Aeros Game Day

February 11, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Houston Aeros News Release


Tonight's game is Internet only. Tune in at www.aeros.com beginning at 7 p.m.

Houston Aeros at Chicago Wolves, 2/11

Aeros at Wolves (Aeros lead all-time series 28-19-11-4, Aeros are 12-13-3-2 at Chicago)

· Tonight is the 63rd all-time meeting between the Wolves and Aeros – 31st in Chicago.

· Houston is winless in its last six trips to Allstate Arena (0-4-0-2), and the Aeros have lost the last four games in regulation. The Aeros' last win in Chicago was a 5-4 overtime affair January 15, 2003.

· Houston has scored just two goals in each of its last four games against Chicago and is winless in the last five meetings (0-3-2-0) – one shy of its longest winless streak in the series, from November 6, 1999-April 16, 2000.

· The Aeros have lost three straight overall against Chicago. Houston's last four-game losing streak versus the Wolves was from November 6, 1999, to March 19, 2000.

· Since joining the AHL, Houston is 10-10-6-4 versus Chicago, including a 4-7-1-2 road mark.

· The Aeros have just three wins in the last 14 matchups (3-5-3-3) but have points in nine of those games.

· Nine of the last 16 meetings have gone into overtime but none of the last three have.

· Chicago is one of three teams against whom the Aeros have a losing record on the road in franchise history. Milwaukee and Grand Rapids are the others.

· Tonight marks the fourth of Houston's five trips to Chicago this season. The teams finish off the season series February 21 at Allstate Arena.

2003-04 meetings (Ninth of 10 meetings, Aeros are 1-4-3-0 overall, 0-3-0-0 in Chicago) October 31: Chicago 2 at Houston 2 (OT) November 22: Chicago 4 at Houston 3 December 7: Chicago 1 at Houston 3 December 28: Chicago 3 at Houston 3 (OT) December 30: Chicago 2 at Houston 2 (OT) January 3: Houston 2 at Chicago 4 January 18: Houston 2 at Chicago 5 February 7: Houston 2 at Chicago 4 Tonight: Houston at Chicago February 21: Houston at Chicago

Last game – Shawn Heins and Derek MacKenzie each scored in the opening 4:37 of the game, leading the Chicago Wolves past the Houston Aeros 4-2 at Allstate Arena on Saturday in the final game before the All-Star break. Tommi Santala and former Aero Greg Hawgood also scored and Michael Garnett, starting in place of the ill Frederic Cassivi, made 26 saves for Chicago, which snapped a two-game skid. The game started 30 minutes late due to a 2 p.m. DePaul-Marquette basketball game that ended at 4:15 p.m., less than three hours before the original start time of the hockey game. Mark Cullen recorded a goal and an assist, Jason Marshall also scored and Johan Holmqvist turned aside 26 shots for Houston, which has a pair of losses to start its season-long, five-game road trip.

Scouting the Aeros – Tonight the Aeros play their fifth of 20 straight games against the West Division, including all 15 in February. Houston has lost its last two games to start a five-game road trip, after sweeping a pair of home games from last-place Utah. The Aeros' leading scorer is Stephane Veilleux (12+19=31), who has a goal in six of his last nine games and is riding a career-high-tying four-game point streak. Veilleux is five points ahead of defenseman Travis Roche (5+21=26) and Dan Cavanaugh (9+17=26) for the team lead. All Star Kyle Wanvig is fourth with 24 points (16+8=24), one ahead of the injured Rickard Wallin (10+13=23). Wanvig has been held without a point in the last six games. Erik Reitz (3+17=20), who has four assists in the last five games, is lighting it up from the defensive position along with Roche. Aeros captain Jason Marshall (5+11=16) and his 16 points were returned from Minnesota last week. Last season's Calder Cup Most Valuable Player, goalie Johan Holmqvist, has started 41 of the team's first 53 games, going 16-19-5 with a 2.68 goals against average. Holmqvist is 4-6-3 in his last 13 decisions, and he had won three straight starts prior to falling 4-2 in Chicago on Saturday. With Kyle Kettles out with a minor injury, Frederic Cloutier was summoned from ECHL Louisiana and dropped his second decision in as many tries last Friday in Milwaukee.

Scouting the Wolves – Saturday, Chicago rebounded from two straight losses for the first time in nearly two months by knocking off the Aeros 4-2 at Allstate Arena. The Wolves scored twice in the game's opening five minutes to take control. In the last 21 games, Chicago is an impressive 13-4-3-1. The Wolves are led in scoring by the mainstay Steve Maltais (20+22=42), who also has a team-best 10 power-play goals. Right behind him is last season's AHL goal leader Eric Healey (20+15=35), who had some troubles early, but in the last 18 games, Healey has 17 points (10+7=17). Veteran Greg Hawgood, a former Aero, is the team's leading defensive scorer with 25 points (4+21=25). With Kari Lehtonen out with an injury since January 14, Frederic Cassivi has become the full time starter, going 9-9-5 with a 2.81 goals against average. Lehtonen, selected to start this week's All Star Game, is 14-10-1 with a 2.36 goals against average but hasn't played in nearly a month. Michael Garnett has filled in more than admirably for the injured Lehtonen, winning all three starts with a 2.00 goals against average. Chicago's offense is helping to take the pressure off its defense. The Wolves have scored three or more goals 15 times in the last 17 games.

Aeros/Wolves connections –

· Wolves defenseman Greg Hawgood played two full seasons for the Aeros from 1997-99. Hawgood totaled 145 points (36g, 109a) in 157 games with Houston. Hawgood played with Houston's Jan Vodrazka in 2000-01 in Kansas City.

· Chicago centerman Brendan Yarema had 31 points (18g, 13a) in 77 games with the Aeros in 2001-02. Yarema was also Jan Vodrazka's teammate in 1999-2000 with Kansas City.

· Chicago's Brian Swanson was a senior at Colorado College when the Aeros' Mark Cullen was a freshman.

· Wolves assistant coach Marty Howe won a pair of AVCO Cups with the WHA Houston Aeros in 1974-75.

· Houston's Dan Cavanaugh played with Chicago's Joe DiPenta at Boston University in 1998-99.

· Chicago's Eric Healey (1994-98) and Houston's Marc Cavosie (1999-2002) each played collegiately at RPI.

· Houston's Kyle Wanvig and Chicago netminder Michael Garnett played two seasons together at WHL Red Deer, helping the Rebels to a Memorial Cup title.

Aeros get on the road again –

· Tonight, the Aeros play game three of a season-long five game road trip, with all five games coming against the top three teams in the West Division. Houston is 3-7-1 against those three teams on the road this season.

· The Aeros' three-game road losing streak has tied a season-high and is one game shy of the franchise record, set from September 30-October 15, 1995.

· Houston is now 7-15-4-1 on the road, including a 1-7-3-0 mark in the last 11 games.

· The Aeros' win January 30 in Manitoba snapped a franchise-record seven-game road winless streak (0-4-3-0).

Aeros in fourth – Fourth-place Houston has 48 points, two better than Cincinnati and nine points behind third-place Milwaukee in the West Division. Houston holds a four-point edge on sixth-place San Antonio, which has an important seven games in hand on the Aeros. Cincinnati is off until Friday, when the Ducks play host to Chicago. Cincinnati then hosts Manitoba on Saturday. San Antonio, meanwhile, is in Cleveland tomorrow, then in Hartford Saturday and Worcester on Sunday. Houston's highest position this season was third on December 30.

Aeros blueline feeling not so blue – In the last nine 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 31 points (4+27=31) in the last nine games, while the forwards have 40 points over that same span. Travis Roche has 11 of the defense's 31 points (2+9=11) in the last nine.

Veilleux has points in four straight – Aeros winger Stephane Veilleux had his career-best three-game goal streak snapped Saturday in Chicago, but Veilleux had an assist to stretch his point streak to four games, tying his career-high. Veilleux had two other four-game point streaks, most recently from March 15-22, 2002. Veilleux has 10 points (6+4=10) overall in the last 13 games, and he has a goal in six of the Aeros' last nine games. Veilleux was just the second Aero with a three-game goal streak this season, joining Kyle Wanvig, who posted a five-game streak earlier this season. Veilleux is the only Aero to have played in each of Houston's first 53 games, and he carries a consecutive game played streak of 59 games, dating back to last season. Veilleux is also tied for the AHL lead with four shorthanded goals.

Roche at a point per game in last 18 - Houston defenseman Travis Roche has three goals and 15 assists in the last 18 games. Roche tied his career-high of three points in two out of three games on February 3 and 6, notching a goal and two assists February 3 in a 3-1 win over Utah, then posting three helpers in a 4-3 loss in Milwaukee three nights later. Roche's three assists also tied a career high. Roche's assist on Kevin Mitchell's 5-on-3 game-winning goal in the second period January 24 was his 100th point as a pro, while his helper on Kyle Wanvig's third-period goal the same night was his 100th point as an Aero. He picked up both his 75th pro and Aeros assists February 6. Roche has 109 points (32g, 77a) in 174 pro games, while he has 108 points (32g, 76a) in 164 Aeros games. Roche, who leads all Aeros defensemen with 26 points (5+21=26), is tied for Kyle Wanvig for the team lead in multiple-point games with six. Roche's 26 points have him ranked in the top 10 among AHL defensemen despite missing 14 games.

Hendrickson closes in on 200 points, 100 goals and assists – Aeros centerman Darby Hendrickson has 196 points (98g, 98a) in his 618-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 120 career AHL contests. Hendrickson, who spent eight full seasons in the NHL, played in his 600th pro game December 30.

Mitchell all about the power play –

· 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.

· Last season with the IceGators, Mitchell had 23 of his 34 points on the power play. With the Aeros, seven of his 11 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 was one off the team season-high set by Dan Cavanaugh. Mitchell's five-game assist streak was an Aeros season-high by two games.

· The blueliner has eight points (1+7=8) in the last nine games, with at least one point in all but one of those games.

Cavosie betters rookie season numbers - Marc Cavosie has already bettered last season's five goal and 19 point total with 21 points (7+14=21) this season. His 14 assists are tied with his rookie campaign. Cavosie has two goals and five assists in the last 12 games and he has three multi-point games, one better than his total from last season. Cavosie picked up his first power-play goal of the season February 6 in Milwaukee.

Reitz sets new personal-best, too - Second-year defenseman Erik Reitz posted two assists last January 30 and 31 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 12 games, including a trio of multi-point contests. Reitz is second to Travis Roche (5+21=26) for the team lead in scoring among defensemen.

Holmqvist 3-1-0 in last four starts – Aeros netminder Johan Holmqvist's loss Saturday in Chicago snapped a three-start winning streak. Holmqvist is now 3-1-0 with a 2.25 goals against average in his last four starts. Prior to this recent run, Holmqvist was 1-5-3 in his previous nine decisions. Holmqvist was the 2003 Butterfield Trophy winner as the playoff Most Valuable Player.

· Saturday, Holmqvist made his 50th appearance with the Aeros. He sports a 21-22-5 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 26 non-wins, Holmqvist sports a 3.72 goals against average and a .869 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 (2,461) and is third in saves (1,032).

Kettles 0-2-4 since December 23 –

· 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. Kettles has yielded just 10 goals though in those six appearances.

· 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 2-5-3 against Chicago – Aeros netminder Johan Holmqvist sports a 2-5-3 career mark with a 3.33 goals against average and a .894 save percentage against Chicago. This season, Holmqvist is 1-4-3 with a 2.92 goals against average and a .900 save percentage versus the Wolves. Frederic Cloutier's 2002-03 season ended against Chicago with an injury in his only appearance against the Wolves March 7.

Cassivi 5-3-2 versus Aeros – Chicago's Frederic Cassivi is 5-3-2 with two no decisions and a 2.67 goals against average in 12 career games against Houston. Cassivi is unbeaten in four games (2-0-2) with a 2.16 goals against average against versus Houston this season. Kari Lehtonen is 1-1-1 with a 2.59 goals against average and a .922 save percentage versus the Aeros in this, his rookie season. Michael Garnett stopped 26 shots in a 4-2 win last Saturday in his only appearance against Houston.

Aeros have dropped two straight – The Aeros have lost two straight, two shy of their season-high. Houston has four wins in its last 21 games (4-9-7-1) but also only 10 regulation losses in the last 31 games (13-10-7-1).

· 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' 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 33 games, the Aeros have yielded just 2.21 goals per game. The defensive streak has helped Houston move out of the basement to 2.77 goals against per game, 21st in the AHL.

‘O' starting to heat up –

· Houston has scored 25 goals in its last nine games (2.69 average).

· The Aeros have scored just 54 goals in 25 games (2.16 goals per game) since beating Norfolk 5-3 December 17.

· Houston has been held to two goals or fewer in 17 of the last 25 games (68.0 percent), including a scoreless streak of 178 minutes, 52 seconds that included back-to-back shutouts January 8-9.

· In the last 15 contests, the Aeros are averaging 2.13 goals per game.

· Offensively in the AHL, the Aeros are 20th in the AHL at 2.32 goals per game.

· Houston has scored one goal or fewer in 14 of its 53 games this season (26.4 percent) and two goals or less in 33 of 53 games (62.3 percent).

Shooting gallery – Houston enters tonight's game third in the AHL with 33.08 shots per game after having been in the top two for much of the season. The Aeros have been outshot in two straight games, and have hit the 30 shot mark just once in the past four contests. February 6, the Aeros were outshot 39-25 in Milwaukee, their worst margin of the season. Houston has been outshot in just 14 games this season, and has only three wins (3-9-2-0) in those games.

Eleven straight regulation games an irregularity – The Aeros haven't gone to overtime in any of their past 11 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.

Penalty kill update –

· Houston killed off its first 31 shorthanded chances this season. Since then, opponents are 32-for-218 (14.7 percent) on the power play.

· The Aeros' overall 87.1 percent penalty kill rate (217-249) is tied for 10th in the AHL, after spending much of season in the upper half of the top 10.

· The Aeros have yielded 12 power-play goals in 69 chances (82.6 kill rate) in the last 13 games.

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

· The Aeros have yielded no power play goals in 30 of their 53 games, and have points in all but eight of those games (11-8-8-3).

· Houston has eight shorthanded goals, four by Stephane Veilleux, and is tied for sixth in the AHL in that category. Veilleux's four shorthanded tallies are tied for the league lead.

· Chicago is an impressive 9-for-31 (29.0 percent) on the power play over its last six games, having scored a man-advantage goal in each of the games, including three contests with two or more.

· The Wolves are 8-for-48 (16.7 percent) on the power play versus Houston this season, with Kurtis Foster and Steve Maltais recording two goals apiece. Chicago has scored exactly one quarter (eight of 32) of the man advantage goals against the Aeros in 2003-04.

Power play update –

· Houston enters tonight's game 38 of 313 on the power play (12.1 percent), up to 22nd among 28 AHL teams.

· The Aeros have gone 26-for-170 (15.3 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 is 8-for-40 (20.0 percent) on the power play over its last six games, after a stretch of 1-for-32 the previous six games.

· Houston's 313 power plays are the most in the AHL, 29 more than second-place Manitoba. The Aeros, who also led the league in 2002-03 with 514 chances, have an astounding 136 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.

· Chicago has allowed four power-play goals in 25 chances (84.0 percent kill rate) over its last six games.

· The Wolves rank 16th in the AHL on the penalty kill at 86.3 percent, but just 19th at home (84.9 percent).

· Houston is 7-for-50 (14.0 percent) on the power play this season against Chicago, with Kyle Wanvig leading the way with three 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 (2-23-6-2) when yielding two or more.

Aeros have scored first in just six of 15 games – Houston has scored first in only six of the last 15 games. Houston is 14-5-5-1 overall when scoring first. January 16 marked the Aeros' only home loss when scoring first (7-1-3-0).

But when not scoring first... - The Aeros are 4-18-3-2 when allowing the game's first goal, including a winless 0-11-2-0 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.

West to be won or lost in February – Tonight, the Aeros play game five of a stretch of 20 consecutive games against the Western Division, including all 15 February games. Starting last Friday, nine straight games 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 12-16-6-2 against its division, including a 6-10-3-1 road mark. The Aeros have three non division games left, from March 17-21 (one against Worcester, two versus Norfolk).

Houston at 53-game mark – The Aeros passed the official midway point of the season with a 14-15-8-3 mark and now sport an 18-23-9-3 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%) Games 51-53 1-2-0-0, 2 points GF: 7 GA: 9 PP: 4-16 (25.0%) PK: 18-20 (90.0%)

Quick hits

· Chicago's Steve Maltais has 23 goals in 56 games against Houston, including 12 on the power play and three game-winners. Teammate Greg Hawgood has eight of his 12 career goals versus the Aeros with the man advantage.

· Steve Maltais has eight goals, including five on the power play, and 12 points in his last nine games.

· Chicago has outscored Houston 9-5 in the first period of their meetings this season.

· Houston is 7-4-0-3 in one-goal games, but just 5-11-0-0 in games decided by two goals, including a 1-8-0-0 mark on the road.

· The Aeros' Dan Cavanaugh will play in his 200th pro game tonight, all with the Aeros. Teammate Jason Marshall picked up his 100th career AHL point Saturday.

· Houston's Mark Cullen has scored six of his 28 career goals against Chicago. He has nine points (6+3=9) in 13 career games versus the Wolves.

· The Aeros' Frederic Cloutier is 0-5-2 in his last seven AHL decisions after starting out his career 4-0-0.

· Chicago's Daniel Corso, obtained from the Ottawa organization last month, has eight points during a seven-game point streak.

· Houston has been outshot 101-67 by Chicago in the first period this season, but has outshot the Wolves 113-62 in the second stanza.



American Hockey League Stories from February 11, 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