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