Satisfactory Split Series: Nov 11-17 Texas Stars AHL Report
The Texas Stars lost consecutive games against the Iowa Wild, falling to 7-5. Texas had previously won both games in late October at home against Iowa, but this was not the case this time around in Iowa. Here's the weekly Texas Stars AHL Report.
The Texas Stars split the weekend series with Iowa this weekend, to some disappointment.
Friday's game was quite chippy, and both teams were capitalizing on the Power Play (Texas was 2/5, Iowa was 2/7). Texas also recorded a short-handed goal, but Ben Jones’ 5-point night ended the Stars’ hopes of a comeback.
The key 'turning point' was when Texas took two quick penalties less than two minutes after tying the game 1-1 early into the second period. Iowa capitalized on that Power Play to go up 2-1, and scored again with momentum 3 minutes later to go ahead 3-1. Texas could not recover from this deficit and lost 5-3.
In the second game on Saturday, the Iowa club sported custom Houston Aeros-themed jerseys (pre-Minnesota North Stars history) and played like their traditional selves, falling apart defensively and making Jesper Wallstedt’s Saturday game a nightmare.
The game was relatively close for the first half, and Texas even trailed 4-3 just 25 seconds into the third period but scored five straight goals in the final 11 minutes of the 3rd to win 8-4. Christian Kyrou returned from injury and put up three assists, bringing his 2024-2025 total up to nine points in nine games, which is impressive for the 2nd-year defender working hard to improve his two-way game while holding onto his offensive instincts.
Antonio Stranges’ passing and play-driving have been more noticeable than ever this season. His confidence and assertiveness with the puck have mostly been effective (despite a turnover that led to the Empty Net goal in Friday’s game). Unlike past inconsistent seasons. Stranges has been one of Texas’ best players all season long.
May we offer you a sick Tony goal? 🎁 pic.twitter.com/oTJrXze0pB
— Texas Stars (@TexasStars) November 17, 2024
Of note, Jesper Wallstedt is an outstanding goaltender. He will likely be the Minnesota Wild’s #1 goalie at some point (probably in the next 3 years). Most of the goals conceded this weekend are because of timid Iowa defensive coverage or high-level Texas plays. For those interested in goalie prospects, do not take this weekend’s results as an indication of Wallstedt’s ability. Iowa has been a poor defensive team this year, and Wallstedt was strong for most of the two games this weekend.
Player of the week: Antonio Stranges
Week Stats:
GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|
2 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
Season Stats:
GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|
10 | 4 | 9 | 13 |
BLAST OFF, TONY! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/ZEjWITePv4
— Texas Stars (@TexasStars) November 16, 2024
Things Texas is doing right:
Forechecking: Texas is aggressive on offense, and it’s sometimes difficult to see a drop-off between the top-6 and bottom-6 because of the tenacity and determination of the Stars’ forward group in attacking loose pucks, winning battles and turning ‘bad pucks’ into ‘good pucks’ (scoring chances).
I wonder if Texas would have the same endurance for these battles and forechecking efforts against more formidable teams. However, based on the 2024-2025 season and this weekend, Texas is highly effective in the forechecking department.
Things Texas can improve on next week:
Penalties: Texas has yet to solve its penalty troubles, giving teams free Power Play opportunities and momentum when unneeded.
For reference, going into Saturday, the Top-16 AHL Teams’ Avg. The penalty minutes per game was 2.76 (Avg. Goals For per game = 0.67), compared to the Avg of the bottom 16 teams. Penalty minutes per game are higher at 3.08 (Avg. Goals For per game = 0.31). Similarly, the Top 10 fewest penalty-taking teams in the AHL had an average points percentage of 0.564 compared to the Top 10 worst penalty-taking teams having a lower average points percentage of 0.527.
While taking penalties doesn’t directly correlate/cause losses, the AHL standings this year show us that, on average, teams taking fewer penalties are winning more games and are teams that score more goals per game. When a team focuses less on extra-curriculars and pushes the ‘skill envelope’ in minor league action, teams without the finesse/skill to match will fall behind in the standings. Texas must remind itself of its identity as a skill-based team with elements of mature physicality/aggressiveness rather than reckless/immature physicality/engagements.
Conclusion
The Texas Stars are losing ground overall in the standings because of the Friday loss. The team failed to capitalize on a unique opportunity away from home to sweep a weaker club.
Despite a 4-7 record going into the weekend, Iowa had conceded the most goals in the entire AHL (50). With Texas’ depth of offense as a primary strength, it would make sense that Texas should take advantage of playing against a weaker defensive team like Iowa every night. The Stars ultimately fell short of expectations by splitting the weekend series.
Week ahead:
- Tue Nov 19, 2024 @ Rockford IceHogs
- Fri Nov 22, 2024 vs. Rockford IceHogs
- Sat Nov 23, 2024 vs. Rockford IceHogs