AHL Report: Texas Stars lose ground in division race

The Texas Stars missed out on an opportunity to gain some ground on the top spot in the AHL's Pacific Division over the weekend, picking up just one of a possible four points against the division-leading Tucson Roadrunners.
The 0-1-1 mark in the two-game series against Tucson dropped Texas (25-18-7) into third place in the Pacific Division. The Stars are on the road this week for three games, playing one at Milwaukee and two at Iowa.
Here's an update on the AHL affiliate of the Dallas Stars.

Friday, February 9: Tucson 5, Texas 2

Greg Rallo scored 1:20 into the game to give the Texas Stars a 1-0 lead but Tucson scored the next four goals of the game and went on to defeat the Stars, 5-2, at H-E-B Center Friday night. Travis Morin also scored for Texas. Landon Bow got the start in goal but was pulled 13:06 into the second period after allowing four goals on 22 shots. Mike McKenna played the rest of the way and stopped all four shots he faced.

Saturday, February 10: Tucson 2, Texas 1 (OT)

Texas dropped a second straight game to Tucson over the weekend, falling 2-1 in overtime Saturday in Cedar Park. Justin Dowling scored late in the first period to put Texas ahead 1-0, but the Roadrunners tied it on a Dylan Strome goal 8:36 into the third and then won it 50 seconds into overtime on a power-play goal by Mike Sislo. Mike McKenna got the start in goal for Texas and stopped 23 of 25 shots. Adin Hill stopped 27 of 28 for Tucson.

Notes

Texas Lineup

Here is the Texas lineup from the last game.
Travis Morin -Justin Dowling - Colin Markison
Denis Gurianov - Roope Hintz - Brian Flynn
Austin Fyten - Tommy Thompson - Greg Rallo
Samuel Laberge - Sheldon Dries - Matt Mangene
Andrew O'Brien - Brent Regner
Andrew Bodnarchuk - Niklas Hansson
Gavin Bayreuther - Reece Scarlett
Mike McKenna
Landon Bow

Week Ahead

Transactions

Idaho Steelheads

The Idaho Steelheads swept a three-game series against Colorado last week to improve to 28-15-6 on the season. The Steelheads are in second place in the ECHL's Mountain Division. Dallas goaltending prospect Philippe Desrosiers played one game last week, stopping 26 of 27 shots in a 3-1 win over Colorado. Desrosiers is 18-6-3 with a 2.67 goals against average and .909 save percentage.
The Dallas Stars announced last week that they would hold their 2018 training camp at CenturyLink Arena in Boise, Idaho, which is the home of the Steelheads. The camp will run from Sept. 14-16.
"The Idaho Steelheads have been a tremendous affiliate of ours for 14 seasons," Dallas Stars President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Lites said in a release by the team. "In holding our training camp there, we're thrilled to give their fans the chance to appreciate Dallas Stars hockey up close and in person."
This story was not subject to approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club. Mark Stepneski is an independent writer whose posts on DallasStars.com reflect his own opinions and do not represent official statements from the Dallas Stars. You can follow Mark on Twitter @StarsInsideEdge.