Texas Stars Report

The Texas Stars lost three of four games over the past week and moved closer to official elimination from playoff contention in the AHL. The Stars (31-34-5) have six games remaining in their season. Texas signed Dallas prospect Nick Caamano to an Amateur Tryout Contract. And the Idaho Steelheads have clinched a playoff spot in the ECHL. Here's the latest on the minor league affiliates of the Dallas Stars.
Tuesday, March 28: Stockton 4, Texas 1
The Stars concluded a four-game homestand with a 4-1 loss to Stockton Wednesday. The game was tied 1-1 late in the second period but the Heat scored with less than one second left in the period to take a 2-1 lead and then tacked on two more goals in the third. Matej Stransky scored the lone goal for Texas, and Justin Peters stopped 22 of 25 shots.
Friday, March 31: Rockford 3, Texas 1
The Stars opened a three-game road trip with a 3-1 loss at Rockford on Friday. Caleb Herbert's penalty shot-goal gave Texas a 1-0 lead in the first period, but the IceHogs tied the game in the second and then scored twice in the third to secure the win. Justin Peters stopped 33 of 35 shots.
Saturday, April 1: Texas 5, Milwaukee 2
The Stars shook off a 2-0 deficit and rallied to win 5-2 at Milwaukee on Saturday. Denis Gurianov (shorthanded) and Brandon DeFazio scored goals 90 seconds apart in the second period to tie the game, and Nick Ebert scored the game-winner 6:08 into the third. Travis Morin and DeFazio sealed the win with empty-net goals. Justin Peters stopped 27 of 29 shots.
Sunday, April 2: Milwaukee 7, Texas 2
The Stars jumped out to a 2-0 lead Sunday in Milwaukee, but the Admirals rattled off seven unanswered goals in routing Texas 7-2. Mark McNeill and Matej Stransky scored for Texas. Max Lagace went the distance in net and stopped 26 of 33 shots.

Notes: Texas signs Dallas prospect Caamano to ATO
\Texas signed RW Nick Caamano to an amateur tryout contract Monday. Caamano's season in the Ontario Hockey League came to an end last week when his Flint Firebirds were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs. Caamano, Dallas' fifth-round pick (146th overall) in the 2016 NHL Draft, registered 64 points (35 goals, 29 assists) in 67 regular season games with Flint this season.
\Texas forward Matej Stransky has scored a career-high 24 goals this season, breaking his previous career mark of 23 set last season.
\Nick Ebert's game-winning goal was his fifth of the season, tying him with Stransky for the team lead. Ebert is tied for the league-lead in game-winning goals among defensemen.
\Forward Denis Gurianov became the 11th Texas player to score a shorthanded goal this season.
*Texas is tied for the AHL lead with 14 shorthanded goals.
Texas Lineup
Here is the Texas lineup from the last game.
Denis Gurianov - Travis Morin - Matej Stransky
Brandon DeFazio - Mark McNeill - Ethan Werek
Cole Ully - Mike McMurtry - Caleb Herbert
Will Merchant - Matt Mangene - Reid Sturos
Gavin Bayreuther - Darren Dietz
Andrew Bodnarchuk - Nick Ebert
Dillon Heatherington - Dustin Stevenson
Maxime Lagace
Justin Peters
Week Ahead
Wednesday, April 5, Bakersfield at Texas, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 8, Texas at Charlotte, 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 9, Texas at Charlotte, Noon
Transactions
4/4: Dallas Stars recall C Justin Dowling from Texas (AHL)
4/3: RW Nick Caamano signed to ATO by Texas (AHL)
4/3: C Justin Dowling assigned to Texas (AHL) by Dallas (NHL)
4/3: LW Will Merchant released from PTO
3/31: C Justin Dowling recalled by Dallas (NHL) from Texas (AHL)
3/31: C Gemel Smith recalled by Dallas (NHL) from Texas (AHL)
3/30: RW Reid Sturos signed to ATO by Texas (AHL)
3/29: D Julius Honka recalled by Dallas (NHL) from Texas (AHL)
Idaho Steelheads
The Idaho Steelheads (40-22-7) have a clinched a playoff spot in the ECHL. The Steelheads, who won two of three games last week, are currently in third place in the Mountain Division. Goaltender Landon Bow went 1-1-0 last week, stopping 64 of 68 shots. Bow is 18-6-2 and leads the ECHL in goals-against average (2.17) and ranks second in save percentage (.931).
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.