Austin Smith should make Pro Debut on Friday VS. Oklahoma City

After Austin Smith's Colgate Career came to an end this past weekend with losses to Union College & Cornell in the ECAC Hockey Conference Championships, Austin according to several sources including Brandon Worley of Defending Big D saying that Smith signed a 2 Year Entry Level Contract last night and will be looking to make his Pro Debut on Friday Night when the Stars head North to play the Western Conference Leading Oklahoma City Barons when the Stars begin a 3 game road trip that will also include games against the Toronto Marlies on Sunday & against the Lake Erie Monsters in Cleveland on Tuesday Night.

Photo of Austin Smith: Courtesy of the Colgate Raiders & Alliance Bulldogs Website.



This will make him the first Texan to ever make his Pro Debut and only the 2nd Player overall to make his Debut after Edmond's Matt Donovan made his AHL Debut last spring around this time and is in the middle of his first full AHL Season with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (NY Islanders Affiliate).

Smith is ending a very long 5 year journey that was filled with doubts and him looking to presence of looking to show that he is a worthy prospect in the Dallas Stars Sizes. Doubts contained everything from his size where he was a very small but very fast 5'5" frame when he was playing for Gunnery Prep School in Connecticut during his Junior & Senior Years of High School before he was taken in the 2007 NHL Draft by the Stars. The doubts continued over the course of his career while at Colgate which isn't known as a great hockey team for the most part & including Smith never getting the Raiders to the NCAA Hockey Tournament during his Career.

After playing his final games of his NCAA Career at the ECAC Hockey Conference Championship and his frustrations when the game began to slip for the Colgate Raiders in their Conference Semifinal against the Eventual Champion Union College describing what his emotions were at that time. "I've never given up in a game before, ever. I always compete to the end," said Smith. "When it hit 5-1, I was trying to hold the tears back. The rest of the game I was circling and I had a million things going in my head. I wasn't very effective."

He told the College Hockey News' Rob Moore after the game ended. Smith went on to say, "I thought we dominated the first period and were with them for most of the second period. When we got that goal to make it 2-1, I believed more then anyone that we could win," said Smith. "By the middle of the third period though, he was beginning to think different thoughts. "That [fifth goal] was the goal for me where I realized it was the end of my career."

If Smith is looking to show the Stars that he is a strong prospect going forward, he needs to have a strong end to the American Hockey League Season where the Texas Stars are out of the playoff race and have been at or near the Bottom of the Western Conference for most of the last 2 months by providing a fresh energy and challenging some of the team's top prospects like Brendan Dillion & Matt Fraser as well as others like Colton Sceivour who's been getting the bill as one of the more underrated players in the AHL this season.

He will have 12 games to show the Stars that he can thrive in the Pro Game and be a force to be reckon with at the AHL Level and looking to show that he can be worthy of a Call Up next season. With the Stars having nothing to play for the rest of the season, Smith needs to show that he can make the Stars a hard team to play against as the Stars lost their 5th in a row with a 5-2 loss against Abbotsford last night and went just, 2-5, on the 7 game home stand that wrapped up last night.

Even though it took 5 years to get him from the Draft to signing with the Stars, he's still got a mountain of a journey in front of him as he looks to shine in Austin and show the Stars that he is worthy of playing for Dallas in the near future. With upcoming prospects like Rielly Smith, Scott Glennie, Jack Campbell, Matt Frasier & Brendan Dillion possibly on the horizon.

He will really have to work hard to stand out among the Stars improving Prospect Pool to earn a spot in Dallas in the future. With Austin's Speed, determination & scoring ability, he has spent his entire career to this point defining the odds and proving people wrong and he is looking forward to doing it again to play for his hometown Stars.

Here's the Remaining Texas Stars Schedule

3/23: @ Oklahoma City Barons  7:00 PM

3/25: @ Toronto Marlies  2:00 PM

3/27: @ Lake Erie Monsters  6:00 PM

3/29: VS. Hamilton Bulldogs  7:30 PM

3/31: VS. Lake Erie Monsters  7:00 PM

4/1: VS. Lake Erie Monsters  5:00 PM

4/4: @ Grand Rapids Griffins  6:00 PM

4/5: @ Peoria Rivermen  7:00 PM

4/10: VS. Chicago Wolves  7:30 PM

4/13: @ San Antonio Rampage  7:00 PM

4/14: VS. Oklahoma City Barons 7:00 PM

4/15: @ Houston Aeros  5:05 PM

Hockey's Future has him ranked #13

Yesterday, Hockeys Future came out with their Dallas Stars Top 20 Prospects for the Spring as the NCAA & Canadian Hockey League Season is coming to an end. Smith has taken a strong jump from #18 to #13 after his strong season and being a Top 10 Candidate for the Hobey Baker Award which will be cut from 10 to 3 on March 29.

Here's Hockey's Future comments from Mike Farkas. You can see the Full Top 20 & comments on each player by clicking on the Hockey's Future Link. Here's the Austin Smith Comments.

"What a year it has been for senior Austin Smith at Colgate University. After posting a career worst 10 goals last season, Smith exploded this season for a nation high 36 goals and a career best 57 points (four off the country's top spot). After offseason surgery, Smith has comeback healthy and confident and flying. He continues to be an all situation player with good speed and tremendous work rate, he has skated circles around the ECAC This season.

While he's not projected to be an elite scorer at the NHL level by any stretches of the imagination, he has a future as a quality utility man. He's not particular big or strong but he makes up for it with world class determination and a swagger that's hard to match. Smith will also certainly be signed after his collegiate career ends and will likely finish the year in Texas if the Stars management so chooses."





Texas Stars lose 3rd Straight at School Day Game

The Texas Stars Woes continue after losing their 3rd straight game and 7 of their last 8 overall with a 4-3 loss to the Lake Erie Monsters in front of nearly 9,000 screaming kids as the Monsters hosted their annual Grade School Field Trip Game at the Quicken Loans Arena in the Cleveland Area. Texas is looking for anything to get out of this slump as they continue to sit in the bottom of the Western Conference as they now sit 9 points back of the Peoria Rivermen for the 8th & Final Playoff Spot in the Western Conference. With just

Texas was almost able to get back in this game as Francis Wathier, Colton Sceviour & Scott Glennie were able to score their goals in a 4 and a half minute span late in the period after Lake Erie took a 3-0 lead late in the first period. However, the Stars couldn't find any other offensive action after that as an opening minute goal by Patrick Rissmiller put the Monsters over the top to give the team a 4-3 victory.

The Stars will look to turn around their fortunes at home after losing all 3 games on this road trip which also had losses to Rochester Americans (9-4) on 2/10 & the Hamilton Bulldogs (2-0) on 2/12. Next up will be a weekend home series against the San Antonio Rampage on Friday Night (7:30 PM) & Saturday Night (7:00 PM).

Lake Erie will head out on the road for a home-and-home series against the Rochester Americans on Friday & Saturday coming up this weekend. The Monsters have been red-hot recently by winning 6 of their last 7 games which have helped the Monsters climb to 9th Place and just a point out of the Playoff Race right now.

Texas Stars 3  Lake Erie Monsters 4  (0-3, 3-0, 0-1

Press Release by the Texas Stars Staff

Lake Erie VS. Texas Game Video

Current AHL Standings

From Cleveland, Ohio: The Texas Stars (21-25-4, 46 PTS) were defeated by the Lake Erie Monsters (25-22-4, 54 PTS) in front of 8,933 fans at the Quick Loans Arena on Wednesday. Monsters Winger Patrick Rissmiller broke a 3-3 tie just 45 seconds into the third period and Lake Erie held on for a one goal win, extending the team's points' streak to seven games (6-0-1).

The Stars fought back with three goals in the last six minutes of the second period, earning a 3-0 deficit from the first period. Left Wings Francis Wathier registered the Gordie How hat trick, as Texas fell to 10-17-1 on the road this season. Forwards Angelo Esposito (2A) and Scott Glennie (1G, 1A) each had multi point games as the Stars concluded three game road trip. Lake Erie Goalie Gerald Coleman (8-2-1) made 30 saves in his ninth straight start. Texas Goalie Tyler Beskorowany (6-13-0) made 40 saves in the defeat, including 17 saves in the second period. Texas returns home to hose San Antonio on Friday, February 17th at 7:30 PM.

The Monsters started the scoring at 6:55 of the first period with a power-play goal by Greg Mauldin. The Lake Erie Forward snapped a wrist shot past Texas Goalie Tyler Bedkorowany for his tenth goal of the year and a 1-0 Monsters Lead. Right wing Brad Malone set up left wing Justin Mercier at 11:37 to make it 2-0 Monsters. Mercier finished off a two-on-one for his 12th goal of the year. Lake Erie closed out the first frame with its third its third goal of the period at 18:11. Center Mark Olver set up Dean Strong for his second goal of the season and a 3-0 lead. The Monsters out shot the Stars 18-8 in the opening frame.

The Stars responded with three goals in the last six minutes of the second period. The scoring spree started at 14:27 of the middle frame with a rebound goal by left wing Francis Wathier. Angelo Esposito and Stephen Schultz each had an assist on Wathier's tenth goal of the year, trimming the Lake Erie lead to 3-1. Texas struck again less then three minutes later at 17:13. Esposito and Scott Glennie each had an assist on Colton Sceviour's 12th goal of the year to make it 3-2. Sceviour found a rebound in the Monsters crease and shuffled it past Lake Erie goalie Gerald Coleman to bring his team within in a goal. Texas scored it's third unanswered goal in the closing minute to tie the game 3-3. Rookie Scott Glennie scored on the power play off a rebound at 19:06 of the middle period. His 11th goal of the season  came from defensemen Brad Lukowich and Wathier, tying the game 3-3.

Just forty-five seconds into the third period, Lake Erie's Patrick Rissmiller skated to the right-wing circle in the Texas zone and lifted a backhand shot over the glove of Beskorwany. Rissmiller's seventh goal of the year pushed the Monsters in front for good at 4-3.

Texas returns home on Friday, February 17th for a 7:30 PM, faceoff against the San Antonio Rampage, presented by Farmers Insurance. Friday's Game is a 3-2-1 night featuring $3 domestic drafts, $2 Sodas & $1 Hot Dogs. The Stars will take on the Rampage again on Saturday, February 18th at 7:00 PM, presented by the Texas Lottery Commission. The first 2,500 fans to the game will receive a team poster, compliments of ABC Home and Commercial Services. Saturday is also a State Farm Family Four Pack consisting of four tickets, four sodas and four hot dogs starting at $48.

Individual tickets for all home games are on sale now. Tickets are available online at the Texas Stars Tickets  or by calling 512-GO-STARS (512-467-8277).

2011-12 season seat packages are on sale now. For more information on Texas Stars Season Tickets call 512-GO-STARS (467-8277) or visit www.texasstarshockey.com Anyone interested in purchasing season tickets, suites, group tickets or mini-plans may call the Texas Stars Ticket Office.



OKC holds off a hard Charging Lake Erie Team to win 3-2

After going up 3-0 at the end of 2 periods, the Barons had to fight off a hard charging Lake Erie Monsters who had 16 shots in the 3rd period and after going up 3-2, pulled their goalie Trevor Cann in hopes to force Overtime against the Western Conference Leaders. Fortunately the Barons Defense was able to help out Goaltender Yann Dennis to preserve a 3-2 win and improves their Goals Against Average to 2.19 GAA which is now in 4th in the entire American Hockey League.

The Barons lead in the Conference has also increased to 4 points as the Barons are beginning to show some signs they can finally pull away from the West Division Lead Pack that has until recently with the Barons, Aeros & Heat exchanging the lead the regular basis so far this season.

So far the Barons are right now are 2-0 on the current road trip as they will now head to Ontario to play the Toronto Marlies on Friday Night, then Sunday Afteroon the Barons will wrap up the Road Trip against the Hamilton Bulldogs. The team's next home game is on January 13 against the Rockford Ice Hogs.

Here's the Current AHL West Division Standings as of 1/5.

Full AHL Standings

1. Oklahoma City:  35 GP  23-8-4  50 PTS  109-82

2. Abbotsford:  33 GP  22-9-2  46 PTS  88-79

3. Houston:  34 GP  18-7-9  45 PTS  97-87

4. San Antonio:  34 GP  16-16-2  34 PTS  78-95

5. Texas  31 GP  14-16-1  29 PTS  90-94

Oklahoma City Barons 3  Lake Erie Monsters 2  (2-0, 1-0, 0-2)

From the Daily Oklahoman Website

From Cleveland, Ohio: Ryan Kelly & Philippe Cornet had a goal and an assist each Wednesday Night, and the Oklahoma City Barons hung on to beat the Lake Erie Monsters 3-2 in an American Hockey League game before 4,247 fans at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

Ryan O'Marra added a goal and two assists to help the Barons take a 3-0 lead. Lake Erie, the top farm team of the Colorado Avalanche, scored twice in the 3rd period but failed to tie the game in the waining seconds after pulling goaltender Trevor Cann for an extra attacker.

Cornet, defensemen Alex Plante and goaltender Yann Dennis were named on Wednesday to the AHL Western Conference All Star Team. They will join Barons Head Coach Todd Nelson at the All Star Classic January 29-30 in Atlantic City, N.J.

Cornet leads the Barons with 17 goals, and Dannis 15-5-1 with a 2.20 GAA. Plante is currently with on the Edmonton Oilers roster but is out indefinitely with a concussion.

Kelly who scored the Barons first goal Wednesday Night just 12 seconds into the game, left in the 2nd period after a vicous hit to the jaw by Adrian Foster. Kelly, who tops the Barons in scoring with 30 points in 36 games, was bleeding from the mouth. An extended loss would add to the growing list of Barons Injuries.

Oklahoma City is without defensemen Ryan Lowery, Kirill Tulupov & Dylan Yeo and forwards Gilbert Brule, Tristian Grant, Linus Omark & Andrew Lord. Edmonton has also made 12 transactions with the Barons since the Christmas Break. This week, the Oilers recalled forward Teemu Hartikainen, Josh Green & defensemen Colton Teubert.

Yet the team continues to win. Recent Central Hockey League signees, defensemen Andrew Martins of the Wichita Thunder & Sean Erickson of the Tulsa Oilers, played well in front of Goaltender Dannis on Wednesday Night. Lake Erie had 22 total shots on goal but just 6 shots through 2 periods.

Cann, the Lake Erie Goaltender, won 24 games over the 2009-2011 seasons with the Tulsa Oilers. He is usually the Monsters #2 Goalie, but starter Cedric Desjardins is out with injury. Desjardins tops the AHL with a 1.85 GAA against average and a .941 SV%.

Oklahoma City continues its four game road trip at 6:00 PM Friday at the Toronto Marlies who lead the North Division. Then on Sunday, it's a trip West to Hamilton to play the Hamilton Bulldogs.





San Antonio uses 3 late goals to overcome Lake Erie, 4-2

After a tightly played game where the Lake Erie Monsters were looking to get a rare win in the lone star state as the Monsters haven't had much luck since entering the American Hockey League back in 2007. And for a while it looked like it would have happened after a strong showing by Monsters Goalie John Grahame as the Monsters lead the Rampage 2-1 until Sean Maclean and Bracken Kearns scored just 26 seconds apart late in the 3rd to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead where an empty net goal with a minute and a half put the game away to give the Rampage a 4-2 win.


Lake Erie Monsters 2  San Antonio Rampage 4  (0-0, 1-1, 1-3)

Game report from the San Antonio Rampage Website

From San Antonio, Texas: The Rampage scored three goals late in the final period to overcome Monsters and record their 2nd straight win with a 4-2 victory at AT&T Center on Wednesday Night.

Each team brought high energy and a strong twenty minutes of hockey to the table as the Monsters and Rampage went scoreless in the first period for the 2nd straight meeting. Lake Erie out-shot San Antonio 12-8, giving Rampage goaltender Matt Climie the majority of their work. Both teams were awarded one power play and neither was able to convert the man advantage.

The second period continued in the same fashion, with many great opportunities missed, until Lake Erie center Mark Olver was able to break the middle frame. Greg Mauldin sent a cross ice pass from left to right to teammate Ray Macias for an open shot. His shot nailed the cross bar and spun outward, re-entering the ice to the left side of the goal, where Olver was waiting with half the net open as Climie was unable to recover to the opposite side in enough time.

The Rampage refused to go down without a fight as left winger Mikkel Boedker punched back with 10 seconds left in the period to make it a 1-1 game. Boedker received a pass from Brett Maclean as he skated down the right side of the glass. He then cut across toward center ice to better angle himself for a shot and complete a head-on attempt at the net as the puck flew over the left shoulder of Monsters netminder John Grahame.

Coutning back and fourth action, the Monsters scored a little over five minutes into the third period to reclaim the lead. Monsters center Mike Carmen sent a pass right behind him to right wing Matthew Ford in an attempt to clear from the Rampage's defensive pressure.

Ford saw an open shot and fired an unlikely shot as he pressed against the right wall above the faceoff circle. Climie not ready for the shot, allowed the puck to slip over his left shoulder and through the pipes increasing the score to 2-1.

The Rampage rallied back from the tip in from right winger Maclean with just over four minutes to go in the game. Boedker drove across the blue line to save the puck from being cleared down the Rampage zone during the power play. He quickly rose to his feet and fired a long pass aimed toward the goal, as Maclean was posted outside the crease. He tapped the puck behind Grahame giving the Rampage new life as they were once again tied at 2-2.

Bring the building back to their feet just 26 seconds later, Bracken Kearn lit the lamp for the Rampage's first lead of the evening. Left Winger Alex Picard sped down the left side of the ice and made a pass to Kearn who was skating adjacent down the center. He was able to redirect the pass low, beneath the goaltending padding to make it a 3-2 lead.

As a last resort with a minute and a half left in the contest, the Monsters waived off their goaltender and added a sixth skater in hopes of re-tying the game. However, the plan backfired as the puck escaped the possession of Lake Erie and was sent soaring towards the empty net. Rampage left winger Ryan Halloweg scrambled towards the puck and capitalizing on the easy opportunity by tapping the puck in to seal the 4-2 victory.

In his 100th professional game, Matt Climie stopped 31 of 33 Monsters shots to earn his third win of the season while Grahame stopped 30 of 33 Rampage shots.

the Rampage will commerce in a three-in-three series this weekend. Their first stop is the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City as they play the Barons for the first time in franchise history. The action starts at 7:05 PM.

Oklahoma City Barons get first ever Shutout against the Lake Erie Monsters

After a brutal start to the season and a few bell ringers as well. The Barons are beginning to get it together with their 3rd straight win and Martin Gerber getting the Barons first ever shutout in team history as the Barons got goals from Shawn Belle, Liam Reddox and last year's top goal scorer Alexander Giroux who had 50 during the regular season last year which helped the Hershey Bears win the AHL Calder Cup last year.

Beyond that, a strong defensive performance plus a PP that went 2/4 on the night and a 35 save performance from Martin Gerber gave the North Division Foes their shutout loss of the season. After three straight losses to start the season and getting a single goal in all three games, the Barons have outscored their opposition 15-5 in the 3 wins which included an 8-2 thrashing of the Houston Aeros after the Barons got beat the by the Aeros twice in their first three games of the season.

For the Barons, they will now head north for a 5 game road trip which includes a nationally Televised Game on Sunday against the Hamilton Bulldogs on both the CBC in Canada and the NHL Network in the USA. Other games include the Toronto Marlies on Saturday Evening, plus games against the Grand Rapids Griffins, Chicago Wolves and the Peoria Rivermen as well on this road-trip.

As for the Lake Erie Monsters, their tour of the Southwest continues with a game tonight against the San Antonio Rampage, plus a trip to Austin on to face the Texas Stars on Friday Night, then the Southwest trip wraps up on Sunday against the Houston Aeros.

Lake Erie Monsters 0  Oklahoma City Barons 3  (0-0, 0-2, 0-1)

Lake Erie Monsters VS. Oklahoma City Barons Game Highlights

Oklahoma City Barons Photo Gallery

Game Story by Ryan Aber of The Daily Oklahoman

The Barons won their third consecutive AHL Game Tuesday, beating Lake Erie 3-0 in front of 2,784 at the Cox Convention Center.

"Every period we play, we get more and more confidence," Barons Goaltender Martin Gerber said. "The more you play, the better you feel and the better the team has played.

Gerber was the first star, turning in the Barons first ever shutout and making several spectacular with his glove to keep the Monsters off the board.

"Now he's starting to get into rhythm, which is good for us," Nelson said. "He's just playing well. You've got to give him credit to our defense as well and our forwards as well. The opportunities that we are giving up, a lot of them are from the outside, so Gerbie made the first save and we cleared out of the rebounds."

The Barons return to action against San Antonio at 7:05 PM. Friday, starting a tough weekend that includes a pair of road games at Toronto and Hamilton.

"We wanted to get into the weekend with some positive momentum," Nelson said. "This is a big win for us, just the way we won not giving up any goals and being able to score on the power play."

After dropping their first three games of the season, the Barons have turned things around in a big way.

It started against the Monsters with a 4-3 come-from-behind win at home Friday and has carried over throughout a tough 4 game in 5 night stretch.

The Power Play that gave them so many problems in the initial losing streak has turned into one of the team's strengths.

The Barons started the scoring on the power play against the Monsters, Shawn Belle swatting the puck off Lake Erie's Mike Carmen and over the left shoulder of goaltender at 1:22 of the 2nd period for the Barons first goal.

Then the Barons put the game away with another goal on the power play, with Alexander Giroux bashing Bacashihua just six seconds into a power play at 7:50 in the third to make it 3-0.

"It's going to take a few games to get accustomed to each other," Belle said. "Brad Moran played overseas. Giroux played in Hershey. I played in Hamilton. There are a lot of different elements. You start to learn where each other is going to be and now it's clicking."

The Power Play isn't the only special teams unit that has been solid of late for the Barons.

After holding the Monsters scoreless on the power plays Tuesday, the Barons have now killed off 21 consecutive penalties.

Liam Reddox scored the other Barons goal, putting them up 2-0 with his breakaway goal 12:00 into the second period.

"He's a good energy player for us," Nelson said. "He plays in all situations for us. He's just a solid all-around player. We're very fortunate to have him here."

 Reddox and Giroux, both held scoreless for the first two games, have now scored in consecutive games. Giroux, who lead the AHL in Goals the last two seasons, scored twice in Sunday's win in Houston.

The performance came with Oilers senior advisor and former coach Patt Quinn watching atop the arena with Barons GM Bill Scott.

Quinn will be with the team often this season as he works with the Oilers developmental system. He'll stay with the team through Friday's Game.