Ryan Stanzel
Director of Communications
Monday, January 9, 2006
713.361.7930 (Direct Line)

AEROS WEEKLY REPORT

Coming Attractions:

TUE, vs. TOR, 7:05 p.m.
1/2 Price at Center Ice/Young Professionals Night
Buy tickets
It's Half-Price at Center Ice/Young Professionals Night at the Toronto Marlies make their first ever trip to Houston! Log on to www.aeros.com/themenights to order $14 center ice seats! Username is Aeros, password is Tuesday. Or, call 713.974.PUCK to order. You can also add parking for just $5. Special offer not available at the Toyota Center Box Office. The first 3,000 fans will receive a KRBE 2006 calendar!
Houston plays game two of a season-long seven-game homestand. The Marlies, in their first season in the AHL, defeated the Aeros 4-2 at Toronto’s Ricoh Coliseum on November 18 behind a goal and two assists from Johnny Pohl. Toronto has won three in a row to move into fourth place in the North Division with 41 points. The Marlies open up a 10-game road trip with this game.

THU, vs. IOW, 7:05 p.m.
Bring out the Boys Night/Happy Hour
Buy tickets
Get a $28 center ice ticket, $10 in Toyota Bucks and free parking, all for just $30! That’s a $45 value! Ladies – don’t think this package is just for the men! Log on to www.aeros.com/themenights to order! Username is Happy, password is Hour. Or, call 713.974.PUCK to order. Special offer not available at the Toyota Center Box Office.
The Aeros are 2-0-0-0 against the Stars this season, including a 3-2 win at Toyota Center on January 12. The Stars feature 2004-05 Aeros Mike Smith, Patrick Traverse, Junior Lessard and Marius Holtet, in addition to 1999 Aeros Turner Cup champion David Oliver.

FRI, vs. IOW, 7:35 p.m.
Aeros Lucky Rabbits Feet (3K)/Crime Stoppers Night
Buy tickets
Come celebrate Friday the 13th, Aeros style! Also, click here to find out how your ticket order can benefit Crime Stoppers!
The Stars are in fourth place in the West with 38 points, just two behind third-place Omaha but just one ahead of fifth-place Peoria and three up on sixth-place Chicago. Iowa snapped a two-game skid with a 5-1 romp in Chicago on Saturday.

SUN, vs. SAN 5:05 p.m.
Family Day
Buy tickets
The ever popular Family Day returns. Get four tickets, $20 in Toyota Bucks, four Aeros gifts and free parking, all starting at just $59! Log on to www.aeros.com/themenights to order! Username is Family, password is Days. Or, call 713.974.PUCK to order. Special offer not available at the Toyota Center Box Office.
The Aeros are 15-1-1-0 in the last 17 meetings with the Rampage. Houston has also won eight straight home meetings with the Rampage, tied for the longest home winning streak against an opponent. Houston won eight in a row against IHL San Antonio from April 11, 1997-March 20, 1998. The Aeros’ 11-0-1-0 home run versus San Antonio is the best in team history against a team. The Rampage enters this week last in the West Division at 11-24-1-1. San Antonio is winless in its last seven games (0-6-1-0), one off its season-high.

All Aeros games are broadcast live on KNTH 1070-AM and through aeros.com. For $6, you can also watch the game live via B2 Networks. Visit aeros.com 10 minutes prior to gametime to order.

Notables –

The Aeros had won 27 straight games when scoring five goals or more and they were unbeaten at 47-0-1-0 in that situation before allowing five PPG in a 6-5 loss to Grand Rapids on Friday. Houston hadn't failed to win since a 5-5 tie against Utah on March 23, 2004, and the Aeros hadn't lost when scoring five goals since a 6-5 defeat at the hands of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on December 6, 2002, more than three years ago.

Friday marked the first time the Aeros failed to hold a three or more goal lead since they saw a 4-0 lead evaporate in a 5-4 loss in Syracuse on November 28, 2003. Houston scored four goals in the opening 10:31.

Aeros RW Kirby Law ranks third in the AHL with 49 points (22-27=49), already matching his total from the 2004-05 season, his first in Houston. Law enters this week with 199 professional goals in 580 NHL, AHL and IHL games. Law leads the AHL with 22 goals, just 10 shy of his career-best total of 32, set in 2003-04, when he ranked fifth in the league. The durable winger has played in 138 consecutive AHL games – 117 with Houston. Law is three goals shy of becoming the 12th player in team history with 50 goals, and two points from being the 23rd to reach 100. Law rides a nine-game point streak (8-8=16) into play this week, two off C Erik Westrum's team season-high.

Houston C Petr Taticek extended his point and assist streaks to a career-high seven games (3-8=11) on Friday. Taticek has career highs in goals (nine) and points (23) in only 30 games, while his 14 assists are one off his 2003-04 and 2004-05 totals in San Antonio. Taticek's assist streak is the longest by an Aero this season, and is just one off the AHL season-high.

The Aeros allowed five PPG in the third period of Friday's 6-5 home loss to Grand Rapids. Houston had allowed five goals of any kind in a period at home just once in team history, in the first period of a 7-3 loss to Hartford December 8, 2001. The five power play goals in the game itself were a team record against the Aeros at home. They’d twice allowed four power play goals in a game. Houston had allowed just 12 PPG at home in its first 19 games before surrendering five in the final 20 minutes alone Friday.

Aeros veteran C Rem Murray has a season-best four-game point streak (2-3=5).

Friday's loss to Grand Rapids snapped Houston's eight-game winning streak, and its seven-game home winning streak. Houston has still won 12 of 14 at home and is 15-3-1-1 at Toyota Center this season, 21-3-1-3 in the last 28 regular-season games there and 29-5-1-3 in the last 38.

The Aeros are 12-0-0-0 when scoring a goal in the first two minutes of a period, and also 12-0-0-0 when scoring a goal in the final two minutes of a stanza.

Houston has welcomed 34,870 fans to Toyota Center in the last six games for an average of 5,811. Each of those crowds has topped the 5,000-fan mark, including a season-high 7,271 on December 28 against Iowa. The run has pushed the Aeros to an average of 5,003 through their first 20 games, ranking them 12th in the AHL. The Aeros are one game into a season-best seven-game homestand.

Aeros D Curtis Murphy has 12 points (1-11=12) over his last 13 games. He ranks fourth in the AHL in defenseman scoring with 29 points (4-25=29).

Player of the Week C Patrick O’Sullivan
1/5 at SAN 3-0=3, +1
1/6 vs. GR 0-2=2, +1
Totals – 2gp, 3-2=5, +2
Totaled five points (3-2=5) as Aeros split two games last week...Tallied hat trick, including two PPG and team-best fifth GWG, in 5-3 win over San Antonio on Thursday...Assisted on a pair of goals in Friday's 6-5 loss to Grand Rapids...Tied for AHL rookie scoring lead with 37 points (19-18=37)...Point total ranked 13th among all AHL players...Tied for AHL rookie lead with teammate Roman Voloshenko with 19 goals, a total that places him tied for sixth overall in the league.

Aeros’ win streak snapped at eight
HOU 5, SAN 3; GR 6, HOU 5

Houston saw its season-long eight-game winning streak snapped Friday, but the Aeros still hit this week at 26-9-1-1, good for 54 points. Houston leads the West Division by five points over Milwaukee. Both teams have played 37 games. The Aeros are one of four teams in single digits in regulation losses.
Thursday: Twenty-year-old Patrick O’Sullivan notched his second hat trick, Rem Murray and Kirby Law scored a goal apiece and Josh Harding had 36 saves and a career-best two assists for his league-leading 20th victory, as the Houston Aeros defeated the San Antonio Rampage 5-3 at SBC Center for their eighth straight victory. Matt Foy added two assists for the Aeros.
Friday: Jiri Hudler scored two of Grand Rapids’ remarkable five third-period power play goals, and Valterri Filpulla won it with a man advantage goal with 2:17 left, as the Griffins rallied from a three-goal deficit for an improbable 6-5 victory to snap the Houston Aeros’ eight-game winning streak. Hudler added two assists, Bryan Helmer had a goal and a helper, Tomas Kopecky scored and Darryl Bootland tallied the only non power-play goal for the Griffins. Jimmy Howard made 31 saves for Grand Rapids, which has come back to win from a multiple-goal deficit a whopping seven times.
Rem Murray, Curtis Murphy, Petr Taticek and Matt Foy each had a goal and an assist for Houston, which had won seven in a row at home to come within one victory of a franchise record. Peter Olvecky added a goal and Josh Harding finished with 32 saves for the Aeros.

Aeros’ Practice schedule:
Monday, 10-11:30 a.m., Sugar Land
Tuesday – 10-11 a.m., pre-game skate, vs. TOR 7:05 p.m.
Wednesday – 1-2 p.m., Sugar Land
Thursday – 10-11 a.m., pre-game skate, vs. IOW 7:05 p.m.
Friday – 10-11 a.m., pre-game skate, vs. IOW 7:35 p.m.
Saturday – TBA
Sunday – vs. SAN 7:05 p.m.
Aeros non game-day practices are at Sugar Land Ice & Sports Center, the Official Training Facility of the Houston Aeros.


---HOUSTON AEROS, BE A FAN---