St. Denis Stopped In 2-1 Shoot-Out Loss:

Former Vernon Vipers forward, Kyle St. Denis is attending the NHL Dallas Stars camp on a free agent tryout. Last night St. Denis was stopped by Minnesota goalie Darcy Kuemper in a shoot-out as Minnesota defeated Dallas 2-1 in the shoot-out.

This is posted on the Dallas Stars website:

Stars Drop Game Two in a Shootout

Minnesota wins a tight defensive game, 2-1

Monday, 09.07.2009 / 10:45 PM / News

By Dallas Stars Staff

The Stars prospects made some significant adjustments Monday, and played much better in Game 2 of the NHL Prospects Tournament at Centre Ice Arena in Traverse City, Mich.

Dallas lost a 2-1 game to the Minnesota prospects in a shootout, but that was a significant improvement over a 9-6 loss to St. Louis in Game 1 on Sunday.

"I thought that was way better than the other night," said Glen Gulutzan, the new head coach of the Texas Stars, who is coaching the prospects. "We went from 23 scoring chances against to 10. That was a big improvement."

The Stars received a strong performance in net from Tyler Beskorowany, who allowed one goal on 30 shots and then was beat just once in the shootout. Beskorowany, the 59th overall pick in the 2008 NHL entry draft, has been traded from Owen Sound to Kingston this year, and expects to get the chance to be a No. 1 goalie at the major junior level. He appeared ready to face that challenge in his first game.

"He was confident, he moved the puck well, he looked really good," Gulutzan said. "If your goalie looks confident, it transfers to the box and your players are confident. It makes a difference."

Gultzan made some changes in the lineup, as he scratched defensemen Trevor Ludwig and Zak Stebner, as well as forward Tyler Shelast. In their places, he inserted defensemen Hubert Laurie and Brad Miller, as well as forward Kyle St. Denis. He also shuffled the lines, playing Tristan King with Jamie Benn and Tomas Vincour, as well as St. Denis with Michael Neal.

Neal, the younger brother of Stars forward James Neal, scored the only Stars goal when he got lucky and was able to bat in a puck that was misplayed at the net. However, Neal made a concerted effort to get to the net on several occasions.

"You go to the net, and good things happen," Gulutzan said. "That’s good to see."

The Stars were unable to score in the shootout, as Benn, St. Denis, Scott Glennie, Sergei Korostin and Tomas Vincour were stopped by Minnesota goalie Darcy Kuemper. Beskorowany was beat on a nifty move across the crease by Kristopher Foucault.

The Stars, 0-1-1, will not be able to defend their tournament championship. They will take Tuesday off, end pool play on Wednesday against Columbus and then play a placement game on Thursday.

"This is about moving forward and learning about each other," Gulutzan said. "And I think we’re doing that."