AHL Texas Stars

Gameday Preview - Texas at Hamilton

Published on February 12, 2012 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Texas Stars News Release


Texas Stars (21-23-2-2, 46 points) at Hamilton Bulldogs (20-23-1-4, 45 points)

The Texas Stars and the Hamilton Bulldogs meet for the first of two meetings this season. Sunday's game is the fifth all-time regular season meeting in AHL history between the two clubs. Texas is 1-1-1-1 all-time against the Bulldogs. The two teams met twice last year, with Hamilton taking both meetings over the Stars. The Stars and Bulldogs met in the 2010 Western Conference Finals, with Texas edging Hamilton in seven games. The Stars took the Western Conference crown after winning the final two games of the series at Copps Coliseum. Hamilton is 3-1-0-0 all-time against Texas, including a 1-1-0-0 record at home. Both teams are battling for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Texas is currently seven points back of the final spot, while Hamilton is eight points back.

Texas has four wins in its last ten games, going 4-5-1-0 over that span. The Stars ended a five-game winless skid with a 6-3 win at home on Wednesday night over Milwaukee. It marked only the third time this season the Stars have mounted a comeback when trailing after two periods of play. The team started a three-game road trip with a 9-4 loss at Rochester on Friday night. The road trip continues with stops in Hamilton on Sunday and in Lake Erie on Wednesday. The Stars are 10-15-0-1 on the road this season, having been outscored by their opponents 88-68 on the scoreboard. The team has two road wins in the last 11 attempts. The Stars are 9-15-0-2 against the West Division and 3-1-0-0 against the North Division. Texas' scoring has been spread out evenly this season, with 41 first-period tallies and 58 second-period markers. Since Dec. 3 (last 28 games), Texas has outscored the opposition 40-26 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 58-53 edge. The club has been outscored by the opposing team 154-145 for the season. Texas is ninth in the league with a 3.02 goals per game average and it ranks 27th defensively with a 3.23 goals against average. The Stars are 14-0-1-1 when leading after two periods of play, but they are 3-20-0-0 when trailing after two periods of play. The team is 10-9-2-2 in games decided by one goal this season. Texas and Manchester are tied for the AHL lead with five overtime wins this season, going 5-0-2-2 when tied after regulation. The Stars are tied for second in the AHL with ten shorthanded goals this season.

Hamilton is wrapping up the tail end of three-games-in-three-nights. The Bulldogs were edged at home by Albany 4-2 on Friday night. The club ventured to Toronto on Saturday, falling to the Marlies 5-1. It marked the team's fourth straight loss. Hamilton enters Sunday's game in fifth place of the North Division. The club is 11-12-1-3 at home this year and 3-7-0-0 in the last ten games. Hamilton has been outscored by the visitors 78-55 at Copps Coliseum. When scoring first, the Bulldogs are 17-4-1-2, accounting for almost all of their victories (20) when opening the scoring. The team is 12-11-0-2 within the North Division, but 2-3-1-1 against the West Division. The Bulldogs have outscored the opposition 53-42 in the second period this year, but the team has not faired well in the first or third period. Hamilton has been bested 57-29 in the third and 44-31 in the first period. Hamilton has struggled to score this season, ranking 28th out of 30 AHL teams with a 2.44 goals per game average. The Bulldogs are 23rd in the AHL, allowing 3.08 goals per game. The AHL Affiliate of Montreal is 16-2-0-2 when leading after two periods of play, but 0-17-1-0 when trailing after two periods of play. Hamilton and Chicago are the only teams remaining in the AHL that have yet to make a comeback when trailing after two frames. The Bulldogs are 9-3-1-4 in one-goal games this season.

Texas Stars

Center Travis Morin and winger Matt Fraser lead Texas in scoring. Morin is the clubhouse leader with 33 assists and 42 points in his first 48 games played. He ranks in the top five of the AHL for assists and top ten of the league for power-play helpers. Rookie forward Matt Fraser is second in scoring with 38 points in 46 games. He leads the team with 23 goals scored and 163 shots on net. Fraser sits in the top ten of the AHL for goals scored, including ranking tied for sixth in power-play goals (9). Fraser is tied for sixth overall among all rookies in points and first in shots.

Colton Sceviour, Francis Wathier and Ryan Garbutt round out the top scorers for Texas. Colton Sceviour is second on the team with 22 assists and he is tied for third with 33 points. Sceviour has four goals and eight points in his last nine games. His is second all-time on the Stars scoring list with 105 points. Center Ryan Garbutt has 33 points (16g-17a) in 48 games. He is second on the team in goals scored and tied for third in points. He also leads the team with 86 penalty minutes, followed by Francis Wathier's 70 and Luke Gazdic's 69 minutes. Garbutt is tied for fourth in the AHL with five shorthanded points and second with four shorthanded assists. Wathier is tied for fifth overall on the team with 26 points and he is fifth with nine goals. Rookie center Scott Glennie has seven points in his last 10 games, scoring two goals and setting up five others.

Jordie Benn leads all defenders and he ranks in the top ten of the AHL among defensemen with eight goals. He also is first among Texas blueliners with 21 points in 44 games played. Veteran Dan Spang is second among Stars defenders with 19 points in 47 games played. He leads all team defensemen with 17 assists this year. Captain Brad Lukowich is third among Texas defensemen in scoring with 18 points in 41 games played. Brenden Dillon is second among all defensemen with 15 assists and he is first among D-men with 48 penalty minutes. Veteran defender Maxime Fortunus has 16 points in 44 games. He is the highest scoring defenseman in team history with 73 points.

Goalies Andrew Raycroft and Tyler Beskorowany split time in net for Texas. Raycroft is 7-7-1 with a 3.06 goals against average and a .896 save percentage in 15 starts for the Stars. He posted a season-high 42 saves at Oklahoma City on Saturday, January 28. He started 13 straight games for Texas until Tuesday night against Milwaukee. Beskorowany is 6-11-0 with a 3.23 goals against average and a .885 save percentage.

Special Teams

The Stars have converted 46 of 225 power plays for a 20.4% conversion rate, as Texas is sixth overall in power play percentage. Texas ended a stretch of 18 straight power plays with a power-play tally on Tuesday against Milwaukee. The Stars have killed off 153 of 185 opponents' power plays (82.7%), ranking 13th overall on the penalty kill. Texas has the fewest penalty kills in the AHL at 185. The Bulldogs are 16th in the AHL on the penalty kill, stopping 81.9% of their opponents' power plays. Overall, Hamilton ranks 17th in the AHL on the power play after going 38-for-217 (17.5%).

The Hamilton Bulldogs

Hamilton has experienced a lot of turnover this season, starting behind the bench. On December 17th, Montreal promoted Randy Cunneyworth to interim head coach. He was joined by his Hamilton assistant coach Randy Ladouceur. With the changes, Montreal appointed Clement Jodoin to head coach and named Ron Wilson his assistant.

Forward Andreas Engqvist leads the Bulldogs in scoring with 28 points off a team-high 16 goals and 12 assists in 34 games played. He leads the team with five game-winning goals and six power-play goals. Veteran right wing Brian Willsie is second on the team in scoring with 26 points in 44 games played. Willsie is second on the team with 17 assists and he leads the team with 165 shots on goal. Former Star Garrett Stafford is third overall in team scoring with 23 points, including a team-high 18 assists in 38 games played. Stafford played in seven games against Texas with San Antonio last season, posting six points against his old team. He started the season in Portland (AHL Affiliate of Phoenix) prior to a trade that sent him to Montreal earlier in the season. He leads all Hamilton defensemen in points and assists.

In goal, Nathan Lawson and Robert Mayer have essentially split time this season. Lawson is 12-13-3 in 30 games with a 2.75 goals against average and a 0.909 save percentage. Mayer is 7-10-1 with a 3.01 GAA and 0.904 save percentage in 22 games played.

Dallas Recalls Adam Pardy From Conditioning Stint, Texas Releases Berube

The Dallas Stars announced on Thursday that the club has recalled defenseman Adam Pardy from the Texas Stars, Dallas' primary affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL). Additionally, the Texas Stars have released defenseman Mike Berube from a PTO (professional tryout agreement),

Pardy, 27, has played the last two games for Texas on a conditioning assignment, collecting four assists and a +1 rating. He set up three goals in the Stars 6-3 win at home over Milwaukee on Wednesday. Prior to being assigned to Texas, Pardy skated in 22 games for Dallas, recording one assist and 15 shots. The 6-4, 220-pound defenseman from Bonavista, NL has appeared in 169 NHL games, notching 27 points (four goals, 23 assists).

Berube played in five games for Texas, going scoreless with ten penalty minutes. He will return to the Central Hockey League's Allen Americans, Texas' CHL Affiliate. Berube played the first 29 games of the season with the Americans, scoring two goals and totaling nine points.

Texas Shuffles the Deck with A Series of Roster Moves

The Texas Stars announced on Wednesday that the Dallas Stars have reassigned forward Jake Hauswirth to Texas from the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees of the Central Hockey League. In addition, forward Stephen Schultz has been assigned by Texas to the Idaho Steelheads, the ECHL Affiliate of Texas. The Stars also announced that forward Brenden Connolly has been released from a PTO (professional tryout agreement).

Hauswirth played in 11 games for Texas earlier in the season, setting up one goal for his first AHL point. He started the 2011-12 season with Rio Grande Valley, scoring six goals and adding ten assists for 16 points in 24 games played.

Schultz scored seven goals and totaled nine points in 32 games for the Stars this season. He joined Texas in late March of 2011 after concluding a four-year career at Colorado College from 2007-11. The 24-year old rookie played in five regular season games without registering a point for the Stars in 2010-11.

Connolly played in 12 games for Texas this season, registering two assists for the Stars. At the time he joined Texas, he was third overall in the ECHL scoring race, potting 20 goals and dishing out 23 assists for 43 points in 31 games with Greenville.

LAST THREE GAMES

Texas 4 at Rochester 9 2/10/12

The Texas Stars were defeated by the Rochester Americans 9-4 in front of 5,675 fans at the Blue Cross Arena on Friday night. The Americans scored five times in the second en route to a home victory over the Stars. Eight different Rochester skaters picked up a multi-point night in the win, led by Zack Kassian and Travis Turnbull, who both netted a pair of goals. Texas forward Mike Hedden scored once and added two assists for his first three-point night in the AHL. Rookie Matt Fraser, center Travis Morin and center Mathieu Tousignant also scored in the defeat. Rochester goalie Drew MacIntyre got the win with 24 saves. Texas goalie Andrew Raycroft suffered the loss, stopping 13 of 19 shots before he was pulled at 12:30 of the second period in favor of Tyler Beskorwany.

Milwaukee 3 at Texas 6 2/8/12

The Texas Stars defeated the Milwaukee Admirals 6-3 in front of 4,158 fans at the Cedar Park Center on Wednesday night. Center Ryan Garbutt registered a hat trick, as the Stars scored six unanswered goals in the final two periods. Three other Stars put up multi-point nights. Center Scott Glennie registered a goal and two assists, and defenseman Adam Pardy added three assists. Right wing Colton Sceviour scored a goal and an assist in the win. Texas goalie Andrew Raycroft stopped 21 of 24 shots as the Stars improved to 11-8-2-1 at home. Admirals' center Kyle Wilson registered a multi-point night with a goal and an assist. Milwaukee goalie Jeremy Smith stopped 31 of 36 shots, suffering his sixth straight loss.

Milwaukee 4 at Texas 3 OT 2/7/12

The Texas Stars were defeated by the Milwaukee Admirals 4-3 in overtime in front of 4,231 fans at the Cedar Park Center on Tuesday night. Admirals' center Chris Mueller scored the game-winning goal 3:15 into overtime, helping Milwaukee improve to 10-11-0-1 on the road. Right wing Taylor Beck registered a goal and two assists on the night, leading the Admirals to their second win over the Stars this season. Milwaukee goalie Atte Engren stopped 37 of 40 shots for the win. Right wing Colton Sceviour netted two goals for Texas and center Travis Morin also scored in the one-goal loss. Texas goalie Tyler Beskorowany stopped 17 of 21 shots, as the Stars fell to 10-8-2-1 at home.

What's Ahead:

DATE OPPONENT TIME RADIO

Sunday, February 12 at Hamilton 2:00 PM 104.9 FM

Wednesday, February 15 at Lake Erie 9:45 AM 1530 AM

Friday, February 17 San Antonio 7:30 PM 104.9 FM

Saturday, February 18 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 February 12, 2012


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