ABBOTSFORD, British Columbia --- The Houston Aeros earned a point in the West Division standings after falling 3-2 in a shootout against the Abbotsford Heat Tuesday night at Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre.
Greg Nemisz scored the deciding shootout goal after the Heat overcame a 2-0 deficit for the second straight night to force extra time.
For the second game in a row, the Aeros took a 2-0 lead on power play goals in the first and second periods. Jarod Palmer staked Houston to a 1-0 lead with his second goal of the season at 8:27 of the first. Robbie Earl and Nate Prosser got the helpers as the Aeros scored first for the seventh-straight game.
BOXSCORE
The Aeros made it a 2-0 lead when Earl, with just three seconds left on Houston's fifth power play, put the puck past Heat goalie Leland Irving for his fourth of the season with 2:15 left in the second period. After not scoring power play goals in back-to-back games until Nov. 6, the Aeros now have man advantage tallies in four straight.
After stopping 23 shots in the first two periods of play, Khudobin was finally beaten by Abbotsford's Logan MacMillan 1:49 into the third. Chris Breen tied it at the 13:33 mark to send the teams to overtime for the second night in a row.
Both Khudobin and Irving made five stops in a lively overtime period, while Irving stopped 3-of-4 in the shootout and Khudobin stopped 2-of-5.
Houston is now unbeaten in regulation in six games (4-0-0-2) and is tied with Milwaukee for third place with a 6-5-1-2 record (15 points) in the West Division.
The Aeros continue their current five-game road trip with games at Peoria Saturday (7:05 p.m.) and Sunday (3:05 p.m.). Follow the action on 1070 KNTH and online at AEROS.COM.
--AEROS--
AEROS STARTERS: Marco Scandella (D), Max Noreau (D), Robbie Earl (F), Warren Peters (F), JM Daoust (F), Anton Khudobin (G)
AEROS SCRATCHES: Peter Zingoni, Brock McBride, Chad Rau, Tyler Cuma
PREGAME NOTES
UPCOMING GAMES
Nov. 9 at Abbotsford, 9:00 p.m. CST
Nov. 13 at Peoria, 7:05 p.m. CST
Nov. 14 at Peoria, 3:05 p.m. CST
CLICK HERE FOR GAMEDAY AUDIO CLIPS
CLICK HERE FOR FULL GAME NOTES
CLICK HERE FOR AHL STATS PACK
OVERVIEW
The Houston Aeros (Minnesota Wild) visit the Abbotsford Heat (Calgary Flames) for a pair of games Monday and Tuesday at Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre. These are the first meetings between the teams this season. The Aeros are unbeaten in regulation in five games (4-0-0-1) and won a season-high four in a row until last night’s 3-2 shootout loss against the Heat. Houston now sits one point behind the third-place Milwaukee Admirals with a 6-5-1-1 record (14 points) in the West Division. Abbotsford (8-6-0-1, 17 points) pulled into a tie with the Hamilton Bulldogs for first place in the North Division with last night’s win.
AEROS AT A GLANCE
RECORD: 6-5-1-1
HOME: 2-3-1-0
ROAD: 4-2-0-1
STREAK: UNBEATEN IN REGULATION IN 5 (4-0-0-1)
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
BUSY KHUDOBIN --- Anton Khudobin has started four of the last five games and is 4-0-0 with a 1.71 GAA and .944 save percentage in those games.
KHUDOBIN AMONG LEAGUE LEADERS --- Anton Khudobin enters Tuesday’s game second in AHL save percentage (.938) and fourth in GAA (1.97).
WELCOME BACK --- Cody Almond returned to the Aeros on Nov. 8 and scored the first goal of the game after appearing in two games with Minnesota…Jamie Fraser returned to the lineup on Nov. 8 after missing four games…Matt Hackett returned between the pipes on Nov. 8 at ABB after serving as backup for four straight games. His last appearance prior to that was Oct. 29 at SAN (29 saves, 5-2 L).
STREAKS --- Robbie Earl has points in two of three (1-1-2) and in five of seven (1-4-5)...Warren Peters has points in three of four (1-3-4)...JM Daoust has points in two (1-2-3).
POWER UP --- The Aeros have scored power play goals in three straight games (4-for-18). The team scored PPG in back-to-back games for the first time this season with Jarod Palmer’s man-advantage tally Nov. 6 at OKC. The Aeros went 1-for-6 vs. the Barons that night after going 1-for-6 vs. Toronto the night before.
MOVIN' ON UP --- The Aeros have already had four players called up to Minnesota (Gillies, Wellman, Kassian, Almond).
SCORE FIRST! --- The Aeros have scored the first goal in six straight games and are 4-1-0-1 is those contests... Houston is 6-1-0-1 when scoring first this season and 0-4-1-0 when allowing the first goal.
SCORE EARLY! --- The Aeros are 6-0-0-1 when leading after 20 minutes and 0-3-0-0 when trailing after the opening period.
HITTIN' THE ROAD --- The Aeros play five in a row away from Toyota Center (one at OKC, two at ABB, two at PEO) from Nov. 5-14. Eight of the team's 10 games after Nov. 5 are on the road. After the first five away, the team plays at home Nov. 17 vs. CHI and then heads back out for games at GR and CHI.
SHOOTIN' --- The Aeros are 6-1-0-1 when being outshot and 0-3-1-0 when outshooting their opponents.
ROSTER MOVES --- C Cody Almond and LW Matt Kassian were reassigned to Houston from Minnesota on Nov. 7…C Rylan Kaip was reassigned to Bakersfield from Houston on Nov. 7…C Rylan Kaip was recalled from Bakersfield (ECHL) on Nov. 5... C Cody Almond was recalled by Minnesota on Nov. 4...LW Colton Gillies was assigned by Minnesota to Houston on Nov. 3...LW Matt Kassian was recalled by Minnesota on Nov. 3...The Aeros signed F Brock McBride to a PTO Oct. 29...F Casey Wellman was recalled by the Minnesota Wild on Oct. 28.
LAST GAME QUICK RECAP
The Houston Aeros scored twice on the power play and goalie Matt Hackett turned away 31 shots in regulation, but it wasn't enough as the Abbotsford Heat overcame a late deficit to edge the Aeros 3-2 in a shootout Monday night at Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre. Gaelan Patterson scored the deciding shootout goal. Abbotsford's Carter Banks forced overtime, scoring with just 34 seconds left in regulation, after the Heat pulled goalie Leland Irving for an extra attacker. The Aeros, who went 2-for-6 on the power play, opened a 2-0 lead on markers by Cody Almond (9:22, first period) and Jean-Michel Daoust (13:22, second period). Jon DiSalvatore and Marco Scandella assisted on each.
BROADCAST INFO
Follow the Aeros all season long on News Talk 1070 KNTH and online at AEROS.COM with Joe O’Donnell providing the play-by-play call. Watch online at www.ahllive.com.
