AHL Texas Stars

Gameday Preview- Oklahoma City at Texas

Published on December 10, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Texas Stars News Release


Oklahoma City Barons (18-6-0-1, 37 points) at Texas Stars (10-11-0-1, 21 points)

The Texas Stars and the Oklahoma City Barons meet for the third time this season. The two teams have split the previous two games of the season series, with each squad winning in a lopsided fashion. Texas opened the season with a 7-0 win at home on Oct 9. Oklahoma City countered with a 10-1 win at the Cox Convention Center on Oct. 15. The Stars and Barons will meet seven more times this season, including four more games at Cedar Park Center. Texas will visit Oklahoma City on Tuesday night.

Saturday's game marks the 13th all-time meeting between the two teams. The Stars are 7-4-0-1 all-time against the Barons after going 6-3-0-1 in 2010-11. Texas is 4-1-0-1 all-time in six games at home against Oklahoma City. The Barons are tied for the top spot in the West Division with 37 points, while the Stars are in fourth place of the division with 21 points.

The Stars have four wins in their last ten games, going 4-6-0-0 over that span. Texas enters Saturday's game after posting back-to-back wins over Charlotte, including a 3-0 win on Friday night at home over the Midwest Division leaders. The Stars improved to 4-6-0-1 on home-ice this season, ending a five game winless streak (0-4-0-1). It was the Stars second regulation win at home this season and first since a 7-0 victory over Oklahoma City on October 9th. Texas has been outscored 35-33 on home ice this season. The Stars are 4-7-0-1 against the West Division this season. Nine of the team's next ten games will be against division rivals. Texas' scoring has been spread out evenly this season, with 23 first-period tallies and 22 second-period markers. The Stars have been outscored in second period of play 27-22. Texas has fallen to 15th in the league with a 3.00 goals per game average. The team has 24 goals over its last 11 games. The Stars are 6-1-0-1 when leading after two periods of play, but they are 0-10-0-0 when trailing after two periods of play. Texas leads the AHL with four overtime wins this season, going 4-0-0-1 when tied after regulation. Texas is 4-for-11 on the power play and 9-for-12 on the penalty kill against Oklahoma City. Rookie Matt Fraser has two goals and an assist for three points in two games against the Barons. Dan Spang and Brenden Dillon also have three points against the Barons.

Oklahoma City is coming off a 3-1 win at home over Peoria on Friday night. The Barons are concluding a stretch of three games in three nights, after taking a road game in Houston on Thursday and hosting the Rivermen last night. In all, the Barons have taken six of the last seven games, outscoring their opponents 17-13 over that stretch. The Barons have taken eight of their last ten. Oklahoma City is 10-3-0-0 on the road this season, winning four of their last five road games. The team is outscoring their opponents 42-38 away from home this season. Oklahoma City is 10-3-0-0 against the West Division this season, including a perfect 3-0-0-0 mark against the Houston Aeros (tied for first in the West).

The Barons lead the AHL with a 2.20 goals against average, allowing 55 goals over 25 games. The Barons scoring has been spread out this season with 23 first-period goals, 26 second-period tallies and 25 in the third. Oklahoma City has the biggest goal differential in the third period of play, besting their opponents 25-14 in the final frame. Oklahoma City is 9-0-0-0 when leading after the first and 12-0-0-0 when leading after the second. The Barons have scored the first goal 13 times this year, posting a 12-1-0-0 record when scoring first. Oklahoma City is last in the league, averaging 26.96 shots against per game. The team is 13th in the AHL with 28.96 shots per game.

Texas Sends Coyle and Neal to Idaho

The Texas Stars announced on Wednesday that the club has assigned defenseman Jace Coyle to the Idaho Steelheads, the Stars' ECHL affiliate. The Stars announced last Friday that forward Michael Neal has been assigned to Idaho.

Coyle is in his first pro season, having played in 11 games without registering a point. The 21-year old spent the last three years playing for the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The 5-foot-11, 185-pounder enjoyed his best WHL in 2009-10, setting up 36 goals and totaling 46 points in 68 games played. In 241 WHL games from 2007-11, Coyle scored 25 goals and totaled 107 points. The undrafted defenseman attended training camp with the NHL's Dallas Stars in 2011 and played for the Stars in the 2011 Traverse City Prospects camp.

Neal was recalled last Monday, but did not see action with the Stars on his recent stint. He is in his third season within the Dallas Stars organization. The Whitby, ON, native has played 22 games with Texas over the previous two seasons. During his time in Texas, the forward has three goals and 14 penalty minutes. The 22-year-old played in 19 games with Idaho this season, totaling three goals and seven points. For his career, Neal has played in 144 pro games with Idaho and Texas, scoring 17 times and totaling 40 points. He was drafted by the Dallas Stars in the fifth round (#149 overall) in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

What's Ahead:

DATE OPPONENT TIME RADIO

Saturday, December 10 vs. Oklahoma City 7:00 PM 92.5 FM

Tuesday, December 13 at Oklahoma City 7:00 PM 104.9 FM

Friday, December 16 at Houston 7:35 PM 104.9 FM

Saturday, December 17 vs. Rochester 7:00 PM 92.5 FM

Sunday, December 18 at San Antonio 3:30 PM 104.5 FM

* All times listed are central time

LAST THREE GAMES

Charlotte 0 at Texas 3 12/9/11

The Texas Stars defeated the Charlotte Checkers 3-0 in front of 5,601 fans at Cedar Park Center on Friday night. Texas goalie Tyler Beskorowany stopped all 29 shots faced for his first shutout of the year. The victory marked Beskorowany's second shutout with Texas, as the Stars improved to 4-6-0-1 at home, breaking a five-game winless skid at Cedar Park Center. Stars' defenseman Hubert Labrie notched his first professional goal while left wing Matt Fraser added his 11th goal of the year. Right wing Colton Sceviour also scored for Texas and left wing Francis Wathier registered two assists on the night. Charlotte goalie Justin Peters stopped 22 of 25 shots, as the Checkers fell to 6-6-0-1 on the road.

Texas 4 at Charlotte 2 12/3/11

The Texas Stars defeated the Charlotte Checkers 4-2 in front of 8,913 fans at Time Warner Cable Arena on Saturday night. Four different goal scorers propelled the Stars to a two-goal victory in Charlotte, ending the Checkers five-game winning streak. Stars forward Mike Hedden scored with four seconds remaining in the second period for the eventual game-winning goal. Forwards Matt Fraser and Luke Gazdic also tallied goals, as the Stars handed Charlotte its second loss in regulation at home this season. Texas defenseman Maxime Fortunus scored his third goal of the year early in the third period to ensure the victory, as the team improved to 6-5-0-0 on the road this season. Texas goalie Tyler Beskorowany stopped 22 of 24 shots in the win. Texas defenseman Jordie Benn extended his scoring streak to six straight games with a point, setting up a second-period goal. Charlotte goalie Justin Peters stopped 25 of the 29 Texas shots, in the loss.

Texas 2 at Charlotte 3 11/30/11

The Texas Stars were defeated by the Charlotte Checkers 3-2 in front of 3,839 fans at Time Warner Cable Arena on Wednesday night. Checkers forward Jon Matsumoto scored near the halfway point of the game and the team held on for its fifth straight win. Charlotte goalie Mike Murphy stopped 25 of the 27 Texas shots, including all 13 in the final period of play. Forwards Zac Dalpe and Brett Sutter also scored for Charlotte. Texas defenseman Jordie Benn and left wing Luke Gazdic each scored in the loss. Texas goalie Tyler Beskorowany stopped 21 of 24 shots in the defeat.

Texas Stars

Center Travis Morin, right wing Raymond Sawada and winger Matt Fraser lead Texas in scoring. Morin is the clubhouse leader with 17 assists and 21 points in his first 22 games played. He ranks in the top ten of the AHL for assists and he is among the AHL leaders with ten power-play helpers. Morin has an assist in four straight road games. Rookie forward Matt Fraser is second with 16 points in 22 games. He leads the team with 11 goals scored and 86 shots on net. Fraser is tied for second in the AHL with seven power-play goals and he is tied for ninth overall in the AHL in rookie scoring. Fraser ended an eight-game scoreless streak last Saturday with two points in Charlotte. He followed up with his 11th goal on Friday night. Sawada is third overall in team scoring with five goals and ten assists for 15 points in 22 games played. Sawada (9) and Morin (11) are among the top 20 in the AHL for power-play points.

Forwards Francis Wathier and Ryan Garbutt round out the top scoring forwards for Texas. For the season, Wathier has five goals and nine assists for 14 points in 22 games played. Center Ryan Garbutt has 13 points in 22 games. Garbutt leads Texas with 42 penalty minutes, followed by Luke Gazdic, who has 37 minutes in 22 games played. Rookie forward Scott Glennie had a three-game scoring streak snapped last Wednesday in Charlotte. He has five points in his last six games.

Jordie Benn leads all Texas defensemen in scoring with seven goals and 14 points in 22 games played. He ranks tied for first in goals scored and tied for tenth in points among all AHL defensemen. Benn had five-game points streak snapped on Friday night. He has at least a point in eight of the last ten games. Brenden Dillon (1-9-10) and Dan Spang (2-9-10) are second among all team defenders with ten points each. Defender Maxime Fortunus has eight points in 18 games, while Captain Brad Lukowich has six assists in 20 games played.

Goalies Tyler Beskorowany and Jimmy Spratt are the goalies on the Texas roster, while goalie Richard Bachman remains on recall to Dallas. Beskorowany is 3-5-0 with a 2.64 goals against average and a .908 save percentage. Beskorowany went 0-3-0 in the month of November, posting a 3.07 goals against average and a .898 save percentage. Bachman had started nine of the last 11 games for Texas prior to his recall. Beskorowany has started the last three games and Spratt has yet to make his Texas debut. Beskorowany is 2-1-0 in his last three starts with 1.68 goals against average and a .945 save percentage.

Special Teams

The Stars have converted 27 of 115 power plays for a 23.5% conversion rate. The Stars have failed to register a power-play goal in only eight of their first 22 games. Texas has scored more than one power-play goal nine times this season. The Stars are second in the league with 27 power-play goals this season. The Stars have killed off 80 of the 96 penalties (83.3%), ranking 11th overall on the penalty kill. The Stars have killed off 40 of the last 43 penalties (93%). The Barons are fifth overall in the AHL on the penalty kill, stopping 85% of their opponents' power plays. Overall, Oklahoma City ranks seventh best in the AHL after going 21-for-103 (20.4%).

The Oklahoma City Barons

The Barons have experienced a fair share of roster turnover over the offseason. The top three leading scorers from last year have moved on. Leading scorer Alexandre Giroux (78 points in 70 games) bolted for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Second leading scorer Brad Moran (72 points in 72 games) left for Europe. Finally, Bill MacDonald, who led the AHL in goals scored with 42, departed for the Pittsburgh Penguins system. The Barons return Teemu Hartikainen and Milan Kytnar after their rookie campaigns last year. Hartikainen was fifth on the team with 17 goals and Kyntar finished with 13 tallies. Ryan O'Marra, a former first round pick of New York Islanders (15th overall in 05), split last season between Edmonton and Oklahoma City. O'Marra had 22 points in 53 games with the Barons, including 20 assists.

Right wing Ryan Keller leads the Barons with 19 points off eight goals and 11 assists in 25 games played. Left wing Philippe Cornet leads the team with 15 goals scored and he is second overall in points with 18 in 24 games played. Cornet is second overall in the AHL for goals scored. Keller and Cornet are tied for the league lead with four game-winning goals apiece. Center Gilbert Brule is tied for third on the team with 16 points. Mark Arcobello is tied with Brule at 16 points and he leads the squad with 14 assists on the season. Alex Plante is the team's leader for points from the blueline, totaling nine in 23 games played. He also leads the team with 59 penalty minutes, followed by Triston Grant's 55 minutes. Plante also leads the team with a +13 rating, which ties him for fourth overall in the AHL.

Two veteran tenders, Yann Danis and David LeNeveu man the net for the Barons. Danis 11-4-0 with a 2.33 goals against average and a .924 save percentage. Danis is third overall in the AHL for wins and 13th in goals against average. LeNeveu is 7-2-1 with a 1.79 goals against average and a .935 save percentage. LeNeveu is third in the league for goals against average and he is third in save percentage.

Check out the Texas Stars Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from December 10, 2011


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