DEC. 18, 2010: AEROS AT MOOSE
OVERVIEW
The Houston Aeros (16-13-1-2) visit the Manitoba Moose (14-10-0-4) for the second of two in a row at the MTS Centre. The Aeros are coming off a 5-3 loss to the Moose last night and have dropped two in a row. Tonight’s game is the fifth of five in a row on the road for Houston; they are 1-3-0-0 on the current road trip. The Aeros hold the No. 5 spot in a tight West Division race. Division-leading San Antonio has a six-point lead over the Aeros, while fourth place Oklahoma City and Texas are both just one point ahead of Houston. Manitoba has points in three straight (2-0-0-1). Tonight’s game is the second of six in a row at home for the Moose, who are tied for fourth place in an equally tight North Division race. They are six points off the Division lead held by Hamilton.
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UPCOMING GAMES
Dec. 17 at Manitoba 7:30 p.m. CST News Talk 1070 KNTH/AHLLIVE.COM
Dec. 18 at Manitoba 7:30 p.m. CST News Talk 1070 KNTH/AHLLIVE.COM
Dec. 21 vs. Hamilton 7:05 p.m. CST News Talk 1070 KNTH/AHLLIVE.COM
AEROS AT A GLANCE
RECORD: 16-13-1-2, 35 pts., 4th, West Division
HOME: 7-5-1-0
ROAD: 9-8-0-2
STREAK: LOST 2
NHL AFFILIATES
Houston Aeros (Minnesota Wild)
Manitoba Moose (Vancouver Canucks)
SPECIAL TEAMS
Power Play: 17.0%, 17th
Penalty Kill: 84.6%, 8th
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER --- The Aeros are 9-5-0-1 in games after a win this season…In games after a loss they are 6-5-1-0…In the second game of back-to-back outings they are 8-7-0-1…In the third game of a 3-in-3 they are 3-2-0-0.
SCORE FIRST! --- The Aeros had scored the first goal in eight consecutive games (Nov. 26-Dec. 12, 5-3-0-0) until HAM drew first blood on Dec. 14. Houston leads the AHL in first goals (21) and is 15-4-0-2 when scoring first. The Aeros scored the first goal in seven straight games (Oct. 29-Nov. 8) and were 4-1-0-2 in that span.
UPDATE THE RECORD BOOK --- Casey Wellman became just the third player in Aeros history to record four goals in a game and the first to bag a natural hat trick in the opening 20 minutes in Houston’s 5-3 win over San Antonio on Dec. 10. Wellman joins Dave Hymovitz (March 24, 200 at KC) and Roman Voloshenko (Oct. 21, 2005 vs. GR) in the select group…Chad Rau, who assisted on all three first period markers, tied a franchise-high watermark with the feat.
NORTHBOUND --- The Aeros are 3-4-0-2 vs. North Division teams this season. The Aeros play six in a row vs. the North from Dec. 12-21. The current stretch is the longest the team plays non-West Division rivals. The Aeros play four non-West games Jan. 22-28.
WHEN IT’S CLOSE --- The Aeros are 7-3-1-2 in games decided by one goal.
HEATIN’ UP --- Robbie Earl had points in a team season-high seven straight games (5-5-10) before being held scoreless on Wednesday…Casey Wellman has points in six of eight games (4-5-9).
FOUR-SCORE --- When scoring at least four goals the Aeros are undefeated (10-0-0-0). Houston has yet to win a game when allowing four or more goals (0-8-0-0) and is 0-6-0-0 on the road when doing so.
STINGY D ON THE ROAD ---The Dec. 14 game at HAM game marked the seventh time Houston has held an opponent to one goal or less (6-0-1-0) and the fifth time on the road (5-0-0-0).
SHOOTIN' --- The Aeros are 11-6-0-2 when being outshot and 5-6-1-0 when outshooting their opponents. The Nov. 14 win at PEO was the first time this season the Aeros out shot an opponent and won.
SCHEDULE NOTES --- Nine of the final 12 games of 2010 are on the road…A total of 18 of Houston’s final 27 games in the calendar year of 2010 are away from Toyota Center…The team plays five games in seven days from Dec. 12-18.
MOVIN' ON UP --- The Aeros have had 12 call-ups to Minnesota (Gillies, Wellman, Kassian-3x, Almond-2x, Scandella, Earl, Falk, Spurgeon, Peters).
RECENT ROSTER MOVES --- F Brock McBride was released from his PTO on Dec. 16…F Warren Peters was reassigned by MIN on Dec. 13…F Warren Peters was recalled by MIN on Dec. 11…Jamie Fraser was reassigned to Elmira (ECHL) on Dec. 10.
LAST GAME QUICK RECAP
Cody Almond scored twice for the Houston Aeros but the Manitoba Moose rallied for four unanswered goals in a 5-3 win Friday night at the MTS Centre. Brandon Buck also scored for the Aeros, who fell to 1-3-0-0 on their current five-game road trip.
