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AHL Texas Stars

Texas Stars Game Notes

May 26, 2010 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Texas Stars News Release


The Robert W. Clarke Trophy and a berth in the 2010 Calder Cup Finals are on the line tonight when Hamilton hosts Texas in Game 7 of the Western Conference championship series... The Stars have allowed the game's first goal in all six games of the series to date and has played with the lead for a total of 18:19 out of the 386:11 played (4.7 percent), but is still one win away from becoming the first team since Chicago and Bridgeport in 2002 to reach the Calder Cup Finals in their first AHL season... Four of the first six games in the series have gone to overtime, including Texas's 3-2 win in Game 6 on Monday night... After the Stars came back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits, Aaron Gagnon scored 18:32 into the first overtime for his sixth goal of the playoffs and first game-winner... Defenseman Garrett Stafford and forward Scott McCulloch also notched Game 6 goals for the Stars...

Stafford broke an eight-game drought with his first goal since Apr. 30 at Chicago, while McCulloch scored for the first time since Game 7 of that second-round series vs. the Wolves... Rookie Jamie Benn (13-10-23), who has factored into eight of the Stars' 13 total goals in the conference finals (5-3-8), recorded a pair of assists on Monday for his eighth multiple-point effort this postseason... Of the 10 playoff games in which Benn has contributed to his team's offense, eight have been multiple-point performances... Benn remains one goal shy of the AHL rookie playoff record held by Rochester's Sean McKenna (14 in 1983)... Texas is now 9-1 when Benn records a point this postseason, 2-5 when he doesn't...

Texas goaltender Matt Climie (4-3, 2.70, .917) made an AHL postseason-high 51 saves on 53 shots to pick up the victory in Monday's contest, his seventh straight start after taking over for the injured Brent Krahn during Game 6 of the division finals vs. Chicago... Rookie Gabriel Dumont and defenseman Shawn Belle tallied goals for Hamilton in Monday's loss... Dumont had been scoreless in eight straight games since tallying his first professional goal on May 4 at Abbotsford, while Belle recorded his first goal in 39 games dating back to mid-February... Bulldogs leading scorer David Desharnais (9-13-22) picked up an assist to secure his second eight-game scoring streak of these playoffs... Brock Trotter also earned a helper and now shows a point in six of his last seven outings (4-5-9)... Hamilton has received defenseman P.K. Subban and forward Ben Maxwell from parent-club Montreal, which was eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Monday... Subban, a member of the AHL's All-Rookie and First All-Star Teams this year, had a team-high nine points (3-6-9) in six AHL postseason games prior to his summons... The Game 6 loss dropped Hamilton to 7-2 at home this postseason, and the Bulldogs have not dropped back-to-back outings at Copps Coliseum since losing to Abbotsford and Texas on Feb. 13 and 16...

All three of the Stars' victories this series and each of their last four overall have come in overtime... The Bulldogs have dropped three straight trips to OT after winning eight straight overtime playoff games going back to 2004... The Western Conference Finals are going the distance for the first time since 2003, when Houston defeated Grand Rapids... This is Hamilton's first appearance in a Game 7 since a 3-0 loss to Houston in the deciding match of the 2003 Calder Cup Finals... The Bulldogs are 2-2 all-time in Game 7's, and 5-2 in winner-take-all games...

Hamilton is 18-13 all-time with a chance to close out a series, including 12-9 at Copps Coliseum and 2-2 in 2010... The Bulldogs, who opened up a 2-0 series lead before dropping three of the next four games, have never lost a series in which they won Game 1 (15-0)... Texas, which defeated Chicago, 6-5, in overtime of Game 7 of the West Division Finals, is looking to become the fourth team in AHL history to win two Game 7's on the road in the same postseason, following Houston (2003 and 2009) and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (2004)...

The Stars can also join Abbotsford (2010), Providence (2007), Portland (1996) and Maine (1983) as the only AHL teams ever to win Games 6 and 7 of a series on the road... This is the 79th Game 7 in AHL history... Home teams are 43-35, but visitors have won four of six over the past two postseasons... Tonight's winner will face the Hershey Bears in the AHL's 74th Calder Cup Finals.

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American Hockey League Stories from May 26, 2010


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