From: Patrick Armstrong, Director of Communications
713.361.7920 (Direct Line)
Scott Henninger, Communications Manager
713.361.7930 (Direct Line)
Monday, February 18, 2008

HOUSTON AEROS WEEKLY UPDATE: FEBRUARY 18

HOUSTON, Texas – The Houston Aeros scored eight goals in four games last week, unfortunately seven came in one game. The club dropped three of four contests last week including a pair of home games against Iowa. The Aeros are currently in seventh place in the West Division with a record of 27-22-2-3 only two points back from fifth-place Milwaukee. The team will take off for a four-game tour of North Division opponents starting with three straight games Friday through Sunday. The Aeros’ long home stand in March begins in only two weeks so call 713.974.PUCK or visit AEROS.com to get your tickets lined up today.

FRI. at SYR, 6:30 p.m., SAT. at HAM, 6 p.m., SUN. at. ROC, 5:05 p.m.

Friday
The Aeros will battle the Syracuse Crunch for the second time this season, this time in Syracuse. The Crunch won the first match-up at Toyota Center 3-2 to take the all-time series lead, 4-3-0-0. Three of the five goals scored in the game came on the power-play. The loss marked the only regulation-loss Houston has had when leading after two periods. The Aeros’ last win against the Crunch came on November 20, 2004, but only three games have been played since then.

Saturday
The Hamilton Bulldogs edged closer to tying the all-time series with a 2-1 victory over the Aeros in Houston on January 20 snapping the Aeros’ three-game winning streak. The series now stands at 3-2-0-0 in favor of the Aeros. The Bulldogs currently rank third in the North Division with 58 points, only one point less than the Aeros.

Sunday
The Rochester Americans will host the Aeros in the first of two match-ups this season on Sunday night. The Americans defeated the Aeros in both games last season but the opposite was true in 2005-06 when Houston took two decisions. The all-time series stands with Houston at 6-3-3-0 dating back to 2002-03. The Americans stand at seventh in the North with 40 points and will visit Houston on March 9.

Aeros Player of the Week: C Adrian Foster

Tue. at Peoria         1-3=4      Career-highs in points and assists
Wed. at Chicago      0-0=0
Fri. vs. Iowa            0-0=0
Sun. vs. Iowa          0-0=0
Totals                   1-3=4
Center/left wing Adrian Foster had a career night in the Aeros’ 7-1 win over the Peoria Rivermen Tuesday night. Foster notched three assists in the second period setting a career high and marked a goal in the third period for a total of four points on the night. Foster set career highs in assists (3) and points (4), and he also tied the team high for points in a game.

TEAM NOTES
• In honor of USA Hockey Weekend Across America, the Aeros presented David Seto and T.C. Lewis with a Houston Hockey Hero Award during the first intermission. Both gentlemen have been very influential in the growth of amateur hockey in Houston.
• The last time the Aeros were shutout in back-to-back games was March 18-19, 2006, both games against the San Antonio Rampage.
• The last time back-to-back shutouts occurred at home was January 8-9, 2004 against Hartford and Worcester.
• Houston has not scored a goal in 142:41 marking their second longest scoring drought of the season. The Aeros longest drought is 160:19 set in late November.
• Houston’s seven goals on Tuesday night against the Rivermen set a team-high for the season, however they have only managed one goal in three games since then.

Affiliation News
The Minnesota Wild (34-21-4) lead the Northwest Division with 72 points.Calgary and Vancouver trail by 6 points. Last night’s 5-4 victory over the Nashville Preditors upped the Wild’s home-record to 18-9-2, tying the club for fifth most home-wins in the league.

Marian Gaborik recorded two goals including the overtime game-winner last night and leads the club with 62 points and 32 goals. Pierre-Marc Bouchard leads Minnesota with 38 assists. The Wild hosts Vancouver on Tuesday and the Aeros will be hosting a Wild viewing party at Maple Leaf Pub starting at 6:30 p.m. The team will also travel to Chicago on Wednesday and host Calgary on Sunday afternoon this week.

The ECHL’s Texas Wildcatters (39-5-3-5) have already clinched a playoff birth and went 2-1-0-1 last week. John McNabb leads the team with 60 points (23-37=60) and has recorded 56 PIM in 52 games. The Wildcatters will host the Columbia Inferno in three straight home games this weekend, Friday through Sunday. The Inferno are 32 points behind Texas in the South Division.

LAST WEEK
2/12 - HOU 7 at PEO 1 – W
2/13 - HOU 1 at CHI 6 – L
2/15 - HOU 0 vs. IOW 1 – L
2/17 - HOU 0 vs. IOW 3 – L

Tuesday, February 12: The Houston Aeros scored a season-high seven goals in a 7-1 thumping over the Peoria Rivermen Tuesday night at Carver Arena. With the win the Aeros moved within five points of both Peoria and San Antonio who were tied for the third spot. Less than two minutes into the game, Aeros’ goaltender Nolan Schaefer was injured and replaced by Barry Brust.

Wednesday, February 13: The top scoring offense proved too strong Wednesday night as the Chicago Wolves beat the Houston Aeros 6-1 at Allstate Arena. Five different Wolves (36-13-1-0) scored including two goals from Kevin Doell as the West Division leaders improved their record to 3-0 against the Aeros this season. Ondrej Pavelec stopped 19 of 20 for his 19th win of the season and he was only beaten once by Aeros’ defenseman Maxim Noreau. Houston finished their six-game road trip 4-2-0-0.

Friday, February 15: The Iowa Stars ended their scoreless drought against the Houston Aeros and shut out the club 1-0 in front of 6,366 fans at Toyota Center. Stars' goaltender Steve Silverthorn earned his first win in five games played with Iowa this year, stopping all 19 shots faced. Houston's rookie net-minder Anton Khudobin blocked 17 of 18 shots on net in his second start, first loss with the Aeros.

Sunday, February 17: The Iowa Stars recorded their second straight shutout against the Houston Aeros Sunday night by a score of 3-0 in front of 4,865 fans at Toyota Center. The Aeros (27-22-2-3) have been held scoreless for the last 142:41 of game time, approaching the season-high of 161:05 of being shut out. The Stars (26-26-2-2) move back to .500 with the win. All of the teams in the West Division are now .500 or better. Houston's loss coupled with Milwaukee and Quad City wins slid the Aeros to seventh place in the West.

March has many games and many promotional deals going on throughout so check out AEROS.com/tickets/special or call 713.974.PUCK to see what the club is offering as the Aeros come down the home stretch and make a push for the playoffs.

---HOUSTON AEROS---