Aeros Game Day

Published on January 27, 2004 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Houston Aeros News Release


Listen to Ken Double tonight starting at 7 p.m. on KBME 790 AM or www.aeros.com. Follow along with period-by-period recaps on the website. And don't forget, it's Half Price at Center Ice Tuesday! Call 713.974.PUCK for more details.

Please note that Zina Garrison will not be able to make it to tonight's game to drop the puck. For a printable PDF version of these notes, please click here.

Houston Aeros vs. Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, 1/27

Aeros at Ducks (Aeros lead series 7-2-2-1 all-time, 4-0-1-0 at Houston)

Tonight is the 13th all-time meeting between the teams, sixth in Houston.

The Aeros are 2-1-1-0 this season against Cincinnati and 7-1-2-0 in the last 10 meetings overall.

In the last meeting on January 2, Stephane Veilleux's shorthanded goal in the third period helped the Aeros to a 2-2 tie in a goalie's battle (Houston's Kyle Kettles had 33 saves, and Cincinnati's Ilya Bryzgalov had 31 stops).

Houston swept last season's four-game series.

Cincinnati has two regulation wins in 13 games against Houston – a 5-1 decision in the first ever meeting on January 20, 2002, and a 4-2 Ducks win December 29.

The Aeros are 4-0-1-0 all-time at home versus the Ducks, winning the last three meetings.

Tonight is the fifth of eight meetings this season. The next meeting is April 1 in Houston. The Aeros play three of their final four regular-season games against Cincinnati.

2003-04 meetings (Fifth of eight meetings, Aeros lead 2-1-1-0 overall, Aeros lead 1-0-0-0 at Houston)

December 5: Cincinnati 1 at Houston 3

December 19: Houston 2 at Cincinnati 4

December 20: Houston 2 at Cincinnati 1

January 2: Houston 2 at Cincinnati 2

Tonight: Cincinnati at Houston

April 1: Cincinnati at Houston

April 2: Cincinnati at Houston

April 9: Houston at Cincinnati

Last game – Johan Holmqvist turned aside 29 shots and Kevin Mitchell and Chris Bala each posted a goal and an assist, as the Houston Aeros snapped their franchise-record 13-game winless streak with a 4-1 victory over the Syracuse Crunch in front of 11,624 fans on Johan Holmqvist Bobblehead Night at Toyota Center. Dan Cavanaugh and Kyle Wanvig also scored and Marc Cavosie and Travis Roche each registered two assists for Houston, which had been 0-5-7-1 in its last 13. Houston, which won for the first time since December 26, welcomed head coach Todd McLellan back to the lineup after a five-game absence due to illness. Kent McDonell scored and Pascal Leclaire stopped 34 shots for Syracuse, which fell to 6-3-0-1 in its last 10.

Scouting the Aeros –The Aeros look for their first set of back-to-back wins since a three-game streak from December 20-26, after snapping a franchise-record 13-game winless streak (0-5-7-1) Saturday versus Syracuse. The Aeros won that game with Kyle Wanvig back in the lineup. Wanvig, who scored a goal a day after being assigned from Minnesota, is tied for the team lead with 24 points (16g, 8a). Wanvig is tied with Stephane Veilleux (7g, 17a). Dan Cavanaugh's second goal in three games moved him to 23 points (9g, 14a), tied with Rickard Wallin (10g, 13a) for third on the Aeros. Wallin has missed the last six games. Travis Roche, who has a goal and two assists in his last two games, leads the blueliners in points with 18 points (4g, 14a), two better than Erik Reitz (3g, 13a). Aeros captain Jason Marshall (5g, 10a) and his 15 points are currently in Minnesota. Houston's leading rookie scorer is Mika Hannula (6g, 10a) with 16 points, and Matt Foy (7g, 8a) has 15 points. Last year's Calder Cup Most Valuable Player, goalie Johan Holmqvist, has started 36 of the team's first 46 games, going 13-17-5 with a 2.70 goals against average. Holmqvist made 29 saves Saturday to snap a seven-decision winless streak (0-4-3), the second longest of his career. His regular backup is second-year netminder Kyle Kettles, who is 2-4-4 with a 2.19 goals against average but isn't expected to dress tonight due to injury. Kettles has stopped 145 of 151 shots (96.0 percent) while going 2-0-4 in his last six starts. Kettles has just 10 goals of support in nine starts this season, and he has ties in each of his last four starts. Frederic Cloutier was recalled from ECHL Louisiana Thursday to take Kettles' place and yielded five goals on 30 shots the next night to fall to 0-4-1 in his last five AHL decisions dating back to last season.

Scouting the Mighty Ducks – Cincinnati is winless in its last three (0-2-1) after a 5-1-3-1 stretch. The Ducks have scored two goals in each of their last three games, and in their last 16 losses, they have totaled just 20 goals. Cincinnati has been shut out five times this season. The Ducks have a balanced scoring attack, even with leading scorer Chris Kunitz (15g, 16a) in Anaheim. Keith Aucoin (11g, 18a) and Tony Martensson (6g, 23a) are tied for the active team lead with 29 points. Defenseman Chris Armstrong, a former Minnesota farmhand who played three games with the Wild, has 28 points (6g, 22a), including 12 points (2g, 10a) in the last 12 games. Ilya Bryzgalov is the main man in goal, having gone 15-14-5 with a 2.27 goals against average, up from 1.66 in mid November. Four of his 15 wins have come via shutout. Bryzgalov's numbers are vastly improved from last season's 12-26-9, 2.82 goals against average campaign. Bryzgalov was Cincinnati's second-round pick in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. The Russian's backup is Eddy Ferhi, who is 2-6-2 with a 3.27 goals against average in this, his rookie season out of Sacred Heart University.

Aeros/Ducks connections –

Houston president Tom Garrity served in the same capacity with Cincinnati prior to this season. Cincinnati's Mike Mottau was a teammate of Houston goalie Johan Holmqvist for most of three seasons, from 2000-2003, in Hartford. Mottau also spent time in Saint John last season alongside current Aero Jan Vodrazka.

Mighty Ducks defenseman Chris Armstrong spent one season in the Wild organization. He played 77 games with Cleveland in 2000-01, and also saw action in three games with Minnesota that season, his only three NHL games.

Houston's Kyle Wanvig and Cincinnati's Joel Stepp each played for WHL Red Deer in 1999-2000 and 2000-01, and they helped the Rebels to a Memorial Cup title.

Aeros 10-6-7-1 in last 24 – Houston has just six regulation losses (10-6-7-1) in its last 24 games (.583 win pct), and the Aeros snapped a franchise-record 13-game winless streak (0-5-7-1) Saturday.

Tonight the Aeros will look for their first set of back-to-back wins since a three-game winning streak from December 20-26.

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

Houston's 13-game winless streak was the longest in the AHL this season and was the longest in the league since Cleveland was winless in 13 straight from last March 15 through the end of the season.

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

The Aeros' six-game winning streak December 5-17 was tied for the second-longest in the AHL this season.

In the season's first 20 games, Houston allowed a league-worst 3.36 goals per game. In the last 26 games, the Aeros are yielding just 1.96 goals per game. That has helped Houston move out of the basement to 2.72 goals against per game, 19th in the AHL.

‘O' looking to regroup –

Houston has scored seven combined goals in its last two games, tied for the most over a two-game span this season.

The Aeros have scored just 36 goals in 18 games (2.00 goals per game) since beating Norfolk 5-3 December 17.

Houston has been held to two goals or fewer in 13 of the last 18 games, including a scoreless streak of 178 minutes, 52 seconds that included back-to-back shutouts January 8-9.

In the last eight games, Houston is averaging 1.63 goals per game.

Offensively in the AHL, the Aeros have slipped to 23rd at 2.28 goals per game.

Aeros and Ducks tied for fourth – The winner of tonight's game will move into sole possession of fourth place in the AHL's West Division. Houston and Cincinnati each have 42 points, although the Ducks do have two games in hand on the Aeros. Milwaukee is in third place with 48 points, and the Admirals will have six games in hand on the Aeros after tonight. Houston's highest position this season was tied for third on December 28-29.

Aeros have outshot eight straight opponents – Houston enters tonight's game leading the AHL with 33.85 shots per game, and the Aeros have outshot each of their last eight opponents. The last team to outshoot Houston was Rochester (38-36) on January 4. The Ducks rank 13th in the AHL in shots against (28.75 per game) and have gotten outshot in each game during their three-game winless streak. Cincinnati is 11-8-4-1 when outshooting an opponent and 6-11-3-0 when trailing in shots.

Four straight regulation games an irregularity – The Aeros haven't gone to overtime in any of their past four games, which is a story because from December 27-January 17, eight of 10 games went into the extra session. The Aeros, winless at 0-3-9 in overtime, are one of just three AHL teams without an extra session win. Houston's 12 OT non-wins are the most of those three teams. The Aeros went 8-3-7 in overtime last season, second in the league in extra session wins (Chicago, 11). Houston's 12 overtime games this season are still not even halfway to the franchise record of 26 shootout games in the 1998-99 season. The AHL record for overtime games is also 26, set in 2001-02 by both Albany and Rochester. The Aeros' nine ties are still nine short of the AHL/overtime era record, set in 1997-98 by St. John's. New Haven played to 20 ties in 1972-73, but that was before the AHL played overtime periods.

Holmqvist snaps seven-decision winless streak – Saturday, Aeros netminder Johan Holmqvist picked up his first win since December 26 and came within 1:02 of his third shutout of the season. Holmqvist was the 2003 Butterfield Trophy winner as the playoff Most Valuable Player.

From December 28-January 21, Holmqvist went 0-4-3 with a no decision and a 3.01 goals against average. His seven-decision winless streak was one more than his season-high, an 0-5-1 run from November 20-December 3, and one shy of his career-worst eight-game winless streak, an 0-5-3 span from December 6, 2002, to January 3, 2003.

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 13 wins this season, Holmqvist is allowing 1.00 goals per game and sports a .962 save percentage. In his 23 non-wins, Holmqvist sports a 3.69 goals against average and a .871 save percentage. Holmqvist and the Aeros have just one win this season when yielding more than one goal.

Kettles unbeaten in last six starts – Rookie goalie Kyle Kettles is unbeaten in his last six starts (2-0-4) and has recorded a tie in each of his last four starts. Kettles was tagged with the loss in relief January 16 versus San Antonio, stopping eight of 11 shots in the third period of a 6-3 loss to the Rampage. Kettles, who has turned aside 145 of 151 shots (96.0 percent) in his last six starts, has lowered his goals against average from 3.65 to 2.19. The netminder picked up his first AHL shutout by making 20 saves in a January 9 game versus Worcester. Unfortunately for Kettles, his team didn't score either and he had to settle for a tie. Kettles is 2-4-4 this season but seemingly deserves a better fate. In his nine starts, the Aeros have scored just 10 goals and have been shut out twice. Kettles hasn't lost a game he started since falling 3-1 to Milwaukee on December 1.

Holmqvist 1-2-0 against Ducks – Aeros netminder Johan Holmqvist is 1-2-0 with a no decision in four career games against Cincinnati. Holmqvist's goals against average versus the Ducks is 3.14, and his save percentage is .880. Holmqvist made 22 saves in a 3-1 win over Cincinnati December 5 for his only victory over the Ducks. Kyle Kettles posted 33 saves as the teams battled to a 2-2 tie January 2, after making 24 saves in a 2-1 Aeros win December 20. Kettles is 1-0-1 with a 1.50 goals against average and a .950 save percentage versus Cincinnati. Frederic Cloutier hasn't faced the Ducks.

Bryzgalov 1-6-1 versus Aeros – Mighty Ducks netminder Ilya Bryzgalov has not fared well against Houston in his career. The Russia native is 1-6-1 with a 2.98 goals against average in seven eight games versus the Aeros. Bryzgalov snapped a five-game losing streak against Houston by making 22 saves in a 4-2 win December 19.

Penalty kill update –

Houston killed off its first 31 shorthanded chances this season. Since then, opponents are 25-for-177 (14.1 percent) on the power play.

The Aeros' overall 88.0 percent penalty kill rate ranks sixth in the AHL.

Houston has allowed one power play goal on 11 chances in the last three games (9.1 percent) after yielding four on 17 chances (23.5 percent) January 16-18.

Houston allowed two power play goals January 16 and 18 and is winless (0-6-1-0) when yielding two or more PPG.

The Aeros have yielded no power play goals in 29 of their 46 games, and have points in all but eight of those games (10-8-8-3).

Cincinnati's power-play unit is ranked 23rd in the AHL at 12.4 percent, including an improved 13.2 percent on the road (17th in the league). The Ducks have given up an AHL-high eight shorthanded goals though.

In the last five games, the Ducks are 2-for-18 on the power play (11.1 percent), including a 1-for-3 performance Sunday versus Cleveland.

Power play update –

Houston enters tonight's game 30 of 268 on the power play (11.2 percent), 26th among 28 AHL teams.

The Aeros have gone 18-for-125 (14.4 percent) since Matt Foy snapped a streak of 37 straight unsuccessful power plays December 5, raising their percentage from 8.3 to 11.2.

Houston is 3-for-38 (7.9 percent) on the power play over its last eight games, and Kevin Mitchell's 5-on-3 power-play goal Saturday snapped a streak of four games without a man-advantage goal.

Houston's 268 power plays are the most in the AHL, although Manitoba has nearly caught up (253). In order to put the Aeros' power-play totals in perspective, realize that they have an astounding 102 more power plays than in-state rival San Antonio, which has the fewest in the league.

Tonight, the Aeros will be tested as they face a penalty kill unit ranked second in the league at 89.0 percent, including 88.2 percent on the road (seventh in AHL).

In the last five games, the Ducks have allowed four power-play goals on 22 chances (81.8 kill pct).

The Ducks yielded two power-play goals to Cleveland on Sunday, the first time they've done that since October 23 versus Milwaukee.

Houston has one win when allowing more than one goal - The Aeros are an unbeaten in regulation 14-0-3-1 when allowing one goal or fewer this season, and December 17 was their only win (1-19-6-2) when yielding two or more, a 5-3 home victory over Norfolk.

Aeros have first goal in 15 of 22 games – Houston has scored first in 15 of its last 22 games, but Saturday marked the first time in eight games the Aeros scored first and won. Houston had been 0-3-4-0 in its last seven chances when taking a 1-0 lead. Houston is 7-3-5-0 in the last 15 when scoring first and 12-4-5-1 overall when scoring first. January 16 marked the Aeros' only home loss when scoring first (5-1-3-0).

But when not scoring first... - The Aeros are 3-15-3-2 when allowing the game's first goal, including a winless 0-9-2-0 mark on the road. By rallying for a 1-1 tie January 17 in San Antonio, Houston picked up just its second road point when allowing the first goal.

Aeros notch point when trailing after two – Houston rallied in the third period January 17 to force a 1-1 tie, marking the Aeros sixth point – third on the road – when trailing after two. The Aeros, who have yet to win when trailing after 40 minutes, are 0-16-5-1 overall in such situations and 0-9-3-0 away from Toyota Center. Houston is one of five AHL teams without a win when trailing after two periods, but its six points are the most among those five teams. Last season, the Aeros were second in the AHL with six wins when trailing after two periods. Grand Rapids led the circuit with seven.

Hoggan, Veilleux ironmen – Houston sports just two players who have played in each of the team's first 46 games – Stephane Veilleux and Jeff Hoggan. Veilleux's consecutive game streak is at 52 games dating back to last season, while Hoggan has played in 49 straight games.

Hendrickson plays in 600th pro game, closing in on other milestones – Aeros centerman Darby Hendrickson played in his 600th professional game December 30. Hendrickson, who spent eight full seasons in the NHL, has 193 points (96g, 97a) in his 611-game pro career. Hendrickson is four goals and three assists shy of 100 in his pro career in both those categories. Hendrickson played in his 100th AHL game December 27. He has 68 points (32g, 36a) in 113 career AHL contests.

All Mitchell does is score power play goals – Defenseman Kevin Mitchell's first goal in an Aeros uniform came Saturday on the power play, but that shouldn't be a surprise. 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 have been on the power play. Mitchell's last non power play goal came 13 months ago - on December 7, 2002, with ECHL Louisiana against Arkansas. Last season with the IceGators, Mitchell had 23 of his 34 points on the power play. With the Aeros, three of his six points are on the power play.

Roche gets 100, twice - Houston defenseman Travis Roche has two goals and eight assists in the last 12 games, and he reached a pair of milestones Saturday. Roche's assist on Kevin Mitchell's 5-on-3 game-winning goal in the second period was his 100th point as a pro, while his helper on Kyle Wanvig's third-period goal was his 100th point as an Aero. Roche has 101 points (31g, 70a) in 167 pro games, while he has 100 points (31g, 69a) in 157 Aeros games. Roche has one assist in 10 career games with the Minnesota Wild.

Cavosie tied with rookie season numbers - Marc Cavosie just played in his 42nd game of the season, and his five goals, 14 assists and 19 points are identical to the numbers he put up in his 2002-03 rookie season. Cavosie has five assists in the last six games and he has three multi-point games, one better than his total from last season.

McLellan gets No. 100 – December 26, Houston head coach Todd McLellan joined current Dallas Stars coach Dave Tippett as the only coaches in team history with 100 victories. McClellan is now 101-68-26-11 in his 2 ½-season reign with the club. McLellan will have to keep at it to top Tippett's 165-win total. Tippett coached the Aeros for 3 ½ seasons and - like McLellan - led his team to a championship, the 1999 Turner Cup. McLellan's overall pro coaching record is 144-100-33-11 in 3 ½ seasons. He coached IHL Cleveland in 2000-01 before coming to Houston. McLellan picked up his 100th victory in his 192nd game with the team, just five more games than it took Tippett to reach the plateau. McLellan coached his 200th game with the Aeros January 9. McLellan missed five games due to illness January 16-23.

Houston past halfway point – The Aeros passed the official midway point of the season with a 14-15-8-3 mark and now sport a 15-19-9-3 mark. Below is a breakdown of Houston's season so far in 10-game segments.

Games 1-10 3-6-1-0, 7 points GF: 23 GA: 33 PP: 6-62 (9.7%) PK: 37-40 (92.5%)

Games 11-20 2-5-1-2, 7 points GF: 26 GA: 35 PP: 6-60 (10.0%) PK: 51-60 (85.0%)

Games 21-30 7-3-0-0, 14 points GF: 24 GA: 17 PP: 8-69 (11.6%) PK: 43-47 (91.5%)

Games 31-40 2-1-6-1, 11 points GF: 18 GA: 19 PP: 7-49 (14.3%) PK: 29-33 (87.9%)

Games 41-46 1-4-1-0, 3 point GF: 14 GA: 21 PP: 3-29 (10.3%) PK: 23-28 (82.1%)

Houston's home winless streak over – It's been feast or famine at home for the Aeros, who recently had a nine-game unbeaten Toyota Center streak (6-0-3-0) and an 11-game home points streak (6-0-4-1) snapped.

The Aeros' 4-1 win over Syracuse on Saturday snapped a six-game home winless streak (0-1-4-1). That marked the Aeros' season high and was two short of the franchise record, set from December 5-31, 1995.

The Aeros went 29 days between home wins December 26 and January 24.

Houston's six-game home winless streak was one shy of the AHL season high of seven, set by Albany from November 19-December 12.

Houston's nine-game home unbeaten streak, snapped January 8 in a 1-0 overtime loss to Hartford, was the second longest in the AHL this season, trailing only Bridgeport's 10-game run from October 25-December 17.

Houston started off its first season in Toyota Center just 2-6-1-1 but has improved to 9-7-5-2 at its new home. In the last 13 Toyota Center games, the Aeros have just one regulation loss and are 7-1-4-1.

Aeros winless in seven straight on the road –

Houston is 0-4-3-0 in its last seven road games, one more than its previous season-high and franchise record-tying, 0-4-1-1 run from November 20-December 3.

Houston also went winless in six straight on the road from February 19-March 19, 2003 (0-4-1-1).

The Aeros' last win away from Toyota Center was a 2-1 decision in Utah December 23. Houston is 6-12-4-1 on the road this season.

Houston's seven-game road winless streak is two shy of Albany's current AHL season-high.

Former Aeros in NHL All Star Game - Former Aeros Filip Kuba and Robert Lang have become the first IHL/AHL era Aeros to be selected to the NHL All-Star Game after wearing the Houston uniform. Kuba registered nine points (3g, 6a) in 27 games with the IHL Aeros in 1999-2000 and will represent the Minnesota Wild in the game, in St. Paul next month. Lang, who notched eight points (1g, 7a) in nine games with the IHL Aeros in 1997-98, is Washington's lone representative after Jaromir Jagr was traded to the New York Rangers. Lang is enjoying his finest NHL season with 58 points (23g, 35a) in just 50 games.

Aeros climbing attendance charts – The Aeros have put 24,966 fans in the seats their last two games at Toyota Center, improving to an average of 5,065 fans, 12th in the AHL. Houston averaged 4,359 just two weeks ago, and has jumped up five places in attendance. Houston had its largest crowd in nearly five seasons at 13,362 on January 16, then hosted 11,642 Satudray – its third largest crowd since the 1999 Turner Cup Finals.

Quick hits

The Aeros have just two wins this season when allowing a goal in the third period, including Saturday. The Aeros are 13-3-6-2 when keeping their opponents off the board in the third, including an unbeaten in regulation 12-1-6-2 the last 21 times.

Houston's Chris Bala has both of his team's game-winning goals versus the Ducks this season.

Cincinnati's Casey Hankinson has points in seven straight games (4+5=9) and Tony Martensson has points in five straight (1+5=6).

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from January 27, 2004


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central