JAN. 12, 2011: AEROS AT ROCKFORD, 6:35 p.m., CST
PREVIEW
The Houston Aeros (21-18-1-2) begin a four-games-in-five-day stretch at Rockford against the West Division rival IceHogs. The Aeros are coming off a 3-1 win over San Antonio on Sunday and hold the No. 6 spot in the West. They sit one point behind both Chicago and Texas and only seven points behind second place Milwaukee. Rockford is at the bottom of the West but has six wins in its last 10 games. They’ve alternated wins and losses in their last four games but drilled Grand Rapids 6-0 in their last outing on Saturday.

UPCOMING GAMES
Jan.  14 at Chicago, 7:30 p.m. CST
Jan. 15 vs. Grand Rapids, 7:35 p.m. CST
Jan. 16 vs. Grand Rapids, 4:05 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: 21-18-1-2, 45 pts., 6th West Division
HOME: 11-6-1-0
ROAD: 10-12-0-2
STREAK: WON 1

NHL AFFILIATES
Houston Aeros (Minnesota Wild)
Rockford IceHogs (Chicago Blackhawks)

AEROS SPECIAL TEAMS
PP: 16.6% (16th)
PK: 84.7% (10th)

AEROS LEADERS:
POINTS: Earl (11-15-26)
GOALS: Earl (11)
ASSISTS: Noreau (16)
PIM: Kassian (96)

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

VS. ROCKFORD --- All-time Series (9-10-2-2, Home: 5-5-1-1, Road: 4-5-2-0)…Season Series: 1-2-0-0 (Home: 1-1-0-0, Road: 0-1-0-0)…Today’s game is the fourth of eight meetings… The teams next meet Feb. 9 at RFD.

SERIES BASICS --- PP: 1/12 (0.8%)…PK:  11/11 (100%)…HOU Leading scorer (Almond, 1-3-4)…RFD leading scorer (Taffe, 0-3-3)

SERIES NOTABLES: The teams split a pair of games at Toyota Center on Dec. 2-3…Jon DiSalvatore had a goal and the shootout winner on Dec. 2…Both teams were scoreless on the power play in the first two games… Two games have been decided by one goal.

TAKE NOTE--- Cody Almond and Carson McMillan each need two games to reach the 100-pro game mark…Chad Rau played his 100th pro game at SA on Jan. 8…JM Daoust needs seven  games to reach 400 pro and two points to reach 300…Houston’s Max Noreau is second among AHL defensemen with five PPG.

ON THE SHELF --- Casey Wellman has missed the last eight games with a lower body injury.

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.

 ROUGH ROAD --- Houston has lost seven of nine away from home dating back to Dec. 12…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 4-for-35 on the power play away from since Dec. 12.

HOMEBOYS --- Houston has won eight of 11 at home dating back to a Nov. 21 victory over Texas. Four of those wins have been decided by one goal; a trio has been decided by two goals.

SCORE FIRST! --- Houston leads the AHL in first goals (25) and is 17-6-0-2 when scoring first. Cody Almond leads the club with three first-goals. Five other players have two game-opening tallies.

 TURNSTILE TIDBITS --- Through 18 home games, the Aeros are seventh in the AHL with an average attendance of 6,003…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 --- Robbie Earl has points in six of his last seven games (3-5-8)...J.M. Daoust has two game-winning goals in his last three outings…Jed Ortmeyer has at least a point in three of four games since joining the team

SCHEDULE NOTES --- The Aeros play 13 games in January with seven of those games at home. Six games this month are against West rivals.

RECENT ROSTER MOVES --- D Jarod Spurgeon was reassigned by MIN on Jan. 10…G Anton Khudobin was recalled by MIN on Jan. 8…D Jamie Fraser was recalled from Elmira on Jan. 8…G Josh Tordjman was recalled from BAK on Jan. 8…G Dave Weninger was released from his PTO on Jan. 8… G Dave Weninger was signed to a PTO on Jan. 7…F Jed Ortmeyer was loaned from MIN on Jan. 5…F Peter Zingoni was returned on loan to BAK on Jan. 5…F Pascal Morency was loaned to BAK on Jan. 4…
 
LAST GAME QUICK RECAP
Matt Hackett turned aside 28 shots, Colton Gillies chipped in with a goal and an assist and J.M. Daoust scored his second game-winner in as many home contests as the Houston Aeros nipped the San Antonio Rampage 3-1 in front of 5,635 fans Sunday at Toyota Center. Daoust broke a 1-1 tie in the third after the teams traded first period tallies. His seventh goal of the season, at 16:13, was a back-door tap-in, capping off tic-tac-toe passing from Chad Rau and Robbie Earl.