FEB. 8, 2011: AEROS AT TEXAS STARS (7:30 p.m. CST)
OVERVIEW
The Houston Aeros (29-19-1-3) start a run of four straight games away from Toyota Center with a West Division matchup against the Texas Stars (27-16-3-3). The Aeros have won three straight games and are coming of a 4-1 win over Texas on Friday while the Stars shut out Oklahoma City on Saturday in Cedar Park. Both teams are in the thick of the West Division and Western Conference races. Houston enters tonight tied for second in the both the Division and Conference with 62 points. The Aeros have won eight of their last 10 games, 11 of 14 overall and have played the second-most games in the Division. Texas sits four points out of first place and two points behind the Aeros.
AEROS UPCOMING GAMES
Feb. 9 at Rockford, 6:35 p.m. CST
Feb. 11 at Peoria, 7:05 p.m. CST
Feb 13 vs. Peoria (at Minnesota), 1 p.m. CST
Feb. 17 vs. Chicago, 11:05 p.m.
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
STANDING………………………….....T2/West Div.
RECORD…………………………..29-19-1-2, 60 pts.
HOME……………………………………….15-6-1-1
ROAD………………………………………14-13-0-2
STREAK……………………………………...WON 3
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
· The Aeros are going for their fourth consecutive win tonight.
· Since Dec. 26, the Aeros are 8-0-0-1 at home. That’s the second -longest home point streak in the AHL this season. Portland had the longest (10 games, Oct. 9-Nov. 20).
· Aeros Captain Jon DiSalvatore collected his 400th pro point on Friday.
· The Aeros won 10 games in the month of January, one win shy of a team record for victories in one month (10 games played or more).
· The Aeros have won four of their last five on the road.
AEROS SPECIAL TEAMS
PP: 17.2% (16th)…………………..PK: 84.5% (10th)
PPG: 40………………………………………SHG: 4
NHL AFFILIATES
Houston Aeros……………………….Minnesota Wild
Texas Stars……………………………….Dallas Stars
AEROS LEADERS
Points…………………………………...........Earl (33)
Goals………………………………………...Earl (16)
Assists……………………………………Noreau (24)
PPG…………………………………Almond/Earl (6)
PP-Pts…………………………………….Noreau (18)
SHG…………………………………….McMillan (2)
SH-Pts……………………………..........McMillan (3)
PIM.....………………………….............Kassian (107)
VS TEXAS STARS
ALL-TIME AEROS RECORD: 11-8-1-0 (7-4-0-0 at home, 4-4-1-0 at Texas)
SEASON RECORD: 7-1-0-0 (5-0-0-0 at home, 2-1-0-0 at Texas)
SERIES NOTES: The Aeros have earned 15 of a possible 16 points vs. the Stars this season... Houston has won two of the last four games in extra time. Cody Almond had the winners in both games; a 4-3 OTW at TEX on Dec. 4 and a 4-3 SOW at home on Dec. 26...The teams play 12 total times this season and meet again on Feb. 25 at HOU. Anton Khudobin is 5-0-0 in five appearances vs. the Stars with a 2.27 GAA and .926 SV%... Jon DiSalvatore has scored five of his 11 goals vs. TEX… Warren Peters has four of his 10 goals vs. the Stars.
PP: 10/35 (28.6%)……………………………………………………PK: 29/36 (81.6%)
ABOUT THE STARS: Texas entered the weekend with the lowest penalty minute average (11.7) in the AHL… Texas has been busy on the transaction wire; they’ve recorded eight moves involving seven different players since Feb. 2…The Stars received two of their top scorers, Travis Morin (1) and Colton Sceviour (3), on loan from Dallas on Monday.
AEROS TIDBITS
· Houston tied a season-long three-game road winning streak on Jan. 22 at LE; the streak was snapped on Jan. 23 at TOR. They have won four of their last six on the road.
· Robbie Earl has scored 10 of his 16 goals on the road.
· Max Noreau leads the Aeros with nine multi-point games.
· Houston’s 52 games played is among the most in the AHL behind only Lake Erie (55), Chicago (54) and OKC (53).
· Tonight is Houston’s 30th road game; only Toronto has played more (31).
JANUARY JUGGERNAUT --- The Aeros had an impressive month of January by recording a 10-2-0-1 record and moving into position to challenge for the top spot in the Western Conference. Here’s a rundown of nuggets from January…
· Jan. 2011 was the sixth time in franchise history the team has recorded 10 or more wins in a month.
· The last time was Jan.2003 (11-2-3-0).
· The franchise has recorded 10 wins or more in a month in four other seasons (1997-98, 1998-99, 2000-01, 2002-03).
· In the 1997-98 and 00-01 seasons the team lost in the 1st round of playoffs.
· In the 1998-99 and 2002-03 seasons the team went on to win championships.
· The Aeros have never finished season lower than 2nd in division when recording 10 or more wins in one month
· Houston’s .808 win % in Jan. 2011 is tied for the 4th highest in franchise history for best winning % in a month (when playing 10 or more games).
HOMEBOYS --- Houston has points in nine consecutive home games dating back to Dec. 26…They have also won 12 of 16 at home dating back to a Nov. 21 victory over Texas. Six of those wins have been decided by one goal; four have been decided by two goals.
STREAKS --- The Aeros have PPG in five of the last six games… Jon DiSalvatore has points in three straight and in eight of nine games (4-6-10)…Patrick O’Sullivan has goals in two straight (3-0-3)… Robbie Earl has goals in four of his last seven games (5) and points in 13 of his last 17 (8-7-15)… Jarod Palmer has points in two straight (1-1-2)…Chad Rau has assists (4) in three straight games and had the SO GWG on Jan. 28… Warren Peters has points in four of his last five games (2-2-4)…Max Noreau has points in two straight (1-3-4)….
AEROS GOALIES --- Anton Khudobin is 16-9-1 with a 2.54 GAA and .911 SV%. Khudobin has won five of his last six starts. With the Jan. 28 SO win over ABB, Khudobin is now 5-1 in shootouts. He has won four straight shootout decisions and six-straight extra time decisions. In addition Khudobin is 4-0 at home in the extra-extra and 7-2 overall in extra time games including overtime decisions… Matt Hackett is 11-11-2 with a 2.47 GAA and .913 SV%. He is 3-1-1 in his last five decisions.
TURNSTILE TIDBITS --- Through 23 home games, the Aeros are sixth in the AHL with an average attendance of 6,137… 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.
RECENT ROSTER MOVES --- F Cody Almond was reassigned by MIN on Jan. 26… G Josh Tordjman was loaned to BAK on Jan. 20… G Anton Khudobin was reassigned by MIN on Jan. 20.
LAST GAME QUICK RECAP --- Patrick O’Sullivan scored twice on the power play and goaltender Anton Khudobin turned aside 31 shots as the Houston Aeros cruised to a 4-1 win over the Texas Stars on Friday night at Toyota Center. The victory was Houston’s third-in-a-row and extended the team’s home points streak to nine games (8-0-0-1), a run that dates back to Dec. 26. O’Sullivan broke a scoreless tie at the 6:13 mark of the middle period with a power play goal to give Houston their 34th 1-0 lead of the season. Jon DiSalvatore and Warren Peters assisted, while DiSalvatore notched his 400th pro point.
