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AHL Texas Stars

Gameday Preview - Texas at Lake Erie

February 14, 2011 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Texas Stars News Release


Texas is meeting Lake Erie for the third time this season and the seventh time in history. The two teams have met twice in Texas this season, splitting the pair of games at Cedar Park Center. The last time these two teams met, Lake Erie posted a 3-1 road win on January 8th. The Stars took the first meeting of the year on October 22nd, a 3-2 decision over the Monsters. Texas is 3-2-1-0 all-time against Lake Erie, including a 1-0-1-0 record at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. The Stars are coming off a 2-1 win at home on Saturday night. The Monsters picked up a 2-1 shootout win over Grand Rapids on Saturday at home.

The Stars are 13-9-0-1 away from Cedar Park Center this season and 6-3-0-1 in the last ten games. The Stars are playing the first of eight straight road games, the longest road trip of the season. Of the eight games, three will be against North Division and five against the West Division. The Stars are 24-13-1-2 against the West Division this season and 5-4-2-1 against the North Division. Texas is the least penalized team in the league accruing 12.15 penalty minutes a game. The Stars are 15-1-3-3 in one-goal games this year.

The Monsters are 16-8-2-3 at home this season and 6-3-0-1 in the last ten games played. Lake Erie has posted wins in ten of the last 14 games. The Monsters have outscored their opponents 89-75 at home this year, while getting outscored 76-58 on the road. Lake Erie is 16-7-0-2 against the North Division, but 7-15-3-3 against teams from the West Division. The Monsters are second in the AHL with ten shorthanded goals this year. Lake Erie is fourth overall in the league, allowing 27.39 goals per game.

Through three games of the season series, Lake Erie forwards Ryan Stoa and Ben Walter. Both Monsters have a goal and two assists for three points in three games. Left wing Francis Wathier leads Texas in points with two in two games against the Monsters. Stars goalie Richard Bachman is 0-1-0 with a 3.07 goals against average and a .897 save percentage. Goalie Brent Krahn is 1-0-0 with a 2.00 goals against average and a .943 save percentage. Lake Erie's John Grahame is 1-0-0 with a 1.00 goals against average and a .947 save percentage against Texas. Jason Bachashihua has a 3.01 goals against average and a .912 save percentage.

Dallas Assigns Wathier

The Dallas Stars announced on Saturday that the club has assigned left wing Francis Wathier to the Texas Stars, Dallas' development affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL).

Wathier, 26, has appeared in three games for Dallas this season, going scoreless. He has also played in 45 AHL games for Texas, recording 24 points (13 goals, 11 assists). Wathier represented Texas at the AHL All-Star Game on Jan. 31 in Hershey, Penn. The 6-3, 208-pound winger was Dallas' sixth round selection (185th overall) in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

Texas Signs Dave Bonk

The Texas Stars announced on Friday that the team has signed center Dave Bonk to a PTO (professional tryout agreement).

The 28-year old center has played the majority of the season with the CHL's Allen Americans. Bonk has appeared in 33 games with the Americans, scoring 15 goals and 29 assists for 44 points. The 188-pound center also appeared in six games with the Oklahoma City Barons this year, posting one assist and four penalty minutes. Last Season, the Brandon, MB native played with the Manglerud Star in Norway. Before joining Manglerud, Bonk played with the ECHL's Bakersfield Condors during the 2008-09 season. The center led the Condors in points and assists (31g-51a82) in 60 games. Bonk made his Texas Stars AHL debut on Friday night against the Rockford IceHogs.

What's Ahead:

DATE OPPONENT TIME TV/RADIO

Monday, Feb. 14 at Lake Erie 6:00 PM 1530 AM

Wednesday, Feb. 16 at Lake Erie 9:45 AM 1530 AM

Friday, Feb. 18 at Grand Rapids 6:00 PM 1530 AM

Saturday, Feb. 19 at Chicago 7:00 PM 104.9 FM

* All times listed are central time

GAME RECAPS:

Rockford 1 at Texas 2 2/12/11

The Texas Stars defeated the Rockford IceHogs 2-1 on Saturday night in front of 5,588 fans at Cedar Park Center. Left Wing Ondrej Roman scored the game-winning goal on the power play 8:57 into the second period. Roman also tallied an assist in the first period to secure a multi-point night. Texas goalie Richard Bachman (19-11-3) blocked 23 shots, bringing the Stars record at home to 16-8-3-2. Rockford goalie Alec Richards (10-16-1) stopped 23 of 25 shots faced for the loss.

Rockford 5 at Texas 6 OT 2/11/11

The Texas Stars defeated the Rockford IceHogs 6-5 on Friday night in front of 5,545 fans at Cedar Park Center. Stars' forward Greg Rallo scored the decisive goal to lift Texas over Rockford with only 3.3 seconds remaining in overtime. With six minutes left in regulation, defenseman Dan Spang notched the game-tying goal to force overtime. During the first period, the Stars scored four goals in the last five minutes to end the first 20 minutes of play with a 4-1 lead. Six Texas skaters registered a two-point night, including Cody Chupp, Colton Sceviour, Luke Gazdic, Brad Lukowich, Dan Spang and Maxime Fortunus. Texas goalie Brent Krahn (6-5-0) made 29 saves to bring the Stars to 15-8-3-2 at home. After 20 minutes of play, Rockford goalie Hannu Toivonen (10-11-3) stopped nine of 13 shots for the loss. IceHogs goalie Alec Richards (10-14-1) stopped 13 of 15 shots faced in a relief effort.

Houston 4 at Texas 1 2/8/11

The Texas Stars were defeated by the Houston Aeros 4-1 on Tuesday night in front of 4,818 fans at Cedar Park Center. Houston goalie Anton Khudobin (17-9-1) made 32 saves to preserve the win as Texas outshot Houston 33-27. Houston center Patrick O'Sullivan had a multi-point night with a goal and an assist. Right wing Jon DiSalvatore tallied three assists to lead the Aeros offense. Center Cody Almond also secured a goal and an assist for Houston. Texas right wing Colton Sceviour scored the lone Texas goal midway through the third period. Texas goalie Richard Bachman (18-11-2) made 23 saves in the loss to bring the Stars to 14-8-3-2 at home.

The Texas Stars

After 52 games of action, center Travis Morin leads Texas in scoring with 13 goals and 21 assists for 34 points. The All-Star center leads Texas with 21 assists in 48 games played. Right wing Greg Rallo is second on the team in scoring with 32 points (16g-16a) in 52 games played. Ralllo leads the team in goals and with 155 shots on net. Colton Sceviour is third on the team with 18 assists and 28 points in 50 games played. Dan Spang is fourth overall on the team with 25 points. Spang is tied for second on the team in assists (19) and leads all defensemen in shots on goal (108). Defensemen Brad Lukowich is tied for second on the team with 19 assists. Left wing Luke Gazdic's 79 penalty minutes lead the team.

Texas Stars goalies Richard Bachman and Brent Krahn fill the net for the Stars. Bachman has appeared in 35 games, going 19-11-3 with a 2.16 goals against average and a .926 save percentage. Bachman ranks in the top ten in the AHL for goals against average and save percentage. Bachman has started 20 of the last 24 games. Krahn has appeared in 11 games, posting a 6-5-0 mark, a 3.12 goals against average and a .895 save percentage. Krahn was out with an injury from Nov. 10, 2010 to Feb. 4, 2011.

Lake Erie Monsters

The Monsters return 13 players from last year's team that posted a 34-37-1-8 mark. Head Coach David Quinn returns for his second season behind the bench with the Colorado Avalanche's AHL affiliate. The Monsters lost their top four scorers from last year's team. Leading scorer TJ Hensick (70 pts) is now in Peoria, right wing Darren Hardar (64 pts) went to Chicago, Brian Willsie (57 pts) departed for Hershey, and Kevin Porter moved up to Colorado (NHL).

Through the first 55 games of play, center Ben Walter leads the Monsters in scoring with a team-high 24 assists and 40 points. All-Star rookie center Mark Olver leads the club with 21 goals and is second with 36 points in 51 games played. Forward Ryan Stoa is third on the team with 15 goals and tied for third in scoring with 29 points in 46 games played. Center Julian Talbot is second on the squad with 23 assists and tied for third with 29 points in 43 games of action. Patrick Rissmiller has been producing after starting the year in Chicago. In 44 games with the Monsters, Rissmiller has 16 assists and 28 points. Last season with Grand Rapids, Rissmiller scored three goals and totaled six points in four games against Texas. Left wing Greg Mauldin has ten assists and 16 points in 21 games played.

The Monsters return Ryan Stoa, who tallied 23 goals as a rookie out of the University of Minnesota last season. Stoa finished with 40 points in 54 games with Lake Erie last year. He also played in 12 games for Colorado. During the offseason, the Monsters obtained nine players who were not with the club last season: goaltender Jason Bacashihua; defenseman Joel Chouinard, Cameron Gaunce and David Liffiton; and forwards Curtis Fraser, Greg Mauldin, Julian Talbot, Luke Walker and Ben Walter. Center Ben Walter totaled 58 points on 22 goals and 36 assists last year with Lowell. Walter has tallied at least 20 goals in four straight seasons.

Two veteran goalies lead the Monsters between the pipes. John Grahame, who won a Stanley Cup in 2004 with Tampa Bay, is 97-86-0 in 224 NHL appearances over his career. Last year, Grahame went 6-17-3 with a 3.17 goals against average and a .889 save percentage between Lake Erie and Adirondack. Jason Bacashihua spent last year in Hershey, winning a Calder Cup with the Bears. In 22 games, Bacashihua went 17-3-1 with a 2.48 goals against average and a .908 save percentage. Grahame is 14-9-2 with a 2.20 goals against average and a .916 save percentage. Bacashihua is 10-13-3 with a 2.54 goals against average and a .905 save percentage.

Special Teams

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After finishing second overall last season on the penalty kill, the Texas Stars penalty kill is 28th overall at 77.3%. Texas ranks 15th best in the AHL, converting on 17.9% of its power plays. The Monsters are 27th overall on the power play, converting 13.6% of the time. Lake Erie is 16th overall on the penalty kill, stopping 82.5% of their opponents' power plays.

Offense and Defense

The Texas Stars are eighth overall in team defense, allowing 2.65 goals against per game. Texas is ranked 17th out of 30 teams, scoring an average of 2.79 goals per game. Lake Erie's defense ranks 11th overall with a 2.70 goals against per game. The Monsters sit 24th offensively, averaging 2.63 goals per game.

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