On the Farm Report: 3-25-10

We take another look at the Stars’ prospects in minor league, college, junior and European hockey leagues.

Texas Stars (AHL):

Wathier

The Texas Stars beat the Milwaukee Admirals 4-3 last Thursday at the Cedar Park Center. Aaron Gagnon, Andrew Hutchinson and Francis Wathier all scored on the power play, helping Texas to a 4-1 lead late in the game. Milwaukee rallied for two goals in the last three minutes, but the Stars held on for the win. Brent Krahn made 26 saves on 29 shots, remaining undefeated since his return from an injury earlier this season.

The Stars started a seven-game road trip on Saturday with a 2-0 victory over the Rockford IceHogs. Krahn stopped all 29 shots he faced, including 14 in the final period to preserve the shutout. Mathieu Beaudoin scored just 59 seconds into the game to give Texas the lead, and Perttu Lindgren gave the Stars an insurance goal midway through the second. Lindgren assisted on Beaudoin’s goal, and Hutchinson assisted on both Texas goals.

Aaron Gagnon recorded the second hat trick in Texas Stars history on Sunday, leading the Stars to a 4-2 win over the Peoria Rivermen. Gagnon scored the first three goals of the game, including one on the power play, giving him 24 goals on the season. Lindgren scored early in the third period on the power play for Texas’ fourth goal. Matt Climie made 26 saves on 28 shots, improving to 19-16-3.

The Stars’ four-game win streak ended at the hands of Milwaukee on Tuesday, as the Admirals held on to an early lead for a 3-2 win. Milwaukee led 3-0 after the first period, and despite goals from Dan Jancevski and Lindgren in the second period, the Stars were unable to complete the comeback, falling to 40-24-7.

Texas will try to clinch a playoff spot over the last four games of its seven-game road trip, with a game at Chicago on Friday, at Grand Rapids on Saturday, at Chicago again on Sunday and at Milwaukee on Wednesday. The Stars currently sit in third place in the Western Conference with 87 points, nine points behind Chicago for the West Division lead.

Click here for full Texas Stars player stats

Wilson Named Man Of The Year

The Texas Stars announced Thursday that right wing Landon Wilson has been named the team’s winner of the American Specialty / AHL Man of the Year Award for outstanding contributions to the Cedar Park and greater Austin communities during the 2009-10 season. Wilson, the Stars’ captain, has volunteered his time on many occasions to community and charity events, and will be awarded an etched crystal trophy at an upcoming Texas Stars game. Wilson, played in 27 games for the Dallas Stars in the 2008-09 season, and signed a contract with the Texas Stars last summer. Read the Texas Stars’ release on Wilson here.

Click here to go to the Texas Stars homepage

Idaho Steelheads (ECHL):

The Idaho Steelheads played four games this week, losing the first two games against the Ontario Reign 7-4 and 2-1, respectively. It was the first time since Jan. 2-8 that Idaho failed to pick up at least a point in two straight games (with 27 games in between). The Steelheads rebounded with a 6-5 win against Ontario on Sunday, followed by a 5-0 thumping of the Victoria Salmon Kings upon their return home Wednesday.

Idaho is in first place at 46-15-5 (97 points), 24 points ahead of the Bakersfield Condors for second in the Western Conference and nine points in front of the South Carolina Stingrays for the best record in the ECHL. The Steelheads finish their home schedule with two games against Victoria this weekend before heading northwest to take on the Alaska Aces twice next week.

Click here to visit the Idaho Steelheads web site.

Elsewhere:

Scott Glennie’s Brandon Wheat Kings and Matthew Tassone’s Swift Current Broncos met in the first round of the WHL’s Eastern Conference Playoffs this week. Brandon swept the best-of-seven series and awaits its second round opponent. Glennie notched a goal and two assists, while Tassone missed the series with a neck injury. The Wheat Kings, led by its high-octane offense, have won 12 straight regular season and playoff games.

Tomas Vincour signed a three-year entry level contract with the Stars earlier this week. Vincour is playing for the Vancouver Giants (WHL), who just swept the Kamloops Blazers in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs. Here is the story from the Vancouver Province on Vincour, whose agent is former Star Patrik Stefan.

Curtis McKenzie and Reilly Smith are playing for Miami (OH), the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Men’s Hockey Tournament. The Redhawks play Alabama-Huntsville in first round action Saturday afternoon at 3:00 (CT). The game will be televised on ESPNU. If Miami wins, it will play the winner of Bemidji St. and Michigan on Sunday.

Defensemen Jordie Benn, the brother of Dallas Stars’ left wing Jamie Benn, plays for the Allen Americans of the Central Hockey League. Benn returned from an injury for two games this week, but did not find the score sheet. Benn finished the regular season with nine goals, nine assists and 55 penalty minutes in 45 games for Allen. The CHL Playoffs start this weekend for the Americans, who host the Laredo Bucks on Friday and Saturday at the Allen Event Center.

Here is a list of Stars’ prospects playing in the minors, in junior leagues, in college or in Europe:

Player
ECHL	Team	Pos	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM	+/-
Guillaume Monast	Idaho (ECHL)	D	62	0	5	5	67	25
Michael Neal	Idaho (ECHL)	LW	51	5	9	14	33	-5
CHL	Team	Pos	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM	+/-
Jordie Benn	Allen (CHL)	D	45	9	9	18	55	0
Junior	Team	Pos	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM	+/-
Scott Glennie	Brandon (WHL)	RW/C	66	32	57	89	50	32
	Playoffs		4	1	2	3	2	3
Tristan King	Medicine Hat (WHL)	C	70	21	44	65	65	8
	Playoffs		4	0	1	1	8	-4
Hubert Labrie	Gatineau (QMJHL)	D	67	4	16	20	99	-5
	Playoffs		4	0	3	3	2	-3
Matthew Tassone	Swift Current (WHL)	C	33	12	7	19	72	-4
	Playoffs		0	0	0	0	0	0	(injured)
Tomas Vincour	Edmonton (WHL)	C	33	17	9	26	31	0
	Vancouver (WHL)		24	12	10	22	31	6
	Playoffs		3	1	0	1	0	1
College	Team	Pos	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM	+/-
Mike Bergin	RPI	D	30	4	7	11	68
Alex Chiasson	Boston University	RW	35	7	12	19	44	5
Curtis McKenzie	Miami University	LW	39	5	18	23	88	5
Nico Sacchetti	Minnesota	C	38	4	11	15	12	1
Austin Smith	Colgate University	RW	36	16	25	41	20	5
Reilly Smith	Miami University	RW	41	8	12	20	20	13
Scott Winkler	Colorado College	C	21	1	1	2	4	-6
Europe	Team	Pos	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM	+/-
Philip Larsen	Frolunda (Swe)	D	42	1	9	10	20	6
	Playoffs		4	0	0	0	0	0
Vojtech Polak	Trinec HC (Cze)	LW	49	10	9	19	48	-3
Ondrej Roman	Vitkovice HC (Cze)	C	26	1	2	3	6	-2
Max Warn	HIFK Helsinki (Fin)	LW	35	5	6	11	45	-1
Goalies	Team/League	Pos	GP	MIN	W	L	OTL	GA	GAA	Save%
Tyler Beskorowany	Kingston (OHL)	G	62	3461	29	25	4	203	3.52	.903
	Playoffs		3	179	1	2	0	10	3.36	.902
Richard Bachman	Idaho (ECHL)	G	31	1784	20	6	3	72	2.42	.902