From: Ryan Stanzel
Director of Communications
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
713.361.7930 (Direct Line)

Admirals 3, Aeros 2 (OT)
Official Box Score

HOUSTON, Texas – Milwaukee’s Ramzi Abid scored a power play goal 16 seconds into overtime after Houston’s Matt Foy forced the extra session with a shorthanded, extra attacker goal with 15 ticks left in regulation, as the Admirals outlasted the Aeros 3-2 at Toyota Center. Karl Goehring made 33 saves, and Mikko Lehtonen and John Vigilante scored a goal for Milwaukee (22-16-3-4), which avenged a 6-1 loss to the Aeros on Sunday and moved into sole possession of third place in the West Division.

Shawn Belle scored his third goal in two games and Josh Harding made 29 stops for Houston (18-20-1-5), which travels to Worcester on Wednesday to begin a three-game Atlantic Division road trip.

Milwaukee enjoyed a four-minute power play beginning just 17 seconds into the contest. Foy, who got dumped to the ice on the opening faceoff, committed a hold deep in the Houston zone. Upset with the call, he also received an unsportsmanlike minor.

The Aeros killed off the first penalty, but Lehtonen scored his fourth of the season to put Milwaukee on top at the 2:34 mark. Lehtonen picked off a Jason Morgan clear at the left point and skated into the zone. He fed Cal O’Reilly, whose shot was stopped by Harding. Lehtonen crashed the net and pushed the puck by the goalie.

The Aeros have allowed the game’s first goal in 11 of their last 13 games, including six straight.

Houston went right back on the penalty kill 34 seconds later, with an interference call to Benoit Pouliot, but the Aeros knocked down this chance.

Mattias Weinhandl had Houston’s best chance of the opening half of the first period on a power play eight minutes in, but Goehring got a piece of the shot with his shoulder. That man advantage was cut short by a Peter Ratchuk hooking call – Houston’s fourth minor penalty of the opening 8:28.

Goehring was outstanding again on fellow former North Dakota Fighting Sioux Curtis Murphy, who broke in on the right side and ripped a one-timer off a Weinhandl feed.

Goehring swallowed up Morgan’s redirection on the power play late in the first. On the same man advantage, Goehring kicked out attempts from Foy and Morgan.

Vigilante’s seventh goal of the season put Milwaukee up 2-0 at the 8:01 mark of the second period, 30 seconds after an Aeros power play expired. O’Reilly, cutting between the circles, left a drop pass for Vigilante, who backhanded the puck into the net.

Weinhandl had a golden chance to get Houston within one after the ensuing faceoff, but his knuckler got stuck under Goehring’s pads.

Belle put Houston on the board with a power play goal with 5:41 remaining in the second. With the Aeros’ power play struggling, head coach Rob Daum put the Bryan Lundbohm, Danny Irmen and Joel Ward unit out on the man advantage. Lundbohm won a battle along the left wing boards and fed Belle at the top of the left circle. Belle took a quick stride on net and fired a puck that went in and out of the net in the blink of an eye. The goal was Belle’s third in two games and fourth of the season. Belle had three career goals in his two seasons entering Sunday’s game against Milwaukee.

Harding was dynamite with 6:10 gone in the third, going down on his side to rob Vigilante’s attempt at a second goal. Two minutes later, Milwaukee’s Scottie Upshall, who has seven career goals in 15 games against Houston, hit the post.

Weinhandl nearly tied things up with 6:31 left. He picked up a loose puck alone in the left circle and fired. Goehring just got a piece of it with his left pad, and he was able to cover up before anyone got to the rebound.

Weinhandl picked up a hooking penalty with 1:43 left. The Aeros were able to get Harding out of the net with 30 seconds left, and Goehring made a chest save on Foy’s attempt from between the circles just seconds later.

Daum called his timeout with 26 seconds remaining, and Pouliot won the faceoff ahead into the corner. The puck squirted to Erik Reitz at the right point, and the defenseman launched a shot on net. The shot was knocked down in front, and Foy hopped on the rebound and slid a backhander by Goehring for his 16th goal of the season. Foy snapped a six-game goal-less streak, his longest drought since he went 13 games without a goal from February 4-March 12, 2006.

But the power play carried over into overtime, and Abid’s 14th goal – a tip in front of the net of a Sheldon Brookbank point blast that went over Harding’s shoulder – ended the game.

Houston finished 1-for-4 on the power play, while Milwaukee went 2-for-6.

Notes:

Not dressing for the Aeros were Josh Olson, Ben Thomson and Joey Tetarenko.

The Aeros had a game end in overtime for the first time this season. Houston is 4-5 in shootouts. Milwaukee is 7-3 in OT and 2-4 in shootouts, having played a league-high 16 extra session games. The Admirals’ 25 OT points are the most in the AHL.

Houston dropped to 1-14-1-1 when scoring two or fewer goals. The Aeros are 17-6-0-4 when scoring three or more.

Harding fell to 5-3-0 in his career against Milwaukee, but he has allowed just 11 goals in eight games.

The Aeros fell to 6-6-0-6 in one-goal games.

Houston has scored just two even strength goals in its last four games.