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Aeros Clinch Playoff Berth

March 17, 2003 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Houston Aeros News Release


The Houston Aeros clinched a berth in the 2003 Calder Cup Playoffs with Saturday's 4-2 victory over the Milwaukee Admirals. Houston needs eight points to secure a first place finish in the West Division. If the playoffs started today, the Aeros would be seeded second in the Western Conference behind Grand Rapids and would host the winner of a Qualifying Round match-up. The Aeros have nine games remaining in the regular season. The next five are on the road before the team finishes with four straight at home.

THE WEEK THAT WAS:

MARCH 11: The San Antonio Rampage defeated the Aeros 7-4 in a wild game that saw five goals scored in a 10-minute stretch of the first period on Tuesday. Houston scored first when Mark Cullen tallied a 5-on-3 power play goal at 5:41 of the first period. San Antonio tied the game on a power play goal of their own, less than three minutes later. At 11:48, the Rampage took the lead with an even-strength goal. One minute and one second after that, Tony Tuzzolino scored for Houston. Then San Antonio scored again to take a 3-2 lead into the first intermission. San Antonio scored a power play goal just six seconds into the second period. The Rampage stretched the lead to three with a goal at 6:52 of the second. Late in the second, Rastislav Pavlikovsky scored Houston's second 5-on-3 power play goal of the night. The Aeros came within one when Jean-Guy Trudel collected a shorthanded goal 1:15 into the third, but then San Antonio collected two more goals to cap the win.

MARCH 13: Thursday night at Compaq Center, the Houston Aeros suffered a heart-breaking loss at the hands of Grand Rapids and their netminder, Marc LaMothe. The goaltender kicked out 52 of 53 shots, while the Griffins managed only 14 shots on goal, yet won the game 2-1. The Aeros scored in the first period on David Cullen's second goal of the season and no one else scored until Stacy Roest's power play goal early in the third tied the game. The game winner by Jason Williams was tallied with one minute left in the contest. The game marked the second time in four games that Houston managed more than 50 shots on goal. They set a team record and AHL season high with 59 shots on goal against San Antonio on Sunday, March 9. Houston has managed just one goal against Grand Rapids in the last nine periods of play in the series.

MARCH 15: The Aeros defeated the Milwaukee Admirals 4-2 on Saturday to clinch a playoff berth. Domenic Pittis scored for the Admirals midway through the first period before Jay Henderson tied the game for Houston six minutes later. The Aeros took a 2-1 lead before the end of the first period when Tony Tuzzolino scored a minute after Henderson's goal. Houston scored a power play goal by Rickard Wallin in the second period to stretch the lead. Domenic Pittis' second goal of the night, late in the third period, made the finish interesting but the Aeros iced the game with an empty net goal scored by Travis Roche. The Aeros won the series season with a 5-4-1 record against Milwaukee.

MAKING MY POINT: Aeros leading scorer LW Jean-Guy Trudel has collected 1-3-4 in his last three games after scoring only two points in his previous 11 games. He has a long way to go to equal the longest Aeros point streak of the season. LW Rastislav Pavlikovsky scored in eight straight games (6g-5a) before being stopped by Grand Rapids on Thursday. "Pavvy" has 27 points in 37 games for the Aeros this season as he's fought an injury bug. Meanwhile, D Curtis Murphy has points in five of his last six games (1g-4a). The return of LW Hnat Domenichelli was productive, as he tallied an assist in each of his first two games back after missing eight with an injury. "Dom" now has points in nine of the last 11 games in which he has played, and in 12 of his last 15 games (8g-9a).

SWEET START: G Johan Holmqvist joined the Aeros in a deadline day trade and has made a strong impression in two starts. In his first game, Holmqvist often was a spectator as his teammates fired 53 shots at Griffins goaltender Marc Lamothe. Unfortunately for Houston, Lamothe imitated a brick wall and the Griffins won 2-1. On Saturday, Holmqvist turned aside 31 of 33 shots to help the Aeros record a 4-2 victory over Milwaukee. The 24-year-old netminder is tied for 19th in the AHL with a 2.61 GAA.

THE LEADERS: Several Houston Aeros are among AHL leaders. Houston's top scorer, LW Jean-Guy Trudel is tied for third in the league in scoring with 72 points and assists (46). Curtis Murphy leads AHL defensemen with 21 goals and is tied for first in points with 48 points (21g-27a). D Travis Roche is tied for 9th place (12g-28a-40p), and Mark Cullen is tied for 16th in scoring (17g-22a-39p) among AHL rookies. G Derek Gustafson is tied for fourth in the league with 22 wins and Johan Holmqvist is tied for 19th in GAA at 2.61 after allowing only four goals in two starts with Houston.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS: 3/11 - D Lawrence Nycholat recalled by Minnesota and traded to NY Rangers, G Johan Holmqvist assigned by Minnesota after being received in trade from NY Rangers; 3/12 - G Peter-Emmanuel Brady released from PTO.

NEWS AND NOTES:

* LW Jean-Guy Trudel has 1-3-4 in his past three games;

* LW Hnat Domenichelli collected two assists in his first two games back in the line-up after missing eight with an injury;

* D David Cullen scored his second goal of the season on Thursday to go with his 23 assists;

* Rastislav Pavlikovsky had an eight-game point streak (6-5-11) snapped Thursday night;

* D Curtis Murphy has points in five of six games (1-4-5);

* C Rickard Wallin has 1-3-4 in his past four games;

* LW Jay Henderson scored his first goal on Saturday since collecting three in his first two games in an Aeros uniform;

* The Aeros PP scored once on 14 chances in the past two games. For the season, its 76-457/16.6% ranked 14th;

* The Aeros PK stopped Milwaukee on only three chances and is now 323-386 (63)/83.7% and rated 15th;

A BANNER NIGHT FOR CHARITY: The Houston Aeros were involved in two events Saturday that raised $85,000. The Houston Aeros Charities staged their annual "Jerseys Off Their Backs" event. Twenty lucky fans who purchased scratch-off tickets, sponsored by Kroger and Coca-Cola, took special western-themed jerseys right off the backs of Aeros players following the game. "Jerseys Off Their Backs" raised $45,000 for Muscular Dystrophy Association and HAC. Meanwhile, during the second intermission, the second annual "Kiss A Pig" contest to raise funds in the fight against Diabetes was staged. Area business leaders and Aeros defenseman Travis Roche competed for the honor of kissing a pig. The event raised $40,000 total and Roche placed second with $10,000 raised, thanks in part to a contribution by Aeros owner Chuck Watson and his family. If that wasn't enough, on Tuesday, the Aeros players will switch roles. They'll hang up the skates and don aprons for the 5th Annual Celebrity Waiter fundraiser and auction. Players will wait on guests to raise funds for HAC and T-CARE.

WILD WATCH: The Minnesota Wild are in seventh place in the Western Conference standings with a record of 36-25-9-1, 82 points. The Wild have a busy week playing four games, the first three on the road. On Monday, they play in Tampa Bay and then visit Florida on Wednesday. Friday night, Minnesota visits the Dallas Stars before returning home to host Detroit on Sunday.

ICEGATORS REPORT: Louisiana currently ranks second in the Southwest Division with a record of 35-19-11 for 81 points in 65 games. They have already clinched a berth in the Kelly Cup playoffs. The IceGators play three times this week. On Wednesday, they play at the Jackson Bandits before hosting Jackson on Friday. The Mississippi SeaWolves visit on Saturday.

UPCOMING GAMES

THURSDAY 3/20 AT SAN ANTONIO

The Aeros make their final visit to the SBC Center for the 2002-03 season. San Antonio still has two games left in Houston, April 2 & 4.

SUNDAY 3/23 AT GRAND RAPIDS

Houston makes its final visit to Grand Rapids. The last game between the Western Conference leaders is the final game for both teams, Saturday April 5.

WEDNESDAY 3/26 AT CHICAGO

The Aeros visit the Chicago Wolves for the 10th and final time. Six of the nine games played so far have gone into overtime with Houston posting 2 wins, 3 losses and a tie in the extra five minutes.

FRIDAY 3/28 AT UTAH

Houston plays its final two road games of the season in Utah. This weekend features a three-in-three, all against the Grizzlies. The final game is in Houston.

SATURDAY 3/29 AT UTAH

The Aeros and Grizzlies play the middle game of a three-in-three against each other. This is Houston's last visit to Utah this season and final road game of the year.

ON THE AIR: Houston Aeros games can be heard on AM 700 KSEV "The Voice" with "The Voice of the Aeros" Ken Double calling the action. The games are also available via the internet at www.aeros.com. The game against the Utah Grizzlies on March 30 will be televised Fox Sports Southwest at 7:30 PM. Troy Gamble will join Ken Double in the broadcast booth.

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