Stars Sweep Weekend Again, Set Franchise Win-Streak Record
Jan 15, 2013Stars Weekly (Week 15)
Texas Starts Second Half in Dallas, Then Heads to Illinois for Four Games
2012-13 Record: 22-10-3-2, 49 points (11-6-2-1 Home, 11-4-1-1 Road), Second Place – South Division
Week 14 Recap:
The Stars have continued their unbeaten run to start 2013 as the team hit the halfway point of their regular season schedule. Texas took six points in Week 14 with its second straight three-in-three weekend sweep and set a new franchise record by extending its winning streak to six games.
The Stars began the week with their third straight win over the Houston Aeros on Friday, taking over sole possession of second place in the South Division. Kyle Medvec gave the visitors and early 1-0 lead before Matt Fraser blasted in a power play goal later in the first period. Jordie Benn scored on the power play in the middle of the second period and goals by Antoine Roussel and Cody Eakin finished off the Aeros 4-1. The Stars held Houston to just 13 shots on goal in the game, the fewest shots allowed by Texas this season. Saturday night at Cedar Park Center the San Antonio Rampage came in trying to break a season-long goose egg against the Stars. For the 26th time this season Texas allowed the first goal, but for the 11th time in those games the Stars found a way to win after trailing early. Rookie Alex Chiasson scored in the final minute of the first period to cancel out an early Drew Shore goal. Jordie Benn scored a power play goal for the second straight game in the second period and it would turn out to be his second game-winning goal in a row. Fraser added an insurance goal midway through the third period and Cristopher Nilstorp finished with 25 saves on 26 shots to record his 16th win of the season.
Texas boarded the team bus immediately after Saturday’s win and made the six-hour plus drive up to Oklahoma City. The Stars dropped the puck with the Barons at 4:00 p.m. Sunday at Cox Convention Center and finished the game less than 48 hours after starting their three-game weekend on Friday against Houston. Texas was 1-5-0-0 in its first six games against Oklahoma City, but this game was a different story. Playing without six regulars, who had been recalled to Dallas, rookie Jack Campbell was the man of the match. Campbell stopped all 36 shots he faced, including making a season-high 18 saves in the third period, to blank the Barons 3-0 and post his first shutout of the year. Matt Fraser scored his third goal in as many games, Colton Sceviour scored on a breakaway early in the third period and Tomas Vincour capped off the scoring with an empty net goal with 16 seconds left in regulation. The win against the Barons was the Stars’ 22nd victory in their 38th game of the season. Last year Texas was 17-18-1-2 at the halfway point and did not record its 22nd win until February 17th against San Antonio, in its 51st game of the 2011-12 campaign.
Week 15 Preview:
Texas looks to extend its winning streak to seven as the squad flies to Illinois for the second time this season. The Stars will face the Chicago Wolves for the first time this year with two games at Allstate Arena on Wednesday, January 16th and Friday, January 18th; both contests start at 7:00 p.m. in Rosemont, Illinois. Then Texas will finish off their week with a Saturday, January 19th game against the Peoria Rivermen at 7:35 p.m. at Carver Arena. The Stars will complete their road trip on Monday, January 21st as they open up their Week 16 schedule with an afternoon matinee against the Rockford IceHogs at 1:05 p.m. at BMO Harris Bank Center.
Prior to heading up north for their three games in Week 15, Texas will spend two days in Frisco, training with the NHL’s Stars as Dallas prepares for their regular season opener on Saturday, January 19th against the Phoenix Coyotes at American Airlines Arena. Six Texas Stars roster members were recalled by Dallas on Sunday and were on the ice with the parent club trying to make the opening night roster. Several Texas Stars players will make the Dallas squad, while others may return in time for the trip to Chicago, but with a jam-packed 48-game NHL regular season, this will not be the last player movement of the season between the two clubs.
Left wing Matt Fraser leads the team in goals (17) and power play goals (9), is fourth in points (21), is on a three-game goal streak and has six points (5 goals, 1 assist) and a +2 rating in his last five games played. Right wing Colton Sceviour leads the team in plus-minus (+9), ranks third in points (23), is tied for third in goals (11), is tied for fourth in assists (12) and has five points (2 goals, 3 assists) and a +3 in his last five games. Defenseman Jamie Oleksiak is tied for second on the team in assists (14) and has four points (1 goal, 3 assists) and a +4 rating in his last five games played.
Week 15 Schedule:
(All games are broadcast LIVE over the Internet at www.TexasStarsHockey.com and the free Radio tab of www.ahllive.com and can be viewed via internet pay-per-view video on www.ahllive.com. All times listed in Central Time)
Wednesday, January 16 – 7:00 p.m. – Allstate Arena – Rosemont, IL
@ Chicago Wolves (17-12-3-2, 39 pts.)
Fourth Place, Midwest Division
Friday, January 18 – 7:00 p.m. – Allstate Arena – Rosemont, IL
@ Chicago Wolves (17-12-3-2, 39 pts.)
Fourth Place, Midwest Division
Team Notes: Chicago is on a five game winning streak and is 5-3-1-1 in its last ten games. The Wolves have three games this week, all at home. They play Texas on Wednesday and Friday and then host Houston on Saturday at Allstate Arena. Sunday the Vancouver Canucks, Chicago’s NHL affiliate, called up 12 players for training camp. Monday the Wolves brought in reinforcements by adding three players from the ECHL and one from the CHL. Chicago ranks 18th in the AHL in power play (16.1%) and 28th in penalty kill (79.5%). The Wolves are tied for the league lead with just one shorthanded goal allowed this season and they have scored three shorthanded goals. Former Texas Stars goalie Matt Climie has shouldered the load for Chicago since late November, playing in 16 of the team’s last 17 games.
Leading Scorer: Brett Sterling (LW) – 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) and +9 in 30 GP.
Leading Goaltender: Matt Climie (G) – 2.41 GAA, 0.921 save pct., 9-11-1, 2 SO in 21 GP.
Who’s Hot: Brett Sterling (LW) – Leads the team in goals (13) and points (26) and has eight points (4 goals, 4 assists) and a +3 rating in his last five games. Darren Haydar (RW) – Is tied for the team lead in assists (14) and has five points (1 goal, 4 assists) and a +2 rating in his last five games. Brad Hunt (D) – Is tied for the team lead in assists (14) and has five points (1 goal, 4 assists) and a -1 rating in his last four games.
Saturday, January 19 – 7:35 p.m. – Carver Arena – Peoria, IL
@ Peoria Rivermen (17-17-2-2, 38 pts.)
Fifth Place, Midwest Division
Team Notes: Peoria enters the week on a three-game winning streak, shaking off a 1-6-0-0 stretch prior to their three wins. The Rivermen will face Texas for the fourth and final time this season; the Stars have won the first three games of the season series. Peoria ranks 29th in the AHL in power play percentage (11.1%), but have a very strong 85.4% penalty kill rating that is the 6th best percentage in the league. The Rivermen have scored two shorthanded goals against Texas this year, the only shorthanded goals allowed by the Stars this season. Peoria has a three-in-three weekend, traveling to Rockford on Friday, before returning home to face Texas on Saturday and Houston on Sunday. The Rivermen rank 13th in the Western Conference standings, but are only three points out of the eighth and final playoff spot.
Leading Scorer: T.J. Hensick (C) – 32 points (9 goals, 23 assists) and -6 in 38 GP.
Leading Goaltender: Jake Allen (G) – 3.04 GAA, 0.901 save pct., 9-14-2, 1 SO in 25 GP.
Who’s Hot: Adam Cracknell (C) – Ranks second on the team in goals (10), is fourth in points (18) and is on a five-game point streak with six points (4 goals, 2 assists) and a -1 rating during that span. Derek Nesbitt (RW) – Leads the team in goals (13), ranks second in points (25) and is on a five-game point streak with five points (2 goals, 3 assists) and a -4 rating during the streak. Sergey Andronov (LW) – Has three points (2 goals, 1 assist) and a +2 rating in his last four games. T.J. Hensick (C) – Leads the team in assists (23) and points (32) and has four assists and a -2 rating in his last five games.
Week 14 Game Results:
January 11, 2013 Houston 1 @ Texas 4
January 12, 2013 San Antonio 1 @ Texas 3
January 13, 2013 Texas 3 @ Oklahoma City 0
Stars Player of the Week: (Week 14)
Matt Fraser – LW – #25
3 GP, 4 points (3 G, 1 A), +1, 0 PIMs
Left wing Matt Fraser continued his hot hand in Week 14 as he led the Texas Stars to their second-straight weekend sweep and a new club record winning streak (6). The Red Deer, Alberta native became the second Texas player to post a three-game goal streak during the 2012-13 season by scoring in all three games of a grueling three-in-three weekend. Fraser began the week with a goal, an assist and first star honors on Friday night in a 4-1 home win over the Houston Aeros. He followed it up with a goal in a 3-1 win over San Antonio on Saturday and then scored the game-winning power play goal in Sunday’s 3-0 shutout at Oklahoma City. Fraser leads the Stars and is tied for 7th in the AHL in goals (17) and he is now in a three-way tie for the league lead in power play goals (9). He leads the team in shots on goal (100) and shooting percentage (17.0%) and he is fourth on the Stars in points (21).
Stars Quick Hits:
· NEW FRANCHISE RECORD – Texas’s 3-0 shutout win over Oklahoma City Sunday afternoon was the Stars’ sixth consecutive victory, setting a new club record. The team had previously had five-game winning streaks four times from 2009-2012.
· HOLDING THE LEAD – With three wins in three games this week, the Stars extended their perfect record when leading after two periods to 16-0-0-0 record this season. Texas is 4-0-1-2 when tied after forty minutes and a 2-11-2-0 when trailing going into the third period.
· STREAKING – LW Matt Fraser has scored goals in each of his last three games to become the second Stars player to record a three-game goal streak this season. LW Reilly Smith scored goals in three straight games in late December.
· AND THEN THERE WERE THREE – With some recent injuries and NHL call ups, only three Texas players have been in the lineup for all 38 games so far this season. Matt Fraser, Maxime Fortunus and Jamie Oleksiak are the only three players to appear in every Stars game to date.
· ELECTRIC POWER PLAY – The Stars’ power play continues to fire at all cylinders. Texas extended its streak to 11 consecutive games with at least one power play goal scored, going 14-for-43 (32.6%) during that span. The Stars are now tied with Springfield for 7th overall in the AHL with a 19.6 power play percentage.
· THE CENTURY MARK – RW Tomas Vincour played in his 100th career AHL game on Friday vs. Houston. Vincour has 42 career AHL points (21 goals, 21 assists) in 102 games played.
· CLEAN SHEET – Rookie Jack Campbell recorded his first shutout of the season, and the second of his pro career, on Sunday at Oklahoma City. It was the team’s fifth shutout of 2012-13. Campbell’s 18-save third period was the most by a Stars goalie in one period this year.
· COMPOSURE – Texas has allowed the first goal in 26 of its 38 games so far this season (68.4%). In spite of that statistic, the Stars have a 0.500 record (11-11-3-1, 26 points) when falling behind first.
· APPROACHING STARS MILESTONES – LW Mike Hedden is 1 GP shy of his 100th career AHL game. C Toby Petersen needs two points to record his 350th career AHL point. RW Scott Glennie is 6 GP away from this 100th career pro game and 7 GP away from his 100th AHL game. RW Colton Sceviour needs 2 points for his 150th career pro and AHL point.
Stars Week 14 Transactions
January 13 – DELETE – Jordie Benn (D) – Recalled from loan by Dallas (NHL).
January 13 – DELETE – Brenden Dillon (D) – Recalled from loan by Dallas (NHL).
January 13 – DELETE – Cody Eakin (C) – Recalled from loan by Dallas (NHL).
January 13 – DELETE – Cristopher Nilstorp (G) – Recalled from loan by Dallas (NHL).
January 13 – DELETE – Antoine Roussel (C) – Recalled from loan by Dallas (NHL).
January 13 – DELETE – Reilly Smith (LW) – Recalled from loan by Dallas (NHL).
January 12 – ADD – Tyler Beskorowany (G) – Reassigned by Dallas (NHL) from Idaho (ECHL).
January 7 – ADD – Jace Coyle (D) – Reassigned by Dallas (NHL) from Idaho (ECHL).
January 7 – ADD – Austin Smith (RW) – Reassigned by Dallas (NHL) from Idaho (ECHL).
January 7 – ADD – Justin Dowling (C) – Signed to SPC, called up from Idaho (ECHL).
Texas Stars Team Leaders:
Games Played: Maxime Fortunus, Matt Fraser & Jamie Oleksiak (38)
Goals: Matt Fraser (17)
Assists: Travis Morin (15)
Points: Reilly Smith (25)
Plus/Minus: Colton Sceviour (+9)
Penalty Minutes: Antoine Roussel (101)
Power Play Goals: Matt Fraser (9)
Short Handed Goals: Cody Eakin & Colton Sceviour (2)
Game-Winning Goals: Jordie Benn, Matt Fraser & Colton Sceviour (3)
Shots: Matt Fraser (100)
Shooting Percentage: Matt Fraser (17.0%)
Saves: Cristopher Nilstorp (598)
Wins: Cristopher Nilstorp (16)
GAA: Cristopher Nilstorp (2.13)
Save Percentage: Cristopher Nilstorp (0.916)
Shutouts: Cristopher Nilstorp (4)
Texas continues its six-game road trip on Wednesday, January 16th against the Chicago Wolves at Allstate Arena. The Stars return home on Saturday, January 26th to square off with the San Antonio Rampage at 7:00 p.m. at Cedar Park Center. January 26th is Francis Wathier Mini Bobble Head Giveaway Night, presented by Cedar Park Jewelry. Pro-rated full and partial 2012-13 season seat packages are on sale now. For more information on Texas Stars season tickets call (512) GO-STARS (467-8277) or visit www.TexasStarsHockey.com.