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Aeros Game Day, Morning Edition

February 18, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Houston Aeros News Release


A reminder that today is Chronicle in Education Day! The puck drops between the Aeros and Griffins at 11 a.m. at Toyota Center. Seniors 55 and over can get an $8 ticket and walk the concourse beginning at 9 a.m. You can listen to Ken Double and special guest Paul Berlin at 11 a.m. on KBME 790 AM or via www.aeros.com. Period-by-period recaps will be available on the website throughout the game.

Houston Aeros vs. Grand Rapids Griffins, 2/18

Five things you absolutely need to know before reading any further –

· Griffins goalie Joey MacDonald, the reigning AHL Player of the Week, is 7-0-1 in his last eight starts. His road record in his two years with Grand Rapids is a remarkable 20-3-2 with a 2.04 goals against average. The Griffins were shut out in two of those three road losses.

· Grand Rapids, which at plus-18 has the second best third-period scoring ratio in the AHL, has kept its opponents off the board in the last four third periods and has allowed just one third-period goal in the last 13 games.

· Over the last 13 games, the Griffins' defense has surrendered just 15 goals (1.15 average).

· Grand Rapids has outscored Houston 8-1 in the third period of their six meetings.

· A win today for the Aeros would help them avoid their fourth straight loss, tying a season-high. A victory would also be their second against a team over the .500 mark since beating the Griffins 2-1 December 12. Houston earned a 4-1 win over Syracuse January 24.

Griffins at Aeros (Aeros trail all-time series 17-20-7-0, Aeros are 9-7-5-0 at Houston)

· Today is the 45th all-time meeting between the teams – 22nd in Houston.

· The Aeros are 3-8-0-0 in the last 11 regular-season meetings with Grand Rapids.

· This is the seventh of 10 meetings this season, with the final five games at Toyota Center.

· Grand Rapids has outscored Houston 18-10 overall in the first six meetings.

· In the last 14 regular-season meetings, the Aeros have scored four or more goals just once, in a 6-3 decision April 5, 2003.

· Grand Rapids is the only active AHL team that the Aeros have an overall losing record against.

· The teams are playing each other for the third time in a five-day span, the eighth time in Aeros history they've played the same team three straight games.

· The team that has scored first won each of the first five meetings this season prior to the Griffins rallying for a 3-1 win Monday.

· Monday, Kevin Miller snapped a tie on the power play early in the third period and Joey MacDonald continued his strong play with 26 saves, as the Griffins rallied for a 3-1 victory over the Aeros at Toyota Center.

· Houston knocked off Grand Rapids four games to three in the 2003 Western Conference Finals en route to its Calder Cup championship. Each of the Aeros' four victories was by one goal.

· In the Griffins' last trip to Houston last season, they escaped with a 5-4, double overtime victory in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals on May 19, 2003. The Aeros could have clinched the series in that game, but Stacy Roest scored at 6:35 of double overtime.

2003-04 meetings (Seventh of 10 meetings, Aeros trail series 2-4-0-0 overall, 0-1-0-0 Houston) October 18: Houston 2 at Grand Rapids 4 November 11: Houston 2 at Grand Rapids 6 November 19: Houston 3 at Grand Rapids 1 December 12: Houston 2 at Grand Rapids 1 Saturday: Houston 0 at Grand Rapids 3 Monday: Grand Rapids 3 at Houston 1 Today: Grand Rapids at Houston March 5: Grand Rapids at Houston March 8: Grand Rapids at Houston April 10: Grand Rapids at Houston

Last game – Kevin Miller snapped a tie on the power play early in the third period and Joey MacDonald continued his strong play with 26 saves, as the Grand Rapids Griffins rallied for a 3-1 victory over the Houston Aeros at Toyota Center. Matt Ellis and Jeff Nelson also scored for the Griffins, who have won three straight and six of seven and improved to 25-0-4-0 when tallying a power-play goal. Jason Marshall scored 3:10 into the game and Johan Holmqvist turned aside 17-of-19 shots for Houston, which is winless in six straight (0-5-1-0).

Scouting the Aeros – Houston continues through one of its busiest, and most important, stretches of the season this morning. The Aeros are in a span where they play seven games in 10 days – tonight is the middle game of that stretch. Houston is also playing its ninth of 20 straight games against the West Division, including all 15 in February. Houston is 2-5-1-0 in the first eight games against its division brethren. The Aeros' leading scorer is Stephane Veilleux (12+21=33), who had a career-high six-game point streak snapped Saturday. Veilleux is five points ahead of Dan Cavanaugh (10+18=28), who had a three-game point streak come to an end Saturday. Kyle Wanvig (18+8=26), who had a two-goal game last Wednesday, and defenseman Travis Roche (5+21=26) are tied for third in scoring. Wanvig had been held without a point in six games prior to Wednesday and is without a point in nine of the last 10 games. Erik Reitz (3+17=20) is lighting it up from the defensive position along with Roche. Aeros captain Jason Marshall (7+12=19) and his 19 points were returned from Minnesota February 5. Marshall, 32, has tied a career-high with his seven goals. Last season's Calder Cup Most Valuable Player, goalie Johan Holmqvist, has started 45 of the team's first 57 games, going 16-22-6 with a 2.66 goals against average. Holmqvist is 4-9-4 in his last 17 decisions. Backup Kyle Kettles is set to return to the dressing room tonight after being scratched in the last seven games due to injury. Kettles is 2-5-4 with a 2.44 goals against average but has deserved a better fate. The Aeros have scored only 12 goals in his 10 starts.

Scouting the Griffins – Grand Rapids (74 points) attempts to stretch its overall AHL points lead, while also trying to win for the seventh time in eight games. The Griffins have won three straight to move nine points ahead of second-place Milwaukee, which plays at home tonight versus Chicago. Grand Rapids is still without leading scorer Nathan Robinson (21+20=41) and veteran goalie Marc Lamothe (18-12-5, 1.88 goals against average). Robinson is out with a groin injury sustained during the fastest skater competition at the All Star Game, while Lamothe was recalled to Detroit to back up Manny Legace with Curtis Joseph on the shelf due to a sprained ankle. Grand Rapids is still, however, very strong. Veteran Michel Picard (11+30=41) has moved into a tie with Robinson for the team lead in points, ahead of Kevin Miller (19+16=35) and exciting youngster Jiri Hudler (10+25=35). The blueline, which has helped the Griffins to a third-place ranking in team defense, is led by the likes of veteran Travis Richards (2+15=17) and Anders Myrvold (0+16=16). The story for Grand Rapids all season, though, has been the goaltending. Even with Lamothe in Motown, the Griffins aren't in trouble with Joey MacDonald, who is 14-2-3 with a miniscule 1.82 goals against average and three shutouts, including two in his last three starts. MacDonald has stopped 83 of 84 shots in the last three games (98.8 save percentage).

Aeros/Griffins connections –

· Griffins winger Derek King played for the New York Islanders in the 1987-88 season, when Aeros head coach Todd McLellan suited up for his only five NHL games. They also saw each other briefly with AHL Springfield in both the 1987-88 and 1988-89 seasons. King, who is more than eight months older than McLellan, also played alongside Darby Hendrickson in 1997-99 with Toronto.

· Houston's Erik Reitz and Grand Rapids' Ryan Barnes were teammates in 1999-2000 with OHL Barrie.

· The University of Nebraska-Omaha should be proud as its top two scorers ever are in this game. Houston's Jeff Hoggan and the Griffins' David Brisson were Maverick teammates for three seasons from 1999-2000 to 2001-02. Hoggan left the school as its leading scorer, only to be passed by Brisson in 2002-03.

· The Aeros' Stephane Veilleux and Grand Rapids' Danny Groulx played together in 1999-2000 with Victoriaville of the QMJHL.

· Houston's Rickard Wallin and the Griffins' Niklas Kronwall both hail from Stockholm, Sweden. Houston has two other Sweden natives on its team – Johan Holmqvist (Tolfta) and Mika Hannula (Huddinge).

· The Aeros' Johan Holmqvist and Grand Rapids' Anders Myrvold were teammates with Hartford in 2001-02.

· Grand Rapids defenseman Ryan Bonni played with Houston's Darby Hendrickson in 1999-2000 with Syracuse and with Jan Vodrazka in 2000-01 with IHL Kansas City.

· The Aeros' Kevin Mitchell and Grand Rapids' Jeff Nelson played with each other in Cleveland in 2002-03.

· Houston defenseman Travis Roche played two seasons (1999-2000, 2000-01) at North Dakota with the Griffins' Aaron Schneekloth and Tim Skarperud. Schneekloth and Kyle Wanvig both hail from Calgary.

· Houston's Chris Bala posted 37 points (21+16=37) in 70 games in his rookie season of 2001-02 with Grand Rapids. Travis Richards, Tim Skarperud and Dave Van Drunen were all on that Griffins team.

Aeros, Ducks, Rampage in a playoff dog-fight – Fifth-place Houston has 49 points, one fewer than Cincinnati and one more than San Antonio in the West Division. Cincinnati, which is idle tonight, has five games in hand on the Aeros, while San Antonio, which is in Rochester tonight, has played seven fewer games. Below is a look at the number of games left for each team. The Aeros have the most advantageous schedule – they have just nine games left against teams with a .500 record or higher. Cincinnati, meanwhile, still has 18 road games left and also 18 against teams at the .500 mark of above. The top five teams in the West make the playoffs, with the fourth- and fifth-place team playing a three-game qualifying series at the higher seed. Houston's highest position this season was third on December 30.

Cincinnati – 50 points (28 games left, 10H, 18R) CHI (2H/2R), MIL (0H/2R), TOR (0H/2R), HAM (0H/1R), PHI (0H/2R), CLE (4H/3R), UTA (1H/2R), GR (0H/2R), SA (0H/2R), HOU (1H/2R)

Houston – 49 points (23 games left, 13H, 10R) GR (4H/0R), CHI (OH/1R), MIL (2H/1R), UTA (2H/1R), SA (3H/3R), CIN (2H/1R), WOR (0H/1R), NOR (0H/2R)

San Antonio – 48 points (30 games left, 13H, 17R) ROC (OH/1R), CLE (0H/1R), MTB (OH/2R), MIL (2H/3R), HOU (3H/3R), CHI (1H/4R), GR (3H/1R), UTA (2H/2R), CIN (2H/0R)

Head-to-head matchups Houston/Cincinnati (3 total, 2 at HOU, 1 at CIN) – 4/1, 4/2 at HOU; 4/9 at CIN Houston/San Antonio (6 total, 3 at HOU, 3 at SAN) – 2/28, 3/12, 3/27 at HOU; 2/27, 3/13, 3/26 at SAN San Antonio/Cincinnati (2 total, 2 at SAN) – 3/20, 3/22 at SAN

Houston has won three of five at home – The Aeros had their modest two-game home win streak snapped Monday. Houston has still won three of five at home since snapping a season-high six-game home winless streak January 24.

· Tonight, the Aeros will try to avoid losing back-to-back home games for just the fourth time this season. The last time it happened was November 22 and December 1.

· The Aeros' 4-1 win over Syracuse January 24 snapped a season-high six-game home winless streak (0-1-4-1).

· Houston's season-best, nine-game home unbeaten streak was snapped January 8 in a 1-0 overtime loss to Hartford.

· Houston started off its first season in Toyota Center just 2-6-1-1 but has improved to 11-9-5-2 at its new home. In the last 17 Toyota Center games, the Aeros have just two regulation losses and are 9-3-4-1.

Veilleux's point streak snapped – Aeros winger Stephane Veilleux had points in a career-best six straight games (3+4=7) February 3-13, but was held without a point Saturday and Monday against Grand Rapids.

· Veilleux has 12 points (6+6=12) overall in the last 17 games.

· Veilleux was just the second Aero with a three-game goal streak this season (February 3-6), joining Kyle Wanvig, who posted a five-game streak earlier this season.

· The winger is the only Aero to have played in each of Houston's first 57 games, and he carries a consecutive game played streak of 63 games, dating back to last season. Saturday, Veilleux played in his 200th pro game.

· Veilleux is tied for the AHL lead with a franchise record tying four shorthanded goals. The only other Aero with four was Mario Chitaroni in 1994-95.

· The Quebec native is nearing his career high in goals, assists and points. Veilleux has 33 points (12+21=33) in just 57 games, while he posted 35 points (13+22=35) in his rookie season of 2001-02.

Mitchell all about the power play –

· Defenseman Kevin Mitchell has 12 points (1+11=12) with the Aeros, and eight of those points have come on the power play. Last season with ECHL Louisiana, Mitchell had 23 of his 34 points with the man advantage.

· Mitchell's first goal in an Aeros uniform came January 24 on the power play. In his three-year pro career, including ECHL totals, Mitchell has 19 goals - and an eye-popping 15 have come on the power play. Each of Mitchell's four AHL goals has been on the power play.

· Mitchell had points in five straight games (1+5=6) for the first time in his AHL career January 23-31. Mitchell's five-game assist streak was an Aeros season-high by two games.

· The blueliner has nine points (1+8=9) in the last 12 games.

Holmqvist 0-4-1 in last five starts – Aeros netminder Johan Holmqvist is 0-4-1 in his last five starts since winning three straight January 24-February 3. Holmqvist has a 2.77 goals against average in those five games, but his team has scored just eight goals (1.6 goals per game). Overall in his last 17 decisions, Holmqvist – the 2003 Butterfield Trophy winner as the playoff Most Valuable Player – is 4-9-4.

· February 7, Holmqvist made his 50th appearance with the Aeros. He sports a 21-25-6 mark with Houston. From December 28-January 21, Holmqvist went 0-4-3 with a no decision and a 3.01 goals against average, one game shy of his career-long winless streak.

· Holmqvist went 6-0-0 with a 1.00 goals against average and a .963 save percentage during a six-game winning streak December 5-17. The six-game winning streak set a new career-high.

· The Aeros' netminder had a shutout streak of 189 minutes, seven seconds snapped December 17, just missing Frederic Chabot's 1996 team record mark of 193 minutes, 37 seconds.

· In his 16 wins this season, Holmqvist is allowing 1.06 goals per game and sports a .960 save percentage. In his 30 non-wins, Holmqvist sports a 3.54 goals against average and a .874 save percentage. Holmqvist and the Aeros have just two wins this season when yielding more than one goal.

· Holmqvist leads the AHL in minutes played (2,704) by 300 minutes and is tied with Hershey's Peter Budaj for second in saves (1,125). He is nearing his career-best in both categories. In 2001-02 with Hartford, Holmqvist played 2,734 minutes and made 1,251 saves. Holmqvist needs just 31 minutes to establish a new career-high in minutes played, and his 46 games played are two shy of his career-best 48, also in 2001-02.

Holmqvist 3-5-0 against Grand Rapids – Aeros netminder Johan Holmqvist sports a 3-5-0 mark with a 2.87 goals against average and a .887 save percentage against the Griffins. This season, Holmqvist is 2-4-0 with a 3.01 goals against average versus Grand Rapids. Frederic Cloutier played twice against the Griffins last season, a one-save relief effort, and then in a 6-0 loss at Toyota Center on February 23, when Cloutier stopped five-of-nine shots and made it just 2:52 into the second period. Kyle Kettles faced the Griffins in relief October 18 in his AHL debut, and he tossed 38:27 of shutout hockey in relief as Houston fell 4-2 at Van Andel Arena.

MacDonald 4-3-0 versus Aeros – Grand Rapids netminder Joey MacDonald is 4-3-0 and a sparkling 2.18 goals against average in his career against the Aeros, including a 3-1-0 mark and a 1.50 goals against average this season. MacDonald is 4-1-0 in his last five decisions after starting his career 0-2-0 against the Aeros. Backup Bujar Amidovski has never faced Houston. Veteran Marc Lamothe, recalled to Detroit on Thursday, has nine wins in 14 games against the Aeros – most of any active netminder.

Aeros winless in six – The Aeros are winless in six games (0-5-1-0) since back-to-back wins over Utah February 3-5. Houston has four wins in its last 25 games (4-12-8-1) and is at an even .500 mark the last 35 games (13-13-8-1).

· The Aeros' 13-game winless streak (0-5-7-1) December 27-January 23 was five more than their previous franchise record eight-game streak (0-6-1-1), November 20-December 3 of this season.

· Houston ran off a season-high seven straight games without a loss (3-0-4) December 20-January 2, including four straight ties December 27-January 2.

· The Aeros won six straight December 5-17, outscoring their opponents 18-6 in the process.

· In the season's first 20 games, Houston allowed a league-worst 3.36 goals per game. In the last 37 games, the Aeros have yielded just 2.30 goals per game. The defensive streak has helped Houston move out of the basement to 2.79 goals against per game, 21st in the AHL.

Looking for O –

· Houston had averaged 2.73 goals per game over an 11-game span prior to being held to one total goal the last two games.

· In the last 19 contests, the Aeros are averaging 2.00 goals per game.

· The Aeros have scored just 60 goals in 29 games (2.07 goals per game) since beating Norfolk 5-3 December 17.

· Houston has been held to two goals or fewer in 20 of the last 29 games (69.0 percent), including a scoreless streak of 178 minutes, 52 seconds that included back-to-back shutouts January 8-9.

· Offensively in the AHL, the Aeros are tied for 21st in the AHL at 2.26 goals per game.

· Houston has scored one goal or fewer in 16 of its 57 games this season (28.1 percent) and two goals or less in 36 of 57 games (63.2 percent).

Aeros still winless in OT – The Aeros, winless at 0-3-10 in overtime, have played just one extra session since needing overtime in eight of 10 games from December 27-January 17. Houston is one of two AHL teams without an overtime win, joining Utah (0-3-4). The last teams to go through a season without an overtime win were Hamilton and Hartford last season. The Aeros went 8-3-7 in overtime in 2002-03, second in the league in extra session wins (Chicago, 11). Houston's 13 overtime games this season are halfway to the franchise record of 26 shootout games in the 1998-99 season. The Aeros' 10 ties are still eight short of the AHL/overtime era record, set in 1997-98 by St. John's. Houston, Providence and Worcester each have 10 ties this season.

Penalty kill update –

· Houston killed off its first 31 shorthanded chances this season. Since then, opponents are 35-for-231 (15.2 percent) on the power play.

· The Aeros' overall 86.6 percent penalty kill rate (227-262) is 11th in the AHL, after spending much of season in the upper half of the top 10.

· Houston has yielded one power play game in six straight games, a season-high. Opponents are 6-for-33 (18.2 percent) in that span. Opponents have 11 man-advantage goals in the last 11 games.

· The Aeros have allowed 15 power-play goals in 81 chances (81.5 kill rate) in the last 17 games.

· The Aeros have yielded no power play goals in 31 of their 57 games, and have points in all but eight of those games (11-8-9-3).

· Houston has eight shorthanded goals, including a franchise record tying four by Stephane Veilleux, and is ninth in the AHL in that category. Veilleux's four shorthanded tallies are tied for the league lead.

· Grand Rapids ranks fourth in the AHL on the power play at 17.5 percent.

· The Griffins are 7-for-32 (21.9 percent) on the power play in the last seven games.

· Grand Rapids is 6-for-31 (19.4 percent) with the man advantage versus the Aeros. Nathan Robinson, Mark Mowers, Derek King, Jeff Nelson, Jiri Hudler and Kevin Miller have the power play goals.

· Grand Rapids is unbeaten in 29 games (25-0-4-0) when scoring at least one power play goal.

Power play update –

· Houston enters tonight's game 39 of 323 on the power play (12.1 percent), 24th among 28 AHL teams.

· The Aeros have gone 27-for-180 (15.0 percent) since Matt Foy snapped a streak of 37 straight unsuccessful power plays December 5, raising their percentage from a season-low 8.3 to 12.1.

· Houston has gone three games without a power-play goal, going 0-for-6 in that span.

· The Aeros are 9-for-50 (18.0 percent) on the power play over its last nine games, after a stretch of 1-for-32 the previous six games.

· Houston's 323 power plays are the most in the AHL, 16 more than second-place Manitoba. The Aeros also led the league in 2002-03 with 514 chances.

· The Aeros have only five wins in 28 games (5-16-6-1) when not scoring a power-play goal.

· The Griffins rank fourth in the AHL on the penalty kill (88.2 percent).

· Grand Rapids has killed off 36-of-38 (94.7 percent) of its shorthanded chances over the last nine games.

· Houston is 2-for-28 (7.1 percent) on the power play versus Grand Rapids. Rickard Wallin and Erik Reitz have the man-advantage goals.

Houston has two wins when allowing more than one goal - The Aeros are an unbeaten in regulation 16-0-3-1 when allowing one goal or fewer this season, and December 17 and January 30 were their only wins (2-26-7-2) when yielding two or more.

Aeros have scored first in just seven of 19 games – Houston has scored first in only seven of the last 19 games. Houston is 14-6-5-1 overall when scoring first. The Aeros are 7-2-3-0 at home when scoring first, including a loss Monday against Grand Rapids.

But when not scoring first... - The Aeros are 4-20-4-2 when allowing the game's first goal, including a winless 0-13-3-0 mark on the road. By rallying for a 2-2 tie February 11 in Chicago, Houston picked up just its third road point when allowing the first goal.

West to be won or lost in February – Tonight, the Aeros play game nine of a stretch of 20 consecutive games against the Western Division, including all 15 February games. Starting February 6, nine straight games will be against the top three teams in the division, Grand Rapids, Chicago and Milwaukee. That stretch ends this Saturday in Chicago. Houston, which has already wrapped up its home schedule against everybody but the West, is 12-19-7-2 against its division, including a 6-12-4-1 road mark. The Aeros have three non-division games left, from March 17-21 (one against Worcester, two versus Norfolk).

Quick hits

· Grand Rapids has outscored Houston 7-5 in the first period and 8-1 in the third period in their six meetings.

· The Aeros have led after one period just twice in the last 13 games.

· Houston is one of four AHL teams without a win when trailing after two periods (0-21-5-1). Their 27 attempts are the most of any of those teams.

· The Griffins are 5-0-8 in overtime, while Houston is 0-3-10, one of two teams without an extra session win. Grand Rapids' five OT wins trail three teams with six.

· Grand Rapids is plus-13 (48-35) in the first period, second to Syracuse (plus-17) for best among AHL teams. Houston is minus-11 (48-37) in the opening 20 minutes.

· The Griffins have yielded just 26 third-period goals (0.47 per third period played), easily the fewest in the league, and are a plus-18 in the third (42-26), second to Milwaukee (plus-19, 67-48). Grand Rapids has kept its opponents off the board in the last four third periods and has allowed just one third-period goal in the last 13 games, in a 3-2 win over Chicago February 6.

· Grand Rapids has scored first 35 times this season, a league-high. The Griffins are 26-4-5-0 when scoring first.

· The Aeros, who are third in the AHL in shots per game (33.14), are 6-14-1-0 when having fewer than 30 shots. With 30 or more, Houston is at the .500 mark (12-12-9-3).

· Houston is eight games under .500 against its former International Hockey League opponents (10-18-4-1), but the Aeros are an even .500 (8-8-6-2) versus the rest of the AHL.

· Grand Rapids is 11-5-0-0 in games decided by two goals or less on the road.

· The Griffins' Michel Picard carries a seven-game point streak into today's game.

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American Hockey League Stories from February 18, 2004


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