MARCH 26, 2011
HOUSTON AEROS – 2nd, West Division (42-26-1-5, 90 pts.)
vs. OKC BARONS – 4th, West Division (36-27-2-8, 82 pts.)
TOYOTA CENTER (7:35 p.m. CST)

OVERVIEW
The Houston Aeros and OKC Barons continue a three-game set at Toyota Center on Saturday at 7:35 p.m. The Aeros beat the Barons 4-1 on Friday and have won five of their last six games. 

LAST FIVE GAMES/LAST RESULT
Houston (4-1-0-0) --- March 25 (HOU 4 vs. OKC 1)
OKC (2-2-0-1) --- March 25 (OKC 1 at HOU 4)

WHERE THEY STAND
The Aeros, with 90 points, are one point out of first place in the West Division behind the Milwaukee Admirals. OKC holds the No. 4 spot in the West Division and enters Saturday four points out of third place behind Texas.

WHAT THE GAME MEANS
An Aeros win coupled with a Milwaukee regulation loss at RFD would give the Aeros sole possession of first place. If the Barons win and Texas loses at home vs. GR the Barons would climb within two points of the Stars.
 
SERIES NOTES
Houston is 6-1-0-0 vs. the Barons this season (1-1-0-0 at home, 4-0-0-0 on the road)…  HOU has won the last four meetings… HOU has scored the first goal in five of the seven games… HOU is 8/37 on the PP while OKC is 7/40.

BARONS PRE-SCOUT
OKC is nearing the end of nine-straight away from home (2-2-0-3)… Alexandre Giroux is tied for second in the AHL with 68 points and tied for fourth in goals with 30…  Colin McDonald is tied for second in the league in goals with 32.

AEROS LAST GAME QUICK RECAP
Jon DiSalvatore scored twice, Casey Wellman had a goal and two assists while Chad Rau and Kris Fredheim each notched a pair of helpers as the Houston Aeros won for the fifth time in the last six games with a 4-1 victory over the Oklahoma City Barons in front of 6,313 fans on Friday night at Toyota Center.

NHL AFFILIATES
Houston Aeros (Minnesota Wild)
OKC Barons (Edmonton Oilers)

WILD UPDATE
The Wild is 35-31-8 and is 11th in the NHL’s Western Conference with 78 points. They sit nine points out of a playoff spot with eight games remaining.

AEROS UPCOMING GAMES
March 27 vs. OKC, 4:05 p.m.
March 31 vs. CHI, 7 p.m.
April 1 at MIL, 7 p.m.

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 NOTABLES
--- The 5-1 win over SA on March 19 gave the Aeros 40 wins in a season for the 10th time as a franchise.
--- Houston is 32-18-1-1 vs. West Division teams (17-8-1-0 at home).
--- This weekend’s games mark the fifth three-in-three set home in franchise history, and the first versus one team.
--- Last season’s the Aeros had a home three-in-three from Feb. 12-14 (2X vs. GR, 1X vs. CHI).
--- Jon DiSalvatore leads the team with 14 multi-point games and six multi-goal games.
--- The first home three-in-three occurred Dec. 7-9, 2001, when the Aeros played Hartford twice and Manitoba once.
--- The Aeros are 7-6 in these games, with two OT wins.
--- This is the first time the Aeros have hosted one team for a three-in-three.
--- Houston’s recent four-game winning streak was the longest since a six-game run from Jan. 26-Feb. 11.
--- Opponents have scored the first goal in 10 of the last 12 games.
--- The three-goal first period by the Aeros on March 25 matched a season-high in the opening period set three other times, most recently March 2 versus Rockford.
--- The Aeros have had 30 or more shots in 15 of the last 18 games.
--- The Aeros are 23-9-0-3 since Jan. 1.
--- All 42 of Houston’s wins have come when the team allows three or fewer goals.
--- The Aeros have earned 30 of their 42 victories when scoring the first goal of the game.

AEROS GOALIES
Matt Hackett is 4-0-1 in his last five decisions…  Hackett won a personal season-high four in a row from March 13-20…  Hackett improved to 11-4-2 at home with the March 25 win vs. OKC and has won four in a row at Toyota Center… Josh Tordjman is 3-1-0 in five appearances this season.

AEROS HOT STREAKS
--- Patrick O’Sullivan; Points in 14 of 17 games (9-15-24)... 23 of 29 as an Aero this season (17-21-38)… Points in four straight (4-2-6) until March 22.
--- Jon DiSalvatore; 18-17-35 since Jan. 14 (points in 24 of 31)

AEROS INJURY UPDATE
Jamie Fraser is out with an upper body injury… Matt Kassian is out with a lower body injury… Tyler Cuma is out for the season with a knee injury suffered Feb. 13, 2011 vs. PEO.

AEROS SPECIAL TEAMS
POWER PLAY --- Is 3/16 in the last three games… Has multiple PPG in 13 games and is 9-2-0-2 in those games… Set franchise record and AHL season-high with six PPG on March 2 vs. RFD… Was held to one or no PPG in 15 straight games prior to Feb. 4 (2-for-4).

PENALTY KILL --- Opponents are 3/14 on the PP in the last five games… Held opponents to one or no PPG in 15 straight games until TOR went 2-for-5 on Jan. 23…Has allowed multiple PPG in nine games and is 2-7-0-0 in those contests.

AEROS RECENT ROSTER MOVES
F Warren Peters was reassigned by MIN on March 25… D Nate Prosser was recalled by MIN on March 19… F Joel Broda was reassigned to BAK on March 18… F Chris Lawrence was released from his PTO on March 14… F Scott Campbell was signed to an ATO on March 14… F Casey Wellman was reassigned by MIN on March 10… D Marco Scandella was recalled by MIN on March 9… F Casey Wellman was recalled by MIN on March 9.

AEROS PRONUNCIATION GUIDE
6 - scan-DELL-uh
14 – deh-SAL-vuh-tohr
20 – ROWH (like now)
22 – ORT-migh-uhr
26 – Max-uhm naw-roh
32 – FRED-haym
42 – KAS-ee-uhn
61 – KOO-muh
62 – DAH-ooh
Yeo – YOH
Sydor – sugh-DOHR
Tretiak – TREE-tee-ack