JAN. 16, 2011: AEROS VS. GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS
PREVIEW
The Houston Aeros (24-18-1-2) finish a four-game-in-five-day stretch at home against the Grand Rapids Griffins (18-19-1-4). The Aeros also wrap up a three-in-three stretch today. They started the weekend with a 4-3 shootout win Friday night over Chicago at Allstate Arena and then won 2-1 over the Griffins last night. The win, coupled with a San Antonio Rampage loss to the Oklahoma City Barons, pushed the Aeros into a third-place tie in the AHL’s West Division race. The four-game winning streak tied a season-high while the victory was Houston’s fifth-straight home win. The Griffins play the fourth game of five-in-a-row on the road today. They began the road trip at Rockford on Jan. 8, a 6-0 loss, and then rebounded with a 5-2 over the Rampage on Thursday at San Antonio.

UPCOMING GAMES
Jan. 16 vs. Grand Rapids, 4:05 p.m. CST
Jan. 21 vs. Texas, 7:35 p.m. CST
Jan. 22 at Lake Erie, 6:30p.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: 24-18-1-2, 51 pts., T-3rd, West Division
HOME: 12-6-1-0
ROAD: 12-12-0-2
STREAK: WON 4

NHL AFFILIATES
Houston Aeros (Minnesota Wild)
Grand Rapids Griffins (Detroit Red Wings)

AEROS SPECIAL TEAMS
PP: 16.6% (16th)
PK: 85.2% (7th)

AEROS LEADERS:
POINTS: Earl (11-17-28)
GOALS: Earl (11)
ASSISTS: Noreau (19)
PIM: Kassian (100)

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOWVS. GRAND RAPIDS --- All-Time Series 37-31-7-2 (Home 21-11-5-2, Road 16-20-2-0)…Season Series 2-1-0-0 (Home 1-0-0-0, Road 1-1-0-0).

SERIES BASICS --- PP: 5/20 (25.0%)…PK:  13/14 (93.0%)…HOU leader (Noreau/ DiSalvatore 2-4-6)…GR Leaders (Johnson/Pare/Owens 1-2-3).

SERIES NOTABLES: Prior to this weekend, the teams last met Dec. 15 at GR, a 5-2 GR win…The Aeros shut out the Griffins on Nov. 19 at GR. Anton Khudobin made 28 saves for his sixth career goose-egg…The teams meet four total times this season…HOU’s Max Noreau had a pair of goals on Nov. 19…The Aeros set a season-high with three power play goals on Nov. 19.

IF YOU ONLY KNEW --- Last night’s win improved the Aeros to
6-1-0-0 in January…Cody Almond and Carson McMillan each played their  100th pro games at CHI on Jan. 14…Chad Rau played his 100th pro game at SA on Jan. 8…JM Daoust needs five games to reach 400 pro and two points to reach 300…Houston’s Max Noreau is second among AHL defensemen with five PPG…The Aeros are 5-2 in shootouts…Houston has won five straight shootouts…Jon DiSalvatore has three shootout goals, all game-winners…DiSalvatore’s 31st point this season will be his 400th as a pro.

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.

ON THE SHELF --- Casey Wellman returned to the lineup last night after having missed the previous 10 games with a lower body injury.

HOMEBOYS --- Houston has won five-in-a-row at home dating back to Dec. 26…They have also won nine of 12 at home dating back to a Nov. 21 victory over Texas. Five of those wins have been decided by one goal; a trio has been decided by two goals… Houston’s five-game home winning streak from Dec. 26-Jan. 15 is a season-high.

SCORE FIRST! --- Houston leads the AHL in first goals (28) and is
20-6-0-2 when scoring first. Cody Almond leads the club with three first-goals. Five other players have two game-opening tallies.

TURNSTILE TIDBITS --- Through 19 home games, the Aeros are fifth in the AHL with an average attendance of 6,170…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 had points in six straight (2-5-7) prior to last night…He has points in eight of his last 10 games (3-7-10)...Chad Rau has points in five of seven (4-1-5)…J.M. Daoust has two game-winning goals in his last five outings…Jed Ortmeyer has at least a point in four of seven games since joining the team…Matt Hackett has wins in four of his last five decisions… Jon DiSalvatore has points in two straight, the first time he has points in consecutive games since collecting assists in three straight from Dec. 14-17.

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 --- G David Brown was released from his PTO on Jan. 15…G Matt Hackett was reassigned by MIN on Jan. 15…C Patrick O’Sullivan was reassigned by MIN on Jan. 14…D Jarod Spurgeon and G Matt Hackett were recalled my MIN on Jan. 14…D Jarod Spurgeon was reassigned by MIN on Jan. 10…G Anton Khudobin was recalled by MIN on Jan. 8.
 
LAST GAME QUICK RECAP
Jon DiSalvatore had a goal and an assist while Josh Tordjman turned aside 28 shots as the Houston Aeros skated to their fourth-straight win in a 2-1 victory over the Grand Rapids Griffins in front of 9,178 fans Saturday at Toyota Center.