AEROS LOSE 3-2 TO SYRACUSE AT TOYOTA CENTER

HOUSTON, Texas – The Houston Aeros scored first but couldn’t hold back the Syracuse Crunch the entire game, losing the contest 3-2 in front of 3,066 fans at Toyota Center. The Aeros (2-5-1-0) marked its first multi-power-play-goal game of the season while Syracuse (4-7-0-0) converted on one of ten chances.

Official Boxscore

Houston’s D Erik Reitz led the team with two points (1 goal, 1 assist) and the Aeros’ other goal came from RW Danny Irmen, his first of the season. The Crunch’s C Derick Brassard and C Kris Beech each tallied two assists to lead the team. D Kyle Wharton notched the game-winning-goal late in the final period for his first point of the season. The Aeros have been outscored 13-7 in the final period. Houston’s G Barry Brust stopped 29 of 32 shots on net in the loss. The Crunch’s G Tomas Popperle blocked 15 of 17 shots to earn his fourth victory of the season.

Only eight seconds into the game, the Aeros received a power play after C Geoff Platt went to the penalty box for hooking. Houston quickly took advantage and RW Danny Irmen backhanded a rebound past Crunch goaltender Popperle to take a 1-0 lead. Irmen was assisted on the play by Reitz and LW Benoit Pouliot. Brust stopped all 11 shots he faced in the period and the Aeros were forced to kill four penalties in the opening period. After one period of play, Houston held on to a 1-0 lead.

The Crunch picked up the pressure in the second period and tied the game at the 12:00 minute mark on a goal by LW Jeffrey Szwez. He was assisted on the play by D Jekabs Redlihs and Beech. Syracuse outshot the Aeros 12-4 in the period.

Houston picked up two penalties early in the third period giving the Crunch a five-on-three power play. LW Joakim Lidstrom gave Syracuse a 2-1 lead with his seventh goal of the season at the 6:29 mark of the period. Beech and Brassard assisted on the play. Halfway through the period, Houston earned a five-on-three power play and Reitz wristed a shot through traffic and found the back of the net for his team-leading fourth goal of the season. C Morten Madsen and D Clayton Stoner earned assists on the goal. Syracuse took back the lead when Wharton netted the game-winner, as Brassard and Platt added the assists.

The Aeros continue the home stretch Friday night on Susan G. Komen breast cancer awareness night. The game will include pink mini-sticks for the first 3,000 fans entering Toyota Center, a women’s hockey skills competition and the first announcement of the amount raised at the October 6th Race for the Cure. Don’t miss out on the November 2nd game at 7:05 p.m. against the expansion Lake Erie Monsters.