From: Patrick Armstrong, Director of Communications
713.361.7920 (Direct Line)
Scott Henninger, Communications Manager
713.361.7930 (Direct Line)
Monday, January 14, 2008

HOUSTON AEROS WEEKLY UPDATE: JANUARY 14

HOUSTON, Texas – The Houston Aeros (22-15-1-2) won three straight games in three straight days this past weekend. Houston, last week, defeated the Manitoba Moose in two games at Toyota Center and beat the Rampage in San Antonio. This week Houston will stay right at home where the team is 13-5-0-1 this season. The Aeros host the Toronto Marlies Friday and the Hamilton Bulldogs Sunday. Sunday is also Hockey Day in Houston with over eight hours of hockey entertainment starting at 10:30 a.m. at Toyota Center.

FRI vs. TOR, 7:35 p.m., SUN vs. HAM, 4:05 p.m.

Friday
Houston will host the Toronto Marlies for only the third time in team history Friday night at 7:35 p.m. The Aeros have a 1-1 record at Toyota Center against the Marlies, 1-3-0-0 overall. The game is the first of two meetings the teams have this season, the second on February 10 in Canada. Friday is also the second in the three-part series of puck giveaways commemorating Houston hockey arenas. The puck will feature the Compaq Center where the Aeros played from 1994-2003 and will be given away to the first 3,000 fans through the doors. Tickets are still available so don’t miss this commemorative puck and get your tickets by calling 713.974.PUCK or visiting www.AEROS.com. Season ticket holders are also invited to stick around after the game for a team autograph session near the customer service table. Partial season tickets are also still available by calling the Aeros front office.

Sunday
Hockey Day in Houston gets into full swing by 10:30 a.m. with the Sixth Annual Interscholastic Hockey League (ISHL) Senior Games. The second game is scheduled to begin at 11:45 a.m. and will be followed by the Aeros’ 4:05 p.m. puck drop against the Hamilton Bulldogs. The Aeros hold a record of 3-1-0-0 all-time against the Bulldogs and have won both contests played at Toyota Center.

The ISHL Senior Games will have a total of 60 players, more than any prior senior game. Over 70 all-star selections will take part in ISHL skills demonstration and competition to be held between periods during the Aeros game and immediately following the contest. Tickets for the day-long hockey event are still available and details can be found by clicking here.

Practice Schedule
15-Jan-08, Tuesday, SLICE 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
16-Jan-08, Wednesday, SLICE 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
17-Jan-08, Thursday, SLICE 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
18-Jan-08, Friday, Game vs. Toronto, 7:35 p.m.
19-Jan-08, Saturday, SLICE 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
20-Jan-08, Sunday, Game vs. Hamilton, 4:05 p.m.


Aeros Player of the Week: G Nolan Schaefer

Thu. vs. Manitoba - 21 shots faced, 21 saves, 0 goals against - Recorded 5th shutout of season, tied the league-high.
Fri. at San Antonio - 32 shots faced, 31 saves, 1 goal against - The one goal against ended shutout streak at 151:36
Totals – 53 shots faced, 52 saves, 1 goal against – 2-0, 0.50 GAA, .981 save pct in two games last week.
Nolan Schaefer recorded a league-high fifth shutout of the season and had his second longest shutout streak of the season at 151:36. Leads league with 1.97 GAA, .930 save pct., 5 shutouts, and four shootout wins. He ranks fifth in the league with 16 wins.

TEAM NOTES
• G Nolan Schaefer has continued his outstanding play that has put the Aeros in a tie for fourth place in the West Division. Schaefer is 14-3-0 in his last 18 starts and has won his last three games. He leads or is tied for the lead in four out of the top five goaltender statistical categories. He leads the league with a 1.97 goals-against average (GAA), .930 save percentage, five shutouts, and four shootout wins. Schaefer is fifth in the league with 16 wins. In his last 18 starts, Schaefer has a .940 save percentage and a 1.63 GAA.
• C Steve Kelly has 15 points (8-7=15) in his last 17 games played. Kelly leads the league with six game-winning goals and he became the first player in an Aeros’ uniform to score 10 goals this season. The Aeros were the last team in the league to have a player get to the 10-goal point.
• LW Peter Olvecky has eight points (3-5=8) in the last six games for Houston. Olvecky had 10 points in his first 23 games, but has come on strong as of late. He notched three assists at Peoria on January first and followed that up with a goal and an assist in each of the games this week against Manitoba.
• The Aeros are 12-1-0-1 at home in their last 14 games. Houston has allowed just 16 goals in those 14 games while scoring 43. They will play at Toyota Center six more times before heading back out on the road on February 5th in Rockford. Overall, the Aeros are 13-5-0-1 at home and have outscored their opponents 53-30.
• Houston faces to North Division opponents this weekend when Toronto and Hamilton come to town. The Aeros are currently 7-1-0-0 against the North Division this season and 5-1-0-0 at home. Houston has yet to play either Hamilton or Toronto.

Affiliation News
The NHL’s Minnesota Wild (26-17-2) went 3-1 last week including a 6-5 shootout win over league-leading Detroit Redwings. Minnesota will stay at home and host the Calgary Flames Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. and the Anaheim Ducks Friday at 7 p.m.

The Wild are tied for first in the Northwest Division with the Vancouver Canucks at 54 points. Minnesota Also ranks third in the Western Conference but are also tied in points with Anaheim. Marian Gaborik recorded two points in Sunday’s win for his team-leading 46th and 47th points of the season. Gaborik was also named the NHL’s first star of the week having recorded eight points (four goals, four assists) and a plus 9 rating.

The ECHL’s Texas Wildcatters lost 4-2 Sunday ending the team’s 23-game unbeaten-in-regulation streak. The South Carolina Stingrays beat the ‘Catters 4-3 in OT Friday night, lost 4-2 Saturday and ended Texas’ streak on Sunday. The Wildcatters (27-3-2-4) play for games this week on the road. Tuesday the team will play against the Mississippi Sea Wolves, Friday and Saturday against the Columbia Inferno and Sunday visiting the Charlotte Checkers.

LAST WEEK
1/10 - HOU 3 vs. MTB 0 – W
1/11 - HOU 3 at SAN 1 – W
1/12 - HOU 4 vs. MTB 1 – W

Thursday, January 10: The Houston Aeros’ Nolan Schaefer once again recorded back-to-back shutouts with a 3-0 win over the Manitoba Moose in front of 5,932 fans at Toyota Center Thursday afternoon. Schaefer stopped all 21 shots faced in his 15th win of the season. Moose net-minder Drew MacIntyre blocked 26 of 29 shots on net. Peter Olvecky led the Aeros with two points (1-1=2) including an assist on the game-winning goal. Houston converted on two of five power-plays and killed off all six short-handed situations. The Aeros out-shot Manitoba 29-21.

Friday, January 11: The Houston Aeros won their third straight game Friday night 3-1 over the San Antonio Rampage at the AT&T Center. Goaltender Nolan Schaefer stopped 31 of 32 shots for Houston in his 16th win of the season and right wing Danny Irmen scored an unassisted game-winning goal in the second period to lift Houston over the Rampage.

Saturday, January 12: Goaltender Barry Brust stopped 38 of 39 shots for the Houston Aeros in a 4-1 win over the Manitoba Moose Saturday night at Toyota Center. Houston jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period and Brust stopped a barrage of shots in the final two periods to keep the Aeros (22-15-1-2) in position to win the contest.

The Aeros will play again on Friday with the second puck giveaway scheduled and tickets are still available by calling 713.974.PUCK or online at Aeros.com. The Inaugural Hockey Day in Houston is this Sunday with over eight hours of hockey entertainment scheduled. Click here for tickets and more details about Hockey Day in Houston. ---HOUSTON AEROS---