Aeros End Season with 104 Points
Published on April 8, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Houston Aeros News Release
The Houston Aeros finished the 2002-03 regular season with a record of 47-23-7-3 for 104 points. It is the third highest point total in franchise history (121-1998-99; 110-1997-98). Houston will play in the Western Conference Quarterfinals beginning on April 16 and 18. The opponent for the best-of-five round is yet to be determined. The three possibilities are: Milwaukee Admirals, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and Utah Grizzlies.
THE WEEK THAT WAS: APRIL 2: Houston hosted the San Antonio Rampage on Wednesday and prevailed 5-2. Jay Henderson jumpstarted the Aeros with two shorthanded goals midway through the first period 20 seconds apart. Tony Tuzzolino scored a power play goal for Houston 55 seconds into the second period. Midway through the second, Juraj Kolnik tallied for San Antonio but Houston responded 40 seconds later with a goal by Stephane Veilleux. Early in the third, Jim Campbell scored a power play goal to bring the Rampage within two. However, they couldn't score again and Tuzzolino iced the game with an empty net goal. Johan Holmqvist turned aside 30 of 32 shots for the win.
APRIL 4: Houston fell just short of an amazing comeback and lost to the San Antonio Rampage 5-4. The Rampage scored twice in the first period, a power play goal by Jeff Toms and then a shorthanded goal by Eric Beaudoin. In the second period, Stephane Veilleux cut the deficit in half before David Gove put San Antonio back up by two. The Rampage added two more goals, by Beaudoin and Gove in the first 15 minutes of the third. Then with Brendan Walsh in the penalty box for a five minute major and Kyle Rossiter in for two minutes, Houston mounted a comeback. First Curtis Murphy scored on the 5-on-3 power at 18:09. Then on the 5-on-4, Veilleux collected his second goal of the night at 19:22. Twenty-six seconds later, Jean-Guy Trudel drew the Aeros within one. However the clock ran out on Houston's comeback and they fell short. Houston was 3 for 12 on the power play while San Antonio was 2 for 11.
APRIL 5: Houston defeated Grand Rapids 6-3, ending a four-game losing streak against the Griffins. The Aeros scored twice in the first period, first Mark Cullen, then Kyle Wanvig. Early in the second period, Jean-Guy Trudel scored for Houston followed by Hnat Domenichelli. Grand Rapids then found the back of the net on goals by Michel Picard and Mark Mowers. The last goal of the period was Houston's. Tony Tuzzolino scored with 12 seconds left. In the third, Mark Cullen collected his second goal of the night before Picard scored his second midway through the period. Johan Holmqvist registered the win for Houston, stopping 25 of 28 shots.
WHAT A GUY!: Jean-Guy Trudel piled up the points all season and was on another roll in the past 12 games. Trudel collected 6g-11a-17p in the last 12 games. He led the Aeros in goals (31), assists (54) and points (85). He ended the season with points in seven straight games (3-6-9) and had points in 11 of the past 12 games. Trudel was named a First Team All-Star and finished second in the league in points, one behind the leader.
DESERVING FOR 'SHORE': Aeros defenseman Curtis Murphy was named the winner of the Eddie Shore Award as the AHL's outstanding defenseman on Friday. The fifth-year pro was earlier named a member of the 2002-03 First All-Star Team along with teammate Jean-Guy Trudel. Murphy finished first among defensemen in goals (23) and second in points (53). He set a new career-high in goals and also set an Aeros record for most goals by a defenseman in one season (19 - Jeff Tory, 1998-99; Greg Hawgood, 1997-98).
AEROS, AEROS EVERYWHERE: Houston's top scorer, LW Jean-Guy Trudel finished the season in second place in league scoring with 85 points. Chicago's Steve Maltais ended the season with 86 points after a four-point final game. Trudel ranked third in assists with 54. Murphy finished first among AHL defensemen with 23 goals and ranked second in points with 54 (23g-31a). Murphy was tied for second among defenseman with eight power play goals. D Travis Roche finished fifth in points (48) and fifth in goals (14). Mark Cullen ranked 12th among rookie scorers with 22-25-47. Derek Gustafson tied for fifth with 23 wins.
TOUGH ROW TO HOE: Houston finished the season with the third best record in the league. They trailed Hamilton and Grand Rapids in points. Providence was tied with Houston in points (104) but the Aeros recorded more wins. However, the Aeros by far had the hardest schedule. Houston played only 12 games against teams with records below .500 and went 10-1-1-0 in those games. Grand Rapids faced 22 opponents under .500 with the Griffins going 18-3-1-0. In comparison, 30 of Providence's opponents had losing records (21-4-2-3). League-leader Hamilton had the easiest road, playing 49 games against teams under .500 (31-14-3-1).
STOPWATCH TERRITORY: Houston's rally fell short Friday night, but did manage to set a record for the fastest three goals by an Aeros team. Curtis Murphy scored at 18:09 of the third. Stephane Veilleux tallied 1:13 after Murphy and then Jean-Guy Trudel 26 seconds after that. The total time that elapsed was 1:39. The old record was 1:59 by Mike Yeo, Mark Lamb and Mark Freer in a 7-1 win at Cleveland (IHL) on Nov. 29, 1997.
FIRST OUT OF STARTER'S BLOCK: Scoring the first goal was extremely important to Houston. When the Aeros scored first, they were an impressive 32-3-2-1. The team knew how to play with the lead as they were 31-1-1-2 when leading after one period of play and 35-2-3-1 when leading after two periods.
BALANCED SCORESHEET: Balance was the name of the game for Houston. All 20 skaters on the final roster had at least four points. Eighteen players were in double-digits in scoring and 18 also had collected at least one point on the power play.
HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT: The Aeros set several team single game records this season when it comes to shots. First, they took a franchise record-high 59 shots in a 4-1 win vs. San Antonio on March 9. In the second period of that game, they took 25 shots in one period for the first time. On the defensive side, they allowed the fewest shots in team history in March 23rd's 3-1 loss at Grand Rapids. The Griffins managed just 10 shots on goal the entire game and none in the third period. It was the first time Houston held an opponent to no shots on goal in a 20-minute period.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS: None NEWS AND NOTES:
* LW Jean-Guy Trudel has 6-11-17 in the past 12 games and has a seven-game points streak (3-6-9);
* LW Hnat Domenichelli has 4-11-15 in his last 10 games;
* D Travis Roche has 3-6-9 in his past 10 games;
* D Curtis Murphy has 2-3-5 in a five-game points streak;
* LW Stephane Veilleux has four goals in the past five games;
* The Aeros Power Play finished the season 87 of 514/16.9%, ranking 12th;
* The Aeros Penalty Killing ended the season at 370 of 445 (75)/83.1%, ranking 18th.
WILD WATCH: The Minnesota Wild finished in sixth place in the Western Conference standings with a record of 42-29-10-1, 95 points. They play the Colorado Avalanche in the First Round of their first NHL Playoffs. The schedule: Game 1 - Thursday at Colorado, Game 2 - Saturday, April 12 at Colorado, Game 3 - Monday April 14 at Minnesota, Game 4 - Wednesday April 16 at Minnesota, Game 5* - Saturday, April 19 at Colorado, Game 6* - Monday, April 21 at Minnesota, Game 7* - Tuesday, April 22 at Colorado. *If necessary
ICEGATORS REPORT: The Louisiana IceGators finished the 2002-03 regular season in a tie for first in the Southwest Division with a record of 40-20-12, 96 points. They won the Southwest Division Semi-finals series three games to none over Arkansas. The IceGators now face the Mississippi SeaWolves in the Southwest Division Finals. The best-of-five series will be played in a 1-1-1-1-1 format with Mississippi holding home ice. The schedule: Game 1 - Wednesday at Mississippi; Game 2 - Saturday, April 12 at Louisiana, Game 3 - Monday, April 14 at Mississippi, Game 4* - Wednesday, April 16 at Louisiana, Game 5* - Saturday, April 19 at Mississippi. *If necessary.
UPCOMING PLAYOFF GAMES
WEDNESDAY APRIL 16 VS. TBD
The Aeros will begin the Western Conference Quarterfinals at home. The opponent will be: Milwaukee, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton or Utah.
FRIDAY APRIL 18 VS. TBD
Houston continues the best-of-five quarterfinals round at home. Games Three and Four, if necessary, will be on the road. If Game Five is necessary, it will be at Compaq Center. Dates to be announced.
REMAINDER OF WESTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS ROUND IS TO BE DETERMINED.
ON THE AIR: Houston Aeros playoff 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.
American Hockey League Stories from April 8, 2003
- Royal Review - Manchester Monarchs
- AHL playoff series previews - AHL
- Julien and Ward Named AHL's Outstanding Coaches - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Julien, Ward share Coach of the Year - AHL
- Curtis Murphy Recalled by Minnesota - Houston Aeros
- Aeros End Season with 104 Points - Houston Aeros
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