Ryan StanzelDirector of Communications
Friday, January 13, 2006
713.361.7930 (Direct Line)
Stars 3, Aeros 2 Official Box Score
HOUSTON, Texas – Former Aeros Junior Lessard and Patrick Traverse each scored and Dan Ellis made 24 saves, as the Iowa Stars defeated the Houston Aeros 3-2 at Toyota Center. Krys Barch also scored for the Stars, who are 10-4-0-0 in their last 14 and beat the Aeros for the first time in four tries this season.
Kirby Law scored his league-leading 25th goal, Curtis Murphy also scored and Seamus Kotyk made 32 stops for Houston, which fell for just the second time in its last 12 games.
The Aeros play host to San Antonio on Sunday at 5:05 p.m.
Click here or call 1.866.GO.AEROS to purchase tickets. It's an Aeros Family Day. Beginning at just $59, get four tickets, $20 in Toyota Bucks, four Aeros gifts and free parking! Bring out the whole Family! 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. Kids can also take a shot on goal after the game. It's also Chilly's Birthday! Come on out and get Chilly's autograph and watch Chilly celebrate with a hockey game between Chilly and other Houston area mascots and a youth hockey team.
Just like they did in Thursday’s 6-1 loss to the Aeros, the Stars scored on their first shot of the game, 4:23 into the contest. Former Aero Marius Holtet took a headman pass from Dan Jancevski and skated in on the right wing. Holtet centered a feed to Barch in the low slot, and the winger put the puck by Kotyk.
Kotyk stuffed Holtet’s power move at the left doorstep with 1:39 left in the first, just after an Iowa power play expired.
Lessard, another former Aero, made it 2-0 with 15 seconds remaining in the opening period and the teams 4-on-4. Mathias Tjarnqvist sent a shot on net from the left point, and Lessard tipped the puck between Kotyk’s legs for his team-best 13th goal of the season.
The Aeros continued to have a hard time finding any offensive flow in the second period. Houston was awarded four power plays, yet had just four total shots in the stanza.
Law got Houston within 2-1 with 9:09 gone in the third. He took a pass from Murphy at center ice on the left wing side. Skating into the offensive zone, he dispatched of former Aeros teammate Traverse and headed in on Ellis. He roofed a shot high over the goalie’s glove from close range for his league-leading 25th goal. Law also had 25 in his first season with Houston, and he became the 12th player in team history to score 50 goals with the Aeros.
Law has a team season-high 12-game point streak (11-12=23), three off Brian Wiseman’s franchise record.
Traverse scored his third of the season 3:32 later, sliding a puck in the net off an Aeros defenseman in front of the net. Murphy scored off a shorthanded faceoff with 25 ticks left for the final margin.
Houston finished 0-for-6 on the power play, while Iowa went 0-for-7.
Notes:
Not dressing for the Aeros were Josh Harding, Bill Kinkel, Scott Ferguson, Joel Ward and Andrei Nazarov.
Kotyk lost for the first time in four decisions.
Murphy has a five-game point streak (3-6=9). He has 18 points (3-15=18) in his last 16 games.
Houston entered the game plus-16 in goal margin in the first period – second-best in the AHL – but surrendered two goals tonight.
Houston center Petr Taticek had his nine-game assist streak snapped. It was tied for the second-longest run in the AHL in the last two seasons.
The Aeros fell to 17-4-1-1 at home this season. 
