AHL Texas Stars

Gameday Preview: Grand Rapids at Texas

Published on March 7, 2012 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Texas Stars News Release


Grand Rapids Griffins (25-22-5-4, 59 points) at Texas Stars (25-28-2-2, 54 points)

Texas and Grand Rapids meet for the second time this season and the first meeting at Cedar Park Center. The two teams will play a total of four times this season. Wednesday's meeting marks the 14th all-time meeting between the two teams. Texas leads the all-time series with a 7-5-1-0 (15 points) mark against the Griffins, including a 4-3-0-0 record at Van Andel Arena. The Griffins are 6-5-0-2 all-time against the Stars, accruing a 3-2-0-2 record at home. Texas has taken the last four meetings, including the first meeting of the season on January 13, 2012, a 6-4 Stars win. The Griffins enter the game in 12th place of the Western Conference, six points out of the eighth and final playoff spot with 20 games remaining. Texas is in 15th of the conference, 11 points back of the final playoff spot with 19 games remaining.

Texas has four wins in its last ten games, going 4-6-0-0 over that span. The team is coming off a 4 -1 win in Abbotsford on Sunday . The team begins a season-long seven-game home stand on Wednesday. The team will host Grand Rapids, San Antonio (2), Oklahoma City (2) and Abbotsford prior to heading back out on the road March 23. Dating back to December 9th, the team is 11-3-2-0 (.750) over the last 16 games at home. Texas is 14-9-2-1 at home this season, outscoring opponents 91-80 at Cedar Park Center. Texas is in the middle of a crucial stretch of division games, where the team will play eight out of nine games against division foes. The Stars are 13-18-0-2 against the West Division. The Stars are 3-3-0-0 against the North Division this season, dropping their last three decisions to North Division foes. Texas' scoring has been spread out evenly this season, with 45 first-period tallies and 65 second-period markers. Since Dec. 3 (last 37 games), Texas has outscored the opposition 47-35 in the second period after getting outscored in the middle frame 26-18 in the first 20 games. The Stars lead the opposition in second-period scoring with a 65-64 edge. In all, the club has been outscored by the opposing team 182-168 for the season. Texas is 11th in the league with a 2.95 goals per game average and it ranks 27th defensively with a 3.19 goals against average. The Stars are 16-0-1-1 when leading after two periods of play, but they are 3-24-0-0 when trailing after two periods of play. The team is 12-11-2-2 in games decided by one goal this season. Texas and Manchester are tied for second in the AHL with five overtime wins this season, going 5 (OTW)-2 (OTL)-2 (SOW)-2 (SOL) when tied after regulation. The Stars are tied for second in the AHL with ten shorthanded goals this season.

The Griffins began a five-game road trip in Hamilton on Sunday, dropping a 1-0 decision to the Bulldogs. Grand Rapids is 10-11-0-1 on the road this season and 6-3-0-1 in the last ten games. Overall, Grand Rapids has outscored its opponents 179-177. On the road, the Griffins have been outscored 75-69. The Griffins have made 15 overtime appearances, going 3-5-3-4 in games when tied after regulation. Grand Rapids is 18-8-1-3 when scoring the game's first goal. In 16 games against West Division foes, the Griffins are 5-8-2-1. The club is outscoring opponents 57-50 in the first period of play and has been outscored 71-59 in the second period of action. Grand Rapids is ranked fifth in the league offensively, averaging 3.20 goals per game. The Griffins are 25th in the AHL defensively, allowing 3.16 goals per game. Grand Rapids leads the league with 34.45 shots per game. The team ranks 13th in the league, averaging 16.36 penalty minutes per game.

Texas Stars

Center Travis Morin and winger Matt Fraser lead Texas in scoring. Morin is the clubhouse leader with a team-record 40 assists and 48 points in his first 57 games played. He ranks in the top ten of the AHL for assists and needs four more to become the first Texas Star to reach 100 assists with the club. Rookie forward Matt Fraser is second in scoring with 43 points in 54 games. He leads the team with 26 goals scored and 190 shots on net. Fraser sits in the top five of the AHL for goals scored. Fraser is sixth overall among all rookies in points and first in shots. He needs one goal to tie the Stars single-season record of 27 goals in one season - set twice (Aaron Gagnon - 09-10 and Greg Rallo 10-11). Ryan Garbutt was called up on Friday, February 17th, scoring his first NHL goal in his third NHL game at Montreal. Garbutt had 16 goals and 33 points in 50 games with Texas at the time of his recall.

Colton Sceviour, Francis Wathier and Scott Glennie round out the top scorers for Texas. Colton Sceviour is second on the team with a career-high 26 assists and he is third with 41 points. He needs one point to set a new career high. Sceviour has a point in 13 straight home games, dating back to Dec. 27. Over that span, he has eight goals and 20 points. Scott Glennie is fourth overall on the team with 32 points off 12 goals and 20 assists in 53 games played. Wathier has 13 goals and 18 assists for 31 points in 56 games played.

Jordie Benn leads all defenders and he ranks in the top ten of the AHL among defensemen with nine goals. He also is first among Texas blueliners with 26 points in 53 games played. Veteran Brad Lukowich is second among team defenders with 23 points off 19 assists and four goals in 50 games played.

Goalies Andrew Raycroft and Tyler Beskorowany split time in net for Texas. Raycroft is 8-9-1 with a 3.07 goals against average and a .895 save percentage in 18 starts for the Stars. Beskorowany is 9-14-0 with a 3.15 goals against average and a .895 save percentage. Beskorwany has stopped 210 of the last 229 shots (.917) in his last six starts.

Special Teams

The Stars have converted 56 of 265 power plays for a 21.1% conversion rate, as Texas is fourth overall in power play percentage. The Stars have killed off 181 of 221 opponents' power plays (81.9%), ranking 18th overall on the penalty kill. Texas is tied for the fewest penalty kills in the AHL. The Griffins are 11th in the AHL on the penalty kill, stopping 82.8% of their opponents' power plays. Overall, Grand Rapids ranks 21st in the AHL on the power play after going 40-for-246 (16.3%).

The Grand Rapids Griffins

Left wing Gustav Nyquist leads the Griffins in scoring with a team-high 35 assists and 54 points in 52 games played. Nyquist is one of three rookies to rank in the top 20 of the AHL scoring race. The 22-year-old is second overall in the AHL rookie scoring race and first overall in assists by a first-year player. Veteran center Jamie Johnson surpassed his 2010-11 point total, posting 45 points in his first 56 games played, including placing second on the team with 18 goals. Johnson recorded 38 points in 78 games last year. Third-year Griffin Tomas Tatar is third overall in team scoring with 39 points in 56 games played. Tatar is fourth in goals (14) and tied for third in assists (25). Veteran right wing Chris Conner was recently called up to Detroit after scoring 11 goals and totaling 36 points in 41 games played. Former Dallas and Texas Star Fabian Brunnstrom has eight goals and 18 assists for 26 points in 33 games this year. Left wing Chris Minard has returned from injury and has 12 goals and 17 points in his first 20 games back.

With defensemen Brendan Smith and Doug Janik in Detroit, fellow defender Logan Pyett leads the Griffins D-core with 21 points. Blueliner Garnet Exelby leads the Griffins and ranks fourth among all AHL D-men with 152 penalty minutes in 55 games played.

In net, the Griffins sport goalies Ty Conklin and Tom McCollum. Conklin, an NHL veteran, is 5-1-0 since he was assigned by Detroit on February 21. He has a 1.81 goals against average and a .936 save percentage in six appearances. His only loss of the year was in Hamilton on Sunday, a 1-0 defeat. McCollum is 6-8-0 with a 3.59 goals against average and a .883 save percentage.

Buffalo Sabres Assign Defenseman Schiestel, Stars Shuffle Roster

The Texas Stars announced on Tuesday that the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League have reassigned defenseman Drew Schiestel from the Rochester Americans to the Texas Stars. Texas also announced that forward Nick Layton has been assigned to the Allen Americans of the Central Hockey League, Texas' CHL affiliate. The Stars released defenseman Cameron Brodie from a PTO.

Schiestel, a third-year defenseman played in 43 games for Rochester this season. The 22-year old scored twice and set up ten others for 12 points with the Americans. From 2009-11, the 6-foot-1, 197-pounder played for Portland. In 97 AHL games with the Pirates, The Hamilton, ON native scored six goals and added 29 assists for 35 points. The Buffalo Sabres drafted Schiestel in the second round (#59 overall) of the 2007 NHL Entry draft. He played junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League with Mississauga from 2005-07 and with Niagara from 2007-09. In 237 OHL games, the blueliner scored 25 goals and added 86 assists for 111 points.

Layton made his AHL debut and suited up in four games for Texas without registering a point. The rookie has played in 50 games for the Allen Americans of the CHL this season. During his time with the Americans, Layton scored 13 goals and added 23 assists for 36 points.

Brodie made his AHL debut and suited up in three games for Texas without collecting a point. The second-year pro will return to Stockton, where he spent the first 43 games of the year in the ECHL. In his time with the Thunder, Brodie totaled five points (all assists) and 54 penalty minutes.

Sawada Sent to St. John's, Forney and Weller Added to Texas

The Texas Stars announced numerous roster moves on Friday afternoon. The Dallas Stars have reassigned right wing Raymond Sawada from the Texas Stars to the St. John's IceCaps, the AHL affiliate of the NHL's Winnipeg Jets. In return, Winnipeg reassigned forward Michael Forney from the Colorado Eagles (ECHL) to the Texas Stars, Dallas' AHL affiliate. In a separate AHL deal, St. John's traded forward Shawn Weller to the Texas Stars for future considerations.

Forney is a third-year pro who spent the bulk of this season with the Colorado Eagles of the ECHL. In 53 games with Colorado, he scored 20 goals and totaled 51 points. He ranked fourth in goals and in assists for Colorado. The 23-year old was scoreless in three games with St. John's this year. Forney played for Texas Head Coach Jeff Pyle in Gwinnett from 2009-11, compiling 32 goals and 60 assists for 92 points in 129 games. The Thief River Falls, MN native was drafted in the third round (#80 overall) by Atlanta in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Weller is fifth-year pro out of Glens Falls, NY. The 6-foot-2, 205 pounder has played in 41 games for St. John's this season, scoring ten goals and setting up 14 others for a total of 24 points. In 273 AHL games, the 25-year old has 42 goals and 42 assists for 84 points with St. John's, Abbotsford, Manitoba and Binghamton. Weller was drafted in the third round (#77 overall) by Ottawa in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

Over the last three seasons, Sawada has played in 143 games for the Texas Stars. During his time in Cedar Park, the 27-year old scored 25 goals and added 39 assists for 64 points. He also played in 30 Calder Cup Playoff games for the Stars, including the 2010 run the Calder Cup Finals. Dallas drafted Sawada in the second round (#52 overall) in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

LAST THREE GAMES

Texas 4 at Abbotsford 1 3/4/12

The Texas Stars defeated th e Abbotsford Heat 4-1 in front of 2,403 fans at the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre on Sunday. Texas goalie Tyler Beskorwany paved the way to victory by stopping 30 of 31 Abbootsford shots, as the club ended an eight-game drought on the road. Left wing Luke Gazdic scored two third-period goals to help Texas pull away and improve to 11-19-0-1 on the road. Right wing Colton Sceviour had a power-play goal and an assist, as Texas picked up its first win in Abbotsford this season. Forward Francis Wathier also found the back of the net in the win. Abbotsford goalie Leland Irving suffered the loss with 32 saves.

Texas 1 at Abbotsford 2 3/2/12

The Texas Stars were defeated by th e Abbotsford Heat 2-1 in front of 3,609 fans at the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre on Friday night. Heat forwards Krys Kolanos and Ben Walter each scored a power-play goal 2:27 apart in the first five minutes of the game and Abbotsford goalie Danny Taylor took care of the rest, stopping 22 of 23 Texas shots for the win.

Houston 5 at Texas 2 2/25/12

The Texas Stars were defeated by the Houston Aeros 5-2 in front of 6,429 fans at the Cedar Park Center on Saturday night. Aeros center Chad Rau led the way, scoring one goal and setting up two others, helping his team end a four-game winless skid. Veteran forward Jeff Taffe also netted two goals, as Houston improved to 6-2-2-1 against Texas this season. Stars' defenseman Jordie Benn registered two assists. Defenseman Brenden Dillon and right wing Colton Sceviour each scored for the Stars. Texas goalie Tyler Beskorowany stopped 32 of 37 shots as the Stars lost.

What's Ahead:

DATE OPPONENT TIME RADIO

Wednesday, March 7 vs. Grand Rapids 7:30 PM 104.9 FM

Friday, March 9 vs. San Antonio 7:30 PM 104.9 FM

Saturday, March 10 vs. San Antonio 7:00 PM 104.9 FM

Tuesday, March 12 vs. Grand Rapids 7:30 PM 104.9 FM

* All times listed are central time

Check out the Texas Stars Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from March 7, 2012


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