AEROS WIN SEASON-HIGH FIFTH STRAIGHT AT ROCKFORD

HOUSTON --- Patrick O’Sullivan and Nate Prosser each had a goal and an assist and Matt Hackett made 24 saves as the Houston Aeros scored four unanswered goals en route to their fifth-straight win, a season-high, at the Rockford MetroCentre on Wednesday night in a 4-1 victory over the Rockford IceHogs.

The win gave the Aeros their 31st win of the season and propelled theminto sole possession of first place in both the Western Conference and West Division. The Aeros are 13-2-0-1 since Jan. 1.

J.M. Daoust bagged the deciding goal for the Aeros with under a minute left in the second period for his ninth goal of the season.

The Aeros battled back from a 1-0 deficit after Jeff Taffe scored on the power play for the IceHogs at 17:49 of the first.

Prosser evened the score at 17:59 of the second and Daoust followed up at 19:17. Prosser’s goal was his first since Dec. 29 and fifth of the season while Daoust found the net for the ninth time this season.

Carson McMillan sealed the victory with a 6-on-4 short-handed goal, his 10th of the season and third short-handed, with 26 seconds left in the game.

The Aeros visit Peoria on Friday and then play host to the Rivermen 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
Daoust (19:17, 2nd)

POWER PLAYS
HOU: 1.5
RFD: 1/6

GOALIES
HOU: Hackett (24/25 W)
RFD: Richards (27/30, L)

TEAM RECORDS
HOU: 31-19-1-3
RFD: 20-22-2-4

AEROS STARTERS
F: Gillies, Ortmeyer, Peters
D: Bagnall, Fredheim
G: Hackett

AEROS SCRATCHES
Wellman, Kalus, Noreau, Buck

NEXT GAME
Feb. 11 at Peoria; 7:05 p.m.

BOMB DROPPINGS
The Aeros won their fifth consecutive game a season-high... The win was their third-straight on the road, which tied a season-high streak…  All 31 of Houston’s have come when the team allows three or fewer goals… 25 of Houston’s wins have come when they score the first goal. They allowed the first goal for the first time in seven games tonight… Jon DiSalvatore saw his scoring streak snapped at four games. He has points (4-9-13) in nine of his last 11 games and has racked up eight multi-point games this season…  Patrick O’Sullivan has four points (4-2-6) in his last four games. He has three multi-point games in a row and five in 10 games this season… Maxim Noreau was scratched after being banged up at Texas last night…Nate Prosser notched his second multi-point game of the season.