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AHL Texas Stars

Gameday Preview - Texas at Milwaukee

April 8, 2011 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Texas Stars News Release


Texas Stars (40-27-4-6, 90 points) at Milwaukee Admirals (42-21-6-8, 98 points)

Texas and Milwaukee meet for the sixth and final time this season, the 14th all-time meeting in AHL history. Texas is 4-1-0-0 against Milwaukee this season, including 2-0-0-0 mark at the Bradley Center. The Admirals took the first meeting of the year and the Stars responded with four straight wins. The last time these two teams met was on February 20th in Milwaukee, a 2-1 win for Texas.

Milwaukee is 1-2-1-1 overall against Texas this year. Texas is 9-4-0-0 all-time against Milwaukee, including a 4-2-0-0 record at the Bradley Center. The Stars are coming off a 3-2 loss at Peoria on Wednesday night. The Admirals are coming off a 2-1 loss at home to Grand Rapids on Wednesday night. In the five meetings this season, four times the winning team has scored two goals and only once has the winning team scored three goals. Texas and Milwaukee are the two most disciplined teams in the AHL.

Texas is 18-16-1-3 away from Cedar Park Center this season and 6-4-0-0 in the last ten games. The club has dropped three straight after a season-high, five-game winning streak that was snapped last Saturday at Oklahoma City. Texas has three games remaining on the season, with two of them coming on the road. The Stars will visit Milwaukee and San Antonio, as well as host Oklahoma City on Saturday to finish the regular season. Texas is in the middle of a stretch of seven games over ten days to finish the season. All seven games are against division opponents. The Stars are 30-17-2-4 against the West Division this season and 10-9-2-1 against the North Division this season. Texas is the least penalized team in the league accruing 12.78 penalty minutes a game. The Stars are 21-5-4-6 in one-goal games this year and 24-1-1-1 when leading after two periods of play this season. When trailing after two periods of play, the Stars have a 9-21-2-1 mark. The nine wins are the most of any team in the AHL when trailing after two frames.

Milwaukee is 22-11-4-5 at home this year and 6-3-1-0 in the last ten games played. The Admirals have the second fewest regulation losses in the AHL overall at 21. Milwaukee has outscored its opponents 113-90 at the Bradley Center this season. The Admirals are tied for the fewest goals on home ice in the AHL. The Admirals rank second best in the AHL, amassing 13.22 penalty minutes per game. Milwaukee is 25-3-3-4 when scoring the first goal of the night and 27-14-5-8 record against the West Division. When leading after the first period, the Admirals are 20-1-1-4 and when leading after the second period the team is 29-1-2-3.

Through the first five games of the series, right wing Greg Rallo and right wing Sean Backman lead all Texas skaters with two goals and three points. Six different Stars skaters have posted two points apiece. Defenseman Dan Spang is the only active Texas player in the series with two assists. Milwaukee defensemen Grant Lewis (1g-1a) and Roman Josi (1g,1a) are the only active 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 2-0-0 with a 1.50 goals against average and a .957 save percentage. Admiral Mark Dekanich is 1-2-0 with a 1.37 goals against average and a .953 save percentage against the Stars. Jeremy Smith is 0-0-1 with a 0.92 goals against average and a .962 save percentage.

Clinching Scenarios for Milwaukee and Texas

The Texas Stars can clinch a playoff berth on Friday with:

(a) A win at Milwaukee AND either (1) a Chicago loss (reg/OT/SO) at Peoria or (2) an Oklahoma City regulation loss at San Antonio, OR

(b) an OTL/SOL at Milwaukee AND a Chicago regulation loss at Peoria AND a San Antonio loss (reg/OT/SO) vs. Oklahoma City

The Milwaukee Admirals can clinch the West Division on Friday with:

(a) a point vs. Texas

First Round Pick Scott Glennie Joins Texas Stars

Cedar Park, TX - The Texas Stars announced on Wednesday the club has signed forward Scott Glennie to an Amateur Tryout Agreement (ATO).

Glennie recently completed a four-year run with the Western Hockey League's Brandon Wheat Kings. He finished second in team scoring this season with a career-high 91 points, including 35 goals and 56 assists in 70 regular season games played. The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder was chosen by the Dallas Stars in the first round (8th overall) of the 2009 National Hockey League Entry Draft. The Winnipeg native led Brandon in playoff scoring with three goals and 10 points in six games. The Wheat Kings fell to the Medicine Hat Tigers in their best-of-seven opening round playoff series.

The 19-year old played in 252 career games for the Wheat Kings and he became the first Brandon player since Marty Murray in 1994 to eclipse the 300-point plateau. Glennie is one of only eleven players to score over 300 career points in franchise history. During his Wheat King career, Glennie scored 121 goals and totaled 308 points. In 39 playoff games with Brandon, he had ten goals and 39 points - good for 15th on the club's all-time list.

PK Finds Groove

The Texas Stars penalty kill is 25th overall at 80.6% this year. The Stars penalty kill has been superb since March 5, stopping 50 of the last 52 attempts (96.1%). Texas went five games without giving up a power-play goal from March 5 - March 13. The Stars' streak ended on March 19 while visiting the Manitoba Moose, allowing one goal off three attempts. In the last eight games, the team has only given up two power-play goals on the last 33 penalty kills (93.9%).

What's Ahead:

DATE OPPONENT TIME TV/RADIO

Friday, April 8 at Milwaukee 7:00 PM 1530 AM

Saturday, April 9 vs. Oklahoma City 7:00 PM 1530 AM

Sunday, April 10 at San Antonio 4:30 PM 104.9 FM

* All times listed are central time

LAST GAME RECAP:

Texas 2 at Peoria 3 4/6/11

The Texas Stars were defeated by the Peoria Rivermen 3-2 on Wednesday night in front of 2,668 fans at Carver Arena. Defenseman Jake Gannon scored his second goal of the season with 1:55 left in regulation to cap off a Peoria two-goal comeback. Fellow defender Nathan Oystrick started the rally with a goal midway through the third period to tie the game 2-2. Peoria goalie Jake Allen made 20 saves in the win, as Texas goalie Richard Bachman stopped 28 shots in the defeat. Stars forward Francis Wathier and defenseman Philip Larsen each scored in the loss, which prevented Texas from clinching a 2011 Calder Cup Playoff spot. The game marked the Stars third straight loss. It also marked the first time all year that Texas surrendered a lead after two periods of play. Prior to Wednesday night the Stars were 24-0-1-1 when leading after two periods of play.

Rockford 5 at Texas 1 4/3/11

The Texas Stars were defeated by the Rockford IceHogs 5-1 in front of 4,756 fans at Cedar Park Center on Sunday night. Rockford goalie Hannu Toivonen stopped 30 of 31 shots faced for the win. IceHogs center Jeff Taffe had a goal and two assists, while forwards Ben Smith and Brandon Pirri both had a goal and an assist on the night. Texas center Travis Morin had the lone goal for Texas, as the Stars fell to 22-11-3-3 at home this season. Texas goalie Tyler Beskorowany stopped 30 shots in the loss.

Texas 0 at Oklahoma City 2 4/2/11

The Texas Stars were defeated by the Oklahoma City Barons 2-0 in front of 8,833 fans at Cox Convention Center on Saturday night. Oklahoma City goalie Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers made 22 saves for his second consecutive shutout. Despite 33 saves, Texas goalie Richard Bachman suffered the loss. Oklahoma City defenseman Kevin Montgomery and forward Alexandre Giroux each scored for the Barons, ending the Stars five-game winning streak.

The Texas Stars

After 77 games of action, right wing Greg Rallo leads the team in points with 53 (26g-27a). Ralllo also leads the team with 26 goals and 251 shots on net. He is tied for second in the league with seven game-winning goals and he ranks in the top five for shots on goal. Center Travis Morin is second for Texas in scoring with 19 goals and 24 assists for 43 points in 61 games played. Morin returned to the lineup on March 7th after missing 14 games with an injury. Colton Sceviour is third on the team with 41 points and he is fourth with 25 assists in 77 games played. Dan Spang is fourth overall on the team with 37 points. He is tied for second on the team in assists (27), as well as leading all defensemen in goals (10) and shots on goal (164). Left wing Francis Wathier is second on the team with 19 goals and 170 shots in 65 games played. Defenseman Maxime Fortunus leads the team with 29 assists in 71 games played. Center Mathieu Tousignant leads the team with 118 penalty minutes.

Texas Stars goalies Richard Bachman and Tyler Beskorowany fill the net for the Stars. Bachman has appeared in 53 games, going 27-18-5 with a 2.21 goals against average and a .926 save percentage. Bachman ranks in the top five of the AHL for goals against average and save percentage. Bachman has started 36 of the last 48 games and he ranks third in the AHL with over 3,000 minutes played in net. Overall, Beskorowany is 7-7-1 with a 2.19 goals against average and a .927 save percentage. Goalie Brent Krahn has appeared in 12 games, posting a 6-6-0 mark, a 3.20 goals against average and a .895 save percentage. Krahn is out with an injury.

Rallo Closes In On Team Record

Texas right wing Greg Rallo is closing in on the team record for goals in one season. Rallo tallied his 26th goal of the year on March 26th, pulling him within one goal of the team mark. Center Aaron Gagnon scored 27 goals in 78 games last season to set the current team mark. Rallo has already blown away the team mark for shots on goal in one season. He is in the top five of the AHL with 251 shots. In 2009-10, left wing Francis Wathier posted 159 shots on goal. Rallo is tied for second in the league with seven game-winning goals this season. The fifth-year pro has career highs for goals (26), assists (27) and points (53). He is the only remaining skater to have suited up in all 77 games played this year. The fifth-year pro is second all-time among Texas skaters with 146 games played and first all-time with 45 goals. Rallo is three points ahead of Travis Morin for the team's all-time lead with 97 points.

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).

Right wing Chris Mueller leads the team in scoring with 23 goals and 47 points in 64 games played. Newcomer Linus Klasen is second for the Admirals with 45 points in 47 games played, including 22 goals. Left wing Ryan Thang is tied for third among all skaters with 38 points in 75 games played. He has 12 goals and 26 assists on the year. Defenseman Roman Josi is tied for third on the team with 38 points in 66 games played. Winger Kelsey Wilson and defenseman Scott Ford lead the team in penalty minutes. Ford has a team-high 154 in 77 games played, while Wilson has 145 in 74 games played.

The Nashville Predators have plenty of Admirals up in the NHL. Rookie center Blake Geoffrion left for the big club after posting 37 points (11g-26a) in only 45 games played. Offensive defenseman Jonathon Blum is also in Nashville, he had 34 points (7g, 27a) in 54 games before he was summoned to Nashville. Right wing Matt Halischuk is also up in the NHL. He had 11 goals and 12 assists for 23 points in 37 games played.

In net, the Admirals feature goalies Jeremy Smith and Atte Engren, while Mark Dekanich is out with an injury. Dekanich is among the league leaders with 2.02 goals against average, .931 save percentage and four shutouts. He was 23-12-5 at the time of his lower-body injury. Smith (15-7-2) was drafted in the 2nd round (#54 overall) by Nashville in 2007. He has a 2.19 goals against average and a .924 save percentage. Engren recently joined the team on an ATO. He is 1-2-0 with a 2.89 goals against average and a .886 save percentage.

Special Teams

After finishing second overall last season on the penalty kill, the Stars rank 25th overall at 80.6%. Texas sits 19th in the AHL, converting 17.4% of its power plays. The Admirals are 15th overall on the power play, converting 18.4% of the time. Milwaukee is 22nd in the AHL on the penalty kill, stopping 81.2% of its opponents' power plays.

Offense and Defense

The Texas Stars are ninth overall in team defense, allowing 2.66 goals against per game. Texas is ranked 22nd out of 30 teams, scoring an average of 2.73 goals per game. Milwaukee's defense ranks third overall with a 2.43 goals against per game. The Admirals sit 14th offensively, averaging 2.81 goals per game.

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