AHL Texas Stars

Gameday Preview: Chicago at Texas

Published on November 10, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Texas Stars News Release


Texas continues a three-game home stand on Wednesday with the tenth all-time regular season meeting with the Chicago Wolves. The two teams met on October 28th in Chicago, with the Stars besting the Wolves 4-3. Texas is in the midst of a four-game slide, the longest in team history. Chicago enters tonight's game with two straight losses, dropping road games in Grand Rapids and Milwaukee prior to coming to Cedar Park. The Stars are coming off a 3-0 loss at home to Toronto on Saturday, while the Wolves are coming off a 4-1 loss in Milwaukee on Sunday.

The Stars are 3-4-0-0 at Cedar Park Center this season and 4-6-0-0 in the last ten games. For the first time in team history, the Stars are under .500 on home ice. Texas will play six more home games in November, with only two road games. The Wolves are three games into a lengthy eight-game road trip. Tonight marks the start of a five-game swing through the Southwest for the Wolves, who will visit Cedar Park twice during that span, in addition to Oklahoma City, San Antonio and Houston. Chicago is 3-3-1-0 on the road and 4-5-1-0 in their last ten. The Stars are in last place of the West Division for the first time in team history.

In last year's regular season series, Texas center Aaron Gagnon led the team in scoring against the Wolves, dishing out eight assists and totaling nine points in eight games. Forwards Warren Peters, Francis Wathier, Greg Rallo and Colton Sceviour tied for second in scoring in the regular season series. Peters had six points on three goals and three assists in seven games. Wathier led the team with four goals and totaled six points in eight games. Rallo scored twice and set up four others. Sceviour scored a goal and assisted on five others for six points. Goalie Brent Krahn went 3-1-0 with a 1.47 goals against average and a .947 save percentage with one shutout.

Captain Jason Krog led the Wolves and all scorers in the 2009-10 season series with eight assists and 11 points in seven games played. Brett Sterling and Anthony Stewart tied for the team lead with four goals each. Sterling totaled seven points in six games, while Stewart tallied seven points in eight games. Goalie Peter Mannino went 2-1-1 with a 2.39 GAA and a .909 save percentage. Drew MacIntyre went 2-1-0 with a 2.86 goals against average and a .886 save percentage.

TEXAS SENDS BACKMAN TO IDAHO

The Texas Stars announced on Tuesday that right wing Sean Backman has been reassigned by the Dallas Stars (NHL) to the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL, the Stars' ECHL Affiliate.

The rookie forward played in eight games for the Texas Stars in 2010-11, scoring his first pro goal and adding his first pro assist for two points. The 24-year old forward was signed to a one-year deal by the Dallas Stars on March 30th, 2010 after completing a four-year career at Yale University. Backman was named the 2009-10 Ivy League Player of the Year and also selected to the First-Team All ECAC and Reebok All America second team after his senior season with the Bulldogs. The Cos Cob, CT native, scored 77 goals and totaled 126 points in 122 NCAA contests.

TEXAS STARS GROW MUSTACHES FOR MOVEMBER

Throughout the month of November the Texas Stars will grow mustaches for Movember, a month-long event aimed at raising funds and awareness about cancers that affect men.

The entire Stars team has taken it upon themselves to help change the face of men's health by growing mustaches for the entire month of November and encourage fans to do the same. Updates on the team's progress will be posted throughout the month on www.texasstarshockey.com .

The Stars encourage fans to submit photos of their own mustaches via the Texas Stars Facebook Page, throughout Movember. Fans are also encouraged to make a donation on behalf of the Texas Stars with funds benefitting the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF). To donate on behalf of the Stars, visit www.Movember .com and search under the individual name "Texas Stars".

Throughout the month of November, the Texas Stars Foundation will take donations at a table on the concourse. The Foundation will donate all the collected proceeds to the Movember cause.

What's Ahead:

DATE OPPONENT TIME TV/RADIO

Tuesday, Nov. 16 vs. Chicago 7:30 PM 104.9 FM

Friday, Nov. 19 at Oklahoma City 7:05 PM 104.9 FM

Saturday, Nov. 20 vs. Milwaukee 7:00 PM 1530 AM

Sunday, Nov. 21 at Houston 4:05 PM 1530 AM

Wednesday, Nov. 24 vs. Houston 7:30 PM 1530 AM

* All times listed are local time

Upcoming Home Games and Promotions:

Chicago at Texas on Tuesday, November 16, 2010 at 7:30 PM

* H-E-B Tuesday - Bring an H-E-B non-perishable food item to box office and receive a $5 discount

For tickets go to www.ticketmaster.com or call (512)-GO-STARS

GAME RECAPS:

Toronto 3 at Texas 0 11/6/10

The Texas Stars were defeated by the Toronto Marlies 3-0 in front of 5,734 fans on Saturday night at Cedar Park Center. Marlies goalie James Reimer (1-3-1) stopped all 32 Stars shots to notch his first win of the season. Toronto forward Ryan Hamilton opened the scoring in the first and Joey Crabb added an early goal in the third to secure the win. Stars goalie Brent Krahn (4-4-0) stopped 25 of the 27 shots in the loss.

Texas 1 at Oklahoma City 6 11/5/10

Oklahoma City, OK - The Texas Stars were defeated by the Oklahoma City Barons 6-1 in front of 5,490 fans on Friday night at the Cox Convention Center. After the Stars took a 1-0 lead, the Barons rattled off six unanswered goals for their fifth straight win. Oklahoma City goalie Martin Gerber (7-4-0) made 29 saves for the win. Stars goalie Brent Krahn (4-3-0) took the loss, stopping 21 of 26 shots in 40:00 minutes of work.

Texas 2 at Houston 4 10/31/10

The Texas Stars were defeated by the Houston Aeros 4-2 on Sunday night in front of 3,353 fans at the Toyota Center. Houston goalie Anton Khudobin stopped 34 of 36 Texas shots to secure his second straight win. Aeros forward Carson McMillan scored 6:00 into the third period, breaking a 2-2 tie and pushing Houston in front for the remainder of the game. Texas goalie Richard Bachman made 24 saves in the team's first road loss this year. Stars forwards Mathieu Tousignant and Francis Wathier both scored in the defeat. Former Stars center Warren Peters scored once and added an assist on the game-winning goal for Houston.

The Texas Stars

After 12 games of action, center Travis Morin leads Texas in scoring with four goals and nine points. Left wing Scott McCulloch is tied for the team lead with four goals in five games, and he is tied second on the team with five points. McCulloch returned on Saturday after missing six games with an injury. Center Mathieu Tousignant is tied for second on the team with five points, and he leads the team with 22 penalty minutes in 12 games. Forwards Tomas Vincour, Ondrej Roman, Francis Wathier, Colton Sceviour, Tristan King, Luke Gazdic, Aaron Gagnon and defenseman Philip Larsen are tied for fourth on the team with four points each.

Texas Stars goalies Brent Krahn and Richard Bachman split time between the pipes. Krahn has appeared in eight games, posting a 4-4-0 mark, a 3.06 goals against average and a .897 save percentage. Bachman has appeared in six games, going 2-2-0 with a 2.52 goals against average and a .918 save percentage. Both goalies have posted a shutout this year.

The Stars 25-man roster is composed of two goalies, eight defensemen and 15 forwards. Texas returns 15 players from the 2010 Western Conference Championship squad. The players range from ages 19 to 34 with an average age of 24.16. Eight players are 22-years old or younger, including two 19-year olds. The roster is made up of six different nationalities. The roster also features 17 NHL draft picks, including ten Dallas Stars draft picks.

The most notable forward returnees on the Stars roster include Aaron Gagnon, Travis Morin and Greg Rallo, three of the top scorers on the team in 2009-10. Gagnon scored a team-high 27 goals and totaled 58 points in a breakout year. Morin and Rallo also had breakout years. As an AHL rookie, Morin finished in the top ten for points by a rookie and was second on the team with 52 points. Rallo had a career-high 19 goals and 44 points on the year.

On defense, the Stars return Maxime Fortunus, Matt Stephenson and Trevor Ludwig. Also, veteran defender and two-time Stanley Cup Champion, Brad Lukowich rejoins the team. Last season, Lukowich started the year with Texas and played in the first 29 games. He was recalled to Vancouver on New Year's Day and did not return.

Both goaltenders saw action for Texas last season. Returning starter Brent Krahn played in 22 games, going 17-4-0 with a 1.83 goals against average and a .945 save percentage. His season was shortened due to injuries. Richard Bachman played in seven games for Texas last year, posting a 4-3-0 record, a 2.02 goals against average and a .933 save percentage.

The Chicago Wolves

The Wolves return 11 players from 2009-10 team that captured the West Division regular season title after going 49-24-1-6 for 105 points. The team also welcomes 14 new faces to the roster.

The Wolves return leading scorer and Captain Jason Krog, who assisted on 61 goals and totaled 75 points in 78 games played in 09-10. Heading into the season, Krog had 523 points in 455 regular season AHL games. In 13 games this season, Krog has nine assists and ten points. Forward Spencer Machacek returns after posting 20 goals in his second pro season.

A few former Wolves have returned to their old team, including high-scoring forward Darren Haydar, as well as winger Andre Deveaux. Haydar tallied 122 points in 73 games with the Wolves in 2006-07. The veteran forward also netted 23 goals and totaled 64 points in 66 games with Lake Erie last season. Haydar leads the Wolves with seven goals and 14 points in 13 games this year. Deveaux scored 16 goals and totaled 41 points in 72 games with the Toronto Marlies last year. He is second on the team with five goals this season.

In net, the Wolves are carrying three goalies with Peter Mannino, Drew MacIntyre and Edward Pasquale. Mannino went 26-5-1 with a 2.34 goals against average and a .921 save percentage. MacIntyre went 20-17-2 with a 2.54 goals against average and a .917 save percentage. Pasquale is rookie out of the OHL, where he went 27-17-5 in 51 appearances with Saginaw.

"Special" Teams

After finishing second overall last season on the penalty kill, the Texas Stars penalty kill is 15th overall at 82.6%. Texas ranks 29th best in the AHL, converting on 10.2% of its power plays. The Stars have gone 24 straight power plays without a goal and have one score in their last 29 tries. The Wolves are third overall on the power play, converting 22.8% of the time. Chicago is 29th overall on the penalty kill, stopping 74.6% of their opponents' power plays.

Offense and Defense

The Texas Stars are 14th overall in team defense, allowing 2.92 goals against per game. Texas is ranked 28th out of 30 teams, scoring an average of 2.33 goals per game. Chicago's defense ranks 26th overall with a 3.38 goals against per game. The Wolves sit 22nd offensively, averaging 2.62 goals per game.

Check out the Texas Stars Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from November 10, 2010


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