AHL Texas Stars

Gameday Preview - Texas at Milwaukee

Published on February 20, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Texas Stars News Release


Texas and Milwaukee meet for the fifth time this season and 13th time in history. Texas is 3-1-0-0 against Milwaukee this season and 1-0-0-0 at the Bradley Center this season. The Admirals took the first meeting of the year and the Stars responded with three straight wins. Milwaukee is 1-1-1-1 overall against Texas, with the last two losses coming in extra sessions (overtime and a shootout).

The Stars took the last meeting between the two clubs at Cedar Park Center on January 18, when Texas posted a 2-1 shootout win over Milwaukee. Texas is 8-4-0-0 all-time against Milwaukee, including a 3-2-0-0 record at the Bradley Center. Texas is coming off a 3-2 win in Chicago on Saturday night, while Milwaukee is coming off a 3-0 win at Peoria on Saturday night. The Stars have outscored the Admirals 7-4 in the series.

Texas is 15-11-0-1 away from Cedar Park Center this season and 5-4-0-1 in the last ten games. The Stars are playing the fifth of eight straight road games, the longest road trip of the season. Texas has posted back to back wins after dropping the first two games of the trip. The Stars are playing the final game of three games in three nights. Of the eight games, the first three were against the North Division and the last five are against the West Division. The Stars are 25-13-1-2 against the West Division this season and 6-6-2-1 against the North Division this season. Texas is the least penalized team in the league accruing 12.2 penalty minutes a game. The Stars are 17-2-3-3 in one-goal games this year.

Milwaukee is 16-4-2-3 at home this year and 7-1-0-2 in the last ten games played. The Admirals have the fewest regulation losses in the AHL overall at 14 and they are tied for the league lead with only four losses in regulation at home. Milwaukee has outscored its opponents 83-60 at the Bradley Center this season. The Admirals have allowed the fewest goals on home ice in the AHL. Milwaukee is wrapping up three games in three nights. The Admirals rank second best in the AHL, amassing 13.1 penalty minutes per game. Milwaukee is 18-3-2-4 when scoring the first goal of the night and 16-10-2-7 record against the West Division. When leading after the first period, the Admirals are 14-1-1-4 and when leading after the second period the team is 19-1-2-3.

Through the first four games of the series, right wing Greg Rallo leads all Texas skaters with two goals and three points. Four different Stars skaters have posted two points apiece. Defenseman Brad Lukowich is the only Texas player in the series with two assists. Forwards Sean Backman, Ray Sawada and Travis Morin each have a goal and an assist in the three-game series. Milwaukee defensemen Grant Lewis (1g-1a) and Jonathan Blum (2a) are the only Admirals with multiple points in the series.

Texas goalie Richard Bachman is 2-1-0 with a 0.65 goals against average and an .976 save percentage against Milwaukee this season. Tyler Beskorowany is 1-0-0 with a 1.99 goals against average and a .943 save percentage. Admiral Mark Dekanich is 1-1-0 with a 1.03 goals against average and a .968 save percentage against the Stars. Jeremy Smith is 0-0-1 with a 0.92 goals against average and a .962 save percentage.

Dallas Reassigns Beskorowany to Texas

Prior to Saturday's game, the Dallas Stars reassigned goalie Tyler Beskorowany to the Texas Stars, Dallas' AHL affiliate. Beskorowany posted a 1.85 goals against average and stopped 202 of 213 shots (.948%) in his last six games (4-2-0) with Texas earlier in the year. Overall, Beskorowany is 4-4-0 with a 2.64 goals against average and a .925 save percentage with the Stars. In 20 games with Idaho this season, he posted a 10-5-3 mark with a 2.35 goals against average and a .928 save percentage.

The Dallas Stars drafted Beskorowany in the second round (#59 overall) of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. The 6-foot-5, 205-pounder spent the 2009-10 season with the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL.

Texas Recalls Defenseman Guilluame Monast

Prior to the Wednesday's game, Texas added defenseman Guillaume Monast, who was recalled from the Idaho Steelheads, Texas' ECHL Affiliate. Monast has played in five games with one assist for Texas over three separate recalls from Idaho. He registered his first AHL point with the Stars this season at Lake Erie. In 41 games for Idaho this year, Monast has one goal and seven assists while adding 22 penalty minutes.

Dallas Assigns Wathier, Recalls Ludwig and Petersen

The Dallas Stars announced on Tuesday that the NHL club has recalled forward Toby Petersen from his conditioning assignment with the Texas Stars, Dallas' primary affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL), and activated him from injured reserve after missing the last 15 games with a lower-body injury. The team has also assigned forward Francis Wathier to Texas and recalled defensemen Trevor Ludwig from Texas.

Petersen, 32, has skated in 36 games this season for Dallas, collecting one goal (shorthanded) and two assists with six penalty minutes. In one game this season with Texas on a conditioning assignment, Petersen recorded one assist against Lake Erie on Feb. 14. The 5-10, 198-pound forward has played in 177 games over four seasons with Dallas, recording 32 points (14 goals, 18 assists).

Wathier, 26, has appeared in three games for Dallas this season. He has also played in 47 AHL games for Texas, recording 26 points (15 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.

Ludwig, 25, has appeared in 50 games this season with Texas and has recorded six assists and 50 penalty minutes. The 6-1, 216-pound defensemen from Rhinelander, WI, spent the majority of the 2009-10 season with Texas, playing 47 games and collecting eight points (3 goals, 5 assists) with 62 penalty minutes. Ludwig has yet to make his NHL debut.

What's Ahead:

DATE OPPONENT TIME TV/RADIO

Wednesday, Feb. 23 at Peoria 7:05 PM 104.9 FM

Friday, Feb. 25 at Houston 7:35 PM 1530 AM

Saturday, Feb. 26 at San Antonio 7:00 PM 104.9 FM

* All times listed are central time

GAME RECAPS:

Texas 3 at Chicago 2 2/19/11

The Texas Stars defeated the Chicago Wolves 3-2 on Saturday night in front of 10,721 fans at Allstate Arena. Stars left wing Francis Wathier scored his second goal of the night, a power-play goal with 5:14 remaining in regulation to lift Texas over Chicago. Right wing Colton Sceviour tallied a short-handed goal to even it up 2-2 early in the third period. Texas goalie Richard Bachman (21-12-3) made 41 saves to help the Stars improve to 15-11-0-1 on the road this season. Wolves' goalie Peter Mannino (14-14-3) stopped 23 shots for the loss.

Texas 3 at Grand Rapids 2 SO 2/18/11

The Texas Stars defeated the Grand Rapids Griffins 3-2 in a shootout on Friday night in front of 8,509 fans at Van Andel Arena. Texas goalie Richard Bachman made 35 saves in regulation and stopped all five attempts in the shootout to lift the Stars over the Griffins. Forward Brandon Segal and defenseman Dan Spang each scored in regulation as the Stars improved to 14-11-0-1 on the road this season. Left wing Francis Wathier netted the decisive goal in the shootout. Grand Rapids forwards Tomas Tatar and Jamie Johnson both scored in the loss. Griffins' goalie Jordan Pearce stopped 29 in regulation and four of five in the shootout defeat.

Texas 2 at Lake Erie 4 2/16/11

Cleveland, OH - The Texas Stars were defeated by the Lake Erie Monsters 4-2 on Wednesday afternoon in front of 7,510 fans at the Quicken Loans Arena. Lake Erie right wing Matt Ford scored twice and added an assist to pace the Monsters to their 12th win in the last 15 games. Monsters goalie Jason Bacashihua stopped 29 of 31 Stars shots for the victory. Texas goalie Brent Krahn stopped 32 of 36 shots in the defeat. Texas forwards Michael Neal and Dave Bonk each scored as the team slid to 13-11-0-1 on the road this season.

The Texas Stars

After 56 games of action, right wing Greg Rallo leads the team lead in points with 36 (16g-20a) in 56 games played. Ralllo also leads the team with 16 goals and 167 shots on net. Center Travis Morin is second for Texas in scoring with 13 goals and a team-high 21 assists for 34 points in 48 games played. Morin has missed the last six games with an injury. Colton Sceviour is fifth on the team with 18 assists and third with 29 points in 54 games played. Dan Spang is fourth overall on the team with 27 points. Spang is tied for fourth on the team in assists (19), as well as leads all defensemen in goals (8) and shots on goal (123). Defenseman Brad Lukowich is tied for the team lead with 21 assists. Left wing Luke Gazdic's 81 penalty minutes lead the team.

Texas Stars goalies Richard Bachman, Tyler Beskorowany and Brent Krahn fill the net for the Stars. Bachman has appeared in 38 games, going 21-12-3 with a 2.17 goals against average and a .927 save percentage. Bachman ranks in the top ten in the AHL for goals against average and save percentage. Bachman has started 23 of the last 28 games. Krahn has appeared in 12 games, posting a 6-6-0 mark, a 3.20 goals against average and a .895 save percentage. Krahn was out with an injury from Nov. 10, 2010 to Feb. 4, 2011. Beskorowany is 4-4-0 with a 2.64 goals against average and a .925 save percentage.

Bachman Closes In On Team Records

Rookie goalie Richard Bachman is poised to set new team records this season. With 21 wins on the season, Bachman is tied with Matt Climie for the team record of 21 wins in one season. The 23-year old netminder also needs one more shutout to tie Brent Krahn's mark of five donuts in 2009-10. Bachman is five appearances away from tying Climie's record of 43 appearances in one year and he is also 304 minutes shy of setting the team mark for minutes played by a goalie.

The Milwaukee Admirals

The Milwaukee Admirals are the AHL Affiliate of the Nashville Predators. Head Coach Lane Lambert is in his third season with the Admirals. Milwaukee returns eight players from last year's team that posted a 41-30-2-7 mark (91 points).

Newcomer Linus Klasen leads the Admirals with 45 points in 45 games played, including a team-high 22 goals. Rookie center Blake Geoffrion is second on the team with 23 assists and 34 points in 42 games played. Geoffrion was drafted in the second round (#56 overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by Nashville. He has six assists and nine points in his last seven games played.

Second-year pro Jonathon Blum leads Milwaukee with 26 assists and is third in scoring with 33 points in 53 games played. Last season, Blum finished fourth among the Admirals with 41 points in 80 games as a rookie. He also ranked 12th among all rookies in points and 14th among all AHL defensemen. Fellow defenseman Roman Josi is fourth on the team with 27 points in 47 games played. Josi has eight points (1g-7a) in his last seven games played. Right wing Chris Mueller is second on the team with 16 goals and fifth with 26 points in 41 games played. Winger Kelsey Wilson and defenseman Scott Ford lead the team in penalty minutes. Wilson has a team-high 111 in 53 games played, while Ford has 105 in 54 games played.

In net, the Admirals feature goalies Jeremy Smith and Mark Dekanich (20-8-5). Dekanich is among the league leaders with 2.04 goals against average, .929 save percentage and four shutouts. Smith (10-4-1) was drafted in the 2nd round (#54 overall) by Nashville in 2007. He has a 2.27 goals against average and a .923 save percentage.

Special Teams

After finishing second overall last season on the penalty kill, the Stars rank 27th overall at 78.0%. Texas sits 16th in the AHL, converting 17.2% of its power plays. The Admirals are 18th overall on the power play, converting 16.8% of the time. Milwaukee is 22nd in the AHL on the penalty kill, stopping 81.3% of its opponents' power plays.

Offense and Defense

The Texas Stars are ninth overall in team defense, allowing 2.67 goals against per game. Texas is ranked 17th out of 30 teams, scoring an average of 2.76 goals per game. Milwaukee's defense ranks third overall with a 2.49 goals against per game. The Admirals sit 14th offensively, averaging 2.83 goals per game.

Check out the Texas Stars Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from February 20, 2011


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