Aeros Game Day

Published on February 5, 2004 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Houston Aeros News Release


Houston Aeros vs. Utah Grizzlies, 2/5

Grizzlies at Aeros (Aeros lead series 43-37-3-1 overall, lead 21-15-2-1 at Houston)

Tonight marks the 85th all-time meeting between Houston and the Utah franchise, including its play in Denver in 1994-95, and the 40th meeting in Houston. The 85 meetings are the most between the Aeros and an opponent.

This is the seventh of 10 meetings this season – Houston is 3-3-0-0 in first six, and the home team has won half of those meetings.

In the last meeting on Tuesday, Travis Roche's goal and two assists tied his career high in points, leading the Aeros to a 3-1 win at Toyota Center.

The Aeros are 3-1-0-0 in the last four meetings after losing three straight March 20-November 7, 2003.

Since moving to the AHL, Houston is 15-11-2-1 versus Utah, including a 7-4-1-1 mark at home.

The Aeros are 20-12-1-1 overall in the last 34 meetings.

Houston has scored only 14 goals in the last seven meetings with Utah (2.00 goals per game).

Houston makes its final trip of 2003-04 to Utah on February 22 for the teams' next meeting.

2003-04 meetings (Seventh of 10 meetings, Aeros 3-3-0-0 overall, 1-1-0-0 at Houston)

October 26: Utah 2 at Houston 1

November 7: Houston 1 at Utah 6

November 8: Houston 4 at Utah 3

December 3: Houston 1 at Utah 3

December 23: Houston 2 at Utah 1

Tuesday: Utah 1 at Houston 3

Tonight: Utah at Houston

February 22: Houston at Utah

March 6: Utah at Houston

March 23: Utah at Houston

Last game – Travis Roche had a goal and two helpers to tie a career-high in points, and Johan Holmqvist posted 24 saves and also registered an assist, as the Houston Aeros beat the Utah Grizzlies 3-1 at Toyota Center. Stephane Veilleux and Chris Bala also scored for Houston, which rebounded from a 7-2 loss at Manitoba on Saturday. The Aeros (46 points) broke out of a fourth-place tie with Cincinnati. Nick Naumenko scored and Dan Ellis stopped 26 shots for Utah, which has lost seven of eight and came within 4:55 of being shut out for the ninth time in 49 games this season. The Grizzlies, who entered the game averaging just 1.90 goals per game, were held to two or less for the 10th straight game.

Scouting the Aeros – Tonight the Aeros look to record back-to-back wins for the first time since a three-game winning streak from December 20-26. Houston is playing its second of 20 consecutive games against the West Division, including all 15 in February, and has three wins in its last 18 games (3-7-7-1). The Aeros' leading scorer is Stephane Veilleux (10+17=27), who is two points ahead of Dan Cavanaugh (9+16=25). Veilleux has four goals in the last six games. Kyle Wanvig (16+8=24) leads the team in goals and is third overall in scoring. His 16 goals are five more than any teammate (Jeff Hoggan has 11). Travis Roche (5+18=23) paces the blueline with 23 points, including 15 points in his last 15 games and a career-high tying three points Tuesday. Erik Reitz (3+17=20), who has four assists in the last three games, is also lighting it up from the defensive position. Aeros captain Jason Marshall (5+10=15) and his 15 points are currently in Minnesota. Houston's leading newcomer is Mika Hannula (7+10=17) with 17 points, although Hannula's three seasons in the Swedish Elite League mean he doesn't qualify as a rookie. Last year's Calder Cup Most Valuable Player, goalie Johan Holmqvist, has started 39 of the team's first 50 games, going 15-18-5 with a 2.69 goals against average. Holmqvist is 3-5-3 in his last 11 decisions, but he has won each of his last two starts. His backup is second-year netminder Kyle Kettles, who is 2-5-4 with a 2.44 goals against average. Kettles, who is winless in five straight starts (0-1-4) and six appearances (0-2-4), has just 12 goals of support in 10 starts this season.

Scouting the Grizzlies – Utah has lost seven of eight to make tonight's game with the Aeros monumental to the Grizzlies' playoff hopes. Utah has 37 points, seven behind Cincinnati, which currently holds the fifth and final playoff spot from the West Division. The Grizzlies, who are last in the AHL in scoring at 1.88 goals per game, have scored two or fewer goals in 10 straight games. Jarrod Skalde is by far the Grizzlies' leading scorer with 40 points (18+22=40), more than twice as many points as Utah's next best scorer, David Gove (8+10=18). Skalde has a hand in 40 of the Grizzlies' 92 goals (43.5 percent), and he also has six of his team's 13 goals in the last 11 games. The Grizzlies' third-leading scorer, former Aero David Oliver (5+12=17), has been up in Dallas for the last month and has played well with the Stars. Utah's leading active defenseman is Dan Jancevski (3+12=15), who will represent Utah at the All-Star Game next week. Tim Wedderburn (0+8=8) is the only other Grizzlies' blueliner approaching the double-digit mark in points. Mike Smith just returned to Utah from a call-up to Dallas, where he spent most of the past month backing up Marty Turco. Smith, who returned to shut out Grand Rapids 1-0, is 8-10-0 with a 2.87 goals against average. Dan Ellis is 1-5-0 with a 2.20 goals against average, losing five straight decisions since a shutout in his first AHL game. Two of those losses have been to the Aeros, including the 3-1 loss Tuesday at Toyota Center.

Aeros/Grizzlies connections

Utah's Rob Valicevic was an Aero for three seasons, from 1996-1999. Valicevic totaled 129 points (56g, 73a) in 187 games with the team.

Houston's Chris Bala and Utah's David Gove played together in 2001-02 in Grand Rapids.

Aeros netminder Johan Holmqvist played with Utah's Barrett Heisten in 2001-02 in Hartford.

Houston enforcer Derek Boogaard and Utah's Tim Wedderburn were teammates for two seasons, 1999-2000 and 2000-01 in WHL Prince George.

Utah's Brett Draney played with Houston's Kyle Kettles in Medicine Hat for the 2000-01 season, plus five games in the 2001-02 campaign before Kettles was traded to Moose Jaw.

Houston's Kyle Wanvig and Utah's Regan Darby were teammates in WHL Red Deer in 1998-99.

Grizzlies goalie Dan Ellis played with Houston's Jeff Hoggan at Nebraska-Omaha.

Houston's Michael Schutte played with Utah's Barrett Heisten at the University of Maine in 1999-2000.

Utah's Nick Naumenko was Jan Vodrazka's teammate in Kansas City in 1999-2000. Naumenko also played for Aeros head coach Todd McLellan in Cleveland in 2000-01. Naumenko and Travis Roche both went to the University of North Dakota, but not together.

Aeros in fourth – Houston has 46 points, two better than Cincinnati for fourth place in the West Division. The Aeros were last alone in fourth place on January 15, and they stayed there because of the Ducks' 1-0 loss in Grand Rapids last night. Houston holds a four-point edge on sixth-place San Antonio, which beat Chicago 4-3 last night and has an important six games in hand on the Aeros, and Houston is nine points ahead of last-place Utah. Cincinnati plays host to Utah on Friday before hosting Grand Rapids on Saturday. San Antonio, meanwhile, travels to Norfolk Friday and Saturday. Houston's highest position this season was tied for third on December 28-29. The Aeros are currently seven points behind third-place Milwaukee.

Aeros 3-7-7-1 in last 18 – Houston has three wins in its last 18 games (3-7-7-1) but also only eight regulation losses in the last 28 games (12-8-7-1). The Aeros snapped a franchise-record 13-game winless streak (0-5-7-1) January 24.

Tonight, Houston will try to win back-to-back games for the first time 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. It was also the longest stretch in the AHL 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' 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 next 30 games, the Aeros have yielded just 2.13 goals per game. The defensive streak has helped Houston move out of the basement to 2.76 goals against per game, 20th in the AHL.

‘O' starting to heat up –

Houston has scored 18 goals in its last six games (3.00 average).

The Aeros have scored just 47 goals in 22 games (2.14 goals per game) since beating Norfolk 5-3 December 17.

Houston has been held to two goals or fewer in 15 of the last 22 games, including a scoreless streak of 178 minutes, 52 seconds that included back-to-back shutouts January 8-9.

In the last 12 contests, the Aeros are averaging 2.08 goals per game.

Offensively in the AHL, the Aeros are 21st in the AHL at 2.32 goals per game.

Houston has scored one goal or fewer in 14 of its 50 games this season (28.0 percent) and two goals or less in 31 of 50 games (62.0 percent).

Grizzlies struggling offensively –

Utah has scored two or fewer goals in 10 straight games, including two shutouts and five games with just one goal. The Grizzlies, who are 2-8-0-0 in that stretch, last scored three or more goals in a 4-1 win at Milwaukee January 10.

In their last five wins, the Grizzlies have allowed just two goals, including three shutouts. Utah is ranked 28th and last in the AHL in offense at 1.88 goals per game. The Grizzlies are on pace to score just 150 goals this season, which would be a new AHL 80-game season record. Albany scored 172 in the 2001-02 season.

Shooting gallery – Houston enters tonight's game second in the AHL with 33.36 shots per game. The Aeros have outshot 10 of their last 12 opponents. Uncharacteristically though, Houston has not reached the 30-shot plateau in its last two home games. Utah ranks 25th in shots (26.45 per game), and 19th in shots against (30.76).

Eight straight regulation games an irregularity – The Aeros haven't gone to overtime in any of their past eight 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 two AHL teams without an extra session win. Utah is the other, with an 0-3-4 mark. 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. Hershey leads the AHL this season with 17 extra session games (6-3-8), while Providence's 10 ties are tops in the circuit.

Holmqvist 3-5-3 in last 11 – Aeros netminder Johan Holmqvist is 3-5-3 in his last 11 decisions. Holmqvist was the 2003 Butterfield Trophy winner as the playoff Most Valuable Player.

Holmqvist has won back-to-back starts for the first time since his six-game winning streak December 5-17.

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 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 15 wins this season, Holmqvist is allowing 1.07 goals per game and sports a .960 save percentage. In his 25 non-wins, Holmqvist sports a 3.70 goals against average and a .870 save percentage. Holmqvist and the Aeros have just two wins this season when yielding more than one goal.

Kettles' unbeaten streak snapped –

Rookie goalie Kyle Kettles was 2-0-4 with a 0.95 goals against average and a .960 save percentage in six starts from December 23-January 17, dropping his goals against average from 3.65 to 2.19.

Kettles is now winless in five straight starts (0-1-4) and six appearances (0-2-4) since his last win, a 26-save effort in a 2-1 win over Utah December 23.

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.

The Aeros have scored just 12 goals in Kettles' 10 starts this season.

Holmqvist 4-2-1 against Grizzlies – Aeros netminder Johan Holmqvist is 4-2-1 with a sparkling 1.56 goals against average and a shutout in seven career games versus Utah. This season, he is 2-2-0 with a 1.77 goals against average against the Grizzlies. Kyle Kettles has split two games with the Grizzlies this season, impressively making 26 saves in a 2-1 Aeros' win in Utah on December 23.

Smith 2-1-0 vs. Aeros – Utah goalie Mike Smith is 2-1-0 with a 1.89 goals against average and a .945 save percentage in four career starts versus the Aeros. He picked up a no decision November 8. Smith had a career outing versus Houston on October 26 at Toyota Center, making 49 saves in a 2-1 Grizzlies victory. Dan Ellis has lost both starts against the Aeros in this, his rookie season, with a 2.56 goals against average.

Penalty kill update –

Houston killed off its first 31 shorthanded chances this season. Since then, opponents are 30-for-198 (15.2 percent) on the power play.

The Aeros' overall 86.9 percent penalty kill rate (199-229) is tied for 11th in the AHL, after spending much of season in the top 10.

Houston's four straight games allowing a power-play goal ties a season-high (December 3-12).

The Aeros have yielded 10 power-play goals in 49 chances (79.6 kill rate) in the last 10 games.

Houston is winless (0-7-1-0) when yielding two or more PPG.

The Aeros have yielded no power play goals in 29 of their 50 games, and have points in all but eight of those games (10-8-8-3).

Utah is 4-for-22 on the power play (18.2 percent) versus the Aeros this season. Jarrod Skalde, Jeff MacMillan, Andrew Berenzweig and Nick Naumenko have the man-advantage goals for the Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies rank 27th in the AHL on the power play at 11.2 percent.

The Grizzlies are 13.5 percent on the power play on the road, compared to a paltry 9.2 percent at home.

Utah is 2-for-14 on the power play over its last four games and 3-for-25 in the last seven.

Power play update –

Houston enters tonight's game 34 of 297 on the power play (11.4 percent), tied for 25th among 28 AHL teams.

The Aeros have gone 22-for-154 (14.3 percent) since Matt Foy snapped a streak of 37 straight unsuccessful power plays December 5, raising their percentage from 8.3 to 11.4.

Houston is 4-for-23 (17.4 percent) on the power play over its last three games, after a stretch of 1-for-32 the previous six games.

Houston's 297 power plays are the most in the AHL, 29 more than second-place Manitoba. In order to put the Aeros' power-play totals in perspective, realize that they have an astounding 126 more power plays than in-state rival San Antonio, which has the fewest in the league.

The Aeros have just five wins in 24 games (5-12-6-1) when not scoring a power-play goal.

Houston is just 3-for-40 on the power play (7.5 percent) against the Grizzlies this season. The three power-play tallies were scored by Jason Marshall, Erik Reitz and Matt Foy.

The Grizzlies are tied for second in the AHL on the penalty kill at 88.8 percent. Their 6-for-6 kill Tuesday snapped a three-game streak where opponents scored on 4-of-16 chances (25.0 percent).

Houston has two wins when allowing more than one goal - The Aeros are an unbeaten in regulation 15-0-3-1 when allowing one goal or fewer this season, and December 17 and January 30 were their only wins (2-21-6-2) when yielding two or more.

Aeros have first goal in 17 of 26 games – Houston has scored first in 17 of its last 26 games, but in only five of the last 12 games. Houston is 9-3-5-0 in the last 17 when scoring first and 14-4-5-1 overall when scoring first. January 16 marked the Aeros' only home loss when scoring first (6-1-3-0). Houston has just 10 goals in the first period at home.

But when not scoring first... - The Aeros are 3-17-3-2 when allowing the game's first goal, including a winless 0-10-2-0 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. Utah, meanwhile, is 0-20-0-0 when trailing after two periods – the only team in the AHL without at least one point when doing so.

Hoggan, Veilleux ironmen – Houston sports just two players who have played in each of the team's first 50 games – Stephane Veilleux and Jeff Hoggan. Veilleux's consecutive game streak is at 56 games dating back to last season, while Hoggan has played in 53 straight games.

Hendrickson closes in on 200 points, 100 goals and assists – Aeros centerman Darby Hendrickson has 196 points (98g, 98a) in his 615-game pro career. Hendrickson is two goals and two assists shy of 100 in his pro career in both those categories. Hendrickson played in his 100th AHL game December 27. He has 71 points (34g, 37a) in 117 career AHL contests. Hendrickson, who spent eight full seasons in the NHL, played in his 600th pro game December 30.

All Mitchell does is score power play goals; five-game assist streak was team-best –

Defenseman Kevin Mitchell's first goal in an Aeros uniform came January 24 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 14 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, five of his nine points have come 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, and that is one off the team season-high set by Dan Cavanaugh.

Mitchell's five-game assist streak was an Aeros season-high by two games.

Roche at a point per game in last 15 - Houston defenseman Travis Roche has three goals and 12 assists in the last 15 games, and he reached a pair of milestones January 24. 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 106 points (32g, 74a) in 171 pro games, while he has 105 points (32g, 73a) in 161 Aeros games. Roche has one assist in 10 career games with the Minnesota Wild.

Cavosie betters rookie season numbers - Marc Cavosie has already bettered last season's five-goal total. His 20 points (6+14=20) are also one better than last season's rookie total, and his 14 assists are tied with that mark. Cavosie has a goal and five assists in the last 10 games and he has three multi-point games, one better than his total from last season.

Reitz sets new personal-best, too - Second-year defenseman Erik Reitz posted two assists Friday and Saturday in Manitoba. Reitz' 20 points (3+17=20) are one better than last season's rookie total of 19 (6+13=19). Reitz has 17 helpers this season, already four better than last season's rookie mark. Reitz has seven points (1+6=7) in his last 10 games, including a trio of multi-point contests. Reitz is second to Travis Roche (5+18=23) for the team lead in scoring among defensemen.

Houston at 50-game mark – The Aeros passed the official midway point of the season with a 14-15-8-3 mark and now sport a 17-21-9-3 record. 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 41-50 3-6-1-0, 7 points GF: 25 GA: 34 PP: 7-58 (12.1%) PK: 39-49 (79.6%)

West to be won or lost in February – Tonight, the Aeros play game two of a stretch of 20 consecutive games against the Western Division, including all 15 February games. The next nine games after tonight will be against the top three teams in the division, Grand Rapids, Chicago and Milwaukee. Houston, which has already wrapped up its home schedule against everybody but the West, is 11-14-6-2 against its division. The Aeros have three non division games left, from March 17-21 (one against Worcester, two versus Norfolk).

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.

Tonight, the Aeros will try for their second straight Toyota Center win for the first time since a season-high six-game home winning streak December 5-26.

The Aeros' 4-1 win over Syracuse January 24 snapped a season-high six-game home winless streak (0-1-4-1), the second longest AHL streak this season.

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 10-8-5-2 at its new home. In the last 15 Toyota Center games, the Aeros have just two regulation losses and are 8-2-4-1.

Handful of Grizzlies have made living against Aeros - Jarrod Skalde has 34 points (11+23=34), including four power-play goals, in 37 games against the Aeros. Nick Naumenko has 11 points (6+5=11) in 22 games, with each of his six goals coming on the power play. David Gove, meanwhile, has seen two of his seven goals (7+3=10) credited as game-winners in 18 games against Houston.

Aeros blueline feeling not so blue – In the last six games, Houston's defensive corps, counting goalie Johan Holmqvist, has nearly outscored the team's forwards. The Aeros' blueline, along with Holmqvist, has accounted for 24 points (3+21=24) in the last six games, while the forwards have 26 points over that same span. Travis Roche has eight of the defense's 24 points (2+6=8) in the last six.

Quick hits

Houston's Jason Beckett (200 AHL games played), Marc Cavosie is (100 pro, Aeros games played) and Zbynek Michalek (100 Aeros games played) all reached milestones Tuesday.

The Aeros' blueline and goaltenders have accounted for 15 of the teams' 34 points versus the Grizzlies (44.1 percent), led by Jason Marshall's five points (2+3=5).

Utah has been outscored by a whopping 60-32 in the third period this season.

The Grizzlies have outshot just four teams on the road this season, going 0-3-1-0 in those contests.

Utah is the first team to lose three games to the Aeros this season.

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American Hockey League Stories from February 5, 2004


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