Texas Stars Report

The Texas Stars won two of three games over the past week, but couldn't gain much traction in the AHL's playoff race. The Stars (30-31-5) remain in sixth place in the Pacific Division and would likely need to win out over their final ten games to have a chance to make the playoffs. In the ECHL, Landon Bow had a strong week as the Idaho Steelheads closed in on securing a playoff spot. Here's the latest on the minor league affiliates of the Dallas Stars.
Wednesday, March 22: Texas 4, Tucson 3 (OT)
Matej Stransky scored 2:24 into overtime to lift the Stars to a 4-3 victory over Tucson Wednesday at H-E-B Center. Julius Honka, Denis Gurianov, and Ethan Werek also scored for Texas, which bounced back in overtime after squandering a 3-1 lead in the third period. Justin Peters stopped 26 of 29 shots to get the win in goal.
Friday, March 24: Stockton 5, Texas 4
The Stars blew a 4-1 lead and lost 5-4 to the Stockton Heat Friday night in Cedar Park. It was a big loss against a team Texas is trying to jump in the standings.
"That was a win we had to have, and that stinks," Texas coach Derek Laxdal told media. "It hurts. It's a tough one to swallow, especially when you're up 4-1. We've been preaching defense. I liked our start. I thought we had a lot of energy in our start, but it seems like we just ran out of energy."
Ethan Werek scored two goals, and Jason Dickinson and Dillon Heatherington also scored. Justin Peters stopped 24 of 29 shots.
Saturday, March 25: Texas 5, Stockton 4 (SO)
Gemel Smith recorded three assists in regulation and then scored the winning goal in the shootout as the Texas Stars defeated Stockton, 5-4, Saturday night in Cedar Park. Matej Stransky, Matt Mangene, Mike McMurtry, and Brandon DeFazio scored in regulation for Texas. Justin Peters stopped 22 of 26 shots and turned away four of six in the shootout.

Notes
\Matej Stransky leads Texas with 22 goals in 66 games played.
\D Gavin Bayreuther, who signed an entry-level contract with Dallas earlier this month, has two points (one goal, one assist) in five games since joining Texas on an amateur tryout contract.
\D Dillon Heatherington has five points (one goal, four assists) and a plus-five rating in 12 games since joining Texas after being acquired by Dallas from Columbus in the Lauri Korpikoski trade.
\F Mark McNeill has six points (two goals, four assists) in 13 games since joining Texas after being acquired by Dallas from Chicago in the Johnny Oduya trade.
Texas Lineup
Here is the Texas lineup from the last game.
Ethan Werek - Justin Dowling - Mark McNeill
Denis Gurianov - Travis Morin - Matej Stransky
Brandon DeFazio - Gemel Smith - Cole Ully
Mike McMurtry - Matt Mangene
Gavin Bayreuther - Julius Honka
Ludwig Bystrom/Dillon Heatherington - Nick Ebert
Dustin Stevenson - Andrew Bodnarchuk
Justin Peters
Max Lagace
Week Ahead
Tuesday, March 28, Stockton at Texas, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, March 31, Texas at Rockford, 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 1, Texas at Milwaukee, 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 2, Texas at Milwaukee, 3:00 p.m.
Transactions
3/25: C Jason Dickinson recalled to Dallas (NHL) from Texas (AHL)
3/25: C Mike McMurtry recalled to Texas (AHL) from Idaho (ECHL)
3/22: G Landon Bow assigned to Idaho (ECHL) from Texas (AHL)
3/22: D Justin Hache assigned to Idaho (ECHL) from Texas (AHL)
3/22: C Mike McMurtry assigned to Idaho (ECHL) from Texas (AHL)
Idaho Steelheads
The Idaho Steelheads won two of three games last week to improve to 38-21-7. They are in third place in the ECHL's Mountain Division and within two points of clinching a playoff spot.
Goaltender Landon Bow had a good week, winning both his starts and stopping 50 of 53 shots. Bow is 17-5-2 in the ECHL and leads the league in goals-against average (2.18) and ranks second in save percentage (.930).
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.