AHL Texas Stars

Gameday Preview - Texas at Houston

Published on December 16, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Texas Stars News Release


Texas Stars (11-12-0-1, 21 points) at Houston Aeros (15-4-2-0, 38 points)

The Texas Stars and the Houston Aeros meet for the sixth time this season and the 30th time in AHL history. The Stars and the Aeros will face off six more times this season, including four games at Cedar Park Center. The two teams played four games over a stretch of nine days in late November. The road team won all four games, with the Stars wins coming in overtime at Toyota Center. Houston leads the season series, posting a 3-0-2-0 mark against the Stars and recording a point in every game of the series. The Aeros lead the all-time series with a 16-10-3-0 record over three seasons against the Stars. Texas is 6-5-1-2 all-time at the Toyota Center and 13-12-2-2 all-time. Texas is 2-3-0-0 this season against Houston. Texas has played Houston more than any other team in AHL history. The 30 meetings all-time are five ahead of 25 all-time meetings with San Antonio.

The Stars have five wins in their last ten games, going 5-5-0-0 over that span. Texas had a two-game winning streak snapped with Saturday night's 3-2 loss at home to the Barons. The team turned around and handed Oklahoma City a 3-2 loss on Tuesday. The Stars are 7-5-0-0 on the road this season, edging their opponents with 36-35 on the scoreboard. Texas has won four of its last five road games. The Stars are 5-8-0-1 against the West Division this season. The team is in the middle of a stretch where nine of their next ten games will be against division rivals. Texas' scoring has been spread out evenly this season, with 26 first-period tallies and 22 second-period markers. The Stars have been outscored in second period of play 28-22. Texas is 15th in the league with a 2.96 goals per game average. The team has 29 goals over its last 13 games. The Stars are 8-1-0-1 when leading after two periods of play, but they are 0-11-0-0 when trailing after two periods of play. Texas leads the AHL with four overtime wins this season, going 4-0-0-1 when tied after regulation.

Houston leads the AHL with the fewest regulation losses in the league. The Aeros (.704) trail only Oklahoma City (.722) for the best winning percentage in the league. The team has two wins in the last five games, but has still managed a point in four of the last five. In all, Houston has a win or a point in 23 of its 27 games played. The Aeros are coming off a 3-2 shootout loss at home to Peoria last Sunday. Houston is 5-2-2-5 at home this season, having been outscored 38-26 by the visitor. The Aeros have lost five shootouts at home this season and the team has one win in its last six home contests. Houston has four goals in the last three games, falling to 16th in the AHL in goals per game average. Defensively, Houston ranks third overall in the league by allowing 2.41 goals per game. The Aeros have struggled to score in the first period of play, putting up 16 goals in their first 27 games. The team sits behind only Providence for the fewest of first-period goals in the AHL this season. Houston has 34 goals in the second period and 29 in the third. The team leads the league in second-period scoring and is tied for fourth in third-period scoring. The Aeros have scored the first goal 11 times this season, posting a 10-1-0-0 mark when they get on the board first. The 2011 Western Conference champions rank 27th in the AHL with a 13.96 penalty minutes per game average. The Aeros are 6-2-2-3 against the West Division this year.

Through the first five games of the season series, Houston has outscored Texas 17-10. Texas is 4-for-25 (16%) on the power play and 17-for-19 (89.5%) on the penalty kill against Houston this year. Center Travis Morin leads all skaters in the season series with five assists in five games, tying him for the points lead in the series. Four other Stars skaters are tied for second in scoring against Houston with three points each. Aeros forward Jed Ortmeyer leads his team with three assists and five points in five games against the Stars. Teammates Chad Rau and Jeff Penner each have four points in the series. Houston goalie Matt Hackett is 2-2-0 with a 2.20 goals against average and a .932 save percentage against Texas.

Hauswirth Added By Texas

The Texas Stars announced on Thursday that the Dallas Stars have reassigned right wing Jake Hauswirth from the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees of the Central Hockey League to the Texas Stars. The Dallas Stars are the NHL affiliate of Texas.

The Dallas Stars acquired Hauswirth in a trade with the Florida Panthers on December 7. Dallas sent forward Krys Barch to Florida in exchange for Hauswirth and a sixth-round pick. The 6-foot-5, 215-pound right wing is in his third pro season, spending the first two pro years in the ECHL with Cincinnati and South Carolina. Hauswirth played in 19 games with the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees of the CHL this season. The right wing has six goals and seven assists for 13 points in 19 games played. In all, the Merrill, WI native has played in 130 pro games, scoring 35 goals and totaling 75 points.

Coyle Returns From Idaho

The Texas Stars announced on Tuesday that the club has recalled defenseman Jace Coyle from the Idaho Steelheads, the Stars' ECHL affiliate.

The rookie defenseman was assigned to Idaho last week, posting one assist in three games with the Steelheads. Coyle played in 11 games for Texas without registering a point. The 21-year old spent the last three years playing for the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The 5-foot-11, 185-pounder enjoyed his best WHL season in 2009-10, setting up 36 goals and totaling 46 points in 68 games played. In 241 WHL games from 2007-11, Coyle scored 25 goals and totaled 107 points. The undrafted defenseman attended training camp with the NHL's Dallas Stars in 2011 and played for the Stars in the 2011 Traverse City Prospects camp.

What's Ahead:

DATE OPPONENT TIME RADIO

Friday, December 16 at Houston 7:35 PM 92.5 FM

Saturday, December 17 vs. Rochester 7:00 PM 92.5 FM

Sunday, December 18 at San Antonio 3:30 PM 104.9 FM

Wednesday, December 21 at Houston 7:05 PM 104.9 FM

Tuesday, December 27 vs. San Antonio 7:30 PM 104.9 FM

* All times listed are central time

LAST THREE GAMES

Texas 3 at Oklahoma City 2 12/13/11

The Texas Stars defeated the Oklahoma City Barons 3-2 in front of 2,393 fans at the Cox Convention Center on Tuesday night. The Stars erupted for three goals in the first period and hung on for a road win against the top team in the AHL. Texas forwards Raymond Sawada, Stephen Schultz and Colton Sceviour each scored, as Texas improved to 7-5-0-0 on the road this season. Texas goalie Tyler Beskorowany stopped 18 of 20 shots for the win. Oklahoma City goalie David LeNeveu suffered the loss and was pulled after allowing three goals on 11 shots in the opening period. Yann Danis stopped all remaining 19 Texas shots to hold the Stars off the scoreboard in the final two periods. Barons' defenseman Taylor Chorney and winger Ryan Keller netted third-period goals to pull Oklahoma City within a goal.

Oklahoma City 3 at Texas 2 12/10/11

The Texas Stars were defeated by the Oklahoma City Barons 3-2 in front of 4,878 fans at Cedar Park Center on Saturday night. Oklahoma City goalie Yann Danis stopped 27 of 29 Texas shots as the Barons improved to 11-3-0-0 on the road. Forwards Tanner House and Tristan Grant scored for the Barons, while defenseman Taylor Chorney netted the game-winning goal. Center Scott Glennie and left wing Matt Fraser both scored in the third period to bring Texas within a goal. Texas goalie Tyler Beskorowany stopped 16 of 19 shots, as the Stars fell to 4-7-0-1 at home.

Charlotte 0 at Texas 3 12/9/11

The Texas Stars defeated the Charlotte Checkers 3-0 in front of 5,601 fans at Cedar Park Center on Friday night. Texas goalie Tyler Beskorowany stopped all 29 shots faced for his first shutout of the year. The victory marked Beskorowany's second shutout with Texas, as the Stars improved to 4-6-0-1 at home, breaking a five-game winless skid at Cedar Park Center. Stars' defenseman Hubert Labrie notched his first professional goal while left wing Matt Fraser added his 11th goal of the year. Right wing Colton Sceviour also scored for Texas and left wing Francis Wathier registered two assists on the night. Charlotte goalie Justin Peters stopped 22 of 25 shots in the loss.

Texas Stars

Center Travis Morin and winger Matt Fraser lead Texas in scoring. Morin is the clubhouse leader with 18 assists and 22 points in his first 24 games played. He ranks in the top ten of the AHL for assists and he is among the AHL leaders with ten power-play helpers. Morin has an assist in four straight road games, as well as seven assists in his last ten games played. Rookie forward Matt Fraser is second in scoring with 18 points in 24 games. He leads the team with 12 goals scored and 92 shots on net. Fraser is tied for fourth in the AHL with seven power-play goals and he is tied for eighth overall in the AHL in rookie scoring. Fraser has a three-game scoring streak, potting three goals and five points over that span.

Right wing Raymond Sawada is tied for third overall in team scoring with six goals and ten assists for 16 points in 24 games played. Forwards Francis Wathier and Ryan Garbutt round out the top scoring forwards for Texas. For the season, Wathier has five goals and 11 assists for 16 points in 24 games played. Center Ryan Garbutt has 13 points in 24 games. Garbutt leads Texas with 48 penalty minutes, followed by Luke Gazdic, who has 37 minutes in 24 games played. Garbutt leads Texas and is second in the AHL with 19 minor penalties. Rookie forward Scott Glennie had a three-game scoring streak snapped last Wednesday in Charlotte. He has seven points in his last eight games.

Jordie Benn leads all Texas defensemen in scoring with seven goals and 14 points in 24 games played. He ranks tied for second in goals scored and tied for 13th in points among all AHL defensemen. Benn had a five-game points streak snapped last Friday night. He has seven points in his last ten games. Veteran defenseman Dan Spang is second among all Texas defenseman with 12 points off two goals and ten assists in 24 games. Rookie Brenden Dillon (1-10-11) is third among team defenders in points and first with 32 penalty minutes. Defender Maxime Fortunus has eight points in 20 games, while Captain Brad Lukowich has six assists in 22 games played.

Goalies Tyler Beskorowany and Jimmy Spratt are the goalies on the Texas roster, while goalie Richard Bachman remains on recall to Dallas. Beskorowany is 4-6-0 with a 2.62 goals against average and a .903 save percentage. Since Bachman's recall, Beskorwany has started the last five games, going 3-2-0 with a 2.02 goals against average and a .914 save percentage. He posted his second career AHL shutout with 29 saves last Friday, a 3-0 over Charlotte at home.

Special Teams

The Stars have converted 27 of 125 power plays for a 21.6% conversion rate. The Stars have failed to register a power-play goal in ten of their first 24 games. The team has experienced a bit of a slump on the extra-man advantage, squandering 19 consecutive power plays since December 3. Texas has scored more than one power-play goal nine times this season. The Stars are tied for third in the league with 27 power-play goals this season. The Stars have killed off 86 of the 103 penalties (83.5%), ranking ninth overall on the penalty kill. The Stars have killed off 46 of the last 50 penalties (92%). The Aeros are 18th overall in the AHL on the penalty kill, stopping 81.8% of their opponents' power plays. Overall, Houston ranks 20th best in the AHL after going 22-for-133 (16.5%). The Aeros have experienced the fourth most power plays in the AHL.

The Houston Aeros

The Aeros saw a coaching change this offseason. Mike Yeo was promoted to head coach of the Minnesota Wild after last year's Calder Cup Finals appearance. In his first year with Houston, Yeo posted a 46-28-1-5 mark and a berth to the Calder Cup Finals where the Aeros fell to the Binghamton Senators in six games.

Right wing Jon DiSalvatore returns for his third season in Houston. The Aeros captain leads the team with 21 points in 27 games played. DiSalvatore is second on the team with eight goals and he is tied for first on the club with 13 assists. Center Casey Wellman is on recall to Minnesota, leaving behind a team-high 11 goals and 19 points. Veteran center Jeff Taffe is second on the team with 12 assists and is third with 17 points. Taffe is among the league leaders with nine power-play assists. He is tied for fourth in the league lead with 11 points on the power play this year. The Aeros top-scoring defenseman is Chay Genoway, who has 13 assists and 14 points in 26 games played. Former Star Warren Peters is currently on recall to the NHL's Minnesota Wild. Peters had seven goals and four assists in 20 games for Houston this season.

In goal, the Aeros feature Matt Hackett and rookie Darcy Kuemper. Hackett is 9-3-3 on the year, sporting a 2.11 goals against average and a .927 save percentage. Kuemper is 3-1-2 with a 1.79 goals against average and a .944 save percentage.

Check out the Texas Stars Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from December 16, 2011


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