JAN. 22, 2011: AEROS AT LAKE ERIE MONSTERS (6:30 p.m. CST)
PREVIEW
The Houston Aeros (25-18-1-3, 54 pts.) continue a three-in-three weekend games at Lake Erie (21-19-3-4, 49 pts.) and Toronto (20-18-0-7, 47 pts.). The Aeros have won five of their last six and have points in six straight games (5-0-0-1). Coming off a 3-1 win at home last night over Texas, the Aeros sit one point out of first place in both the West Division and Western Conference. Lake Erie has won five-in-a-row and holds the No. 3 spot in the North Division, six points behind first place Hamilton. They last played on Thursday at Rochester and took a 2-1 OT win.

UPCOMING GAMES
Jan. 23 at Toronto, 4 p.m. CST
Jan. 26 at Syracuse, 6 p.m. CST
Jan. 28 vs. Abbotsford, 7:35 p.m. CST

BROADCAST INFO
Follow the Aeros on News Talk 1070 KNTH and online at AEROS.COM with Joe O’Donnell providing the play-by-play call. Watch every game at www.ahllive.com.

AEROS AT A GLANCE
RECORD………………..25-18-1-3, 54 pts.
STANDING…………..... .......T2 West Div.
HOME…………………………… 13-6-1-1
ROAD……………………………12-12-0-2
STREAK…………..POINTS IN 6 (5-0-0-1)

NHL AFFILIATES
Houston Aeros………….. (Minnesota Wild)
Lake Erie Monsters…(Colorado Avalanche)


AEROS SPECIAL TEAMS
PP: 16.7% (16th)................PK: 84.9% (7th)
PPG: 35...........................................SHG: 4

AEROS LEADERS:
Points……………………………..Earl (30) Goals………………………………Earl (13)
Assists…………………………Noreau (21) PPG…………………………….Almond (7)
SHG……………………………...Gillies (2) PIM………………………….Kassian (100)

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
GAME-NIGHT TIDBITS: HOU’s Max Noreau is T2 in PPG among defensemen (5)…A win tonight puts Houston one game over .500 on the road…LE goalie John Grahame has won six of his last seven starts and has played in five straight…LE is 12-5-2-2 at home and just 9-14-1-2 on the road…LE played seven straight away from home from Jan. 7-16 and went 4-3-0-0; the trip started with a 3-0 loss at Houston.

SERIES NOTES:
ALL-TIME AEROS RECORD: 9-6-0-0 (5-3-0-0 at home, 4-3-0-0 at LE)
SEASON RECORD: 1-2-0-0 (1-1-0-0 at home, 0-1-0-0 at LE)
The Monsters are 19-19-3-4 (45 pts.), good for fourth place in the North Division...The teams have alternated wins this season...HOU’s Matt Hackett made 25 saves for his first pro shutout on Jan. 7...HOU’s PP is 1-for-8 (12.5%) while LE is 1-for-13 (7.7%)...This is the final meeting of the season.

IF YOU ONLY KNEW --- Prior to a 3-2 SOL vs. GR on Jan. 16, the Aeros had won five straight shootouts dating back to Nov. 27 and were 4-0 at home…Houston wrapped up a four-game-in-five-day run on Jan. 16 and posted a 3-0-0-1 record over the stretch…The Aeros are unbeaten in regulation at home (5-0-0-1) since Dec. 26...Jon DiSalvatore’s 31st point this season will be his 400th as a pro. He needs four points to get there…J.M. Daoust needs three games to reach the 400-pro mark…Along with the Chicago Wolves and Lake Erie Monsters, the Aeros have played the most games in the AHL so far this season (47).

NOREAU TO ALL-STAR GAME --- Maxim Noreau has been selected to participate in the 2011 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Capital BlueCross. The game is scheduled for Jan. 31 at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pa. Noreau, 23, will be a member of the 2011 Western Conference All-Star Team. He also represented the Aeros at the 2010 AHL All-Star Classic as a member of Team Canada.

ROAD RAGE --- Houston has won two of their last three road games... The team dropped four-of-five during a five-game road trip from Dec. 12-18 and was outscored 17-10 during that run…The Aeros are 5-for-43 on the power play away from home since Dec. 12.

HOMEBOYS --- Houston has points in six-straight at home dating back to Dec. 26…They have also won 10 of 14 at home dating back to a Nov. 21
victory over Texas. Five of those wins have been decided by one goal; four have been decided by two goals.

TURNSTILE TIDBITS --- Through 21 home games, the Aeros are sixth in the AHL with an average attendance of 6,144…The 10,552 on hand for the Jan. 1 game was the largest crowd for an Aeros contest since Dec. 3, 2009, when 11,291 watched the Aeros and Rampage at Toyota Center.

HEATIN’ UP --- Jon DiSalvatore has points in four straight (3-3-6)…Robbie Earl has points in 11 of his last 13 (5-7-12)…Max Noreau has assists in four straight (0-5-5)…Patrick O’Sullivan has points in three-straight (2-2-4).

AEROS GOALIES --- Anton Khudobin appeared in four games with MIN after being recalled Jan. 8 and posted a 2-1-0 record with a 1.59 goals-against average (GAA), a .942 save percentage (SV%) and one shutout. In three starts he stopped 77-of-81 shots faced for a 1.34 GAA and a .951 SV% and made 32 saves in a 4-0 win vs. Vancouver on Jan. 16 for his first career NHL shutout...Matt Hackett is 3-0-1 in his last four decisions. Hackett backed up Anton Khudobin in Minnesota on Jan. 15.

SCHEDULE NOTES --- The Aeros play 13 games in January with seven of those games at home. Six games this month are against West rivals…The team plays its next three on the road…The travels to Cleveland on Saturday morning, then bus to Toronto after the game.

RECENT ROSTER MOVES --- G Josh Tordjman was loaned to BAK on Jan. 20…G Anton Khudobin was reassigned by MIN on Jan. 20…F Peter Zingoni was released on Jan. 20…F Joel Broda was reassigned to BAK on Jan. 19… C Cody Almond was recalled by MIN on Jan. 17...G David Brown was released from his PTO on Jan. 15…G Matt Hackett was reassigned by MIN on Jan. 15.
 
LAST GAME QUICK RECAP
Jon DiSalvatore and Casey Wellman registered a goal and an assist each while Matt Hackett made 30 saves as the Houston Aeros skated to a 3-1 win over the Texas Stars before 6,309 Friday night at Toyota Center. The win, which was Houston’s sixth in seven games vs. the Stars, moved the Aeros into a second place tie with Oklahoma City Barons in the West Division race.

WHAT THE BIG CLUB’S UP TO
Wednesday's 6-0 victory at Calgary was the Wild's third straight victory. Minnesota has already matched its road win total from all of last season and, halfway through a four-game trip, is pushing to be a part of the top eight in the Western Conference. There are two road games left — at San Jose tonight and at Chicago on Tuesday — before the All-Star break.