AEROS POSTGAME REPORT
O’SULLIVAN SCORES TWICE AS AEROS BEAT STARS 4-1

HOUSTON --- Patrick O’Sullivan scored twice on the power play and goaltender Anton Khudobin turned aside 31 shots as the Houston Aeros cruised to a 4-1 win over the Texas Stars on Friday night at Toyota Center.

The victory was Houston’s third-in-a-row and extended the team’s home points streak to nine games (8-0-0-1), a run that dates back to Dec. 26. The Aeros have won 11 of their last 14 games and climbed back into a first place tie in both the West Division and Western Conference races.

Patrick O’Sullivan broke a scoreless tie at the 6:13 mark of the middle period with a power play goal to give Houston their 34th 1-0 lead of the season. Jon DiSalvatore and Warren Peters assisted, while DiSalvatore notched his 400th pro point.

O’Sullivan struck again with another power play tally at 9:19 of the third. Jarod Palmer made it a 3-0 Houston lead just 38 seconds later, beating Stars goalie Brent Krahn with a blast from the right circle. Krahn, who made 32 saves, saw his first action since Nov. 10. The goal was Palmer’s first since Nov. 21.

Luke Gadzic ruined Khudobin’s shutout bid, sweeping home a backhand shot at 15:06 of the third to put Texas on the board. Houston’s Maxim Noreau provided insurance with an empty-net goal in the final minute.

The Aeros begin a four-game run away from Toyota Center with a return matchup against the Stars at the Cedar Park Center on Tuesday night. From there, they visit Rockford on Wednesday, Peoria on Friday and then play host to Peoria at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Sunday. The team returns home with a kid’s day game on Thursday, Feb. 17, at 11:05 a.m. Call 713-974-7825 (PUCK) for more information on Aeros tickets and other promotions.

DECIDING GOAL
O’Sullivan (9:19, 1st)

POWER PLAYS
HOU: 2/4
TEX: 1/3

GOALIES
HOU: Khudobin (31/32 W)
TEX: Krahn (32/35, L)

TEAM RECORDS
HOU: 29-19-1-3
TEX: 26-16-3-3

AEROS STARTERS
F: Gillies, Ortmeyer, Peters
D: Prosser, Falk
G: Khudobin

AEROS SCRATCHES
Fraser, Wellman, Kalus, Buck

NEXT GAME
Feb. 8 at Texas, 7:30 p.m.

BOMB DROPPINGS
Houston has won seven of eight meetings against the Stars this season including all five at home…Patrick O’Sullivan has scored all five of his goals this season at home. Three have come via the power play…O’Sullivan’s two power play goals gave Houston multiple power play markers in a game for the first time since Dec. 26, a span of 17 games. Overall it was the 10th time the club has notched two or more PPG; the Aeros are 6-2-0-2 when doing so…Max Noreau notched his 10th multi-point game of the season with a goal and an assist…Attendance was announced as 6,277; that’s the number of tickets sold for the game. The icy Houston roads made for more of an intimate gathering; there appeared to be about 3,500 or so in the building. Fans who had tickets to the game but didn’t want to brave the roads can exchange their unused tickets for one of four upcoming games at Toyota Center. Ticket exchanges begin Monday, Feb. 7, at 1 p.m. The only way to exchange tickets is by calling the Aeros ticket office at 713-974-7825.