Two Future Texas Stars Start Memorial Cup Battle Tonight

Current Star Matt Fraser had six points in five Memorial Cup games in 2010-11. (Credit: Steven Christy)

While the current Texas Stars may have bowed out of the playoffs last night in OKC, some future Texas Stars are getting ready for the annual battle for the Memorial Cup, starting this weekend in Saskatoon.

For those unfamiliar, the Memorial Cup pits the winner of each of the three Canadian major junior leagues and the host city's club against each other after the playoffs are over for each league. This year, the Saskatoon Blades lost in the first round of the WHL playoffs but earned a berth due to hosting the tournament.  The other competitors are the WHL's Portland Winterhawks, the OHL's London Knights, and the QMJHL's Halifax Mooseheads.

For Stars' fans, the two players to watch are forward Taylor Peters of the WHL's Portland Winterhawks and right wing Matej Stransky of the WHL's Saskatoon Blades. 

Taylor Peters is in his final, over age season in the WHL and was undrafted in the NHL. He was signed to an entry level contract by Dallas in early March. While he was in Portland, the club won three Western Conference championships and finally broke through to will the Chynoweth Cup this year. He is expected to join the Texas Stars next season.

Matej Stransky was drafted by the Stars in the sixth round of the 2011 draft, 165th overall. He picked up a lot of buzz after scoring 39-42-81 in 70 games last year for the Blades. He followed that up with 40-45-85 in 72 games this season. While his club got knocked out in the first round of the WHL playoffs, you can't count them out. The home crowd and two months to rest those injuries and practice all help the cause. Last year, the Shawnigan Cataracts hosted and won the tournament.

Games may be difficult to watch in the States until the finals. The game schedule for the tournament can be found here.

After Disappointing Round 2 Exit, Thoughts on What Went Wrong

Handshakes of the disappointing variety last night in OKC. (Credit: Steven Christy)

Less than twelve hours after the Stars ended their 2013 Calder Cup run in Oklahoma City, it's still a little difficult to process what happened. With so much promise in the regular season and the top seed going into the playoffs, the season is over in a flash. It wasn't a series of close, grinding games like the Milwaukee series either; Texas was outscored 16-4 in the Barons' barn.

There are a few thoughts that spring to mind immediately and certainly more will come as the next few days give me time to mentally go through the regular and postseason.

• The Barons' best players were their best players. I wrote about it in last night's game recap, but the Barons had phenomenal efforts from Yann Danis, Mark Arcobello, Toni Rajala and more. They also picked up solid performances from guys you might not have expected, like Taylor Fedun and CJ Stretch.
  
  
• Texas's best players were not their best players. Matt Fraser didn't have a point in the series and had the egregious turnover in OT of Game 1 to give the Barons the win. Alex Chiasson's only point came on the inconsequential lone goal last night. He struggled with the unexplained transition to center and was minus-8 in the series. The Stars' leading scorer in round 1, Kevin Connauton, had a single assist and was minus-8 in the series as well.
  
  
• Line shuffling last night was very confusing. Travis Morin, all-time points leader for Texas and all-time assists leader, was moved to the wing to be centered by Toby Petersen. Colton Sceviour dropped to the third line to center Glennie and Reilly Smith. Glennie had been doing well in the defensive center role in the series. While he hadn't recorded any points, coming into last night's game he was one of Texas's few plus players in the series. Also, Sceviour hasn't played center in months. It's not like you forget, but it's not the best time to make a shift and play with new linemates.
  
  
• There were warning signs of this possible end. After the trade deadline, Texas was going great guns but then dropped back-to-back games against Hamilton and OKC, both in the last minute of the game. At the time, it was mostly written off as troubling but, due to some of the lineup changes, excusable. The team beat San Antonio convincingly three times and split against Charlotte the next week, and it was mostly forgotten. Then the team backed into the postseason with losses against Houston and Rockford.
  
  You can say what you will about resting starters or chemistry, but in the last month of the season, Texas only beat a playoff team once. They were 1-3 against playoff clubs in April and that one win was in OT. Most of their games were against non-playoff clubs, where they were a still-unimpressive 3-2.
  
  
• Penalties weren't as bad as it looked on the surface if you're just looking at the numbers. Texas actually has the fewest PIMs in the playoffs, both overall and in terms of minors/game. However, the Stars allowed a power play goal in each of their games in OKC, going 10/13 on the kill overall. The penalties also seemed to come at the worst times, stopping momentum and handing it right to the Barons. There was a measure of frustration there clearly.

Now it's also time to start evaluating who will be back for next year, who's coming in from juniors and overseas, and many other future looking pieces of the puzzle, including who will be the Stars' ECHL affiliate. Stay tuned...

Texas Ends Season with 5-1 Game 5 Loss to Barons

Teemu Hartikainen had the Barons' first goal. (Credit: Steven Christy)

After a fantastic regular season, culminating in a top seed in the playoffs, and a tough and grinding first round series win, the Texas Stars have bowed out of the 2013 Calder Cup playoffs at the hands of the Oklahoma City Barons. After leaving Texas with a split of their home games, the Stars dropped all three games at the Cox Convention Center to fall 4-1 in the series.

Coach Desjardins attempted to change his team's luck with a lineup shift. He scratched Luke Gazdic and Joe Morrow in favor of Taylor Vause and Tyler Sloan, respectively. Toby Petersen cetnered the first line, moving Morin to right wing. Colton Sceviour centered Scott Glennie and Reilly Smith while Brett Ritchie and Francis Wathier were wingers on a line centered by Vause. Full lineup changes are included at the bottom of this article, as always.

In the end, the Barons were just too much for Texas. Something in the matchup between these two teams just didn't click for the Stars. The Barons' best players were their best players in the series. Mark Arcobello, Toni Rajala and a few others outpowered the talent on the Stars' bench. Matt Fraser didn't have a point in the series. Alex Chiasson had a single point, the secondary assist on the night's final goal in Game 5. Reilly Smith, Justin Dowling, Travis Morin and Colton Sceviour were not big enough factors to overcome the Barons outstanding netminding and firepower.

The Barons started in the first period with the offensive onslaught. Teemu Hartikainen rang one off the post and it dribbled in with 2:39 left in the opening frame. Texas outshot the Barons 12-8 in the period but left the ice for the first intermission down 1-0 and looking a bit defeated.

OKC kept it up in the second period as an early chance by the Stars turned back against them and Mark Arcobello dropped a pass for Taylor Fedun. The young defenseman backhanded the puck past Nilstorp for the 2-0 lead.

The Barons continued with a two-on-one goal by two players who started the year in the ECHL. CJ Stretch finished off the pass from Toni Rajala for the 3-0 lead. Both played extremely well in the series.

Former Star Garrett Stafford got a power play goal to open the third period with Jordie Benn in the box for delay of game. The Barons' fourth goal of the night was assisted by Brendan Davidson. Mark Arcobello added another as the team rounded out their scoring at five total goals. It was Arcobello's ninth goal of the postseason.

The Stars put a single goal on the board to end their season as Justin Dowling put up a power play tally with under three minutes left in the third period. Reilly Smith and Alex Chiasson assisted.

Texas will return to Cedar Park in the next twenty-four hours. The team will begin dispersing for Canada, Minnesota, and all their other hometowns not long after.

Tonight's lines:
Fraser-Petersen-Morin
Hedden-Chiasson-Dowling
R. Smith-Sceviour-Glennie
Wathier-Vause-Ritchie

Gaunce-Connauton
Oleksiak-Benn
Fortunus-Sloan

Nilstorp

Injuries, scratches, and notes:
Morrow, Gazdic, Sonne, McKenzie, Klingberg, Wrenn, Jokipakka, Cameron, Faksa, Todd, Commodore (scratch)
Nemeth (injured)

Tonight's attendance was 2,094.

AHL Gamesheet - Texas at Oklahoma City - May 16 2013

Gameday Preview: Stars at Oklahoma City Barons, Game 5

Texas Stars 43-22-5-6, 97 pts #1 Western Conference

at

Oklahoma City Barons 40-25-2-9, 91 pts #5 Western Conference

OKC leads 3-1

May 16th at 7:00 PM

Cox Convention Center, Oklahoma City, OK

It's down to this. Forty-three wins and ninety-seven points in the regular season. First seed in the West. Coach of the year. Plus-109 overall as a team. 235 goals. Tonight, none of that matters. Like that scene in "Rocky", Texas only has to do one thing: win.

It's beside the point that they also have to win on Monday and Tuesday now as well, because all that matters today is winning tonight, Thursday. If they don't, it's all for naught and the season will be quite a disappointment.

Coach Desjardins shuffled the lineup last night and it worked for a while. The first goal came with Justin Dowling out centering Reilly Smith and Brett Ritchie. Later, he shuffled power play lines, putting Petersen out with Ritchie and Hedden.

Texas just seemed to have the wind knocked out of them by the third goal. They were being outshot 12-1 halfawy through the third and were outshot 18-5 overall in the period, despite a power play and some 6-on-5 time.

Does Desjardins change up his lineup? Maybe. I don't think that Nilstorp sits. He has been a rock in the playoffs but is getting hung out to dry by his defensemen. Anything that Nilstorp has, he has. Anything that generates a rebound is fair game for a Barons' skater. Too many goals came off the rebound last night for Texas' defense to feel comfortable with the game.

What else can be said? Win or go home. It's that simple.

Stars injury/call up report:
Nemeth (injury)

Website: okcbarons.com
Blog (unofficial): NewsOK's Barons Hockey
Twitter: @OKCBaronsHockey

Stars Allow Five Goal Third Period, Lose 7-3 and Face Elimination

Yann Danis stopped 26 of 29 shots tonight and kept his team in it until they could explode offensively late. (Credit: Steven Christy)

It's down to the last chance now as Texas led the game 3-2 in the second intermission and then gave up five goals in the third period to lose 7-3. Special teams dogged the team tonight in a different way as the Stars allowed two goals to Mark Arcobello as he departed the penalty box. Texas squandered two one-goal leads in the game and fell apart in the final six minutes of the third period, allowing the eventual game winner and then failing to capitalize on a must-score power play.

Cristopher Nilstorp got positively shelled by the Barons as he stopped 39 of 45 shots against him. Coach Desjardins started with the same lineup and then began shuffling his centermen madly throughout the second and third periods. One of Texas' goals came with one of those shuffled lines on the ice as Dowling centered Reilly Smith and Brett Ritchie.

Texas was lucky to get out of the first period with a scoreless tie. They yielded two power plays to the Barons, ultimately fruitless, and were outshot 16-10 in the frame.

CJ Stretch opened the scoring in the second minute of the second period. His five-hole tally was the third of the season from the third line winger who spent much of the season in ECHL.

Brett Ritchie evened up the score five minutes later off a nice pass from Reilly Smith. That line, which saw its centerman shuffle a few times on the night, had Dowling at center for that play, and he picked up the secondary assist.

After surviving the power play onslaught in the first, Texas got some power play luck of their own. The Barons were on the power play and took two successive penalties to put the Stars on the 4-on-3 power play. On that man advantage, Jordie Benn's point shot was tapped home by Colton Sceviour for the 2-1 lead.

The Stars didn't have that lead for long as Philippe Cornet had a heads-up play to find Mark Arcobello out of the penalty box, giving one of OKC's top scorers a clean breakaway on Nilstorp. The resulting goal was Arcobello's 7th of the playoffs and came just seven seconds after his penalty expired.

Before the period ended, Joe Morrow regained the Stars' one goal lead with a delayed penalty underway. Travis Morin dished over to Joe Morrow, who snuck down from the point to beat Danis for the 3-2 lead.

Texas would outshoot the Barons 14-12 in the middle frame and take their one goal lead to the second intermission.

Oklahoma City erased that lead early in the third. As a Stars' penalty ended, a long shot on Nilstorp from Ben Eager generated a juicy rebound, which Antti Tyrvainen put home for the three all tie.

As time wound down in regulation, the Stars fell apart. Taylor Fedun got the go-ahead goal through traffic with just over five minutes left in the period. Cristopher Nilstorp never saw it coming. Texas had a golden chance on the power play with four minutes left, only down by one. When they needed it most, they couldn't get it done. As Arcobello came out of the box, he generated a fifth goal for the Barons with a two-on-one with Cheechoo.

Texas gave it one last go, pulling Cristopher Nilstorp and giving up an empty net goal. To add insult to injury, Garrett Stafford scored a power play goals in the dying seconds of the third period to make it 7-3.

Game 5 is tomorrow night. Texas must win to save their season.

Tonight's lines:
Fraser-Morin-Sceviour
Hedden-Chiasson-Dowling
Ritchie-Glennie-R. Smith
Gazdic-Petersen-Wathier

Gaunce-Connauton
Oleksiak-Benn
Fortunus-Morrow

Nilstorp

Injuries, scratches, and notes:
Sonne, Vause, McKenzie, Klingberg, Sloan, Wrenn, Jokipakka, Cameron, Faksa, Todd, Commodore (scratch)
Nemeth (injured)

Tonight's attendance was 1,795.

AHL Gamesheet - Texas at Oklahoma City - May 15 2013

Gameday Preview: Stars at Oklahoma City Barons, Game 4

Texas Stars 43-22-5-6, 97 pts #1 Western Conference

at

Oklahoma City Barons 40-25-2-9, 91 pts #5 Western Conference

OKC leads 2-1

May 15th at 7:00 PM

Cox Convention Center, Oklahoma City, OK

The Texas Stars are not where they want to be. They are down 2-1 in their series with the Barons and are looking at two more games in OKC ahead of them on consecutive nights. They came out strong but ultimately ended up short on Monday. What now?

If it wasn't obvious enough in Games 1 and 2, Game 3 made it very clear that Texas is lacking in offensive production compared to a team like OKC. They have high quality scorers but they are getting shutdown. After scoring two goals in the Milwaukee series, Matt Fraser has just five shots in three games and no points. Leading point scorer in the regular season Colton Sceviour is shooting a lot more (19 shots in three games) but only has an assist to show for it. Morin has six shots but no points. That line has to activate if the Stars want to advance.

Or maybe the Glennie line needs to activate. Will it still be 'his' line tonight though? Desjardins shifted Petersen in at the center spot between Ritchie and Smith in the third period Monday. That line has combined for a goal and an assist in the playoffs total. Smith had been averaging the best points pace in franchise history during the regular season. Is it time for a shakeup to change something in his game? It seems like he's getting chances but isn't getting finish. How do you fix that?

Finally on defense, does someone get switched out tonight? Jordie Benn had two bad penalties that led to OKC goals in the second period. He was on the ice for the Arcobello even-strength goal as well. Do you consider sitting him and bringing in Commodore to play opposite Oleksiak?

There are a lot of decisions for Desjardins to consider here.

OKC shouldn't see their attendance improve much as the Thunder host a home game tonight against the Grizzlies.

Stars injury/call up report:
Nemeth (injury)

Website: okcbarons.com
Blog (unofficial): NewsOK's Barons Hockey
Twitter: @OKCBaronsHockey

Around the League: ECHL, CHL Changes Expected; SPHL Plays Wild Card

Antoine Roussel wails on Chris Bruton in the first period of the teams' December 8th matchup. (Credit: Josh Rasmussen/Texas Stars)

As the Texas Stars continue their series with the Barons and the AHL marches on in general, other leagues have already begun to shift and change around them. Here's the list of changes, both confirmed and unconfirmed so far.

• The Vancouver-owned AHL franchise (formerly the Rivermen) will not operate in 2013-14, bringing the league down to 29 teams again.
• The Peoria Civic Center will host hockey though as the Rivermen name will come with them to the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL). That was an unexpected happening. Steelheads coach Brad Ralph coached in the SPHL before joining Idaho.
• The Bloomington Blaze will join Peoria in the SPHL, abandoning the CHL. It is rumoured that other teams, such as Quad City could also bolt from the CHL to form an SPHL 'Midwest' conference or division. That makes sense given that...
• The CHL's Allen Americans and Rapid City Rush are widely rumoured to be heading for the ECHL this offseason.

Alright. That puts the CHL at six teams that operated this year. They expect to add two more teams via expansion but it doesn't seem like the league is financially viable with even eight teams as spread out as they would be. Brampton and Arizona are going to be really in trouble in terms of their travel costs, living on the edge of the league's area with no one they could even bus to.

Here's a few other news items and notes:

• The Third Intermission has been doing their final goodbyes. It's pretty gut-wrenching to think about shutting down a franchise. I can't fathom writing a goodbye post for this site and hope I never have to. [The Third Intermission]
• More locally, the Pond Hockey Club of Austin has been making some progress on their ice surface near 183 and Mopac. GM Jerry Taylor expected to start building out the ice surface, but not laying ice, by last week. [Pond Hockey Club]
• Former Stars goalie Matt Climie has re-signed with the Chicago Wolves on an AHL deal. He had several offers from European teams but stayed in Chicago due to his loyalty to the ownership there. [TheAHL.com]
• Finally, if you didn't read Brandon Worley's scouting report from Game 1 of this series, you should. It's always good to read about the players we see on a nightly basis from someone with an outside perspective on the team. [Defending Big D]