best in the league with 2.92 goals per game. The second period has proven to be the team's best this season. Chicago is outscoring teams 45-33 in the middle frame. The Wolves are 7-8-1-0 against the West Division this season.

Texas Stars

Center Travis Morin and winger Matt Fraser lead Texas in scoring. Morin is the clubhouse leader with 28 assists and 33 points in his first 38 games played. He ranks in the top ten of the AHL for assists and power-play helpers. He has six assists and seven points in his last 10 games played. Rookie forward Matt Fraser is second in scoring with 30 points in 37 games. He leads the team with 20 goals scored and 135 shots on net. Fraser is tied for second in the AHL with nine power-play goals and he is tied for fourth overall in the AHL in rookie scoring. The All-Star ranks second among all first-year skaters with 20 goals and he is first in shots on goal by a rookie. He has eight points in his last nine games. Forwards Colton Sceviour, Francis Wathier and Ryan Garbutt round out the top scorers for Texas. Center Ryan Garbutt has 25 points (9g-16a) in 38 games. Garbutt leads the team with 61 penalty minutes, followed by Luke Gazdic's 57 minutes. Garbutt is tied for the AHL lead with three shorthanded assists this year. Without a point on Monday, Colton Sceviour saw his six-game scoring streak come to an end. Sceviour has four goals and ten assists in his last ten games. Rookie center Scott Glennie has eight points in his last six games, scoring four goals and setting up four others.

Jordie Benn, Dan Spang and veteran Brad Lukowich are tied for the team lead in points by a defensemen; each defender has 15 points on the season. Dan Spang leads all Texas defenseman with 13 assists in 37 games. Lukowich has seven points in his last seven games. The 16-year pro played in his 1,000th pro game on Monday at Rockford. Rookie Brenden Dillon (2-12-14) is fourth in points and he is first among D-men with 43 penalty minutes. Veteran defender Maxime Fortunus has 12 points in 34 games.

Goalies Andrew Raycroft and Tyler Beskorowany split time in net for Texas. Raycroft was unbeaten in regulation (3-0-1) in his first four starts before suffering his first regulation loss on Saturday night in Milwaukee. He is 3-2-1 with a 2.32 goals against average and a .923 save percentage in six starts for the Stars. Beskorowany is 6-10-0 with a 3.08 goals against average and a .891 save percentage.

Special Teams

The Stars have converted 37 of 185 power plays for a 20% conversion rate, as Texas ranks eighth overall in power play percentage. The team has nine power-play goals over the last eight games - going 9-for-42 over that span. The Stars have killed off 123 of 148 opponents' power plays (83.1%), ranking 12th overall on the penalty kill. The Stars have killed off 85 of the last 97 penalties (87.6%). The Wolves are ninth in the AHL on the penalty kill, stopping 83.9% of their opponents' power plays. Overall, Chicago ranks 16th in the AHL on the power play after going 29-for-166 (17.5%).

The Chicago Wolves

The Wolves partnered up with Vancouver for a new affiliation agreement, which led to a coaching change. Craig MacTavish is behind the bench for the Wolves this season, after coaching the NHL's Edmonton Oilers from 2000-09. He finished his eight seasons with Edmonton going 301-252-47-56. MacTavish played center for 19 seasons for the Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers and St. Louis Blues .

Darren Haydar is the team's leading scorer through the first 38 games of action. The right wing leads the team in assists (23) and points (34). The 2007 AHL MVP has three assists and six points in his last six games played. He ranks in the top 20 of the AHL for points. Forward Mark Mancari helps pace the Wolves in scoring. He is second on the team with 32 points off a team-leading 16 goals and 16 assists. The 6-foot-4 winger has four goals and eight points in his last seven games played. He also leads the Wolves with 116 shots on goal. Forward Tim Miller is third on the club in scoring with 20 points in 37 games played. The third-year pro is third on the team in goals. Miller played for Texas coach Jeff Pyle in Gwinnett from 2009-11. The 24-year-old is tied for the team lead with a +8. Second-year center Jordan Schroeder is fourth on the squad, followed by Stephen Reinprecht. Schroeder has nine goals and 20 points in 38 games played, while Reinprecht has 16 assists and 20 points in 27 games played for Chicago. The veteran center was acquired after going scoreless in five games with San Antonio. He has

Kevin Connauton leads all Chicago defensemen in scoring with nine goals and 18 points in 38 games played. Overall, Connauton leads all AHL defenders in goals and he is third with 108 shots on goal. Chris Tanev is second among all Chicago defenders with 12 assists in 25 games played. Veteran Nolan Baumgartner is third with ten points in 24 games.

In net, the Wolves feature former Texas Star Matt Climie and Eddie Lack. Climie is 12-5-0 so far this year, sporting a 2.44 goals against average and a .927 save percentage. He has won six of his last seven starts. Climie played for Texas during the team's inaugural season in 2009-10. Lack is 9-9-3 with a 2.58 goals against average and a .917 save percentage. He was one of the top rookie goalies in the AHL last season with Manitoba, going 28-21-4 with a 2.26 goals against average and a .926 save percentage.

Dallas Returns Wathier to Texas

The Dallas Stars announced on Tuesday that the club has assigned forward Francis Wathier to the Texas Stars, Dallas' primary affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL).

Wathier, 27, went scoreless in his lone game with Dallas registering three hits in 5:25 of ice time. He leads the Texas Stars (AHL) with a +10 rating in 37 games, accumulating eight goals and 15 assists for 23 points.

Roman Traded by Dallas to Florida for Forward Esposito

The Dallas Stars announced on Friday that the club has traded left wing Ondrej Roman to the Florida Panthers in exchange for center Angelo Esposito.

Esposito, 22, has played in 16 games for the San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League (AHL) this season, collecting two goals and three assists totaling five points and eight penalty minutes. Prior to his professional hockey career, Esposito spent parts of four seasons with the Quebec Ramparts and the Montreal Juniors of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). He scored the game-winning goal at the 2009 World Junior Championships to secure the gold medal for Team Canada. The 6-0, 190-pound forward from Montreal, QC, was selected by Pittsburgh as the 20th overall pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

Roman, 22, has spent the majority of the season with the Texas Stars, Dallas' primary affiliate in the AHL collecting one goal and four assists totaling five points and four penalty minutes with the club. The 6-0, 185-pound forward was selected by Dallas in the fifth round (136th overall) in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

Dallas Reassigns Jace Coyle to Idaho

The Texas Stars announced on Thursday that defenseman Jace Coyle has been reassigned from the Texas Stars to the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL. The rookie defenseman has split time between Idaho and Texas this year, recording an assist in 17 games with the Stars this season. He also spent three games with Idaho in early December, setting up one goal for his lone ECHL point.

Dallas Assigns Jordie Benn

The Dallas Stars announced on Wednesday that the club has assigned defenseman Jordie Benn to the Texas Stars, Dallas' primary affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL).

Benn, 24, has played in two games for Dallas this season collecting one assist and one shot. He became the 10th player in Dallas Stars history to record his first NHL point in his first NHL game. Along with younger brother Jamie Benn, they became the third set of brothers in Dallas Stars history and the sixth in team history to play in an NHL game together. At the time of his recall, the defender had se ven 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, 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.

LAST THREE GAMES

Texas 0 at Rockford 2 1/16/12

The Texas Stars were defeated by the Rockford IceHogs 2-0 in front of 4,717 fans at the BMO Harris Bank Center on Monday afternoon. Rockford goalie Carter Hutton recorded his first shutout of the season, stopping all 31 Texas shots for the win. Texas goalie Andrew Raycroft made 32 saves in the defeat. IceHogs forward Brandon Svendson scored the eventual game-winning goal at 8:49 of the second period and Rockford added an insurance goal late in the third by Jeremy Morin. Texas Captain Brad Lukowich played in his 1,000th pro game in the defeat. Stars right wing Colton Sceviour had his six-game scoring streak snapped.

Texas 1 at Milwaukee 2 1/14/12

The Texas Stars were defeated by the Milwaukee Admirals 2-1 in front of 6,885 fans at the Bradley Center on Saturday night. Milwaukee goalie Jeremy Smith led the way with 25 saves off 26 Texas shots. Admirals Jusso Puustinen and Joel Champange scored 1:15 apart in the first period, helping the Milwaukee end a three-game losing streak. Stars goalie Andrew Raycroft stopped 23 shots in the defeat, as the team had its five-game points streak ended with the loss. Forward Mike Hedden scored the team's lone goal. Stars right wing Colton Sceviour continued his torrid pace, extending his points streak to six games with an assist.

Texas 6 at Grand Rapids 4 1/13/12

The Texas Stars defeated the Grand Rapids Griffins 6-4 in front of 8,791 fans at the Van Andel Arena on Friday night. Rookie Scott Glennie scored twice, including 21 seconds into the third period to break a 4-4 tie. Glennie also added an assist, propelling Texas back over .500 for the first time since November 11, 2011. Right wing Colton Sceviour added three assists, as the team extended its points streak to five games (3-0-1-1). In all, five Texas skaters and four Griffins finished with a multi-point night, as the two teams combined for six goals in the opening period. Stars goalie Andrew Raycroft stopped 27 shots to pick up the win.

What's Ahead:

DATE OPPONENT TIME RADIO

Wednesday, January 18 at Chicago 7:00 PM 104.9 FM

Friday, January 20 vs. Peoria 7:30 PM 104.9 FM

Saturday, January 21 vs. Houston 7:00 PM 104.9 FM

Friday, January 27 at San Antonio 7:00 PM 104.9 FM

Saturday, January 28 at Oklahoma City 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 January 18, 2012


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