HOUSTON – The 2003 Calder Cup Champion Houston Aeros set or tied several team and league records on their way to the American Hockey League championship.



In the playoffs, Houston played in the longest Calder Cup playoff game in the 67-year history of the AHL. In Game Two of the Calder Cup Finals in Hamilton, the teams battled for 134:56 minutes, before the Bulldogs prevailed with a 2-1 win. The puck dropped at 7:10 Eastern time on Friday, May 30 and did not end until 1:04 AM Saturday, May 31. Michael Ryder finally scored for the Bulldogs at 14:56 of the fourth overtime (and seventh overall period) to give Hamilton the win. Johan Holmqvist and Ty Conklin were outstanding, turning aside a combined 162 of 165 shots.



Houston and Hamilton set another AHL record in Game Seven when 17, 438 fans filled Copps Coliseum. It was the largest crowd to ever watch an AHL playoff game. The Aeros also set AHL and team records for most one-goal games played (15) and one-goal victories (10).



On the individual front, Aeros’ goalie Johan Holmqvist earned the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the most valuable player of the 2003 Calder Cup Playoffs and wrote his name in the record book along the way. Holmqvist tied the AHL playoff record for wins (15) and appearances (23) in a single post-season. He set a new record for most minutes played in one playoffs (1,498). He posted the first road shutout ever in a Calder Cup Final Game Seven and third Game Seven shutout overall. He is the 10th goaltender to earn playoff MVP honors.



From the team record book, Houston played more games (23) than in any other playoff season and posted more wins (15). They also played more overtime games (six) than in any other playoff season. The old high was four in 1998-99, but all of those were decided in one overtime period. This season, Houston played three multiple overtime games.



Individually, Johan Holmqvist now ranks second in all-time games played for a goaltender for Houston (23 games) and second in playoff wins (15), both single season records for Houston. Curtis Murphy and Stephane Veilleux have moved into fifth place on the Aeros all-time games played list with 37 playoff games. Kyle Wanvig tied the team record with four game-winning goals in the playoffs and became the first Aero to collect all the game-winning goals in one series (three vs. Milwaukee).



In the regular season, the Aeros opened the season with a team-best eight game-winning streak and tied a team record with 13-game unbeaten streak (11-0-2).