AHL Report: Texas Stars wrap up homestand with win

The Texas Stars wrapped up a five-game homestand with a 4-1-0 record and now have won nine of their last 11 games (9-2-0).
That run has helped Texas (17-10-1) climb up to second place in the AHL's Pacific Division. Defenseman Niklas Hansson scored his first AHL goal last week, and it was a big one, and forward Roope Hintz has been producing points at a steady clip.
Here's the latest on the AHL affiliate of the Dallas Stars.

Wednesday, December 13: Ontario 4, Texas 2

Texas had a three-game winning streak come to an end with a 4-2 loss to Ontario on Wednesday at H-E-B Center. The Stars had leads of 1-0 and 2-1, but the Reign scored the final three goals of the game, including an empty-netter, to secure the win. Mark McNeill and Curtis McKenzie scored for Texas, and Landon Bow stopped 25 of 28 shots.

Saturday, December 16: Texas 5, Cleveland 4 (OT)

Defenseman Niklas Hansson's first AHL goal at 2:34 of overtime lifted the Texas Stars to a 5-4 victory over Cleveland Saturday night in Cedar Park. Hansson scored on the rebound of his own shot on a two-on-one rush with Curtis McKenzie to give Texas its fourth win on a five-game homestand (4-1-0).
"I had a two-on-one with McKenzie, and I tried to pass it to him and all of a sudden the puck popped out to me right in front of the net," Hansson told reporters after the game. "I tried to shoot right away, the goalie makes a good save, and finally I could bury one. It felt good."
Hansson, a third-round pick out of Sweden in 2013, is in his first season in North America. He has six points (one goal, five assists) in 28 games.
Roope Hintz, Mark McNeill, Andrew Bodnarchuk, and Matt Mangene scored in regulation for Texas. Landon Bow stopped 40 of 44 shots to pick up the win in net.
Texas improved to 8-1 in games that have gone beyond regulation, including 6-0 in overtime and 2-1 in shootouts.

Notes

Texas Lineup

Here is the Texas lineup from the last game.
Denis Gurianov - Roope Hintz - Brian Flynn
Curtis McKenzie - Justin Dowling - Travis Morin
Mark McNeill - Sheldon Dries - Matt Mangene
Cole Ully - Austin Fyten - Colin Markison
Andrew Bodnarchuk - Niklas Hansson
Dillon Heatherington - Reece Scarlett
Gavin Bayreuther - Shane Hanna
Landon Bow
Mike McKenna

Week Ahead

Wed., Dec. 20, Texas at Ontario, 9 p.m.
Fri., Dec. 22, Texas at San Jose, 9 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 23, Texas at Bakersfield, 9 p.m.

Transactions

Idaho Steelheads

The Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL went 2-1-0 last week and are 16-8-4 on the season, ranking third in the Mountain Division. Stars goaltending prospect Philippe Desrosiers won his only start last week, stopping 33 of 35 shots in a 5-2 win over Rapid City. Desrosiers is 11-2-2 on the season and ranks third in the ECHL with a 2.28 goals against average and 10th with a .920 save percentage.
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 at @StarsInsideEdge.