Aeros face Stars tonight

Published on November 3, 2005 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Houston Aeros News Release


Five things you need to know

Tonight is a homecoming for four Iowa Stars players who spent the 2004-05 season in Houston. The Aeros had a partial affiliation deal with the Dallas Stars. Goalie Mike Smith, defenseman Patrick Traverse and forwards Junior Lessard and Marius Holtet all suited up for the Aeros last season. Smith went 19-17-3 with a 2.42 gaa and won Houston's lone playoff game. Traverse tallied 15 points (6-9=15) in 72 games, and he's already reached his assist total of nine this season. Lessard, the 2004 Hobey Baker winner, tied for 12th on the Aeros' roster with 22 points (11-11=22) in 71 games. Lessard is currently with Dallas. Holtet notched 12 points (7-5=12) in 54 games. Counting his time with Utah, Smith is 13-12-0 with a 2.23 gaa at Toyota Center since it opened in October 2003. He has two shutouts in the building. Iowa also features David Oliver, a member of the Aeros' 1999 Turner Cup winning team. Also, Houston's Clayton Stoner and Iowa's Shawn Belle were defensive partners for three full seasons at WHL Tri City.

Tonight's matchup features one of the AHL's top third-period defensive teams against one of the worst. Iowa has allowed only five third-period goals, second-best in the AHL. Providence has yielded only four, but it has played only five games. The Stars have outshot their opponents 106-57 in the third period and outscored them 8-5. Houston, meanwhile, has allowed a league-high 20 third-period goals in only 12 games. In their last four games, the Aeros have been outscored 9-1 in the third period, and they are 1-3-0-0 in those games. One of the reasons Houston has had trouble defensively in the third period is the shot total. The Aeros have been outshot 155-102 in the third period. Last season, Houston held a 68-57 goal advantage over the final 20 minutes.

Hockey officials wanted more offense this season, and that's exactly what they've gotten. Houston won its third 6-5 game of the season Saturday in Grand Rapids, with two coming in a shootout. The Aeros have scored at least six goals in four of their first 12 games. All told in 2004-05, Houston had only four six-goal games, and it didn't get the fourth one until April 2. A season ago, Houston was winless when allowing five goals or more (0-7-1-0). Already in 2005-06, the Aeros have three such wins (3-2-0-0), all in 6-5 games.

The Aeros, who open up a six-game homestand tonight, are 0-1-1-0 in their last two games at Toyota Center. The last time Houston went two straight without a win at home was an 0-1-1-0 run from 1/23-1/25/05. The Aeros last went winless in three straight at Toyota Center from 3/28-4/2/04.

Iowa comes into tonight's game with a sub .500 record, but that hasn't meant much this season for Houston. The Aeros are 6-1-1-0 against teams with a .500 record or better, including 3-0-0-0 against Grand Rapids. But Houston is only 1-3-0-0 against teams with losing records. All three losses have come versus division foes - Chicago, San Antonio and Milwaukee.

Stars at Aeros (First-ever meeting)

Tonight is the first ever meeting between the Aeros and Stars, who are in their first season as the Dallas Stars' AHL affiliate.

Scouting the Aeros

The Aeros are off to a 7-4-1-0 start, but they are 1-3-1-0 in their last five...C Erik Westrum has 18 points (5-13=18) to rank fourth in the AHL lead in scoring...RW Kirby Law is tied for seventh in the league with 15 points (6-9=15)...Rookie linemate LW Roman Voloshenko is tied for third in the AHL with nine goals - all coming in three games...D Kurtis Foster has 11 points (3-8=11), while counterpart D Curtis Murphy has 10 (0-10=10)...The duo ranks third and tied for fourth, respectively, among AHL defensemen...G Josh Harding is 5-3-0 with a 3.16 gaa but hasn't played since 10/25 due to injury..G Miroslav Kopriva is 1-1-0 with a 4.33 gaa...G Seamus Kotyk is also 1-1-0, with a 4.19 gaa.

Scouting the Stars

Iowa, the AHL affiliate of the Dallas Stars, snapped a two-game skid Saturday with a 4-2 win at Chicago...Two of the Stars four wins have come at the expense of the Wolves...Former Aero D Patrick Traverse leads Iowa with nine points - all assists...Traverse had nine assists all of last season with the Aeros...LW Loui Eriksson is one 10 AHL rookies on the roster, and he's second in points with seven (3-4=7)...LW Garrett Burnett is the leading PIM-getter with 60 in only five games...G Dan Ellis is 2-3-0 with a 2.41 gaa...G Mike Smith, who spent 2004-05 with Houston, is 2-2-0 with a 3.50 gaa.

2005-06 meetings (1st of 10 meetings)

Tonight Iowa at Houston

December 28 Iowa at Houston

January 12 Iowa at Houston

January 13 Iowa at Houston

January 26 Houston at Iowa

February 17 Houston at Iowa

February 18 Houston at Iowa

February 23 Iowa at Houston

March 25 Houston at Iowa

April 16 Houston at Iowa

Quick Hits

Houston is 5-1-1-0 in one-goal games, the most such victories in the AHL. In 2004-05, the Aeros were 16-9-6-6 in one-goal contests. Aeros C Erik Westrum enters tonight's game with 97 assists in his AHL career, and 98 assists total including one with the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes. Iowa ranks fifth in the AHL in PIM's with 32.6 per game. Houston is 15th with 27.5 per game. The Stars have five game misconducts, tied for the most in the league. Iowa has led after one period or two periods only once in nine games. Tonight's game features the two AHL players with the most points this season without a goal. Houston's Curtis Murphy has 10 points - all assists, while Iowa's Patrick Traverse has nine helpers. Peoria's Mike Mottau is next on the list with eight.

A shoutout for the shootout

Houston moved to 3-0 in shootouts Saturday in Grand Rapids, after going just 5-6 last season. Each of the Aeros' shootout wins has come on the road, after they went 4-3 in such situations in 2004-05. Houston's three shootout/overtime wins are the most in the AHL. C Patrick O'Sullivan is the lone Aero to score on each of his shootout attempts this season, as he is 3-for-3, with two deciding tallies. C Erik Westrum is 3-for-4, as he shot twice in one shootout.

A lot from a little

The Aeros have goals from only nine players this season. Only Binghamton, with eight goal scorers, has had fewer players find the back of the net. The trio of Roman Voloshenko, Kirby Law and Erik Westrum has accounted for 20 of the Aeros' 40 goals.

Power play update

Houston ranks eighth in the league on the power play at 19.8 percent. The Aeros are just 3-for-35 (8.6 percent) with the man advantage in the last five games, dating back to a four PPG performance vs. Grand Rapids 10/21. The Aeros are only 1-for-15 (6.7 percent) on the power play in their last two games at Toyota Center. The Stars are 15th in the AHL on the penalty kill at 83.3 percent. Iowa has been shorthanded only 66 times in nine games (7.3 per game). In comparison, Houston has been shorthanded 109 times in 12 games (9.1 per game).

Penalty kill update

Houston ranks 18th in the AHL on the penalty kill at 80.9 percent. The Aeros have yielded at least one man advantage goal in each of their 12 games this season. Houston has allowed two or more PPG in each of its last three games. Opponents are 7-for-24 with the man advantage (29.2 percent) in the last three contests. Houston has gone shorthanded 110 times in 12 games., 13 more than any other AHL team. The Aeros have an AHL-high 120 minor penalties. The Aeros are minus-20 in the PP for/PP against differential, while Iowa is plus-22. Iowa is 22nd in the AHL on the power play at 12.5 percent.

Murphy climbing charts

Aeros D Curtis Murphy is in sole possession of eighth place on the team's all-time list with 76 assists. Mark Cullen, Murphy's teammate on the 2002-03 Calder Cup winning team, is seventh with 77. Murphy has moved into sole possession of 16th place on the Aeros' all-time points list with 111. He's two behind Kyle Wanvig for 15th.

Last Game (Sunday)

Jason Bacashihua made 21 saves for his second straight shutout and his second blanking of Houston in as many tries, and Peter Sejna tallied two goals and an assist, as the Peoria Rivermen took over first place in the entire Western Conference with a 4-0 win over the Houston Aeros at Carver Arena. The Rivermen (8-2-0-0) avenged a 3-1 home loss to the Aeros earlier this month and have won four straight - three by shutout. Seamus Kotyk stopped 36 shots - including 20 alone in the first period - for Houston, which trailed just 1-0 with seven minutes left in the game.

Aeros/Stars connections

Houston's Clayton Stoner and Iowa's Shawn Belle were defensive partners for three full seasons at WHL Tri City. Aeros defenseman Erik Reitz spent the 2001-02 season at OHL Barrie along with Iowa's B.J. Crombeen. Iowa's David Oliver played two seasons with the Aeros, totaling 62 points (34-28=62) in 82 games. He was a member of the Aeros' 1999 Turner Cup winning team. Houston's Erik Westrum and Iowa's Toby Peterson each hail from Minneapolis, Minn.

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American Hockey League Stories from November 3, 2005


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