tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87127937197038642102024-03-17T23:31:52.494-05:00100 Degree Hockey - Texas Stars Hockey NewsStephen Meservehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01744997023150999054noreply@blogger.comBlogger3879125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8712793719703864210.post-80316391140574215392024-03-17T23:31:00.001-05:002024-03-17T23:31:14.721-05:00Stars Drop Two in Tucson, Falling to Fourth Place in the Central<p><i><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9CalGvSzSrMLxFAXCmI1_s5O4_FxKurRX2XrRm24n1ST3etKsNM2yo7mrLReGS46jJPUE5ljYNNH8vdPvbby8eyECx7M77ZsbTeY2TXh0p_W86YhodkYR9ge-nbr5f7L-o9DjxKFgqjv_AXl0QUSKuBMiDJsDomyY0Td3HdTsPF2dHLmaU9KhmiQC4PM/s2048/53594839155_01c6b72845_k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9CalGvSzSrMLxFAXCmI1_s5O4_FxKurRX2XrRm24n1ST3etKsNM2yo7mrLReGS46jJPUE5ljYNNH8vdPvbby8eyECx7M77ZsbTeY2TXh0p_W86YhodkYR9ge-nbr5f7L-o9DjxKFgqjv_AXl0QUSKuBMiDJsDomyY0Td3HdTsPF2dHLmaU9KhmiQC4PM/w640-h426/53594839155_01c6b72845_k.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Credit: Tucson Roadrunners)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />[Editor's Note: It's Spring Break and vacation got in the way of this weekend's reports. Here's something of a different flavor summarizing the two games at once.]</i></p><p>In Ernest Hemingway's <i>The Sun Also Rises</i>, a book that this author did not read in high school but still got a near-perfect score on the test for thanks to SparkNotes (sorry, Ms. Lux), one character asks another how he went bankrupt. The reply is simple and curt and applies to much in life.</p><p>"Gradually, then suddenly."</p><p>It seems as though the same could be said about how the Texas Stars tumbled out of first place in the division. Just after Christmas, the Stars had pole position in the division. Neil Graham was named coach of the AHL's Central Division All-Stars. They had a four point cushion on second place in the division.</p><p>I had thought at the beginning of the season that this was a playoff play-in team. Something in the 4th or 5th place range. I felt so off in my prediction that I penned a piece on December 27th eating crow on the prediction.</p><p>It turns out the story wasn't over yet. I added in the article that the Stars "would need a pretty drastic turn of fate for multiple teams to fall to the play-in spot."</p><p>Well... here's what's happened since that point.</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The Stars, rocked by injuries and now recalls, have gone 10-18-1-1 in 2024.</li><li>The Admirals famously went on a 19-game winning streak and hold a 21-7 record in the same span.</li><li>The Griffins had a lengthy home winning streak that gave them a 17-4-4-3 record in that time.</li><li>The IceHogs are 9-1 in their last 10 with a 16-9-2-1 record since Jan 1.</li><li>The Moose are sneaking into the conversation with an 8-2 record in the last ten.</li></ul><div>All of those teams have at least two games in hand on Texas. Milwaukee has three.</div><div><br /></div><div>For the Stars, this is put up or shut up time. Realistically, it's been that way for a while but taking just four of a possible 16 points in the month of March is really driving it home.</div><div><br /></div><div>Logan Stankoven is not coming back, and Mavrik Bourque cannot be the entire offense. Defensive bodies are back online with Bayreuther in and White back from injury. Bichsel could rejoin soon as well. Not an excuse. As Scott White likes to say, this time of year, there are no rookies anymore. These players have a year of experience almost.</div><div><br /></div><div>Finally, the goaltending has been subpar. The tandem of Matt Murray and Remi Poirier has a .901 SV%, which is barely above the minimum expected of a professional goalie at any level. Among qualified goalies, both rank in the bottom half of the league in save percentage. Before Christmas, the offense papered over those problems. Now, the 3.31 goals against/game is sticking out like a sore thumb.</div><div><br /></div><div>Honestly, it's giving 2011-12.</div><div><br /></div><div>For those who might forget, that was the debut season for Matt Fraser, who was just a few goals off the league's top mark for the stat that season. Travis Morin was a firecracker on offense with assists galore. They scored a lot, but they also got scored on a lot. To wit, they won the season opener 7-0 against Oklahoma City and then lost to them a week later 10-1. They also had 9-4 and 8-4 losses in the season.</div><div><br /></div><div>I say that it's giving 2011-12, but I must remind that it isn't 2011-12. This is a playoff team. It may not be with as much conviction as it was in December, but it is.</div><div><br /></div><div>The games this weekend did not go Texas' way. The Stars saw a 4-1 score pass them by on Saturday with Mavrik Bourque scoring the only goal. And on Sunday, they were tied 1-1 early only to see Tucson blast by them 5-1 before they clawed a few back. The final there was 6-3.</div><div><br /></div><div>So now they continue their Pacific road trip in Coachella Valley on Wednesday, hoping for a better fate and trying not to do too much standings watching in the meantime.</div><p></p>Stephen Meservehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01744997023150999054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8712793719703864210.post-74976774382194134642024-03-14T00:03:00.238-05:002024-03-15T21:25:35.963-05:00Texas Stars Battle Back for 5-3 Win Over IceHogs <p><b></b></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSd8ENXiGx9-dqc98zdIi9F-Gpk9n2RHyIcrg2e4So8UAaOs-Hen9vTr3mrY6UZs5PTq2xDRraYXqDFmxI5IAb4jg6thsKxsfjiBB3nWTgfbwLQyvf7ngVODFdu8WO_2IZBinAiLZA_CwNsq5gFp3Bb9KAeUbwizRjklBl1UaRhKl6zt-ma24_ClSz/s2000/53585561582_9d5b1d6b9e_k.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2000" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSd8ENXiGx9-dqc98zdIi9F-Gpk9n2RHyIcrg2e4So8UAaOs-Hen9vTr3mrY6UZs5PTq2xDRraYXqDFmxI5IAb4jg6thsKxsfjiBB3nWTgfbwLQyvf7ngVODFdu8WO_2IZBinAiLZA_CwNsq5gFp3Bb9KAeUbwizRjklBl1UaRhKl6zt-ma24_ClSz/w628-h418/53585561582_9d5b1d6b9e_k.jpg" width="628" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>(Photo Credit: Andy Nietupski)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><b><br />Cedar Park, TX - </b>The Texas Stars scored three goals in the second period - including two in the final minute - vaulting them to a 5-3 victory over the Rockford IceHogs in front of 5,031 Wednesday night at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. Captain Curtis McKenzie tickled the twine twice, and Mavrik Bourque had a goal and an assist to help power the Stars to the victory after a <a href="https://www.100degreehockey.com/2024/03/texas-stars-late-comeback-falls-short.html" target="_blank">brutal 4-3 loss to the IceHogs Tuesday night,</a><p></p><p>"[I]t was a big win for us, especially after losing last night. It's a tight division. Points right now are critical and we needed two points," Texas head coach Neil Graham said after the game.</p><p>"We had fight in our game, we had compete in our game and obviously no quit. So I think there's gonna be highs and lows and different challenges that present themselves each evening. There was a fair share of challenges tonight, [but] we overcame adversity and the reward is two points."</p><p>For the second consecutive night the IceHogs cracked the scoreboard first. While on the power play, Lukas Reichel went top-left on Stars netminder Remi Poirier giving Rockford the initial 1-0 lead with 7:58 left in the first. Texas had to kill off a full two-minute 5-on-3 late in the period and at one point had five men in the box due to the contentiousness at the end of the period. The Rockford 1-0 lead would hold to the first intermission after a period that saw Texas outshoot the IceHogs 12-9. </p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq3ba9anRmRZX36H85UKedsEtxEptFQMZTfUi5zFU1_D-UkdXqRzyZfWE2Yack-BlH4tRSKSyIPHWCJbJ_LIUnurQMPzxZIbbYBSEpc-zrE9uft1X80Rc82bGLJHU39vVJ2S_1Bg7_vlLa5L_c7Ku-65ex8zoORV7IQ5Mm9gkSLje4W3jsUNd7x8Hd/s2000/53585577617_9c8c924f38_o.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2000" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq3ba9anRmRZX36H85UKedsEtxEptFQMZTfUi5zFU1_D-UkdXqRzyZfWE2Yack-BlH4tRSKSyIPHWCJbJ_LIUnurQMPzxZIbbYBSEpc-zrE9uft1X80Rc82bGLJHU39vVJ2S_1Bg7_vlLa5L_c7Ku-65ex8zoORV7IQ5Mm9gkSLje4W3jsUNd7x8Hd/w433-h288/53585577617_9c8c924f38_o.jpg" width="433" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>(Photo Credit: Andy Nietupski)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p>"So we had to collect ourselves and that was gonna be an important kill as well. If we killed it, we knew momentum could shift to our side. If we didn't we were in a two goal deficit, which would have been pretty tough," said Graham.</p><p>Texas had an answer 5:39 into the second when Derrick Pouliot ping ponged one past IceHogs' goalie Drew Commesso from the blueline to knot the score at 1-1. </p><p>Late in the second, Rockford seemingly took control when they reclaimed the lead. David Gust banked a shot off of a Stars defender and past Poirier from the low right circle to make it 2-1 IceHogs with 2:39 left in the frame. But with 50 seconds left, Bourque netted a loose puck in front of the net to tie it back up at 2-2 to bring them back into the game. Just 49 seconds later, with the Stars on a late power play, McKenzie redirected a Bourque shot to beat the buzzer to give Texas their first lead of the midweek series at 3-2 with just 1.5 seconds left in the middle stanza. The Stars carried that lead to the intermission having outshot Rockford 13-10 for the period. McKenzie's power play goal tied him with now-Stars Assistant Coach Travis Morin him for the franchise record (50) for power play goals.</p><p>In the third, Texas picked up right where they left the second off when just 3:16 into the final frame, Jack Becker cleaned up a loose puck along the left boards and went on a breakaway. Becker completed the rush and buried the puck past Commesso to extend the Stars lead to 4-2.</p><p>Down by two, Rockford went empty net with just under five minutes left, the IceHogs clawed their way back into the game when Cole Guttman beat Poirier with 3:43 left to cut the Stars lead to 4-3.</p><p>With 1:33 left in regulation, McKenzie removed all doubt when he scrambled for a loose puck in the right circle and buried the puck into the empty net as he was going down for his second tally of the night to cement the 5-3 victory</p><p>Between the pipes, Poirier turned away 28 of 31 shots en route to seeing his record improve to 15-12-3-1. Commesso fell to 12-13-4-1 as he made 26 saves on the 31 shots he saw.</p><p>With the win, the Stars improve their record to 28-24-3-2 (61 pts.) and move into sole possession of third place in the Central Division. Rockford falls to 26-22-5-2 (59 pts.), but with two games in hand on Texas.</p><p>Up next, Texas heads on the road for five games in eight-day road stretch beginning with a back-to-back starting Saturday in Tucson. Faceoff on Saturday is scheduled for 9:00 P.M. Texas time.</p><p><b>Tonight's Lines<br /></b>Blümel-Bourque-McKenzie<br />Rassell-Bäck-Karlström<br />Caamano-Seminoff-McDonald<br />Wheatcroft-Becker-Berard</p><p>Bayreuther-Petrovic<br />Pouliot-White<br />Karow-Kyrou</p><p>Poirier</p><p><b>Injuries, scratches and notes<br /></b>Haiskanen, Romano, Mastrodonato, Stranges, Thomson, J. Murray, Pettersen (scratch)<br />Reedy (out - upper body)</p><p>Tonight's attendance was 5,031.</p><p></p><p><a href="https://lscluster.hockeytech.com/game_reports/official-game-report.php?lang_id=1&client_code=ahl&game_id=1026081">AHL Gamesheet - Texas v. Rockford - March 13 2024</a></p>Michael Owenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08420690202597272014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8712793719703864210.post-47024996663817943962024-03-13T01:01:00.150-05:002024-03-15T21:22:30.855-05:00Texas Stars Late Comeback Falls Short in 4-3 Loss To IceHogs<p><b></b></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8iKvjOjxdQ6dtowy0GXeTfGfvsoT88lMXhp7VaWH67pWj-eTt4LK5bv23HqTUo6IuqKgaqrW0BqaWSjS5GJg-O7jILrnuko91tcjCHGEsSx4NMdbFinp8gX9xbVNI4_QD3-eaod_K_-0HJ3JNSiSW3uZJhm8MOgrpGW7joKQ4xCPg6_mG5zg0mEd8/s2000/53584908345_ab9b136fd7_o.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2000" height="407" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8iKvjOjxdQ6dtowy0GXeTfGfvsoT88lMXhp7VaWH67pWj-eTt4LK5bv23HqTUo6IuqKgaqrW0BqaWSjS5GJg-O7jILrnuko91tcjCHGEsSx4NMdbFinp8gX9xbVNI4_QD3-eaod_K_-0HJ3JNSiSW3uZJhm8MOgrpGW7joKQ4xCPg6_mG5zg0mEd8/w613-h407/53584908345_ab9b136fd7_o.jpg" width="613" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>(Photo Credit: Andy Nietupski/Texas Stars)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><b><br />Cedar Park, TX - </b>The Texas Stars scored twice in the final three minutes but were unable to complete the comeback as they fell 4-3 to the Rockford IceHogs in front of 4,739 at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park Wednesday night. To add insult to injury, the<span> game-winning goal was an empty-netter that was set up on an obvious high stick.</span><div><br /></div><div>"In a big game like this, when you see what you're capable of, when your backs are against the wall, it's twice as important to make sure you come out that way," Texas head coach Neil Graham said after the game. "[I]t wasn't a lack of effort. It was a lack of ability to execute in important moments."<br /><p></p><p>Texas had a chance to take command of the game close to midway through the first when they had a full 1:40 on a 5-on-3. Despite some good looks, they were unable to garner any offense, generating only one shot in the process.</p><p>Rockford took advantage of the momentum shift and was able to net the first goal of the game late in the frame when the Stars defense broke down and Rem Pitlick, alone in the slot, took a Brett Seney dish and beat Stars goalie Matt Murray to make it 1-0 Rockford with 1:23 left in the first. The IceHogs would take that lead to the intermission after a period that saw the teams match shots at 7-7.</p><p>Texas got on the scoreboard early in the second when Curtis McKenzie, in his sweet spot parked in front of the crease, deflected a Derrick Pouliot shot from the point to knot the game at 1-1 just 4:57 into the second.</p><p>The Stars momentum was short-lived. Rockford took back the lead with 8:39 left in the middle frame when Ryder Rolston banked a shot off of Stars blueliner Michael Karow and past Murray to make it 2-1. Late in the period, Colton Dach extended the IceHogs lead to 3-1 as he stickhandled through the defense and chipped one through Murray's five hole with 4:54 left. Rockford took their 3-1 lead to the second intermission, despite having been outshot 17-12 for the period.</p><p>The Stars listless play continued into the third. With his team struggling and trying to find a spark, Graham pulled Murray to send Texas on the 6-on-5. Unfortunately, it didn't work out for the Stars. Ethan Del Mastro fielded a high-flying puck with a high stick, knocked it down to Jalen Luypen who buried the empty-netter from center ice to make it 4-1 Rockford with 3:38 left, seemingly putting the nail in the coffin on the Stars night.</p><p>Par for the course, Texas went shorthanded with 3:28 left, and the game was clearly in the IceHogs favor. But with 2:54 remaining, Fredrik Karlström fielded a loose puck and a breakaway ensued. The Swede made things interesting at 4-2 with 2:54 left.</p><p>With the Stars empty net again, Oskar Bäck - on his birthday - was able to sneak one past Stauber, on a drawn up play to cut the Rockford lead to 4-3 with 17.2 seconds left. It was too little, too late for the Stars. Their late desperation went for naught as Rockford was able to hold on to the 4-3 victory.</p><p>Between the pipes, Murray finished his night stopping 23 of 26 shots as he saw his record fall to 13-12-2. Stauber turned away 24 of 27 while seeing his record improve to 11-7-3.</p><p>With the loss, Texas falls to 27-24-3-2 (59 pts.), tied for third in the Central Division. With the win, Rockford pulls even with the Stars at 25-21-5-2 (59 pts.) but with two games in hand.</p><p>McKenzie when asked how to approach Wednesday's game responded with a simple answer: "Just flush it out".</p><p>Up next, the teams re-rack and close out the season series with another matchup on Wednesday night. Faceoff is slated for 7:00 P.M.</p><p> <b>Tonight's Lines</b></p><p>Stranges-Bourque-McKenzie<br />Blümel-Bäck-Karlström<br />Wheatcroft-Becker-Caamano<br />Rassell-Seminoff-McDonald</p><p>Bayreuther-Petrovic<br />Pouliot-Haiskanen<br />Karow-Kyrou</p><p>M. Murray</p><p><b>Injuries, scratches and notes<br /></b>Berard, Mastrodonato, Karow, Thomson, Pettersen, Romano (scratch)<br />White (undisclosed injury)<br />Reedy (out - upper body)</p><p>Tonight's attendance was 4,739.</p><p>Prior to the game, Texas signed forward Anthony Romano out of Clarkson University in the first ATO of the season for the club,</p><p></p><p><a href="https://lscluster.hockeytech.com/game_reports/official-game-report.php?lang_id=1&client_code=ahl&game_id=1026071">AHL Gamesheet - Texas v. Rickford - March 12 2024</a></p></div>Michael Owenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08420690202597272014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8712793719703864210.post-17720346806935769702024-03-09T23:11:00.277-06:002024-03-11T10:58:17.956-05:00Texas Stars Earn Series Split With 6-3 Win Over San Jose<p><b></b></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgazbgFyPxGfOCsRU2Epp4ailopmYQ0ek0YuG1aL4u2fDixEx4tkFMxjYa1E8tPwTeyxRIR_-OWAui4wVwI14u8aa24lODxFgz8lYFUaa3GqNr-mUTHAEfaKdNJund29E68b-vPki81aAjNGVjTgpXWHd0iExETNJhLKZ1nBPscC-yo20gvOsWdYU6h/s3031/53578085143_1aa75b9d23_o.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2021" data-original-width="3031" height="421" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgazbgFyPxGfOCsRU2Epp4ailopmYQ0ek0YuG1aL4u2fDixEx4tkFMxjYa1E8tPwTeyxRIR_-OWAui4wVwI14u8aa24lODxFgz8lYFUaa3GqNr-mUTHAEfaKdNJund29E68b-vPki81aAjNGVjTgpXWHd0iExETNJhLKZ1nBPscC-yo20gvOsWdYU6h/w633-h421/53578085143_1aa75b9d23_o.jpg" width="633" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>(Photo Credit: Ross Bonander/Texas Stars)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><b><br />Cedar Park, TX - </b>A night after struggling through a<a href="https://www.100degreehockey.com/2024/03/texas-gets-goalied-as-sjs-romanov-hands.html" target="_blank"> 2-1 loss to the San Jose Barracuda Friday night</a>, the Texas Stars bounced back and cruised to a 6-3 win in front of a sellout crowd of 6,778 at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park Saturday. The sellout matched their single-season franchise high.<p></p><p>After a scoreless first period that saw the Stars outshoot the Barracuda 7-5, Texas took the lead 1:53 into the second when Mark Rassell five-holed Barracuda netminder Eetu Makiniemi giving the Stars the first advantage. Texas added to their scoring edge just 28 seconds later when Matej Blümel recovered a juicy rebound off a Gavin Bayreuther blast and buried it into the yawning net to make it 2-0 Texas early in the second.</p><p>Ozzy Weisblatt beat Matt Murray to cut the deficit to 2-1 at 7:28 to make things interesting, but Texas answered right back with a one-timer fed by Derrick Pouliot - part of a three-point night for the returning blueliner - with 6.1 seconds left in the middle frame to send the teams to the second intermission with the Stars leading 3-1.</p><p>In the third, Jack Becker marked his first multi-goal game in the AHL when he struck twice, 1:31 apart, at 10:25 and 12:26 into the third, giving the Stars a commanding lead at 5-1 late in the game.</p><p>The Barracuda attempted to mount a comeback as the game waned on. Nikolai Knyzhov netted one past Murray with 5:02 left. Then Scott Sabourin beat Murray and made it intriguing with 29 seconds left with a score of 5-3.</p><p>Fredrik Karlström sealed the victory with his league-leading sixth empty-netter with 17 seconds left, and the Stars polished off the much needed win.</p><p>Between the pipes, Murray stopped 27 of 30, earning the win that improved his record to 13-11-2-1. Makiniemi saw his record fall to 6-7-0-2 while giving up five goals after facing 29 shots.</p><p>With the win, Texas improved their record to 27-23-3-2 (59 pts.) keeping them in third in the Central Division, two points ahead of the Rockford IceHogs and sixteen points behind the Milwaukee Admirals with seventeen games to play in the regular season.</p><p>Up next, Texas will take the day off on Sunday before prepping for the aforementioned IceHogs coming to town for a Tuesday-Wednesday matchup at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. Both games are scheduled for a 7:00 P.M. puck drop.</p><p><b>Tonight's Lines<br /></b>Stranges-Bourque-McKenzie<br />Blümel-Bäck-Karlström<br />Wheatcroft-Becker-Caamano<br />Rassell-Seminoff-McDonald</p><p>Bayreuther-Petrovic<br />Pouliot-Haiskanen<br />J. Murray-Kyrou</p><p>M. Murray</p><p><b>Injuries, scratches and notes<br /></b>Stankoven (callup)<br />Berard, Mastrodonato, Karow, Pettersen, Thomson (scratch)<br />White (undisclosed injury)<br />Reedy (out - upper body)</p><p>Tonight's attendance was 6,778, the tenth sellout of the season.</p><p></p><p><a href="https://lscluster.hockeytech.com/game_reports/official-game-report.php?lang_id=1&client_code=ahl&game_id=1026060">AHL Gamesheet - Texas v. San Jose - March 9 2024</a></p>Michael Owenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08420690202597272014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8712793719703864210.post-52521657684506683522024-03-08T22:29:00.005-06:002024-03-08T22:29:47.022-06:00Texas Gets Goalied as SJ's Romanov Hands Stars 2-1 Loss<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV3O4yO9Iqpzo8C0RQxfxWcUvZ3HiOyuX_kDWk1UobeihHhB2NgkiezsfrSf5S4hx01Ec0GKswNwgX-VUXhJ37IgqQjO1w-BcHYi3VB_egR6Ja7cSRhxnjwE6xUV6VuJ05-OXJ_aIJU-20WdbjWrS4s6dIx5Wph3KsBxbwdOg_aXn_gYApkiFwBdHXRpc/s2000/53576422005_6d2c28c4b4_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV3O4yO9Iqpzo8C0RQxfxWcUvZ3HiOyuX_kDWk1UobeihHhB2NgkiezsfrSf5S4hx01Ec0GKswNwgX-VUXhJ37IgqQjO1w-BcHYi3VB_egR6Ja7cSRhxnjwE6xUV6VuJ05-OXJ_aIJU-20WdbjWrS4s6dIx5Wph3KsBxbwdOg_aXn_gYApkiFwBdHXRpc/w640-h426/53576422005_6d2c28c4b4_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Credit: Andy Nietupski/Texas Stars)</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p>The visiting San Jose Barracuda came in on a six-game losing streak and broke it tonight with a 2-1 victory over the Texas Stars. The home squad sent 42 shots on rookie netminder Georgi Romanov but could not pierce him until the final 13 seconds of the game, at which point it was too late to mount the complete comeback.</p><p>"In a matter of 30 seconds, it's [2-0]," said Texas head coach Neil Graham. "Until that point we were the better of the two teams. We had to recollect ourselves and didn't really fully regain momentum [until late in the third]."</p><p>Texas ran into a hot goalie in Romanov, who nearly earned his first AHL shutout with the game effort. "I was very impressed by him," said Gavin Bayreuther. "I didn't know much about him. He's a big kid, attacks the puck well, but so many of those chances could go either way."</p><p>The game marked the return of three Stars who had missed significant time. Most notably, Bayreuther was back in the lineup for the first time since the season opener on October 13th. He played all situations and looked solid in his return. Nick Caamano, out since January 22, and Ben Berard, out since January 24, also returned.</p><p>"First off, I forgot hockey was so fun," said Bayreuther postgame. "It's fun to play in all situations. Fun to be leaned on. I forgot how enjoyable that was."</p><p>He spent a decent portion of the past few weeks on the bike to get in conditioning shape for the return and started skating just two weeks ago. He notes that his conditioning still has a step to go "but that's expected."</p><p>In tonight's game, the first period was all Texas but to no avail on the scoreboard. Texas enjoyed two power plays and vaulted 18 shots on Romanov. Despite this, they exited the frame with a 0-0 tie with the visitors.</p><p>"I thought we did have a lot of shots but there was also a high danger," said Graham. "We were in the inside. We were around the crease. We had numbers at the net. Unfortunately we didn't catch a break in the first. I thought we deserved better."</p><p>They started hot in the second with the continuation of a power play generating three shots early. However, the Barracuda were the squad emerging with the lead after forty.</p><p>With a cavernous gap between the rankings of the two power plays, it would stand to reason that Texas' top-ranked PP would dominate compared to the Barracuda's second-to-last unit. It was San Jose striking first on the power play though with Oskar Lindblom completing a play from Tristen Robins coming against the grain from below the goal line. </p><p>San Jose would score on a quick-snap effort on the very next shot. Texas called its timeout to settle the group. Really, the entire game pivoted around this 42 second segment in the second. </p><p>"We did address in the intermission how fast momentum can shift. The way we played in the first was gonna be taxing on them. But teams will find energy if you let them."</p><p>Texas came out on fire in the third period again, matching their first period effort with 16 shots. Matej Blümel earned a game misconduct for boarding Ozzy Wiesblatt early in the frame. He could expect supplementary discipline for the play based on when it took place.</p><p>A late power play opportunity came up empty but served as a catalyst to their late-game empty net push. Coach Graham decided not to pull Poirier for the extra attacker with the power play coming at 6:10 remaining in the frame. "I wanted to see how that moment played out. You know, you're kind of damned if you do damned if you don't, and you can always go back and second guess it."</p><p>Who else but Mavrik Bourque would be the one to break up the shutout for Romanov and give some semblance of life to the game late with just 12.9 seconds left. Texas had one last chance with 0.7 seconds left but couldn't win the faceoff. These two teams rematch tomorrow night at 7 PM.</p><p><b>Tonight's lines<br /></b>Blümel-Bourque-Karlström<br />Stranges-Bäck-Caamano<br />Berard-Becker-Mastrodonato<br />Rassell-Seminoff-McDonald</p><p>Bayreuther-Petrovic<br />Pouliot-Haiskanen<br />J. Murray-Kyrou</p><p></p><p>Poirier</p><div><b>Injuries, scratches and notes</b></div><div>Stankoven (callup)</div><div>Wheatcroft, Karow, Pettersen, Thomson (scratch)</div><div>White (injury)</div><div><div>Reedy (out - upper body)</div></div><div>McKenzie (injury, lower body out until late March/early April)</div><div><br /></div><div>Today's attendance was 5,399.</div><p><a href="https://lscluster.hockeytech.com/game_reports/official-game-report.php?lang_id=1&client_code=ahl&game_id=1026046">AHL Gamesheet - Texas v. San Jose - March 8 2024</a></p>Stephen Meservehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01744997023150999054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8712793719703864210.post-87443140954569336872024-03-07T20:38:00.002-06:002024-03-07T20:38:45.538-06:00Dallas Swaps Riley Damiani to Calgary for F Emilio Pettersen<div></div><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIH6FlqbhpoEY2XnnIJHQwe0eUDhB3Uel5QERlcQ67hJkdc7BNq-_Df9NAoTHEecYsZtwSd-9xVQQtolujrO-5o7vdcFbNsn-YC1V0pGBYWHWox3KYrPi5WJRq3T_CVRbgpyrPjWuvCzKs0Gp1pb8WCbEmyuJ-KBASR6BfaJ4muPh4PTKMjUq8mVXo6WU/s3673/53259512915_e552aac1d1_4k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2449" data-original-width="3673" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIH6FlqbhpoEY2XnnIJHQwe0eUDhB3Uel5QERlcQ67hJkdc7BNq-_Df9NAoTHEecYsZtwSd-9xVQQtolujrO-5o7vdcFbNsn-YC1V0pGBYWHWox3KYrPi5WJRq3T_CVRbgpyrPjWuvCzKs0Gp1pb8WCbEmyuJ-KBASR6BfaJ4muPh4PTKMjUq8mVXo6WU/w640-h426/53259512915_e552aac1d1_4k.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Credit: Ross Bonander/Texas Stars)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />In a minor league deal, the Dallas Stars have swapped forward Riley Damiani to the Calgary Flames for forward Emilio Pettersen.</p><p>Damiani came into the pro ranks during the shortened COVID season of 2021. He collected a point per game in the 36-match campaign and earned the AHL's Rookie of the Year honors. Since then, he's averaged just over half a point per game. Notably, most RotY winners go on to play at least twenty games for their parent club in the next season. Damiani only played seven and hasn't returned. Part of that was affected by the taxi squad of 2021-22.</p><p>In return, Dallas receives forward Emilio Pettersen, drafted 30 picks after Damiani in 2018. He has been with Calgary's AHL squad since the same COVID-shortened season as Damiani.</p><p>Frankly, both players are in need of a change of scenery. Calgary reporter <a href="https://twitter.com/RyanNPike">Ryan Pike</a> agreed on X after the trade and noted that "the Wranglers could use more centres [as the] Flames system has an abundance of wingers."</p><p>We're unlikely to see Pettersen this weekend as he will have to clear visa requirements same as Chris Tanev.</p><p>Here's the release: </p><blockquote><div>Dallas Stars General Manager Jim Nill announced today that the club has acquired forward Emilio Pettersen from the Calgary Flames in exchange for forward Riley Damiani. Pettersen will be assigned to the Texas Stars, Dallas' development affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL).</div><div><br /></div><div>Pettersen, 23, has recorded 30 points (7-23—30) in 54 games with the Calgary Wranglers (AHL) this season. Among team leaders, he ranks second in assists (23) and fourth in points (30). He finished the 2022-23 campaign with 44 points (19-25—44) in 61 contests, ranking third on the team in plus/minus (+23), fifth in points (44) and sixth in assists (25).</div><div><br /></div><div>The 5-foot-11, 180-pound forward has skated in 203 career AHL contests, all with the Wranglers franchise, posting 114 points (45-69—114). Originally selected by Calgary in the sixth round (167th overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft, he has posted five points (2-3—5) in 16 contests during the Calder Cup Playoffs.</div><div><br /></div><div>Damiani, 23, has recorded 23 points (10-13—23) in 53 games with Texas this season. In 204 career AHL games, the forward has registered 126 points (47-79—126). He has made two appearances in Calder Cup Playoffs, recording three points (2-1—3) in eight games. The 5-foot-10, 180-pound native of Mississauga, Ontario has appeared in seven NHL contests and has registered two points (1-1—2). </div><div><br /></div><div>Originally selected by Dallas in the fifth round (137th overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft, Damiani was voted the winner of the AHL’s Dudley (Red) Garrett Memorial Award during the 2020-21 season as the league’s most outstanding rookie.</div></blockquote><div></div>Stephen Meservehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01744997023150999054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8712793719703864210.post-43386609305891452472024-03-05T13:14:00.006-06:002024-03-05T13:14:46.715-06:00Texas Shuffles Defenders Ahead of Big Weekend at Home<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWeMswMQqhryOGhKG2mYx5XXUKG_uShnbujI_G2nkQ4JgPOACHwW71a7kRGKq-WnXr1_cTrZGMmj89LB5JJFbQV_0-CC3IcvszsBpwTu4E_Yr6tXGPM8uAeVk816s_b-OFY43qfws-Cyww0fCCiSVHHRaVv3MVtm8R-pRfOKcBDNTRg6Mj6QOz16zUWMc/s2000/53558632916_298f2defd1_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWeMswMQqhryOGhKG2mYx5XXUKG_uShnbujI_G2nkQ4JgPOACHwW71a7kRGKq-WnXr1_cTrZGMmj89LB5JJFbQV_0-CC3IcvszsBpwTu4E_Yr6tXGPM8uAeVk816s_b-OFY43qfws-Cyww0fCCiSVHHRaVv3MVtm8R-pRfOKcBDNTRg6Mj6QOz16zUWMc/w640-h426/53558632916_298f2defd1_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Credit: Andy Nietupski/Texas Stars)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The Texas Stars made a series of moves on defense this week with multiple moving parts.<div><br /></div><div>First, the Stars signed <b>Cody Haiskanen</b> out of Idaho yesterday. The defenseman has been up and down on various AHL PTOs this season with Ontario and San Jose. In a corresponding move, the Stars released <b>Michael Prapavessis</b> after he played two games over the weekend on a PTO.</div><div><br /></div><div>Today, Texas also assigned <b>Ben Zloty</b> to Idaho. Zloty is on an AHL contract and played four games in his stay over the past week. This is a hopeful sign for the health of <b>Gavin White</b>, who was out this past weekend after an injury sustained in Grand Rapids.</div><div><br /></div><div>One notable non-transaction is <b>Joel Hanley</b>. The defenseman was on waivers yesterday but was claimed today by Calgary. He would have been assigned to Texas if he had cleared.</div>Stephen Meservehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01744997023150999054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8712793719703864210.post-69944933734909866732024-03-03T18:36:00.243-06:002024-03-04T19:54:47.745-06:00Texas Stars Inexperience Evident in 6-2 Loss to Moose<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBq80gkSFW9iut7D_-ushzDDAbbQc59vR9ngax2gA6zHp3HEGGamAsxAWYP5tc2o_f__9CvoAzuNt4YF_7jDCRDJ7JC6jojhrJmQJTYwGz71SEFoKG5AJ2qSiNwwFfTTpQg7uAZ_DQAOXoEt1M9tIvVtTXoZGPyFlrsQqo-6pefHIGUDfyQnew6UaK/s5472/53566032193_75279ff732_o.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBq80gkSFW9iut7D_-ushzDDAbbQc59vR9ngax2gA6zHp3HEGGamAsxAWYP5tc2o_f__9CvoAzuNt4YF_7jDCRDJ7JC6jojhrJmQJTYwGz71SEFoKG5AJ2qSiNwwFfTTpQg7uAZ_DQAOXoEt1M9tIvVtTXoZGPyFlrsQqo-6pefHIGUDfyQnew6UaK/w642-h428/53566032193_75279ff732_o.jpg" width="642" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>(Photo Credit: Jonathan Kozup/Manitoba Moose)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b>Winnipeg MB - </b>The Texas Stars youth and inexperience were apparent as they concluded a two-game sweep at the hands of the Manitoba Moose with a 6-2 loss in front of 3,331 Sunday afternoon at the Canada Life Centre. The Stars, playing a brutal schedule over the last month with a lot of travel, while also playing without up to seven regulars - including points-leader Logan Stankoven as well as captain Curtis McKenzie - have now came out without a point over their last five road games.<p></p><p>The Moose took the early advantage after Stars rookie Christian Kyrou took a cross check call less than a minute into the game, and Manitoba took advantage of it. Jeff Malott took a pass from Nikita Chibrikov and buried it past Texas netminder Remi Poirier to open the scoring 2:49 into the opening period. Manitoba doubled up the Stars with 11:55 left in the frame when C.J. Suess cleaned up a rebound off of a Malott shot to make it 2-0 Moose.</p><p>Manitoba would take their 2-0 lead to the locker room after twenty minutes, despite having been outshot 15-8. To sum up the first period, Manitoba took advantage of their opportunities, while Texas glaringly did not.</p><p>The Stars showed some life in the second. Early in the frame Oskar Bäck recovered a turnover in Texas' defensive zone and flipped it out to center where he found Keaton Mastrodonato who headed on a breakaway. Mastrodonato beat Moose goalie Collin Delia far side from the hashes to make it 2-1 just 4:42 into the second.</p><p>Momentum seemed to have turned the Stars way just seventeen seconds later when in a mad scramble in front of the net, a Riley Damiani shot bounced off of Jack Becker at the top of the crease past Delia, and suddenly it was a brand new game at 2-2.</p><p>Any momentum the Stars had gained in the middle stanza just got sucked away in the final minute of the period. Axel Jonsson-Fjällby scored with a minute left when he collected his own rebound after Poirier stopped him following a two-on-one rush. With 19 seconds left in the period and the Moose on the power play, Jeffrey Viel snapped one past Poirier from the top of the left circle to give Manitoba the 4-2 lead after forty. </p><p>Manitoba was 2-for-3 on the power play Sunday. Texas was scoreless on their two chances on the advantage.</p><p>In the third, Texas never really seemed to contend as they were outshot 10-6 for the frame. Jonsson-Fjällby wristed a shot past Poirier from the left circle to make it 5-2 just 2:58 into the period, completely taking control of the game at that point. Henry Nikkanen added an empty netter - Manitoba's third of the weekend - with 2:18 left in regulation to cap off the Moose 6-2 win</p><p>In the cages, Poirier stopped 22 of 27 while seeing his record drop to 14-11-3 for the season. Delia's stellar 30-save performance on 32 shots earned him the victory that improved his record to 11-16-1.</p><p>With the loss, the Stars record fell to 26-22-3-2 (57 pts.) keeping them solidly in third in the Central Division. Despite the Moose victory that improved their record to 21-28-1-1 (44 pts.), Manitoba remains entrenched in fifth in the division.</p><p>Up next, Texas returns home and enjoy a few days off before opening a back-to-back two-game series against the San Jose Barracuda Friday night. Faceoffs for both Friday and Saturday are scheduled for 7:00 P.M.</p><p><b>Tonight's Lines<br /></b>Blümel-Bourque-Karlström<br />Stranges-Bäck-Mastrodonato<br />Rassell-Seminoff-McDonald<br />Wheatcroft-Damiani-Becker</p><p>Pouliot-Petrovic<br />J. Murray-Kyrou<br />Prapavessis-Zloty</p><p>Poirier</p><p><b>Injuries, scratches and notes<br /></b>Stankoven (callup)<br />Bayreuther (out - ankle)<br />Berard, Reedy, Caamano (out - upper body)<br />White (out - undisclosed injury)<br />McKenzie (injury, lower body out until late March/early April)</p><p>Tonight's attendance was 3,331.</p><p><a href="https://lscluster.hockeytech.com/game_reports/official-game-report.php?lang_id=1&client_code=ahl&game_id=1026022" target="_blank">AHL Gamesheet - Texas at Manitoba - March 3 2024</a></p>Michael Owenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08420690202597272014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8712793719703864210.post-20099000478843465052024-03-02T17:00:00.001-06:002024-03-03T10:13:35.745-06:00Manitoba Stymies Texas' Comeback Bid for 7-3 Final <p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfXOc55ZOUxodVM7q8U4_BAWS3cTCpQJcQyl6-j-5NRnlwc0KZ5Rn_kbXpyBZxisV_lgpYsVOGi8h0cLYpMzcNaZrUYo00d0Kgv7dA3R_YAw4KlEjIlmgKT8_X_q3s8B_lD9mRk4H9ymXQC8NzIx372QeWAo9svlPUNvt_R23JR9QJ-9Fn9nIPja65uIg/s5120/53563907601_00656d64fb_5k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3413" data-original-width="5120" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfXOc55ZOUxodVM7q8U4_BAWS3cTCpQJcQyl6-j-5NRnlwc0KZ5Rn_kbXpyBZxisV_lgpYsVOGi8h0cLYpMzcNaZrUYo00d0Kgv7dA3R_YAw4KlEjIlmgKT8_X_q3s8B_lD9mRk4H9ymXQC8NzIx372QeWAo9svlPUNvt_R23JR9QJ-9Fn9nIPja65uIg/w640-h426/53563907601_00656d64fb_5k.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Credit: Manitoba Moose)</td></tr></tbody></table></p><div>Two late goals from Mark Rassell weren't enough to stem to tide against the Moose this afternoon in Winnipeg as the home team broke a 3-3 tie in the third and went on to pile up a few empty netters to yield a gaudy-looking 7-3 final.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's been a busy few weeks here at 100 Degree Hockey headquarters, so this was not a game we were able to watch live. With that said, here's the release below.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's notable that some of the bottom-six players are contributing for Texas. Mark Rassell has scored five now for Texas, including two this afternoon. His contributions will need to continue and be multiplied by the efforts of others. Logan Stankoven appears unlikely to ever return, as most expected, once he earned his first recall. The same can be said for Mavrik Bourque as soon as he gets the call.</div><div><br /></div><div>Texas will need more from their group with those two gone. They would also love to see some of their forwards come back from injury.</div><div><div></div><blockquote><div>The Texas Stars, American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, were defeated 7-3 by the Manitoba Moose on Saturday afternoon at Canada Life Centre.</div><div><br /></div><div>Kristian Reichel opened the scoring 3:13 into the first period in Manitoba’s favor when he snapped in a one-timer past Matt Murray that was fed to the high slot by Parker Ford. Mavrik Bourque tied the game 1-1 at 4:21 after he received a saucer pass from Fredrik Karlstrom and beat Thomas Milic in alone with a shot inside the right post. The Moose reclaimed a 2-1 lead at 16:50 when Kyle Capobianco fired a shot past Murray into the low-right corner from the top of the zone.</div><div><br /></div><div>The second period saw Henry Nikkanen tap in an insurance marker passed to the front of the net by Nicholas Jones at 17:30 to put the Moose up 3-1.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the third period, Mark Rassell scored a pair of goals 1:20 apart to tie the game 3-3 for the Stars. Rassell first cut the deficit to one at 5:53 by intercepting a breakout pass and simultaneously firing it past Milic. Then Rassell tied it by scoring his fifth goal of the season at 7:13 through traffic during a net front scramble. However, Ford put the Moose back in front 4-3 at 7:59 by scoring while Murray was down in the crease following a collision. Manitoba’s Reichel and Brad Lambert then scored empty-net goals before Nikita Chibrikov buried a third one with less than three minutes remaining in regulation, which locked in a 7-3 victory for the Moose.</div><div><br /></div><div>Earning the win in goal for Manitoba, Milic made saves on 22 of the 25 shots he faced to improve to 6-5-1 on the campaign. For the Stars, Murray came down with the loss to fall to 12-11-2 after making 27 stops.</div></blockquote><div></div></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div><div><b>Injuries, scratches and notes</b></div></div></div><div>Stankoven (callup)</div><div>Kyrou (scratch)</div><div><div>Bayreuther (out - ankle)</div><div>Berard, Reedy, Caamano (out - upper body)</div></div><div>McKenzie (injury, lower body out until late March/early April)</div><div><br /></div><div>Today's attendance was 2,958.</div><p><a href="https://lscluster.hockeytech.com/game_reports/official-game-report.php?lang_id=1&client_code=ahl&game_id=1026015">AHL Gamesheet - Texas at Manitoba - March 2 2024</a></p>Stephen Meservehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01744997023150999054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8712793719703864210.post-60583269177360114262024-03-01T16:42:00.000-06:002024-03-01T16:42:50.908-06:00Texas Adds Defenseman Michael Prapavessis on PTO<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXbnf7B5AfO7ItFhploucHb4SHrcRExCFaoyt9ZyxPC6CZR6X9Enxl1CTPaFlWvKnEJsv4Nz83u4_wffrPWXuOlc4yJr4dmz1vnxiyDyTaxwT8mBlSfpYRsVJM0cD0obqMV6_JS3tnomaV41xnH3lvmp0i9pFfnFPjt0RVo8mHIVyLy5YWotBc8Wqfix8/s2000/53560450360_fc1c52dda5_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXbnf7B5AfO7ItFhploucHb4SHrcRExCFaoyt9ZyxPC6CZR6X9Enxl1CTPaFlWvKnEJsv4Nz83u4_wffrPWXuOlc4yJr4dmz1vnxiyDyTaxwT8mBlSfpYRsVJM0cD0obqMV6_JS3tnomaV41xnH3lvmp0i9pFfnFPjt0RVo8mHIVyLy5YWotBc8Wqfix8/w640-h426/53560450360_fc1c52dda5_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Credit: Andy Nietupski/Texas Stars)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />For the first time since May 2018*, the Texas Stars have signed a professional tryout for a player not playing for the Idaho Steelheads. With the trade of Artem Grushnikov on Wednesday night, Texas has signed defenseman Michael Prapavessis out of ECHL Toledo.<div><br /></div><div>The Stars had been up a creek in terms of injuries before the trade and had zero healthy scratches against San Diego Wednesday. Prapavessis was originally Dallas' draft pick in 2014 (105th overall) but did not get an entry-level contract from the NHL side. He played in Idaho before heading out of the organization, including a stint in Europe. He has nine assists in 30 games this year with Toledo.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's the release:</div><div><div></div><blockquote><div>The Texas Stars, American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, announced today the club has signed defenseman Michael Prapavessis to a professional tryout.</div><div><br /></div><div>Prapavessis, 28, joins the Stars after compiling nine assists in 30 games this season for the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye. Prior to signing in Toledo, the sixth-year pro played the 2022-23 season over in Europe, primarily with EHC Freiburg in Germany where he had 20 points (4-16=20) in 30 games.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Mississauga, Ontario native spent the 2021-22 season with the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads, where he posted 33 points (5-28=33) in 39 games. He also played three games on a PTO with the AHL’s Ontario Reign. Prapavessis has eight points (2-6=8) in 55 career AHL games Cleveland and Ontario, and he’s totaled 59 points (6-53=59) in 136 ECHL games for Jacksonville, Orlando, Utah, Wheeling, Idaho and Toledo.</div></blockquote><p>* - Mitch Gillam was the last player signed to a PTO not from Idaho on May 1, 2018. His release four days later was packaged with the announcement of the signing of Jason Robertson to an ATO.</p><div></div></div>Stephen Meservehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01744997023150999054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8712793719703864210.post-58378831102351577712024-02-28T22:21:00.001-06:002024-02-28T22:21:21.337-06:00Stars Survive Late Push By San Diego, Win 4-3<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrFsMTC8DraxOklDxmqR9v1Hfrefvd5l8YrH9PtfJVZ4vLH42eXm_7U87vmtYg4VnxlFt3M8LlBtLQEL1f8GZRRnN7Lpinb-0lvr1kvRlQnMLKN0avA-LW0UgHS394KzSPBBephI5AUAeXS78nhBOnEW0ZLhpcovOVxoYa7aXktvR4nrUURDjRP7x1sU0/s2000/53558991068_f7b6e893a3_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrFsMTC8DraxOklDxmqR9v1Hfrefvd5l8YrH9PtfJVZ4vLH42eXm_7U87vmtYg4VnxlFt3M8LlBtLQEL1f8GZRRnN7Lpinb-0lvr1kvRlQnMLKN0avA-LW0UgHS394KzSPBBephI5AUAeXS78nhBOnEW0ZLhpcovOVxoYa7aXktvR4nrUURDjRP7x1sU0/w640-h426/53558991068_f7b6e893a3_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Credit: Andy Nietupski/Texas Stars)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>On a night where <a href="https://www.100degreehockey.com/2024/02/dallas-trades-artem-grushnikov-to.html">the most impactful news for the Dallas organization</a> happened off the ice, the Texas Stars also played some hockey, a solid win over the visiting San Diego Gulls by a mark of 4-3. Christian Kyrou scored a pair while Mavrik Bourque potted two assists and Matej Blümel had a goal and an assist.</div><div><br /></div><div>"I really like the pace we came on with," said head coach Neil Graham. "I think we put the opponent on their heels... We were clean. We trusted our structure, and in turn we played pretty fast."</div><div><br /></div><div>The Stars put up four points against a team they needed to beat. The Gulls sit ninth in the ten-team Pacific Division with a record four games below five hundred. </div><div><br /></div><div>The power play had three goals on four chances on the night to keep cooking with gas on the season. Texas is not satisfied with their power play success and keeps pushing. Coach Graham noted that assistant coach Travis Morin, in charge of the power play, made a breakout adjustment tonight to establish more of a threat off zone entries.</div><div><br /></div><div>"[The power play] was critical for the win tonight. Back-to-back coming off the travel, to get two here at home was big for our group."</div><div><br /></div><div>Texas got the game started on time, as their coach likes to say, with a quick two-goal lead in the early going. Blümel rifled one from the left-wing point off the pass from Bourque to open things. Just 31 seconds later, Christian Kyrou floated one through on Alex Stalock after walking the blue line back and forth in search of the shot.</div><div><br /></div><div>"It was a good load up high by Seminoff and good play by my teammates to create havoc in front," said Kyrou postgame.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Stars would take that lead to the break with a 8-7 shot advantage to boot. In the second period, the teams traded power play goals with San Diego going first. Olen Zellweger snuck down the left-wing side to find a hole in Remi Poirier far side for the 2-1 margin. Texas would answer late in the frame with Oskar Bäck's sixth of the season, a redirect off the shot-pass from Bourque. Blümel had the secondary assist.</div><div><br /></div><div>Texas would go ahead 4-1 with yet another power play goal, this time from Kyrou early in the third. Chase Wheatcroft had the keep along the blue line, finding Kyrou for his second of the night.</div><div><br /></div><div>San Diego mounted a comeback bid in the final segment of the game with two goals. </div><div><br /></div><div>"We hit a fatigue wall," admitted coach Graham. "Getting that third power play goal was critical. They started driving plays a little deeper. They just had a push. They skated hard in the third, and they were able to make some plays towards our net. It wasn't for a lack of focus or effort. I think we hit a little bit of a fatigue wall."</div><div><br /></div><div>Josh Lopina got a slick redirect in the paint off a pass from a below-the-goal-line Brayden Tracey to make it 4-2. With more than four minutes left, the Gulls would pull Stalock for the extra man, and it would pay off. Glenn Gawdin floated one through traffic through a screened Poirier to make it 4-3.</div><div><br /></div><div>With the goalie still pulled, San Diego poured on the pressure but could not earn the tying goal.</div><div><br /></div><div>With injury to Gavin White and the trade of Grushnikov, Texas is once again in a dire situation with no healthy scratches as they head on the road for a stint. The Stars are likely to call on Idaho once again. In a bit of irony, a top potential target, Patrick Kudla, is already on a PTO with AHL Calgary. Texas may need to fish for something other than a Steelhead.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Stars hit the road yet again for a quick pair in Winnipeg on Saturday and Sunday afternoon at 2 PM.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Tonight's lines</b><br /><div><div>Blümel-Bourque-Karlström</div><div>Stranges-Bäck-Mastrodonato</div><div>Wheatcroft-Damiani-Becker</div><div>Rassell-Seminoff-McDonald</div><div><br /></div><div>Pouliot-Petrovic</div><div>Karow-Kyrou</div><div>Zloty-J. Murray</div><div><br /></div><div>Poirier<br /><br /></div></div></div><div><b>Injuries, scratches and notes</b></div><div>Stankoven (callup)</div><div><div>Bayreuther (out - ankle)</div><div>Berard, Reedy, Caamano (out - upper body)</div></div><div>McKenzie (injury, lower body out until late March/early April)</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.100degreehockey.com/2024/02/dallas-trades-artem-grushnikov-to.html">As noted here</a>, Artem Grushnikov was technically a scratch but was traded during the game to Calgary. Grushnikov found out about the scratch just before puck drop, but he stuck around and addressed the team after the game. Graham said, "He's a first-class individual. He wanted to say a few words and spoke very highly of our organization and his time here. We feel the exact same way about him.</div><div><br /></div><div>"I told him I'm from Calgary. If he needs anything, a home cooked meal, let me know."</div><div><br /></div><div>Tonight's attendance was 5,093.</div><p><a href="https://lscluster.hockeytech.com/game_reports/official-game-report.php?lang_id=1&client_code=ahl&game_id=1025994">AHL Gamesheet - Texas v. San Diego - February 28 2024</a></p>Stephen Meservehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01744997023150999054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8712793719703864210.post-72195671517913655392024-02-28T19:51:00.007-06:002024-02-28T19:54:33.197-06:00Dallas Trades Artem Grushnikov to Calgary as Part of Tanev Deal<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIwn0VbsQGD_lKzLjoLg_a2q2GDdf2OP0va6kAJ0Q1DfQ6vrRcW_XZAL12LmHw6FiGvDVSYL9gwz0JsKfxg6p7Cw8kqgAQNcYQXxkLLGvEs4SWm_lhvLF9nDcXwLV8ddC8lHQEn_wfs8KHOOuNJ2pL3C6J-s36qgrsquvCs4NxQZHZKBBZh5cX6bChxpA/s4000/53492769530_392a8708fd_4k.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2667" data-original-width="4000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIwn0VbsQGD_lKzLjoLg_a2q2GDdf2OP0va6kAJ0Q1DfQ6vrRcW_XZAL12LmHw6FiGvDVSYL9gwz0JsKfxg6p7Cw8kqgAQNcYQXxkLLGvEs4SWm_lhvLF9nDcXwLV8ddC8lHQEn_wfs8KHOOuNJ2pL3C6J-s36qgrsquvCs4NxQZHZKBBZh5cX6bChxpA/w640-h426/53492769530_392a8708fd_4k.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Credit: Ross Bonander/Texas Stars)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Just before puck drop tonight, Artem Grushnikov was a late scratch. As first reported by 100 Degree Hockey, he was the player sent to Calgary as part of the return for acquiring defenseman Chris Tanev from the Flames.<div><br /></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Re Tanev trade, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/txstars?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#txstars</a> had Artem Grushnikov in the lineup but swapped for Ben Zloty just before the puck went down. Take from that what you will. <a href="https://t.co/R4yP5bGX5q">pic.twitter.com/R4yP5bGX5q</a></p>— 100 Degree Hockey (@100degreehockey) <a href="https://twitter.com/100degreehockey/status/1763010771393401270?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 29, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br /><div><br /></div><div>Grushnikov has not exactly lit the place on fire in the AHL this season. He is plus-3 with 1-4-5 in 44 games played. Thanks to injuries, he has been elevated in the lineup to an everyday player instead of rotating scratches with other rookies, as was the original plan. He has been fine in that role overall.</div><div><br /></div><div>Grushnikov will likely head to the Calgary Wranglers. Texas and the Wranglers do not play each other this regular season.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Texas will be in a bind on defense this weekend. Gavin White is out with an injury sustained in Grand Rapids, and there are no healthy scratches after that. Until Lian Bichsel returns, the Stars will likely turn to ECHL Idaho for a PTO.</div>Stephen Meservehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01744997023150999054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8712793719703864210.post-35737547603498778732024-02-27T22:30:00.000-06:002024-02-28T16:57:33.647-06:00Texas Stars End Three-Game Skid With 3-1 Win Over San Diego<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDM3bRZI8QE3PN0OGMZxdnv9CFewX_KhYhWd6JEmtD19gBNerka5uHv8jSZWJvLTim3ZjywXKB3Qwkywhjqro6BJTWrU5yqRUBRKlnJMmiZnF3nmggUgtwU6bI4ekUf4O29b-2kwUKMXsEE_7WoFUUgEq2FAeO9wCFqNrA6Fvj1tHTIzgX_QQRFpuI/s2000/53557031283_e6caa3ee20_o.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2000" height="429" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDM3bRZI8QE3PN0OGMZxdnv9CFewX_KhYhWd6JEmtD19gBNerka5uHv8jSZWJvLTim3ZjywXKB3Qwkywhjqro6BJTWrU5yqRUBRKlnJMmiZnF3nmggUgtwU6bI4ekUf4O29b-2kwUKMXsEE_7WoFUUgEq2FAeO9wCFqNrA6Fvj1tHTIzgX_QQRFpuI/w644-h429/53557031283_e6caa3ee20_o.jpg" width="644" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>(Photo Credit: Andy Nietupski/Texas Stars)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b>Cedar Park, TX - </b>The Texas Stars returned home after a winless three-game road trip and enjoyed the home cooking as they outlasted the San Diego Gulls 3-1 in front of 4,708 at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park in a rare home Tuesday night matchup.<p></p><p>Texas got out on top first when Antonio Stranges took a Michael Karow feed and chipped a shot underneath Gulls netminder Tomas Suchanek as Stranges was cutting across the slot 8:49 into the game. Stranges' goal was the lone tally of the first, and Texas took a 1-0 lead to the first intermission having outshot San Diego 9-7 in the first.</p><p>The Gulls jumped right back in just 4:26 into the second when Nikita Nesterenko, on a breakaway, went to his forehand and lifted one past Texas goalie Matt Murray to knot the game at 1-1.</p><p>Texas jumped right back in and took the momentum when Keaton Mastrodonato gathered up a juicy rebound off a Stranges shot in front of the crease. Texas went up 2-1 with 6:55 left in the middle frame. The Stars were able to get out of the period unscathed and headed to their room having outshot the Gulls for the second straight period, this by a 10-7 margin, giving them an advantage of 19-14 through forty.</p><p>Despite close games being dicey for the Stars of late, Texas commanded the third period, outshooting the Gulls 12-4 in the process. While the Stars were unable to find paydirt during that time, San Diego kept it close.</p><p>San Diego got a chance late when Artem Grushnikov was called for a cross check with just over a minute left in regulation to send the Gulls to their first power play of the night. Already having gone empty net, the Gulls would get a chance on a 6-on-4 advantage with the Stars clinging to a one-goal lead with 1:18 left.</p><p>With Texas scrambling, Oskar Bäck made possibly the play of the game when he dropped and blocked a shot just above his defensive blue line. Mavrik Bourque scooped up the loose puck and buried it from the red line to ice the game and the final score at 3-1 with 21 seconds left.</p><p>Between the pipes, Murray turned away 17 of 18 to earn the win, improving his record to 12-10-2-1. Suchanek steered off 28 of 30 while seeing his record fall to a still stellar 11-4-3-2.</p><p>Up next, the teams close out the series with another rare Wednesday night game in Cedar Park. The teams are scheduled to face off at 7:00 P.M.</p><p><b>Tonight's lines:<br /></b>Blümel-Bourque-Karlström*<br />Stranges-Bäck-Mastrodonato<br />Wheatcroft-Damiani-Becker<br />Rassell-Seminoff-McDonald</p><p>Zloty-Petrovic<br />Karow-Kyrou<br />Grushnikov-J. Murray</p><p>M. Murray</p><p><b>Injuries, scratches and notes<br /></b>White (scratch)<br />Bayreuther (out - ankle)<br />Berard, Reedy, Caamano (out - upper body)<br />McKenzie (injury, lower body out until late March/early April)</p><p>Tonight's attendance was 4,708</p><p><a href="https://lscluster.hockeytech.com/game_reports/official-game-report.php?lang_id=1&client_code=ahl&game_id=1025984" target="_blank">AHL Gamesheet - Texas v. San Diego - February 27 2024</a></p>Michael Owenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08420690202597272014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8712793719703864210.post-48960321600399455112024-02-24T21:19:00.242-06:002024-02-26T13:11:23.345-06:00Texas Ends Pointless Road Trip With 4-1 Loss To Griffs<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ZPmFujLmOqSw05zZq2idgCQTFH1IMo7RNPhSP_WW4S8Y3wUeQZxC2BgpaFgNdpEJmp6cqJUzneZmC6b2baVnK1VEo5dQfsNZ5gQcORnNRbxkzuUBZb7hmcVAeZAYl9BAj0FZ2lN0vokJFiFAmKyopK2GuQkUOSaGbOXg5HN7jRzra5099-QHrghq/s3188/53550606714_fd7596b75a_o.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2598" data-original-width="3188" height="493" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ZPmFujLmOqSw05zZq2idgCQTFH1IMo7RNPhSP_WW4S8Y3wUeQZxC2BgpaFgNdpEJmp6cqJUzneZmC6b2baVnK1VEo5dQfsNZ5gQcORnNRbxkzuUBZb7hmcVAeZAYl9BAj0FZ2lN0vokJFiFAmKyopK2GuQkUOSaGbOXg5HN7jRzra5099-QHrghq/w604-h493/53550606714_fd7596b75a_o.jpg" width="604" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>(Photo Credit: Nicholas Carillo/Grand Rapids Griffins)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b>Grand Rapids, MI - </b>The Texas Stars, playing sans puck-moving blueliner Derrick Pouliot and AHL point-leader Logan Stankoven, both having been called up to the big club, completed a pointless three-game road trip where they started the trip, taking a 4-1 loss to the Grand Rapids Griffins in front of 10,128 at Van Andel Arena Saturday night.<p></p><p>Despite having arrived in Grand Rapids at 4:00 AM following <a href="https://www.100degreehockey.com/2024/02/diminished-texas-stars-fall-in-rockford.html" target="_blank">their 5-3 loss Friday night in Rockford</a>, Saturday night's clash started off promising. Christian Kyrou got the good bounce off of the left post past Griffs netminder Michael Hutchinson from the left circle on a Mavrik Bourque feed to give Texas the early lead just 44 seconds into the game, and the light was lit for the downtrodden Stars, skating without seven of their regulars.</p><p>The game - and road trip - caught up with Texas in the second. Jonatan Berggren ripped one past Remi Poirier on an odd man rush to level the game at 1-1 at 7:32 into the second. Elmer Soderblom compounded the situation just thirteen seconds later when he one-timed a Albert Johansson pass past Poirier to make it 2-1 Grand Rapids with 12:15 remaining in the middle frame.</p><p>Having been outshot 25-15 through forty, the Stars limped into the third. Simon Edvinsson lit the lamp 6:40 into the third off of an assist from former Star Joel L’Esperance to make it 3-1 Griffs. Dominik Shine capped the scoring with an empty netter with eighteen seconds left to yield the final of 4-1.</p><p>Between the pipes, Poirier, the hard luck of late fell to 13-10-3 despite having stopped 31-of-34. Hutchinson improved to 12-8-1 after stopping 22-of-23.</p><p>With the win, Grand Rapids 24-15-5-3 (56 pts.) the second place Griffins extended their lead over the third-place Stars 24-20-3-2 (53 pts.) as they head into the backend of the season. Both clubs are being left in the dust as the Milwaukee Admirals have reeled off nineteen straight wins.</p><p>Up next, Texas tries to right the ship with a Tuesday/Wednesday affair against the San Diego Gulls. Puck drop for both games of the two-game series is slated for 7:00 P.M.</p><p><b>Tonight's lines:<br /></b>Rassell-Blümel-Bourque<br />Stranges-Bäck-Karlström<br />Wheatcroft-Damiani-McDonald<br />Mastrodonato-Seminoff-Becker</p><p>J. Murray-Petrovic<br />Grushnikov-White<br />Karow-Kyrou</p><p>Poirier</p><p><b>Injuries, scratches and notes<br /></b>Stankoven, Pouliot (callup)<br />Bayreuther (out - ankle)<br />Berard, Reedy, Caamano (out - upper body)<br />McKenzie (injury, lower body out until late March/early April)</p><p>Tonight's attendance was 10,128</p><p><a href="https://lscluster.hockeytech.com/game_reports/official-game-report.php?lang_id=1&client_code=ahl&game_id=1025963" target="_blank">AHL Gamesheet - Texas at Grand Rapids - February 24 2024</a></p>Michael Owenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08420690202597272014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8712793719703864210.post-21001185755172393612024-02-23T22:00:00.001-06:002024-02-24T12:28:15.395-06:00Diminished Texas Stars Fall in Rockford, 5-3<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Z1o7tZfGcaqYC0_IQg2NvGCyWCX1gZ81jBDKgIIWDpxYVbr5sPTNAPHtE2J_ji1brRX6iBTm8Vb2czf0WIXZ8QnoTWkLn_MWgAp2rFD6YubuwNIZf7-rGujx9wJFLNhEwQSJ2bogLgSflw3y5OrKyruH88hT0z9X8N0ZKOENGUNtmcXpXm3BuJiG0ZI/s4095/53548748690_fb63576f84_4k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2730" data-original-width="4095" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Z1o7tZfGcaqYC0_IQg2NvGCyWCX1gZ81jBDKgIIWDpxYVbr5sPTNAPHtE2J_ji1brRX6iBTm8Vb2czf0WIXZ8QnoTWkLn_MWgAp2rFD6YubuwNIZf7-rGujx9wJFLNhEwQSJ2bogLgSflw3y5OrKyruH88hT0z9X8N0ZKOENGUNtmcXpXm3BuJiG0ZI/w640-h426/53548748690_fb63576f84_4k.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Credit: Rockford IceHogs)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />There are games you just have to win. The Stars led after a great momentum shifting 53 seconds in the second period but ultimately fell to the IceHogs 5-3 in Rockford tonight.<div><br /></div><div>Without the services of Logan Stankoven, who is expected to be recalled tomorrow, for the first time all season, coach Graham put the lines in the blender. Kyle McDonald earned the call to the first line with Mavrik Bourque and Matej Blümel. Curtis McKenzie continues to be out due to injury.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rockford struck first with the only goal of the first period. On just the fourth shot of the game either way, but eight minutes into the contest, Bryce Kindopp and the Rockford fourth line scored. Brandon Baddock won a puck battle in the corner with McDonald and fed it to Kindopp for the opener.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Stars answered twice over in the second period with goals just 53 seconds apart. Fredrik Karström found Antonio Stranges in 1-on-1 coverage in the neutral zone to start the first tally. Stranges beat his man and went high on the backhand to tie things at one.</div><div><br /></div><div>The fourth line for Texas went next with a rebound effort off the boards by newcomer Mark Rassell coming back to the blue paint and getting finished off by Rassell after a whack by Jack Becker.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rockford would even things up with a one-timer from Rem Pitlick on the power play late in the frame to take it to the intermission even at two. The puck deflected off a Stars' defender to fool Matt Murray.</div><div><br /></div><div>The third period was Rockford's, however, as they scored three in the final twenty to take the win. Texas had control on the first goal but caught pressure and fed the IceHogs offense off the turnover. It was a shot from Wyatt Kaiser at the blue line to go up 3-2, a lead that they would not relinquish.</div><div><br /></div><div>Gavin White had a giveaway at the top of the offensive zone to send a 3-on-2 the other way. While the Hogs didn't score on that rush, the possession quickly led to the 4-2 score. While Texas would make it interesting with a third goal, coming from Blümel, the home side would net an empty netter to make it 5-3 final. Blümel played the trigger man, Stankoven's usual spot, on the right dot. Bourque's feed was delicious through the body of Brett Seney.</div><div><br /></div><div>Matt Murray stopped 16 of 20 shots in the game while Drew Commesso halted 29 of 32. It's a quick turn for Texas now as they head to Grand Rapids to close their road trip in Michigan.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>Injuries, scratches and notes</div><div>Bayreuther (out - ankle)</div><div>Berard, Reedy, Caamano (out - upper body)</div><div>McKenzie (injury, lower body out until late March/early April)</div><div>Pouliot, Stankoven (scratched and expected to be recalled to Dallas tomorrow)</div><div><br /></div><div>Tonight's attendance was 4,700.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://lscluster.hockeytech.com/game_reports/official-game-report.php?lang_id=1&client_code=ahl&game_id=1025956">AHL Gamesheet - Texas at Rockford - February 23 2024</a></div></div>Stephen Meservehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01744997023150999054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8712793719703864210.post-24156326267326340362024-02-21T21:00:00.009-06:002024-02-22T11:34:47.113-06:00Grand Rapids Blanks Texas 1-0 in Heated Goalie Duel<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-TTgBfCaRBXu7DdF0dgkahm-LwptkC389oOOYY7OGfm6U-Fid5TfpctbcL9xUmO1Rtkkw1qmunqeL1FSggJpnORHSkj9Og9wJ55kdCxVMRQGQt68KCYGGzCsaxAcAGfu1jgrqY5jY7rIvn7gQk1TwNP7FZRmbF5gCo5hselAvFxTL3WExWjq50kJQGek/s4081/53544802885_df97cf2ab1_4k.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2721" data-original-width="4081" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-TTgBfCaRBXu7DdF0dgkahm-LwptkC389oOOYY7OGfm6U-Fid5TfpctbcL9xUmO1Rtkkw1qmunqeL1FSggJpnORHSkj9Og9wJ55kdCxVMRQGQt68KCYGGzCsaxAcAGfu1jgrqY5jY7rIvn7gQk1TwNP7FZRmbF5gCo5hselAvFxTL3WExWjq50kJQGek/w640-h426/53544802885_df97cf2ab1_4k.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Credit: Nicolas Carrillo / Grand Rapids Griffins)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />In the end, Grand Rapids netminder Sebastian Cossa was one save better than Texas' Remi Poirier with the visiting Stars falling by a 1-0 score to the host Griffins tonight in Michigan. The lone goal of the evening was scored on the first shift, and no one pierced either goalie for 59:35 thereafter. It was Texas' first shutout loss since April 10, 2022.<p></p><p>The game, and the road trip generally, was an important one for Texas. The Griffins seemed mired in the battle at the bottom of the Central Division at Christmas with Texas clearly in control of the division. Since then, Grand Rapids and Milwaukee have both gone on impressive tears while Texas has slumped. Milwaukee's 17-game winning streak is well-documented, but GRG has not lost a game in regulation since January 12th and is 14-2-2-2 since these two teams last tangled before the holidays.</p><p>Meanwhile, Texas is 8-11-1-1 in the same span. As a result, the two clubs have flipped in the standings with Grand Rapids now holding second place and Texas just behind by a point after tonight's result. The rest of the division sits below .500, so it appears this will be a race between Grand Rapids and Texas for home ice in the first round of the playoffs, which are only two months away.</p><p>Detroit's status as a playoff team or not will also potentially affect who is lacing them up for the Griffins, so that is something to watch with more interest than usual for Texas fans this year.</p><p>The only goal of the evening in this contest was, as mentioned, on the first shift. Albert Johansson ripped a one-timer past Remi Poirier on what was the first shot of the game for either side. From there, both goalies shut the door. Poirier stopped 32 shots while Cossa earned his first AHL shutout with 28 stops.</p><div>These teams battle again on Saturday night, but first, the Stars will make a trip to Rockford on Friday night.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Tonight's lines</b><br /><div>Wheatcroft-Bourque-Stankoven</div><div>Blümel-Bäck-Karlström</div><div>Stranges-Damiani-McDonald</div><div>Mastrodonato-Seminoff-Becker</div><div><br /></div><div>Grushnikov-White</div><div>Kyrou-Karow</div><div>Murray-Petrovic</div><div><br /></div><div>Poirier</div></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Injuries, scratches and notes</b></div><div>Pouliot (callup)</div><div><div>Bayreuther (out - ankle)</div><div>Berard, Reedy, Caamano (out - upper body)</div></div><div>McKenzie (injury, lower body out until late March/early April)</div><div><br /></div><div>Even with all the turmoil in Dallas from the last few days, Texas rolled the same 12 forwards and 6 defenders as Saturday night. Logan Stankoven returned as did Alex Petrovic.</div><div><br /></div><div>With Curtis McKenzie out of the lineup, the Stars added a third "A" to their roster: Oskar Bäck.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tonight's attendance was 5,120.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://lscluster.hockeytech.com/game_reports/official-game-report.php?lang_id=1&client_code=ahl&game_id=1025940">AHL Gamesheet - Texas at Grand Rapids - February 21 2024</a></div>Stephen Meservehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01744997023150999054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8712793719703864210.post-89135564751148158942024-02-20T10:05:00.009-06:002024-02-20T10:09:31.787-06:00Injury-Ravaged Dallas Stars Call for Logan Stankoven After Debuting Pouliot and Petrovic<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkmEq2QvAUevnF0NOTZwsh4Wkom0_H8nO0kAFL2K-g20gi9GUz1mn1s3GKFhc5bdVXeK58e04ApTqghRxZZ3pxeLCiP-aeEhpgDgg7hXdUYERYJQNSnNPOorzeS7C2xvCtycr6kq22vcfOspJ_WhDy5JlTLFn51B7ylBFWIRpUZ87X3Q1CoG9SqUXsuRA/s2000/53210377567_67cfc56cd0_o.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkmEq2QvAUevnF0NOTZwsh4Wkom0_H8nO0kAFL2K-g20gi9GUz1mn1s3GKFhc5bdVXeK58e04ApTqghRxZZ3pxeLCiP-aeEhpgDgg7hXdUYERYJQNSnNPOorzeS7C2xvCtycr6kq22vcfOspJ_WhDy5JlTLFn51B7ylBFWIRpUZ87X3Q1CoG9SqUXsuRA/w640-h426/53210377567_67cfc56cd0_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Credit: Andy Nietupski/Texas Stars)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />It's been a bit of a week for the entire Dallas organization. The headline news is that after it seemed the Stars would never recall anyone all season, they made four recalls in 48 hours and three of them have played or will tonight.<p></p><p>With injuries cutting them down to five defensemen and the birth of his first child taking Miro Heiskanen out of the lineup for Monday, Dallas called for Alex Petrovic and Derrick Pouliot. Both played in Boston, on the same pairing, as Dallas fell to the Bruins in a nine-round shootout. Petrovic has returned to Texas as of this morning with Heiskanen returning to the lineup. Pouliot is expected to play again tonight in New York.</p><p>On the forward ranks, Dallas recalled Matej Blümel in a paper transaction to get them as close as possible to the cap limit to maximize LTIR relief. Then, Blümel was returned. The big news, however, is that Logan Stankoven will make his NHL debut tonight. The rookie forward, who leads the entire AHL in scoring, checks in after Matt Duchene's injury before the puck drop in Boston put Dallas at 17 skaters.</p><p>Stankoven will wear No. 11 for Dallas and make his debut at Madison Square Garden.</p><p>Texas plays Wednesday in Grand Rapids and is now down to 12 healthy forwards after the addition of Mark Rassell from Idaho and the subtraction of Stankoven. Texas also added Ben Zloty from Idaho on recall to aid on defense. With the return of Petrovic, Texas will at least have one extra skater to make 7 on defense and 19 total.</p>Stephen Meservehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01744997023150999054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8712793719703864210.post-31885326690294789522024-02-17T22:39:00.002-06:002024-02-18T16:23:55.309-06:00Texas Battles Through Injury Adversity to Earn 3-2 Win Over Iowa<div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmhoii5zqENWhpIC92a7QNTCUlTAm02iutXhYxxpgLFe8G3rD7temvOh5zBuNkMGrOXQ9gFIQXCb19ZZF_5id3YjmC5qy62tRMBQYVmt8hsojW2wv54WH0vyhmRQOzHuz2D1MUsWXhn683ZMZdp0tppas4WySE7Q3fFZDYik318VMHk9nEdw-JCD3B-Bk/s5472/53536193294_1541691033_o.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmhoii5zqENWhpIC92a7QNTCUlTAm02iutXhYxxpgLFe8G3rD7temvOh5zBuNkMGrOXQ9gFIQXCb19ZZF_5id3YjmC5qy62tRMBQYVmt8hsojW2wv54WH0vyhmRQOzHuz2D1MUsWXhn683ZMZdp0tppas4WySE7Q3fFZDYik318VMHk9nEdw-JCD3B-Bk/w640-h426/53536193294_1541691033_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Credit: Ross Bonander/Texas Stars)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div>Playing the worst team in the Central for a second night in a row, Texas left no doubt on the final scoreboard with a 3-2 victory over the visiting Iowa Wild tonight in front of a sellout crowd at H-E-B Center.</div><div><br /></div><div>Texas is battling adversity left and right, so it was a good victory in more ways than one. The Stars had no healthy scratches tonight as injuries continue to plague the forward ranks and Dallas is expected to recall defenseman Derrick Pouliot tomorrow. He was scratched tonight in advance of the move. Rookie Jake Murray, who stepped in, found out he was playing at 5:15 PM.</div><div><br /></div><div>"You can't necessarily prepare for those moments," said head coach Neil Graham. "But it's how you handle them that's probably the most important. Our group handled it correctly. We had a plan. The plan didn't change."</div><div><br /></div><div>In one of those changes, after a 12 game absence before this weekend, Chase Wheatcroft made his way to the first line. Graham noted he wanted to elevate Wheatcroft in the lineup at some point, but the opportunity presented itself earlier than planned. Curtis McKenzie is expected to be out for at least a month with the injury sustained last night.</div><div><br /></div><div>With Wheatcroft speeding down the left wing, Logan Stankoven found Mavrik Bourque, who dished to the rookie Wheatcroft for the opening goal. "Those are two pretty special players," said Wheatcroft of his linemates. "Bourque made a great play to me right off the bat, and I was lucky enough to put it home."</div><div><br /></div><div>Logan Stankoven and Mavrik Bourque both had two point nights, and the pair combined for 15 of Texas' 29 shots on goal. They continue to pace each other at the top of the AHL's scoring charts with 57 and 55 points respectively in 46 games.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Stars' lead wouldn't last long though with Adam Beckman scoring on the next shift and resetting the score at 1-1. </div><div><br /></div><div>Through the middle of the frame, the fourth line with Jack Becker, Matthew Seminoff and Keaton Mastrodonato did a lot of work to generate positive momentum. That's something the team will need as their forward depth continues to be challenged.</div><div><br /></div><div>"To be quite honest, they've done a real good job finding an identity," added Graham. "Whether they play eight minutes or twelve, they're going to check hard, be physical. They're going to block shots. It doesn't show up on the score sheet, but ... they're really adding value to our team."</div><div><br /></div><div>As the period wound down, the Stars found themselves rushing up ice after turning a lengthy Iowa possession into numbers the other way. Matej Blümel raced in 2-on-1 with Fredrik Karlström for the latter's 15th of the season, his second in as many nights. The goal came with just 18.2 seconds left in the frame.</div><div><br /></div><div>In a rough and tumble middle period, Texas scored the only goal as Bourque found Stankoven unmarked for the 3-1 lead. Texas had a prime chance with a major penalty assessed to Daemon Hunt for cross-checking midway through the period. They would ultimately only play shortly with the advantage after Wheatcroft took a penalty halfway through the three minutes of actual advantage after the matching penalties.</div><div><br /></div><div>"I think we did a really good job staying out of all of that stuff and just stuck to our game," said Wheatcroft of the teams unwillingness to muck it up against a physical Iowa front.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the third, Iowa broke through on the power play with a goal from the point by Nic Petan to make it 3-2. Iowa tried to make it interesting late with a power play and the empty net. Even the 6-on-4 could not break the Texas defense.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Wild visit Texas once more time on the season at the end of March. With the win, Texas holds onto their sole possession of second place in the Central, ahead of Grand Rapids by just one point by virtue of the Griffins' win over Rockford tonight. They still trail the world-bearing Admirals by 14 points.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Stars are back on the road next, hitting the midwest once again starting with a head-to-head against GRG on Wednesday in Michigan.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Tonight's lines</b><br /><div>Wheatcroft-Bourque-Stankoven</div><div>Blümel-Bäck-Karlström</div><div>Stranges-Damiani-McDonald</div><div>Mastrodonato-Seminoff-Becker</div><div><br /></div><div>Grushnikov-White</div><div>Kyrou-Karow</div><div>Murray-Petrovic</div><div><br /></div><div>Poirier</div></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Injuries, scratches and notes</b></div><div>Pouliot (callup)</div><div><div>Bayreuther (out - ankle)</div><div>Berard, Reedy, Caamano (out - upper body)</div></div><div>McKenzie (injury)</div><div><br /></div><div>Derrick Pouliot was a late scratch as Dallas is expected to recall the forward officially tomorrow to play this week in place of the injured Jani Hakanpää, who was hurt in this afternoon's game against Edmonton.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tonight's attendance was 6,778, a sellout.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://lscluster.hockeytech.com/game_reports/official-game-report.php?lang_id=1&client_code=ahl&game_id=1025922">AHL Gamesheet - Texas v. Iowa - February 17 2024</a></div>Stephen Meservehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01744997023150999054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8712793719703864210.post-72195131098956967872024-02-16T22:30:00.305-06:002024-02-17T20:55:29.202-06:00Texas Stars Come Out on Top 6-4 in Late Back-And-Forth Battle<p><b></b></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE9_SDE5pqReWmbRJRnEdqu4t7wtJy9j0N_0TGSw0x-tzTT9KrmW7L7PVBmxAEsgpgsNA-MdKNM7HRBc1qxsUPt_fEi4Kr7CxIO4eZqSP5UIR9Bpp5HVK1WtoOzdnLhmNaoCFlTHcRRr57zTp3nubT3FhS_SFDjArfa2iqFbWTykzBRJQoBRoDPnu_/s2000/53534158979_9339054651_o.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2000" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE9_SDE5pqReWmbRJRnEdqu4t7wtJy9j0N_0TGSw0x-tzTT9KrmW7L7PVBmxAEsgpgsNA-MdKNM7HRBc1qxsUPt_fEi4Kr7CxIO4eZqSP5UIR9Bpp5HVK1WtoOzdnLhmNaoCFlTHcRRr57zTp3nubT3FhS_SFDjArfa2iqFbWTykzBRJQoBRoDPnu_/w599-h398/53534158979_9339054651_o.jpg" width="599" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>(Photo Credit: Andy Nietupski/Texas Stars)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><b><br />Cedar Park, TX - </b>Coming off of a relatively strong road trip where the Texas Stars picked up four of a possible six points, the Stars topped the Iowa Wild 6-4 en route to extending their point streak to four in front of 5,860 Friday night at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park.<div><br /></div><div>"Two points. We needed two points. Two points and four straight games," Texas head coach Neil Graham said after the game. "It's not always how you draw it up, obviously, but at the end of the day. I think we're seeing a lot more good than [bad]. I thought we were on our toes. So like I said, take the two points."<br /><p></p><p>The scoreless first was rather uneventful as neither team had many solid chances, despite Texas having an 8-7 shot advantage. Texas caught a break with ten seconds left in the period when Iowa was caught in a change and were called for a too many men infraction. While Iowa was able to get out of the period unscathed, the Stars would open the second with 1:50 on the advantage.</p><p>It didn't take long for Texas to take advantage their lone power play of the evening as Kyle McDonald picked up right where he left off when he beat Wild goalie Jesper Wallstedt from the slot for his ninth power play goal of the season just 34 seconds into the second. McDonald's power play tally not only leads the team but leads all AHL rookies, despite his prolonged absence.</p><p>Shortly after, the momentum completely turned the Stars way when Curtis McKenzie broke up a breakout and snapped a pass to Mavrik Bourque who one-timed it past Wallstedt to give Texas a 2-0 lead 8:10 into the stanza.</p><p>The crowd went into a frenzy just over a minute later when Derrick Pouliot redirected a limping Matej Blümel shot past Wallstedt, seemingly giving Texas a commanding 3-0 lead with 10:36 remaining in the second. </p><p>With the Stars cruising and in complete control, Iowa snuck back into the game when Steven Fogarty parked at the left post poked one past Texas goalie Matt Murray to make it 3-1 with 2:42 left in the middle frame. The teams headed to their respective rooms with Texas having a 14-9 shot advantage for the period, giving the Stars a 23-17 edge through forty.</p><p>Texas had their struggles in the third. Iowa's Sammy Walker flipped one top right on Murray 6:03 into the third to cut the Stars lead to 3-2 and the Wild were right back in it.</p><p>The Stars battled but were unable to get through the neutral zone time after time throughout the third. Frederik Karlström probably made the play of the game just over eight minutes into the period when he blocked a shot, and Matej Blümel collected the loose puck and went on a breakaway, five-holing Wallstedt to give Texas a 4-2 lead with 11:21 left, giving the building a collective sigh of relief.</p><p>"That was a big goal by [Blümel] but I think it's even equally as important to notice the block[ed] shot there at the top of the zone. They have an opportunity to create offensive the towards the net, and Freddy Karlström blocks a shot at the top of the neutral zone and a great footrace by Matej Blümel to finish."</p><p>The pesky Wild weren't going down quietly. Adam Beckman scored on the power play with 6:27 left to make it 4-3. Shortly after, Beckman won a faceoff and apparently passed it to himself, flipping one past Murray, and the game was knotted at 4-4 with 4:24 left in regulation.</p><p>At this point, the game seemed destined for bonus hockey, but clearly the Stars were having none of that. Just 24 seconds later, Pouliot cleaned up his own rebound and buried one past Wallstedt from the right post into the yawning net and Texas retook the lead at 5-4 with exactly four minutes left on the clock.</p><p>Texas was able to ride out the clock despite having been outshot 20-7 for the third. Karlstrom polished off his stellar three-point night with an empty netter with 28 seconds left to finish off the 6-4 victory.</p><p>"It was good. It was really good." Graham said of Karlstrom's slide-busting three-point night including the major block. "[H]e wants to contribute. He wants to be a part of it and he's such a good teammate and a good person. I'm happy for him." </p><p>Between the pipes Murray improved his record to 11-9-2 as he stopped 33 of the 37 shots he faced. Wallstedt's record dropped to 14-12-0 while saving 24-of-29</p><p>With the win Texas improved to 23-17-3-2 (51 pts.) to put them in sole possession of second place in the Central Division, one point ahead of Grand Rapids who lost to Cleveland in overtime Friday night. The Stars moved to within fourteen points of the Admirals who were idle on Friday. With the loss, Iowa fell to 17-26-1-2 (37 pts.), keeping them in the cellar of the Central.</p><p>Up next, the teams re-rack for a 7:00 P.M. rematch at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park Saturday night to close out the weekend series. </p><div><b>Tonight's lines</b></div><div>McKenzie-Bourque-Stankoven</div><div>Karlström-Bäck-Blümel*</div><div>Stranges-Damiani-McDonald</div><div>Wheatcroft-Seminoff-Mastrodonato</div><div><br /></div><div>Kyrou-Pouliot</div><div>Grushnikov-Petrovic*</div><div>Karow-White</div><div><br /></div><div>Murray</div><div>(* - starters)</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Injuries, scratches and notes</b></div><div>Becker, J. Murray (scratch)</div><div>Bayreuther (out - ankle)</div><div>Berard, Reedy, Caamano (out - upper body)</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Three Stars</b></div><div>1. Pouliot</div><div>2. Blümel</div><div>3. Karlström</div><div><br /></div><div>Tonight's attendance was 5,860.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Kirsten Welsh was a linesperson for the game on Friday, marking just the second time a female official called a game in Cedar Park.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://lscluster.hockeytech.com/game_reports/official-game-report.php?lang_id=1&client_code=ahl&game_id=1025910" target="_blank">AHL Gamesheet - Iowa at Texas - February 16 2024</a></div><div><br /></div></div>Michael Owenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08420690202597272014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8712793719703864210.post-63981752807699354142024-02-13T22:30:00.002-06:002024-02-17T19:30:27.235-06:00Texas Leads For Almost Three Periods, But Falls 3-2 in OT<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4yz560ZnWULJssiOBPWCKvWxUAL5VZBWjxfvthcgh8hXuAiLlMjchuSUwsbbpTlwGiefetBI7bWr4N_213VNX4Vcg2b0G9SJf_jeT1eVQPvhfCq9e0f7Zm33KdMnL7SgVz54h_SYnTOAhR5s_-nf9aqBjhzAkbP3TI_uaufGyT1ED07yM3gr2X-EBhqU/s4729/53527960606_b4b794ab9f_5k.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3153" data-original-width="4729" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4yz560ZnWULJssiOBPWCKvWxUAL5VZBWjxfvthcgh8hXuAiLlMjchuSUwsbbpTlwGiefetBI7bWr4N_213VNX4Vcg2b0G9SJf_jeT1eVQPvhfCq9e0f7Zm33KdMnL7SgVz54h_SYnTOAhR5s_-nf9aqBjhzAkbP3TI_uaufGyT1ED07yM3gr2X-EBhqU/w640-h426/53527960606_b4b794ab9f_5k.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Credit: Brad Repplinger / Rockford IceHogs)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Despite holding a lead for almost the entire game, the Texas Stars succumbed to the Rockford IceHogs by a 3-2 margin in overtime to conclude their three-game Midwestern swing at 1-0-1-1.</p>All in all, four out of six points on the road is not a bad outcome. But it's a rough one when the Stars had the lead late into tonight's contest and created several three-point games within the division as things get tight for the playoff race.<p></p><p>Matej Blümel got things started very early for Texas. The first shift of the night and also the first shot of the night yielded the first goal. Sneaking in on what should have been a manageable shot for Rockford's Drew Commesso, Blümel went five-hole for the 1-0 lead. Oskar Bäck had the outlet pass in the neutral zone.</p><p>With Blümel already having claimed the first goal of the night, Logan Stankoven would have to settle for the second. Stankoven did what he does and found open ice in between four IceHogs, opening up to accept a pass from Gavin White and snap it past Commesso short side. Watching the play was a masterclass in quickly finding space for the rookie forward. </p><p>Texas would lead 2-1 after twenty with Brett Seney scoring on a power play, tipping a shot from Wyatt Kaiser. With no scoring in the second, the teams went to the third with the same mark. </p><p>Although the Hogs' tying goal won't be marked as such on the scoresheet, it was a power play goal for all intents and purposes. Mere seconds after Curtis McKenzie was freed from the box and with the Hogs already set up in the zone and pressuring, Mike Hardman scored on a rebound. McKenzie didn't even have a chance to make it back to the zone before the shot went off the initial effort. It was tied 2-2 with just over three minutes left in the game.</p><p>In overtime, Blümel had the Stars' best chance of the frame, coming in alone off the pass from White after Rockford's initial possession. On the ensuing rush, however, Ethan Del Mastro would finish off a nice passing play from Cole Guttman to secure the 3-2 win.</p><p>Texas returns home for a pair against Iowa on Friday and Saturday. With the loss, the Stars sit in third in the division with a bit of room on fourth-place Rockford (6 points) and tied with second-place Grand Rapids on points at least.</p><div><b>Injuries, scratches and notes</b></div><div>J. Murray (scratch)</div><div>Bayreuther (out - ankle)</div><div>Reedy, Caamano (out - upper body)</div><div>Wheatcroft (out - lower body)</div><div>Berard (out - injury)</div><div><br /></div><div>Tonight's attendance was 2,273.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://lscluster.hockeytech.com/game_reports/official-game-report.php?client_code=ahl&game_id=1025895&lang_id=1">AHL Gamesheet - Texas at Rockford - February 13 2024</a></div>Stephen Meservehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01744997023150999054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8712793719703864210.post-25468214767009988162024-02-10T23:05:00.328-06:002024-02-11T07:37:30.763-06:00Hard Work Not Enough as Texas Stars Fall to Ads in 2-1 Shootout Loss<p><b></b></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn1EV5O2Jdz5yV7yzslPi79ghjSsTadxfhGRJDQTzx4DrsyzLTwjftnzGQHLFCYUg63skYUKetUvHYKClal5GA9j9O1TqT9gk2LpFr4WeUpKD0LQscqSAd4Yc0vrG64NA_Kq1fccerxM0DyFalDAV3hsysV8Kg3SWwEsOyzLze5_UwihSGasB9uaIz/s2000/53521466426_41b2010d18_o.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1407" data-original-width="2000" height="451" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn1EV5O2Jdz5yV7yzslPi79ghjSsTadxfhGRJDQTzx4DrsyzLTwjftnzGQHLFCYUg63skYUKetUvHYKClal5GA9j9O1TqT9gk2LpFr4WeUpKD0LQscqSAd4Yc0vrG64NA_Kq1fccerxM0DyFalDAV3hsysV8Kg3SWwEsOyzLze5_UwihSGasB9uaIz/w641-h451/53521466426_41b2010d18_o.jpg" width="641" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>(Photo Credit: Milwaukee Admirals)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><b><br />Milwaukee, WI - </b>Despite having outgunned, out-worked and out-played the Milwaukee Admirals for 65 minutes, the Texas Stars were unable to be rewarded for the effort they put in as they fell 2-1 to the Ads in a shootout in front of 8,454 at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena Saturday night.<p></p><div>With Milwaukee in the uncomfortable position of having only one goalie due to a pregame Yaroslav Askarov injury, veteran Troy Grosenick was a star in net for the Admirals on short notice and led the club to their fourteenth straight victory, a franchise record.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's challenging to convey how dominant the Stars were on Saturday night. They outshot the Admirals in every period, with the exception of overtime, where they started the extra frame down a man due to a phantom hooking call against Riley Damiani as the third period ended. The Stars outshot Milwaukee 34-18 through forty minutes and held the Admirals to 1-for-3 on the penalty kill. Texas was fruitless on their lone chance on the advantage.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Admirals took the initial lead 8:17 into the game when Joakim Kemell went off the right post from the right circle against Stars netminder Matt Murray - making his second start in as many nights - to give the Ads the initial lead. </div><div><br /></div><div>Shortly after, Logan Stankoven did Logan Stankoven stuff and answered right back when he took a picture-perfect drop pass from Mavrik Bourque and buried it past Grosenick for the netminders only blemish of the game with 8:26 left in the first.</div><div><br /></div><div>The teams went scoreless the rest of the way, despite Milwaukee being on the advantage to start the overtime, again, to a really bad call. </div><div><br /></div><div>The game could have been different had the teams gone to OT 3-on-3, but due to horrific officiating, it was not the case, yet the Stars survived it and took it to the skills competition, a shootout.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jordan Gross five-holed Murray in the second round of the shootout while Grosenick shut down all three of the Texas All-Stars ( Stankoven, Bourque and Blumel) to secure the win to clinch their league-leading fourteenth straight victory.</div><div><br /></div><div>With the SOL, Texas falls to 22-17-2-2 (48 pts.) but remains in second, tied with the Grand Rapids Griffins - who lost 4-3 in a shootout to Manitoba Saturday - in the Central Division race, with a game in hand. With the victory, the surging Admirals improve to 31-10-1-0 (63 pts.) to extend their dominance of the Central Division. The Stars will get another crack at the division leader when the season is concluding in April</div><div><br /></div><div>Between the pipes, while Murray was rarely tested, he made the spectacular saves when he needed to while turning away 20-of-21 en route to seeing his record drop to 10-9-2-1. Brookfield Wisconsin native Grosenick stood on his head, stopping 33-of-34 as well as the shut down in the shootout, improved his record to 14-3-0-2.</div><div><br /></div><div>Up next, the Stars travel to Rockford to close out their current three-game road trip where it started. Texas has a Tuesday night rematch with the IceHogs following a 3-2 overtime victory Friday night. Faceoff at the BMO Center is scheduled for 7:00 P.M. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Tonight's lines</b></div><div>McKenzie-Bourque-Stankoven</div><div>Karlström-Bäck-Blümel*</div><div>Stranges-Damiani-McDonald</div><div>Seminoff-Mastrodonato-Becker</div><div><br /></div><div>Kyrou-Pouliot</div><div>Grushnikov-Petrovic</div><div>Karow-White*</div><div><br /></div><div>Murray</div><div>(* - starters)</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Injuries, scratches and notes</b></div><div>J. Murray (scratch)</div><div>Bayreuther (out - ankle)</div><div>Berard, Reedy, Caamano (out - upper body)</div><div>Wheatcroft (out - lower body)</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Three Stars</b></div><div><div>1. MIL - T. Grosenick</div><div>2. TEX - L. Stankoven</div><div>3. TEX - M. Bourque</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Tonight's attendance was 8,454</b></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://lscluster.hockeytech.com/game_reports/official-game-report.php?lang_id=1&client_code=ahl&game_id=1025884" target="_blank">AHL Gamesheet - Texas at Milwaukee - February 10 2024</a></div></div>Michael Owenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08420690202597272014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8712793719703864210.post-70901001307866646472024-02-09T22:30:00.019-06:002024-02-10T13:46:52.437-06:00Texas Finds First-Half Vibes in Rockford, Winning 3-2 in OT<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivVP6zqmGRlmN_ZwIluPNgDbKC2-3fsuGgzi9GuNQlZvpWyaQJ08YucPRoXrnySVQGN0dLiihWjmmsMlkbaTAYArD8Kw55BVcqYEPD4C5X4gntUhqGmeeNNsu_4llBWfXXfr9_qw7wX_vJT2LqaHmb7DqEYGhz8W3R93YNr7U8AXbMF7zPLWO8g4I4QFY/s6000/53519782771_92484f1921_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivVP6zqmGRlmN_ZwIluPNgDbKC2-3fsuGgzi9GuNQlZvpWyaQJ08YucPRoXrnySVQGN0dLiihWjmmsMlkbaTAYArD8Kw55BVcqYEPD4C5X4gntUhqGmeeNNsu_4llBWfXXfr9_qw7wX_vJT2LqaHmb7DqEYGhz8W3R93YNr7U8AXbMF7zPLWO8g4I4QFY/w640-h426/53519782771_92484f1921_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Credit: Todd Reicher / Rockford IceHogs)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Coming off the All-Star break, Texas needed to start the back-half of the season right and got a running start at that goal tonight with a 3-2 overtime victory in Rockford, Illinois. With losses in eight of their last ten since playing Rockford last on January 6, the Stars had tumbled out of first place in the Central and now sit in a dogfight with the Griffins for second.</p><p>It was a prototypical Texas Stars game from the early stretch of the season. Logan Stankoven opened the scoring, something he has done six times this year for Texas. He trails only Adam Gaudette of the Springfield Thunderbirds in that regard. Then Kyle McDonald scored on the power play, something he has done now eight times this year, which leads all rookies in the category and ranks him sixth among all skaters.</p><p>Assisting on both plays were Mavrik Bourque and Curtis McKenzie. Again, it was another prototypical evening. But then the IceHogs had something to say, battling back to force overtime.</p><p>As mentioned, Stankoven got things started from the slot with a quick pass from McKenzie. The goal came on a delayed penalty after Brett Seney bowled over Matt Murray, and the play went the other way with numbers. Matej Blümel was the extra skater.</p><p>No one tracked Ethan Del Mastro coming into the zone a few minutes later and he was the recipient of a quick touch pass, which he demolished. Murray had no chance, having already gone down in the butterfly, to get the rising shot.</p><p>Seney was again the assailant on a call, this time slashing, which went poorly for the Hogs. McDonald scored his goal in a non-typical fashion for him though. Usually McDonald is a bumper guy, playing down low, but he walked the puck down from the left-wing point and sniped Commesso stick side for the 2-1 lead. </p><p>In the second period, after a great offensive shift for the Damiani line, the Stars saw numbers go the other way with a 3-on-2 turning into the game-tying goal from Wyatt Kaiser.</p><p>Texas had all the official shots of the overtime period, 3-0 on the sheet. Rockford was dangerous but had a few miss the net. The Stars really poured things on with aggressive possession in the Hogs' zone, starting Bourque and Stankoven and cycling them yet again as the third line in OT. As time wound down though, Fredrik Karlström dinged one off Drew Commesso's mask and Riley Damiani had the game-winner with 3.9 seconds in OT. </p><p>The Stars take the bus to Milwaukee for a huge game against the far-and-away leaders of the Central. It's a measuring stick game and it starts at 6 PM Saturday.</p><p><b>Tonight's lines</b><br />Karlström-Bäck-Blümel<br />McKenzie-Bourque-Stankoven<br />Stranges-Damiani-McDonald<br />Seminoff-Mastrodonato-Becker</p><p>Kyrou-Pouliot<br />Grushnikov-Petrovic<br />Karow-White<br /><br />Murray</p><div><b>Injuries, scratches and notes</b></div><div>J. Murray (scratch)</div><div>Bayreuther (out - ankle)</div><div>Reedy, Caamano (out - upper body)</div><div>Wheatcroft (out - lower body)</div><div>Berard (out - injury)</div><div><br /></div><div>Tonight's attendance was 3,702.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://lscluster.hockeytech.com/game_reports/official-game-report.php?lang_id=1&client_code=ahl&game_id=1025874">AHL Gamesheet - Texas at Rockford - February 9 2024</a></div>Stephen Meservehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01744997023150999054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8712793719703864210.post-11679527182524953512024-02-03T22:25:00.002-06:002024-02-03T22:25:50.015-06:00Texas Loses Its Tenth of 2024 as Jack Campbell Guides Condors to 2-1 Win<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdKQjlhiUlHeLqyCAEMxpbgeeGeT93sfCoKSyfafq2rLBbQ_Do396bGjxIpQ7TctnivljNU3jH7rIhM5I_lq2r3s5mCtK__JxtQRmc90su5nX-m9Kg4VJ-NNN-eelEUSfQbUyMQqj6tkDFPsWkOzhcr9850Pw75y2ipCYDdQNeDRgmaCTlhVmrmwsSD7k/s2886/53507634125_eb59e67428_3k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1924" data-original-width="2886" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdKQjlhiUlHeLqyCAEMxpbgeeGeT93sfCoKSyfafq2rLBbQ_Do396bGjxIpQ7TctnivljNU3jH7rIhM5I_lq2r3s5mCtK__JxtQRmc90su5nX-m9Kg4VJ-NNN-eelEUSfQbUyMQqj6tkDFPsWkOzhcr9850Pw75y2ipCYDdQNeDRgmaCTlhVmrmwsSD7k/w640-h426/53507634125_eb59e67428_3k.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Credit: Ross Bonader/Texas Stars)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Seeking to salvage a split of the weekend, Texas fell 2-1 to Bakersfield tonight in Cedar Park in front of a sellout crowd. It was their tenth loss of the calendar year, dropping them to 3-10 in 2024 and keeping them tied for second in the Central by virtue of Grand Rapids not playing tonight.</p><p>"We obviously addressed multiple things from the game the night before," said head coach Neil Graham. "I thought our guys competed all night. I wish they would have got two points to feel the reward for competing"</p><p>After playing potentially one of their worst games of the year on Friday, the turnaround effort was notable even in the loss. "When you compete that hard, you will win more than you lose."</p><p>Keaton Mastrodonato, who had the games only goal, added, "Despite the result, I think every single guy in that room can be proud of the effort to compete tonight."</p><p>Ultimately, it was former Star Jack Campbell earning the first star of the game as he stopped 36 of 37 in net. It was his first return to Cedar Park since December 13, 2017 with the Ontario Reign.</p><p>"I coached Jack," added Graham with a wry smile. "I love to see success for him. I wish it wasn't necessarily tonight."</p><p>The first period had no scoring, but that didn't mean it was uneventful. The most notable moment was when the Stars got caught scrambling deep in their own zone with the puck sliding through the crease at least twice. The high danger shift ended without a goal. Texas had several power plays in the first but didn't get anything to convert.</p><p>Scoring amped up in the second period as Texas opened their account on the night with Mastrodonato's second of the year. He was the recipient of a smooth, on-target pass from Curtis McKenzie at the left wing wall straight to the slot.</p><p>It was Bakersfield answering back and then pushing the score further to end the frame. The Condors' top-ten power play found paydirt on a play that looked very similar to how Mavrik Bourque and Logan Stankoven have scored a number of PPGs this year. This time it was Lane Pederson, scoring from the left wing dot on a one-timer to even things at one.</p><p>Dino Kambietz made it 2-1 Bako from the right wing dot around the halfway point of the frame. He had enough time to corral the puck and beat Poirier glove side off the pass from Cam Dineen.</p><p>It seemed like Texas would have a puncher's chance in the final frame, especially as the Condors only managed one shot in the entire period. It took them until the 12th minute to log it as well. </p><p>"We were getting pucks to the net and having traffic, having those secondary chances," added Mastrodonato. "So that's always going to help when you have layers and just keep following pucks to the net."</p><p>The Stars pulled Remi Poirier with two minutes left but could not register the tying goal. </p><p>Texas hits the All-Star Break with a 21-17-2-1 record after starting 2024 at 18-7-2-1. They play next on Friday, an away match in Rockford, and next hits the ice for practice on Wednesday.</p><p><b>Tonight's lines</b><br />Karlström-Bäck-Blümel<br />McKenzie-Bourque-Stankoven<br />Seminoff-Damiani-McDonald<br />Mastrodonato-Stranges</p><p>Kyrou-Pouliot<br />Grushnikov-Petrovic<br />Karow-White<br />J. Murray<br /><br />Poirier</p><div><b>Injuries, scratches and notes</b></div><div>Bayreuther (out - ankle)</div><div>Reedy, Caamano (out - upper body)</div><div>Wheatcroft (out - lower body)</div><div>Berard (out - injury)</div><div><br /></div><div>Tonight's attendance was 6,778, a sellout.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://lscluster.hockeytech.com/game_reports/official-game-report.php?lang_id=1&client_code=ahl&game_id=1025860">AHL Gamesheet - Texas v. Bakersfield - February 3 2024</a></div>Stephen Meservehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01744997023150999054noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8712793719703864210.post-66266329248368729562024-02-02T23:22:00.243-06:002024-02-05T16:01:57.508-06:00Texas Stars Struggles Continue in 5-3 Loss to Bakersfield<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSTKpRc2_CRO2wXc19SPJWhRIyHTMTA2qhh2dcCbxH2HdXNTqJ4Pu2XJHE7iC_4wc-ON62NLFyPeJ5Qr5BDPm_JwiofISw3miYo53DXMwaLPZbTKOyMXzqxoxe75fAd4QliSne50IyR1_LG3kGeJ4OciFL5Q-ljeZk1fFad_cQXsGIE9blBy5fDURP/s2000/53505747964_644c386f94_o.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2000" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSTKpRc2_CRO2wXc19SPJWhRIyHTMTA2qhh2dcCbxH2HdXNTqJ4Pu2XJHE7iC_4wc-ON62NLFyPeJ5Qr5BDPm_JwiofISw3miYo53DXMwaLPZbTKOyMXzqxoxe75fAd4QliSne50IyR1_LG3kGeJ4OciFL5Q-ljeZk1fFad_cQXsGIE9blBy5fDURP/w595-h396/53505747964_644c386f94_o.jpg" width="595" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>(Photo Credit: Andy Nietupski/Texas Stars)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b>Cedar Park, TX - </b>Despite having led at three different points in the game, the Texas Stars were unable to close the deal as their special teams collapsed in a 5-3 loss to the Bakersfield Condors in front of 6,153 at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. The Stars gave up two power play goals as well as a shorthanded goal - for the third straight game - en route to their eighth loss in their last ten games.<p></p><p>Things were looking bright early when just 5:19 into the game when Kyle McDonald took a Riley Damiani feed in the slot and one-timed it past Condors goalie Olivier Rodrigue to make it 1-0 in the opening minutes. McDonald's goal, his eleventh of the season, came on the first shot of the game.</p><p>Just over four minutes later, Texas had the chance to really set the tone for the game when they headed to their first power play of the game, but that's where their first let down came about. Just over a minute into the power play, Texas turned the puck over in the neutral zone, and Condors forward Xavier Bourgault went on a breakaway and backhanded one past Stars goalie Matt Murray for the shorthanded goal to level the game at 1-1 with 9:01 left in the first.<br /></p><p>Texas re-took the lead on that same power play just 21 seconds later when All-Star Matej Blümel went bar-down from the right circle to bring the crowd back in as they went back up 2-1 with 8:40 left in the opening frame. </p><p>Texas' league leading power play unit ended the night 1-for-4 on the advantage.</p><p>Late in the frame, with Bakersfield on the power play due to a Logan Stankoven double minor, the Condors evened it back up when Greg McKegg took a beautiful backdoor pass from Cam Dineen in the final seconds of Stankoven's infraction and buried it past Murray to even it back up at 2-2 with 2:20 left in the period.</p><p>The teams headed to the first intermission knotted at two, despite Bakersfield having outshot the Stars 14-4. </p><p>Texas got right back on top early in the second when up-and-coming defenseman Christian Kyrou buried a shot from the slot just 1:40 into the second, lifting the Stars back in the lead at 3-2, seemingly retaking the momentum as the crowd got back into the game in a frenzy.</p><p>As the period wore on, Bakersfield still controlled the pace, outshooting Texas 13-6 over the second in the process. The Condors tied it back up when Max Wanner took a James Hamblin pass and shot it past Murray from the slot to tie the game back up at 3-3with 10:39 left in the middle frame.</p><p>The Condors took their first lead of the night with 6:14 left in the period when with Bakersfield on the power play, Seth Griffith took a backdoor pass from Lane Pederson and simply tapped the puck in past Murray to make it 4-3 Condors.</p><p>The teams headed to their respective rooms for the second intermission with Bakersfield holding a 27-10 shot advantage after forty.</p><p>In the third, Murray stood on his head, staring down three Condor breakaways and despite Texas getting two power plays, the Stars were unable to catch up. Hamblin added an empty-netter with 24 seconds left, and that was ballgame as Bakersfield walked away with the 5-3 victory.</p><p>In the cages Murray, on his 26th birthday, stopped 33 of 37 while taking the loss that dropped his record to 9-9-1. Rodrigue made 21 saves on the 24 shots he saw as his record improve to 9-4-4.</p><p>With the loss Texas falls to 21-16-2-1 (45 pts.) but remain in second in the Central Division, tied with Grand Rapids. With Milwaukee's twelfth-straight win Friday, they now lead the Stars by fourteen points.</p><p>Up next, the teams square off again tomorrow night to close out the series. Faceoff is set for 7:00 P.M. at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park.</p><p><b>Tonight's lines<br /></b>McKenzie-Bourque-Stankoven<br />Stranges-Bäck-Blümel*<br />Karlström-Damiani-McDonald<br />Mastrodonato-Seminoff-Becker</p><p>Grushnikov-Petrovic*<br />Pouliot-Kyrou<br />Karow-White</p><p>M. Murray</p><p><b>Injuries, scratches and notes<br /></b>J. Murray (scratch)<br />Bayreuther (out - ankle)<br />Berard, Reedy, Caamano (out - upper body)<br />Wheatcroft (lower body)</p><p>Tonight's attendance was 6,153.</p><p><a href="https://lscluster.hockeytech.com/game_reports/official-game-report.php?lang_id=1&client_code=ahl&game_id=1025845" target="_blank">AHL Gamesheet - Texas v. Bakersfield - February 2 2024</a></p>Michael Owenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08420690202597272014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8712793719703864210.post-84216591520538265672024-01-27T23:06:00.237-06:002024-01-28T20:09:51.119-06:00Texas Stars Lack Spark in 5-1 Loss to Firebirds<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGiSaIgmXcXIpkavih0LbRHfqZVMr1p1fzhlRpjiO3h03PZlaevvIvN1WhA-mWXuRlXMBewOWHsbhLsi6OOx8mq0K2aV5_7hH2-yM264kUTK9DhmBTZPQVayYkRqRF_vblxo0q6g9bWN0rudxrUazxlJzSPGquy744KoykPuIc7N9ZNS2Pau6xPqsP/s3613/53492593339_7db92a3c25_o.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2409" data-original-width="3613" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGiSaIgmXcXIpkavih0LbRHfqZVMr1p1fzhlRpjiO3h03PZlaevvIvN1WhA-mWXuRlXMBewOWHsbhLsi6OOx8mq0K2aV5_7hH2-yM264kUTK9DhmBTZPQVayYkRqRF_vblxo0q6g9bWN0rudxrUazxlJzSPGquy744KoykPuIc7N9ZNS2Pau6xPqsP/w563-h374/53492593339_7db92a3c25_o.jpg" width="563" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>(Photo Credit: Ross Bonander/Texas Stars)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b>Cedar Park, TX - </b>A night after <a href="https://www.100degreehockey.com/2024/01/texas-overcomes-in-game-adversity.html?m=1" target="_blank">the Texas Stars skated to an exciting 4-3 overtime win</a>, Texas turned in one of their staler performances of the season, dropping a 5-1 contest to the Coachella Valley Firebirds in front of another sellout crowd of 6,778 at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park Saturday night. It was the Stars second consecutive sellout and seventh of the season.<p></p><p>Texas was able to keep it close through forty minutes, but ultimately the grind of six games in ten days, with heavy travel on three of those proved to be too much as Coachella pulled away in the third.</p><p>"Collectively had our plan for that [third] period. It just never really got back in sync," Texas head coach Neil Graham said after the game.</p><p>For the second straight night, Coachella Valley got the upper hand in under two minutes. Before everyone had made it through the turnstiles, Max McCormick gave the Firebirds the 1-0 lead with a snapshot past Stars goalie Matt Murray just 1:38 into the game. </p><p>The recently hot-running Riley Damiani leveled the game when he went top-right glove side on Coachella Valley's netminder Ales Stezka with 10:05 left in the opening stanza, making it 1-1. The goal was Damiani's third in as many games.</p><p>Texas almost immediately went on the power play following Damiani's tally, sending the sellout crowd into a full-throated frenzy. The excitement was short-lived as just eighteen seconds into the advantage, John Hayden five-holed Murray for his second shorthanded goal of the weekend to make it 2-1 with 8:51 left in the first. </p><p>Texas ended the night 0-for-3 on the power play</p><p>The teams closed out the first with the Firebirds maintaining their 2-1 lead, despite having been outshot 11-9.</p><p>In the second, the Firebirds continued their series-long pattern of starting periods hot. McCormick netted his second of the night off a Kole Lind give-and-go, earning Coachella Valley a 3-1 lead just 1:02 into the middle frame.</p><p>"That's the one that really frustrated me, because it was still a hockey game" said Graham. "You have forty minutes to take a breath and get back to purpose and listen, I get it. Fatigue starts to creep in more as your mistakes creep in. And when you're on your toes and you're playing the right way, you seem to gather life and energy as we did last night."</p><p>While the teams went scoreless the rest of the second, the Firebirds really began to take control, as evidenced by their 13-7 shot advantage for the frame.</p><p>The game still seemed to be within reach for the Stars with 8:46 left in regulation, Hayden potted his second of the night to make it 4-1. Lind added another just 1:26 later for his third point of the night, and the writing was on the wall as Coachella Valley skated on to a 5-1 victory.</p><p>"You gotta tip your hat to the opponent," Graham concluded. "They're a very, very good team. We knew darn well after winning last night they'd have a response, as they did. It's just unfortunate. We couldn't make it a better fight for longer."</p><p>On the bright side, Texas' PK was a perfect 6-for-6 Saturday night and 7-for-7 for the series, quickly becoming a strength for this young team as they head to the second half of the schedule.</p><p>"Penalty kills have been good really since the middle of December," Graham said of his sixteenth ranked crew. "It's actually been a tool we've used to gain momentum. I think it's probably a better time to look breaks for another shorthanded goal or two, but that's not the prime objective. The flip side [is] we've actually we've killed off a lot of penalties and it's also built a lot of momentum."</p><p>Between the pipes, Murray stopped 24 of 29 in taking the loss that dropped his record 9-8-1-1. Stezka saw his record improve to 10-5-1-2 as he made 25 saves on 26 shots.</p><p>With the loss, Texas falls to 21-15-2-1 (45 pts.) and coupled with Milwaukee's tenth-straight win Saturday, the Stars fall ten points behind the Admirals. Grand Rapids also earned a win Saturday, to pull them into virtual tie with Texas having the tie-breaker edge heading into February.</p><p>Up next, the Stars get a bit of a breather after playing six games in ten days, Texas returns to the ice Friday, February 2nd for the opener of a two-game series at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park against the Bakersfield Condors. Faceoff on both Friday and Saturday is scheduled for 7:00 P.M.</p><p><b>Tonight's lines<br /></b>McKenzie-Bourque-Stankoven<br />Blümel-Bäck-Mastrodonato<br />Karlström-Damiani-McDonald<br />Pelton-Byce -Seminoff-Becker</p><p>Grushnikov-Petrovic<br />Pouliot-Kyrou<br />Karow-White</p><p>M. Murray</p><p><b>Injuries, scratches and notes<br /></b>J. Murray (scratch)<br />Bayreuther (out - ankle)<br />Stranges, Reedy, Caamano (out - upper body)<br />Wheatcroft (lower body)<br />Berard (injury)</p><p>Tonight's attendance was 6,778, a sellout.</p><p><a href="https://lscluster.hockeytech.com/game_reports/official-game-report.php?lang_id=1&client_code=ahl&game_id=1025813" target="_blank">AHL Gamesheet - Texas v. Coachella Valley - January 27 2024</a></p>Michael Owenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08420690202597272014noreply@blogger.com0