Season Recap: Texas Stars

The Texas Stars had a rollercoaster season this past year, finishing last in the Western Conference and second last league-wide after a season filled with winning and losing streaks.

Of the seven months that the AHL season covers (September – April), just one was a winning month for the Stars.

The season began September 30th with the first of a home-and-home set against the San Antonio Rampage. After losing both of those as well as a home match against the Houston Aeros, the Stars accomplished their first win – the biggest of the season. The team defeated the Oklahoma City Barons by a score of 7-0. This would be not only the largest margin by which Texas would win throughout the season, it would also be the highest number of goals the team would score in a single game.

October ended with the Stars going 4-7. Combined with the game at the end of September, Texas dropped seven of its first 10 games.

The team repeated this same 4-7 record in November, before improving slightly in December. The holiday month would be their best of the season, as the Stars went 6-5. This month included three home wins, as well as three away wins, and two sets of back-to-back wins.

The new year would begin with a decent month, as the Stars went .500 and 6-6 in twelve games. January included a three-game winning streak from the 18th to the 21st, followed by three consecutive losses moving into February.

In February, the Stars went 4-8, their worst month of the season. They failed to accomplish a win on the road, despite playing five games away from home. This record improved slightly in March, as Texas went 6-8 overall and 3-2 on the road. Despite this, the team had its longest losing streak of the season. After winning three in a row from March 4-9, the Stars lost five in a row from March 10-19.

The final month of the season was a struggle for Texas. In seven games – the shortest of the year – the team won just one game, a 5-2 win over Chicago, before ending the season with three consecutive losses.

Overall, the year was a struggle for most players on the team. Just one skater who played for the Stars ended with a plus-rating: Adam Pardy, who played just two games with the team and spent most of the year with Dallas of the NHL.

Four skaters ended the year with a o rating: Philip Larsen, Ondrej Roman, Nick Layton and Drew Schiestel (who was a minus-3 during his time with the Rochester Americans, but was neither plus nor minus during his stretch with Texas.)

Twenty-two-year-old forward Matt Fraser led the team with 37 goals, while 28-year-old center Travis Morin had 53 assists to lead the team in that category. Morin also led the Stars with 66 points and was one of just three players on the team to skate in all 76 games.

The team ended the season last in the Western Conference and second last in the league, behind the Binghamton Senators; in 76 games, the Texas Stars went 31-40-3-2 and earned 67 points.