AHL Report: Texas Stars win two of three on weekend road swing

The Texas Stars picked up four of six points during a three games in three nights road trip over the weekend. Goaltender Mike McKenna came up big in one of the wins and forward Denis Gurianov tallied three points in the other victory.
Texas improved to 27-19-7 on the season and is in fourth place in the AHL's Pacific Division. The Stars return to Texas for a two-game homestand with Milwaukee this weekend.
Here's an update on the AHL affiliate of the Dallas Stars.

Saturday, February 17: Texas 1, Milwaukee 0

Mike McKenna stopped 28 shots for his first shutout of the season, and Sheldon Dries scored the game's only goal at 2:04 of the first period as the Stars opened a three-game road trip with a 1-0 win at Milwaukee Saturday. Dries tallied off the rebound of a Matt Mangene shot that hit the end boards and came out to the front of the net. The shutout was the 27th of McKenna's AHL career.

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Sunday, February 18: Texas 6, Iowa 3

Denis Gurianov tallied one goal and two assists as the Stars made it two straight wins on the road trip, defeating Iowa 6-3 on Sunday. After falling behind 2-1, the Stars took control of the game with four straight goals to take a 5-2 lead. Greg Rallo, Brian Flynn, Gavin Bayreuther, Sheldon Dries, and Tommy Thompson also scored goals for Texas. McKenna stopped 22 of 25 shots to get the win in goal.

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Monday, February 19: Iowa 2, Texas 1

Michael Paliotta staked the Stars to a 1-0 lead at 13:47 of the first period, but Iowa's Pat Cannone tied the game in the second, and then Justin Kloos snapped the tie 6:21 into the third with a power-play goal as the Wild topped the Stars, 2-1, Monday night. Paliotta, acquired from the Toronto Marlies of the AHL last month, scored his first goal as a Texas Star. Landon Bow stopped 25 of 27 shots for the Stars.

Notes: Contracts for Texas coaching staff extended

• The Dallas Stars last week announced contract extensions for Texas head coach Derek Laxdal and Texas assistant coach Karl Taylor. Both coaches are in their fourth season with Texas.
• Forward Travis Morin is tied for fifth in the AHL in scoring with 46 points (7 goals, 39 assists).
• Gavin Bayreuther is tied for ninth in scoring among rookie defensemen with 17 points (4 goals, 13 assists).
• Forward Roope Hintz is tied for 14th among all rookies in goal scoring with 14 in 51 games.
• Forward Denis Gurianov has 11 points (7 goals, 4 assists) in his last 16 games.
• Texas captain Curtis McKenzie remains out with an injury. He's missed the last seven games.

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Texas Lineup

Here is the Texas lineup from the last game.
Travis Morin - Roope Hintz - Colin Markison
Denis Gurianov - Jason Dickinson - Greg Rallo
Tommy Thompson - Justin Dowling - Brian Flynn
Austin Fyten - Sheldon Dries - Matt Mangene
Dillon Heatherington - Brent Regner
Andrew Bodnarchuk - Michael Paliotta
Gavin Bayreuther - Andrew O'Brien
Landon Bow
Mike McKenna

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Week Ahead

Fri., Feb. 23, Milwaukee at Texas, 7:30 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 24, Milwaukee at Texas, 7:00 p.m.

Transactions

2/18: C Jason Dickinson assigned to Texas (AHL) from Dallas (NHL)
2/17: LW Samuel Laberge recalled to Texas (AHL) from Idaho (ECHL)
2/16: C Jason Dickinson recalled to Dallas (NHL) from Texas (AHL)
2/13: LW Samuel Laberge assigned to Idaho (ECHL) from Texas (AHL)

Idaho Steelheads

The Idaho Steelheads went 2-2-0 last week. The Steelheads are 30-17-6 and rank second in the ECHL's Mountain Division. Dallas goaltending prospect Philippe Desrosiers played in all four games for Idaho - three starts and one relief appearance - and went 2-1-0. Desrosiers is 20-7-3 with a 2.62 goals against average and .910 save percentage.
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 him on Twitter @StarsInsideEdge.