AHL Texas Stars

Gameday Preview - Texas at Grand Rapids

Published on January 13, 2012 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Texas Stars News Release


Texas Stars (16-16-1-2, 35 points) at Grand Rapids Griffins (15-13-4-3, 37 points)

Texas and Grand Rapids meet for the first time this season. The two teams will play a total of four times this season. Friday's meeting marks the 13th all-time meeting between the two teams. Texas is 6-5-1-0 all-time against the Griffins, including a 3-3-0-0 record at Van Andel Arena. The Griffins lead the all-time series with a 6-4-0-2 record against the Stars, accruing a 3-1-0-2 record at home. Texas has taken the last three meetings dating back to a 3-2 shootout win at Van Andel Arena on Feb. 18, 2011. The Griffins enter the game in a tie for third place in the North Division, two points out of second place in the division. Grand Rapids is 11th in the Western Conference, as Texas is 13th. The Stars are one point behind San Antonio for fourth place in the West Division.

The Stars have five wins in their last ten games, going 5-3-1-1 over that span. Texas is coming off a 2-1 win at home over Abbotsford on Wednesday night. The win pushed the team's streak to four games with at least a point (2-0-1-1). The win was also the team's fifth in the last seven outings at Cedar Park Center. Texas begins an eight-day road trip that includes stops in Grand Rapids, Milwaukee, Rockford and Chicago. The trip ties an October roadie for games (4) and length of time spent on the road (8 days). The Stars are 8-9-0-1 on the road this season, having been outscored by their opponents 56-49 on the scoreboard. Texas is winless in the last three road games, going 0-2-0-1 over that span. The Stars are 8-12-0-2 against the West Division this season. The team is 2-0-0-0 against the North Division this year. Texas' scoring has been spread out evenly this season, with 34 first-period tallies and 40 second-period markers. Since Dec. 3 (last 15 games), Texas has outscored the opposition 22-12 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 40-38 edge. The club has been outscored 107-104 overall. Texas is 12th in the league with a 2.97 goals per game average. The team has 24 goals over its last eight games. Texas ranks 26th defensively with a 3.06 goals against average. The Stars are 12-0-1-1 when leading after two periods of play, but they are 1-14-0-0 when trailing after two periods of play. The team is 8-7-1-2 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 are tied for second in the AHL with six shorthanded goals this season.

The Griffins have been one of the hottest teams in the AHL with a seven-game points streak, going 3-0-3-1 over that span. Grand Rapids is 7-6-3-1 at home this season and 5-1-3-1 in the last ten games. Grand Rapids is coming off a 3-2 shootout loss at home on Wednesday night to the visiting Houston Aeros. The Griffins swept a pair of games in Abbotsford last weekend, outscoring the Heat 6-4 in the two games combined. In 17 home games, Grand Rapids has been outscored by its opponents 58-56. Overall, the team has been outscored 110-106. The Griffins have played more hockey than any other team in the AHL this season, leading the league with 12 overtime appearances. The team is 3-4-2-3 in games when tied after regulation. Grand Rapids is 12-5-0-3 when scoring the game's first goal. In 12 games against West Division foes, the Griffins are 3-5-2-1. The club is outscoring opponents 33-31 in the first period of play and has been outscored 42-38 in the second period of action. Grand Rapids is ranked eighth in the league offensively, averaging 3.03 goals per game. The Griffins are 27th in the AHL defensively, allowing 3.14 goals per game. Grand Rapids leads the league with 34.29 shots per game.

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 today 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.

Star Sign Connolly to PTO

The Texas Stars announced on Tuesday that the team has signed forward Brendan Connolly to a PTO (professional tryout agreement). The rookie forward made his Texas debut on Wednesday night in Cedar Park. Connolly was third overall in the ECHL scoring race, potting 20 goals and dishing out 23 assists for 43 points in 31 games with Greenville. At the time of his recall, Connolly led his team in goals, assists, points and penalty minutes (121). In 2010-11, Connolly played in three games for Adirondack of the AHL, going scoreless in his time with the Phantoms.

Texas Releases Goalie Spratt, Forward Lowe

The Texas Stars announced on Monday that the team has released forward Ian Lowe from a PTO (professional tryout agreement). Prior to Sunday's game, the Stars released goalie Jimmy Spratt from a PTO.

Lowe suited up in six games for the Stars from Dec. 27 - Jan. 8, failing to register a point in his time with Texas. The rookie forward 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 at the time of his recall.

Spratt played in two games for Texas, going 1-1-0 with a 2.02 goals against average and a .909 save percentage. Spratt is a third-year pro who started the season with the Idaho, going 5-5-0 with a 2.95 goals against average and a .920 save percentage over 12 games. He split last season between Toledo and Victoria of the ECHL, as well as Rapid City of the CHL. In all, Spratt made 20 appearances, going 9-7-1 with a 3.91 goals against average and a .873 save percentage. The Calgary Flames drafted the 26-year old in the seventh round (#213 overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

What's Ahead:

DATE OPPONENT TIME RADIO

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

Saturday, January 14 at Milwaukee 7:00 PM 104.9 FM

Monday, January 16 at Rockford 1:05 PM 92.5 FM

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

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

* All times listed are central time

LAST THREE GAMES

Abbotsford 1 at Texas 2 1/11/12

The Texas Stars defeated the Abbotsford Heat 2-1 in front of 3,640 fans at the Cedar Park Center on Wednesday night. Stars' right wing Colton Sceviour scored the game-winning goal with 12 seconds remaining in the third period. Forward Stephen Schultz also scored for Texas, extending the team's points streak to four games (2-0-1-1). Stars goalie Andrew Raycroft stopped 32 shots, as the Stars improved to 8-7-1-1 at home. Abbotsford goalie Danny Taylor stopped 29 of 30 shots faced in his first 40 minutes of play. Joni Ortio stopped 12 shots in relief, taking the loss for the Heat. Abbotsford center Quintin Laing scored the lone Heat.

Rockford 6 at Texas 5 OT 1/8/12

The Texas Stars were defeated by the Rockford IceHogs 6-5 in overtime in front of 5,179 fans at the Cedar Park Center on Sunday. Rockford center Brandon Pirri scored the game-winning goal just 1:02 into overtime. Five Texas skaters had multi-point nights in the OT defeat. Center Scott Glennie put up two goals and an assist, while left wing Matt Fraser and defenseman Brad Lukowich each registered a goal and an assist. Forwards Colton Sceviour and Travis Morin both had two assists for the Stars. Texas goalie Tyler Beskorowany stopped 29 shots in the loss.

Rockford 2 at Texas 4 1/7/12

The Texas Stars defeated the Rockford IceHogs 4-2 in front of 5,626 fans at the Cedar Park Center on Saturday night. Three Texas skaters had multi-point nights as the Stars picked up the win. Defenseman Brad Lukowich notched a goal and two assists while right wing Colton Sceviour added three assists. Left wing Francis Wathier registered a goal and an assist for Texas. IceHogs' defenseman Dylan Olsen put up two assists on the night. Texas goalie Andrew Raycroft stopped 25 of 27 shots in his first Texas win of the season. Rockford goalie Alex Richards stopped 27 of 30 shots as the IceHogs fell to 6-8-1-2 on the road.

Texas Stars

Center Travis Morin and winger Matt Fraser lead Texas in scoring. Morin is the clubhouse leader with 28 assists and 32 points in his first 35 games played. He ranks fifth in the AHL for assists and he is also fifth among AHLers with 14 power-play helpers. He has nine assists in his last 10 games played. Rookie forward Matt Fraser is second in scoring with 29 points in 34 games. He leads the team with 19 goals scored and 125 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 19 goals and he is first in shots on goal by a rookie. Fraser had a ten-game scoring streak end on Dec. 30 in Abbotsford. The run was the longest scoring streak in team history. He has 11 points in his last ten games. Forwards Francis Wathier, Colton Sceviour and Ryan Garbutt round out the top scorers for Texas. For the season, Wathier has seven goals and 14 assists for 21 points in 35 games played. Wathier leads the team with a +9. Center Ryan Garbutt has 22 points (8g-14a) in 35 games. Garbutt leads the team with 59 penalty minutes, followed by Luke Gazdic's 57 minutes. Garbutt is tied for the AHL lead with three shorthanded assists this year. With the GWG on Wednesay night, Colton Sceviour has now collected 11 points in his last ten games, scoring four goals and setting up seven others, to go along with a +8 .

Veteran defenseman Dan Spang leads all Texas defenseman with 15 points off two goals and 13 assists in 34 games. Rookie Brenden Dillon (2-12-14) is second in points and he is first among D-men with 43 penalty minutes. Veteran defender Maxime Fortunus has 11 points in 31 games, while Brad Lukowich has 13 points in 31 games. Lukowich has seven points in his last eight games. The 16-year pro is three games away from playing in his 1,000th pro game.

Goalies Andrew Raycroft and Tyler Beskorowany split time in net for Texas. Raycroft picked up his first win with Texas on Saturday night. He is 2-0-1 with a 1.95 goals against average and a .933 save percentage in three 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 34 of 169 power plays for a 20.0% conversion rate, as Texas ranks ninth overall in power play percentage. The team broke out of a 2-for-48 slump with six power-play goals over the last five games - going 6-for-25 over that span. The Stars have killed off 114 of 137 opponents' power plays (83.2%), ranking 13th overall on the penalty kill. The Stars have killed off 76 of the last 86 penalties (88.3%). The Griffins are 17th in the AHL on the penalty kill, stopping 82.5% of their opponents' power plays. Overall, Grand Rapids ranks 22nd in the AHL on the power play after going 27-for-167 (16.2%).

The Grand Rapids Griffins

Left wing Gustav Nyquist leads the Griffins in scoring with a team-high 23 assists and 32 points in 31 games played. Nyquist is one of three rookies to rank in the top 20 of the AHL scoring race. The 22-year old is third overall in the AHL rookie scoring race and first overall in assists by a first-year player. Third-year Griffin, Tomas Tatar is second overall in team scoring with 29 points in 35 games played. Tatar is second in goals (10) and assists (19). Center Jamie Johnson has nearly equaled his 2010-11 point total, posting27 points in his first 33 games played, including a team-high 14 tallied. Johnson recorded 38 points in 78 games last year. Detroit's first-round pick (27th overall in 2007), Brendan Smith leads all Grand Rapids defensemen with 17 points in 32 games played. Fellow defender Doug Janik is one point behind Smith with 16 points. Janik leads the team with a +14. Blueliner Garnet Exelby leads the Griffins and ranks third in the AHL (1st among D-men) with 119 penalty minutes in 34 games played. Greg Amadio is second on the team and fifth in the AHL with 88 penalty minutes by a defenseman. He also leads all AHL defenders with 10 major penalties.

In net, the Griffins sport goalies Joey MacDonald, Tom McCollum and Jordan Pearce. MacDonald has made the most appearances (19), going 8-8-2 with a 2.78 goals against average, a .909 save percentage and two shutouts. Jordan Pearce is 1-6-1 with a 3.42 goals against average and a .877 save percentage. McCollum is 6-3-0 with a 2.78 goals against average and a .906 save percentage.

Check out the Texas Stars Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from January 13, 2012


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