AHL Texas Stars

Gameday Preview- Texas at Oklahoma City

Published on December 13, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Texas Stars News Release


Texas Stars (10-12-0-1, 21 points) at Oklahoma City Barons (19-6-0-1, 39 points)

The Texas Stars and the Oklahoma City Barons meet for the fourth time this season. Oklahoma City leads the season series 2-1-0-0 after taking a 3-2 decision at Cedar Park Center on Saturday night. The teams are playing for the second time in four days. The two teams split the first 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 six more times this season, including three more games at Cedar Park Center. After Tuesday, the division rivals will not face each other again until late January.

Tuesday's game marks the 14th all-time meeting between the two teams. The Stars are 7-5-0-1 all-time against the Barons after going 6-3-0-1 in 2010-11. Texas is 3-4-0-0 all-time in six games at Oklahoma City. The Barons have more wins and points than any other team in the AHL, holding a one point lead in the division over Houston. The Stars are in fifth place of the division with 21 points, three points behind fourth-place San Antonio.

The Stars have four wins in their last ten games, going 4-6-0-0 over that span. Texas had a two-game winning streak snapped with Saturday night's 3-2 loss at home to the Barons. The Stars are 6-5-0-0 on the road this season, matching their opponents with 33 goals per side. Texas has won three of its last four road games. The Stars are 4-8-0-1 against the West Division this season. The team is in the middle of a stretch where nine of their 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 28-22. Texas is 16th in the league with a 2.96 goals per game average. The team has 26 goals over its last 12 games. The Stars are 6-1-0-1 when leading after two periods of play, but they are 0-11-0-0 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-17 on the power play and 12-for-16 on the penalty kill against Oklahoma City. Rookie Matt Fraser has three goals and an assist for four points in three games against the Barons. Dan Spang leads all skaters in the season series with four assists and five points in three games versus the Barons.

Counting Saturday's win at Texas, Oklahoma City has rattled off three straight wins. In all, the Barons have taken seven of their last eight games, outscoring their opponents 20-15 over that stretch. Five of their last seven wins have been taken by one goal. The Barons leads the Western Conference and they are second overall in the AHL with 11 one-goal victories. Oklahoma City is 8-3-0-1 at home this season, winning three of their last four games at the Cox Convention Center. The team is outscoring their opponents 35-17 at home this season. Oklahoma City is 11-3-0-0 against the West Division this season, including a perfect 3-0-0-0 mark against the Houston Aeros (2nd in the West).

The Barons lead the AHL with a 2.19 goals against average, allowing 57 goals over 26 games. The Barons scoring has been spread out this season with 24 first-period goals, 27 second-period tallies and 26 in the third. Oklahoma City has the biggest goal differential in the third period of play, besting their opponents 26-16 in the final frame. Oklahoma City is 10-0-0-0 when leading after the first and 13-0-0-0 when leading after the second. The Barons have scored the first goal 14 times this year, posting a 13-1-0-0 record when scoring first. Oklahoma City is last in the league, averaging 26.65 shots against per game. The team is 13th in the AHL with 29.58 shots per game.

Coyle Returns From Idaho

The Texas Stars announced on Tuesday that the club has recalled defenseman Jace Coyle from the Idaho Steelheads, the Stars' ECHL affiliate.

The rookie defenseman was assigned to Idaho last week, posting one assist in three games with the Steelheads. Coyle played in 11 games for Texas 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 season 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.

What's Ahead:

DATE OPPONENT TIME RADIO

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

Friday, December 16 at Houston 7:35 PM 92.5 FM

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

Sunday, December 18 at San Antonio 3:30 PM 104.9 FM

Wednesday, December 21 at Houston 7:05 PM 104.9 FM

* All times listed are central time

LAST THREE GAMES

Oklahoma City 3 at Texas 2 12/10/11

The Texas Stars were defeated by the Oklahoma City Barons 3-2 in front of 4,878 fans at Cedar Park Center on Saturday night. Oklahoma City goalie Yann Danis stopped 27 of 29 Texas shots as the Barons improved to 11-3-0-0 on the road. Forwards Tanner House and Tristan Grant scored for the Barons, while defenseman Taylor Chorney netted the game-winning goal. Center Scott Glennie and left wing Matt Fraser both scored in the third period to bring Texas within a goal. Texas goalie Tyler Beskorowany stopped 16 of 19 shots, as the Stars fell to 4-7-0-1 at home.

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 C harlotte 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 Stars

Center Travis Morin and winger Matt Fraser lead Texas in scoring. Morin is the clubhouse leader with 18 assists and 22 points in his first 23 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, as well as seven assists in his last ten games played. Rookie forward Matt Fraser is second with 17 points in 23 games. He leads the team with 12 goals scored and 90 shots on net. Fraser is tied for second in the AHL with seven power-play goals and he is tied for 11th overall in the AHL in rookie scoring. Fraser has a three game scoring streak, potting three goals and four points over that span.

Right wing Raymond Sawada is tied for third overall in team scoring with five goals and ten assists for 15 points in 23 games played. Forwards Francis Wathier and Ryan Garbutt round out the top scoring forwards for Texas. For the season, Wathier has five goals and ten assists for 15 points in 23 games played. Center Ryan Garbutt has 13 points in 23 games. Garbutt leads Texas with 48 penalty minutes, followed by Luke Gazdic, who has 37 minutes in 23 games played. Garbutt leads Texas and is second in the AHL with 19 minor penalties. Rookie forward Scott Glennie had a three-game scoring streak snapped last Wednesday in Charlotte. He has six points in his last seven games.

Jordie Benn leads all Texas defensemen in scoring with seven goals and 14 points in 23 games played. He ranks tied for second in goals scored and tied for 12th 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. Veteran defenseman Dan Spang is second among all Texas defenseman with 12 points off two goals and ten assists in 23 games. Rookie Brenden Dillon (1-9-10) is third among team defenders in points and first with 30 penalty minutes. Defender Maxime Fortunus has eight points in 19 games, while Captain Brad Lukowich has six assists in 21 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 3-6-0 with a 2.69 goals against average and a .903 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 in late November. Beskorowany has started the last four games and Spratt has yet to make his Texas debut. Beskorowany is 2-3-0 in his last five starts with 2.29 goals against average and a .908 save percentage.

Special Teams

The Stars have converted 27 of 121 power plays for a 22.3% conversion rate. The Stars have failed to register a power-play goal in nine of their first 23 games. Texas has scored more than one power-play goal nine times this season. The Stars are tied for third in the league with 27 power-play goals this season. The Stars have killed off 83 of the 100 penalties (83%), ranking 11 th overall on the penalty kill. The Stars have killed off 43 of the last 47 penalties (91.4%). The Barons are third overall in the AHL on the penalty kill, stopping 85.7% of their opponents' power plays. Overall, Oklahoma City ranks eighth best in the AHL after going 22-for-106 (20.8%) .

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 26 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 third 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 blue line, totaling ten in 24 games played. He also leads the team with 61 penalty minutes, followed by Triston Grant"˜s 57 minutes. Plante also leads the team with a +13 rating, which ties him for fifth overall in the AHL.

Two veteran tenders, Yann Danis and David LeNeveu man the net for the Barons. Danis 12-4-0 with a 2.31 goals against average and a .924 save percentage. Danis is third overall in the AHL for wins and 12th 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 13, 2011


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