Aeros Game Day

Published on February 16, 2004 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Houston Aeros News Release


Don't forget, you can "Save a Lincoln" tonight at Toyota Center if your last name matches the last name of any U.S. President. Get our $20 lower level corner ticket for only $15. The game broadcast begins at 7 p.m. on KBME 790 AM or via www.aeros.com.

Houston Aeros vs. Grand Rapids Griffins, 2/16

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

· Houston's Todd McLellan (36) and Grand Rapids' Danton Cole (37) are the second and third youngest coaches in the AHL. Only Hartford's Ryan McGill (34) is younger. Two Griffins – Kevin Miller (38) and Derek King (37) are older than McLellan, and King was McLellan's teammate briefly with the Islanders in 1987-88.

· Just how happy are the Aeros to be home from their 0-4-1-0 road trip? Houston is 9-2-4-1 in the last 16 home games, and just 1-9-4-0 in the last 14 contests away from Toyota Center.

· Over the last 12 games, the Griffins' defense has surrendered just 14 goals (1.17 average).

· Grand Rapids has outscored Houston 7-4 in the first period and 6-1 in the third period of their five meetings.

· Griffins goalie Joey MacDonald has pitched two straight shutouts and carries a shutout sequence of 141 minutes, 30 seconds into tonight's game. MacDonald, who is 8-1-2 with a 2.17 goals against average on the road, last gave up a goal to Utah's Trevor Daley in the second period January 31.

Griffins at Aeros (Aeros trail all-time series 17-19-7-0, Aeros are 9-7-5-0 at Houston)

· Tonight is the 44th all-time meeting between the teams.

· The teams have evenly split the 12 regular-season meetings in Houston since joining the AHL (4-4-4-0).

· The Aeros are 3-7-0-0 in the last 10 regular-season meetings with Grand Rapids.

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

· The teams are playing each other three times over a five-day span, the eighth time in Aeros history they've played the same team three straight games. Grand Rapids makes its first trips to Toyota Center tonight, and the teams play again in a Wednesday 11 a.m. matinee.

· The team that has scored first has won each of the first five meetings this season.

· In the last meeting Saturday, Joey MacDonald made 35 saves for his second consecutive shutout and third straight at Van Andel Arena, as the Griffins fended off the Aeros 3-0. Jiri Hudler's power play goal went down as the game-winner, before the teams combined for 104 penalty minutes in the final 57 seconds.

· The Aeros' 6-3 victory in the last regular-season meeting in Houston, on April 5, 2003, ended a two-game Grand Rapids winning streak in the Bayou City. Houston last won two straight home meetings with the Griffins during a three-game run from March 6, 1998-February 6, 2000.

· 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, 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 (Sixth of 10 meetings, Griffins lead series 3-2-0-0 overall, First meeting in 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 Tonight: Grand Rapids at Houston Wednesday: Grand Rapids at Houston March 5: Grand Rapids at Houston March 8: Grand Rapids at Houston April 10: Grand Rapids at Houston

Last game – Joey MacDonald made 35 saves for his second consecutive shutout and third straight at home and Jiri Hudler, Ryan Barnes and Kevin Miller provided the goals, as the Grand Rapids Griffins beat the Houston Aeros 3-0 at Van Andel Arena. Johan Holmqvist finished with 22 saves for the Aeros, who went 0-4-1-0 on their five-game road trip. The Aeros' six-game road winless streak (0-5-1-0) is one shy of their franchise record, set earlier this season.

Scouting the Aeros – Tonight the Aeros play their eighth of 20 straight games against the West Division, including all 15 in February. Houston is 2-4-1-0 in the first seven of those games after wrapping up a season-long five-game road trip 0-4-1-0 Saturday. 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 eight of the last nine games. Erik Reitz (3+17=20) is lighting it up from the defensive position along with Roche. Aeros captain Jason Marshall (7+11=18) and his 18 points were returned from Minnesota February 5. Last season's Calder Cup Most Valuable Player, goalie Johan Holmqvist, has started 44 of the team's first 56 games, going 16-21-6 with a 2.68 goals against average. Holmqvist is 4-8-4 in his last 16 decisions. With Kyle Kettles out with a minor injury, Frederic Cloutier was summoned from ECHL Louisiana and dropped his second decision in as many tries February 6 in Milwaukee.

Scouting the Griffins – Grand Rapids (72 points) attempts tonight to stretch its overall AHL points lead, while also trying to win for the sixth time in seven games. The Griffins are just 1-2-1-0 in their last four road games, vastly different from their 9-0-3-0 mark in the last 12 home games. Grand Rapids is 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+29=40) is the active leader in points, ahead of Kevin Miller (18+16=34) and exciting youngster Jiri Hudler (10+24=34), who had the power-play game-winner Saturday. The defense, which has helped the Griffins to a third-place ranking in team defense, is led by the likes of veteran Travis Richards (2+14=16) 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 13-2-3 with a miniscule 1.87 goals against average and three shutouts – including one in each of his last two starts.

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. Groulx was also Frederic Cloutier's teammate in Acadie Bathurst in 1998-99.

· 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 each 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 down to fifth place – Fifth-place Houston has 49 points, one fewer than Cincinnati in the West Division. Cincinnati, which will have five games in hand after the Aeros play tonight, lost 3-1 at home to Milwaukee yesterday. Houston has sixth-place San Antonio (46 points) in the rearview mirror. The Rampage, on its month-long rodeo road trip, snapped a two-game skid, 2-1 at Worcester yesterday. San Antonio, which is at red-hot Syracuse (six straight wins) tonight, has seven games in hand on the Aeros. Houston's highest position this season was third on December 30.

Houston has won three of four at home – The Aeros have won two straight and three of four at home since snapping a season-high six-game home winless streak January 24. Houston is glad to return home after an 0-4-1-0 road trip, dropping the Aeros to 1-9-4-0 in their last 14 away from Toyota Center.

· Tonight, the Aeros will try for their third 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).

· 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 11-8-5-2 at its new home. In the last 16 Toyota Center games, the Aeros have just two regulation losses and are 9-2-4-1.

Hendrickson closes in on 200 points, 100 goals and assists – Aeros centerman Darby Hendrickson has 196 points (98g, 98a) in his 621-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 123 career AHL contests. Hendrickson, who spent eight full seasons in the NHL, played in his 600th pro game December 30.

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 in Grand Rapids.

· Veilleux has 12 points (6+6=12) overall in the last 16 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 56 games, and he carries a consecutive game played streak of 62 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 56 games, while he posted 35 points (13+22=35) in his rookie season of 2001-02.

Roche at nearly point per game in last 21 - Houston defenseman Travis Roche has 18 points (3+15=18) in the last 21 games, although he has been held without a point in four straight, tying a season-high.

· 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. His 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 177 pro games, while he has 108 points (32g, 76a) in 167 Aeros games.

· Roche, who leads all Aeros defensemen with 26 points (5+21=26), is second to Kyle Wanvig for the team lead in multiple-point games with six.

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 11 games, with at least one point in all but three of those games.

Holmqvist 3-3-1 in last seven starts– Aeros netminder Johan Holmqvist is 3-3-1 in his last seven starts, but has gone 0-3-1 in the last four. Prior to the 3-3-1 run, Holmqvist was 1-5-3 in his previous nine decisions. Holmqvist was the 2003 Butterfield Trophy winner as the playoff Most Valuable Player.

· February 7, Holmqvist made his 50th appearance with the Aeros. He sports a 21-24-6 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 29 non-wins, Holmqvist sports a 3.63 goals against average and a .872 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 (2,645) and is third in saves (1,108). 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 3-4-0 against Grand Rapids – Aeros netminder Johan Holmqvist sports a 3-4-0 mark with a 3.01 goals against average and a .886 save percentage against the Griffins. This season, Holmqvist is 2-3-0 with a 3.40 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 3-3-0 versus Aeros – Grand Rapids netminder Joey MacDonald is 3-3-0 with a no decision and a 2.36 goals against average in seven career contests against the Aeros, including a 2-1-0 mark and a 1.67 goals against average this season. 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 five – The Aeros are winless in five games (0-4-1-0) since back-to-back wins over Utah February 3-5. Houston has four wins in its last 24 games (4-11-8-1) but also only 12 regulation losses in the last 34 games (13-12-8-1).

· 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' 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 36 games, the Aeros have yielded just 2.28 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.

‘O' starting to heat up –

· Houston has scored 30 goals in its last 12 games (2.50 average) despite getting shut out Saturday.

· The Aeros have scored just 59 goals in 28 games (2.11 goals per game) since beating Norfolk 5-3 December 17.

· Houston has been held to two goals or fewer in 19 of the last 28 games (67.9 percent), including a scoreless streak of 178 minutes, 52 seconds that included back-to-back shutouts January 8-9.

· In the last 18 contests, the Aeros are averaging 2.06 goals per game.

· Offensively in the AHL, the Aeros are 21st in the AHL at 2.29 goals per game.

· Houston has scored one goal or fewer in 15 of its 56 games this season (26.8 percent) and two goals or less in 35 of 56 games (62.5 percent).

We had missed the excitement – After going into overtime in eight of 10 games December 27-January 17, the Aeros settled 11 straight in regulation until last Wednesday, when they skated to a 2-2 tie with Chicago. The Aeros, winless at 0-3-10 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 13 overtime games this season are 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' 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 34-for-228 (14.9 percent) on the power play.

· The Aeros' overall 86.9 percent penalty kill rate (225-259) is tied for ninth in the AHL, after spending much of season in the upper half of the top 10.

· The Aeros have yielded 14 power-play goals in 78 chances (82.1 kill rate) in the last 16 games.

· Houston is winless (0-7-1-0) when allowing 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 31 of their 56 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 tied for seventh 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 17.3 percent.

· The Griffins are 6-for-29 (20.7 percent) on the power play in the last six games.

· Grand Rapids is 5-for-26 (19.2 percent) with the man advantage versus the Aeros. Nathan Robinson, Mark Mowers, Derek King, Jeff Nelson and Jiri Hudler have the power play goals.

Power play update –

· Houston enters tonight's game 39 of 319 on the power play (12.2 percent), tied for 23rd among 28 AHL teams.

· The Aeros have gone 27-for-176 (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 12.2.

· Houston is 9-for-46 (19.6 percent) on the power play over its last eight games, after a stretch of 1-for-32 the previous six games.

· Houston's 319 power plays are the most in the AHL, 12 more than second-place Manitoba. The Aeros also led the league in 2002-03 with 514 chances.

· The Aeros have only five wins in 26 games (5-14-6-1) when not scoring a power-play goal.

· The Griffins rank fifth in the AHL on the penalty kill (88.0 percent).

· Grand Rapids has killed off 32-of-34 (94.1 percent) of its shorthanded chances over the last eight games.

· Houston is 2-for-24 (8.3 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 (2-25-7-2) when yielding two or more.

Aeros have scored first in just six of 18 games – Houston has scored first in only six of the last 18 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 4-20-4-2 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 last Wednesday 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 eight 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. Houston, which has already wrapped up its home schedule against everybody but the West, is 12-18-7-2 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

· Houston is 7-5-0-3 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. Grand Rapids is 13-5-0-0 in one-goal games.

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

· Grand Rapids has outscored Houston 7-4 in the first period and 6-1 in the third period in their five meetings this season.

· Both of Travis Roche's career goals against Grand Rapids have come on the power play.

· The Aeros have led after one period just once in the last 12 games, February 3 against Utah.

· Houston is one of four AHL teams without a win when trailing after two periods (0-21-5-1).

· 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 are the second most in the league.

· Grand Rapids is plus-14 (48-34) in the first period, second to Syracuse (plus-17) for best among AHL teams. Houston is minus-12 (48-36) in the opening 20 minutes.

· The Griffins have yielded just 26 third-period goals (0.48 per third period played), easily the fewest in the league, and are a plus-16 in the third (42-26), second to Philadelphia (plus-17, 55-38).

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

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American Hockey League Stories from February 16, 2004


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