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Aeros in Milwaukee tonight

February 10, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Houston Aeros News Release


Five things you need to know
· Amazingly, the Aeros haven't played three games in three nights in six weeks, since 12/29-12/31. Houston is 4-8-0-0 in game one of back-to-back or back-to-back situations, but it is 10-6-1-0 in games two and three. The Aeros sport an impressive 4-1-0-0 mark when playing the third game in three nights, including a 3-1 win in Norfolk 12/31.
· Aeros 20-year-old rookie goalie Josh Harding missed 17 games due to a concussion suffered 11/28 vs. Utah, but he has returned with a vengeance, going 3-2-0 with a 1.78 gaa in five starts since. Harding earned his third shutout in only 15 starts Saturday, making 34 saves against Milwaukee, which entered the game with the league's second-best offense. Harding is 8-6-1 with a 1.74 gaa since an 0-3-0 start to his pro campaign. He is 8-9-1 overall with a 1.95 gaa - third in the league. His .932 save pct. is tied for fourth.
· Houston, which blanked Milwaukee 1-0 last Saturday, owns two of the four shutouts versus the high-flying Admirals this season. Milwaukee has responded favorably to the other three blankings. The Ads own winning streaks of three, five and five games following shutouts this season.
· Milwaukee netminder Brian Finley has 12 wins versus Houston, the most for any opposing goalie. Finley is 12-6-1 with a 2.39 gaa versus Houston and has won 12 of his last 16 decisions against the Aeros. Milwaukee's Simon Gamache has 30 points (13-17=30) in 27 career games versus the Aeros. Since 2002-03, Gamache has points in 15 of his 23 games against Houston, and his teams are 13-1-1-0 when he has a point, 9-1-1-0 when he scores a goal but 1-5-2-0 when he's held off the scoresheet.
· The Aeros, who moved into the top spot in the AHL on the penalty kill last night (88.9 percent) haven't allowed more PPG than they've scored since 11/13 at MIL, a span of 31 straight games. Houston allowed more PPG than it scored in three of its first four games this season, but only once since. The Aeros are plus-22 in power-play goal ratio, trailing only Manchester (plus-26) and Milwaukee (plus-24). Houston has scored 37.9 percent of its goals with the man advantage, tops in the league and just ahead of Milwaukee (37.6 percent).

Aeros at Admirals (Aeros are 28-31-6-1 overall, Aeros are 13-16-2-0 at Milwaukee)
· Houston and Milwaukee, the last two Calder Cup champions, meet for the 68th time tonight - 32nd in Milwaukee.
· The Aeros are 3-11-1-1 in their last 16 games against the Admirals, but each of those wins have come this season, when Houston sports a 3-4-0-0 mark.
· Houston snapped an 0-7-1-1 winless streak versus Milwaukee with a 5-2 win at Bradley Center 11/13 behind a goal and an assist from Marius Holtet, snapping the Admirals' 17-game regulation unbeaten streak.
· The Aeros' 11/13 win at Bradley Center snapped a four-game winless skid (0-3-1-0) in Milwaukee. Despite the recent speed bump, the Aeros are 12-6-1-0 in their last 19 trips to Milwaukee after a 1-10-1-0 start there.

Scouting the Aeros
Houston has points in seven of its last 10 games (5-3-1-1)..Stephane Veilleux (14-18=32) is the Aeros' leading scorer, just ahead of Pierre-Marc Bouchard (8-21=29)...Nineteen-year-old Brent Burns (8-10=18) anchors a well-balanced blueline that includes four players with 13 points or more...Burns is tied for eighth among AHL d-men with eight goals...Mike Smith is 14-12-1 with a 2.49 gaa, while Josh Harding is 8-9-1 with a 1.95 gaa to rank second in the league.

Scouting the Admirals
Milwaukee's five-game winning streak was snapped in its last game on Saturday, a 1-0 loss in Houston...The Admirals are unbeaten in regulation in their last seven home games (6-0-0-1)..Simon Gamache is third in the AHL in scoring with 66 points (22-44=66), while Andrew Hutchinson (10-27=37) and Dan Hamhuis (10-24=34) are first and second in the AHL in defenseman scoring...Brian Finley is 25-12-2 with a 2.15 gaa, while Seamus Kotyk is 7-4-0 with a 3.08 gaa.

2004-05 meetings (Eighth of 10 meetings, Aeros are 3-4-0-0 overall, Aeros are 1-1-0-0 at Milwaukee)
November 13: Houston 5 at Milwaukee 2
December 29: Milwaukee 4 at Houston 1
January 8: Houston 0 at Milwaukee 2
January 11: Milwaukee 0 at Houston 7
January 25: Milwaukee 3 at Houston 2
February 4: Milwaukee 5 at Houston 3
February 5: Milwaukee 0 at Houston 1
Tonight: Houston at Milwaukee
March 10: Houston at Milwaukee
April 5: Houston at Milwaukee

Last game
Darryl Bootland's second goal of the game snapped a tie with 1:43 left in regulation and Joey MacDonald turned aside 37 shots, as the Grand Rapids Griffins outlasted the Houston Aeros 3-1 at Van Andel Arena. Kip Miller added an empty-net goal for the Griffins, who won for only the second time in nine home games and moved to 50 points, one better than the sixth-place Aeros. Ray Giroux scored a power play goal and tough-luck loser Josh Harding made 22 saves for Houston, which had its two-game winning streak snapped.

Quick Hits
· Tonight the Aeros try for a third time to best their 2003-04 road win total of 10 games. Houston is playing just its 22nd road game this season.
· Milwaukee has scored 72 goals in the second period, eight more than any AHL team. Houston has just 31 in the second - second fewest in the league. Utah has 28.
· The Aeros have allowed 33 third-period goals, third to Rochester (30) and Hartford (32) in the AHL. Houston yielded two in the third last night and is 1-8-1-1 in its last 11 games when allowing a third-period goal.
· In two games against Utah, Houston has scored 10 goals in support of Josh Harding. In the remainder of his 15 starts, the team has scored just 28 times (1.87 gpg).
· Aeros veteran defenseman Todd Reirden is quickly approaching a new milestone. He's played in 697 professional games.
· Houston's Kyle Wanvig needs one goal for 50 in his Aeros career. He'd tie Cory Larose for 10th place on the team's all-time list. Stephane Veilleux has 48.
· Tonight is Milwaukee's 21st home game, tied with Bridgeport for the fewest in the league.
· Houston (three) and San Antonio (five) are the lone teams with more than two wins against the Admirals this season.
· Milwaukee has 10 home wins by two or more goals, and four or more. Four of the Ads' five home regulation losses have come by one goal.
· The Admirals' Jordin Tootoo has 48 PIM's in only seven games against Houston this season.

Harding back in a big way
· Aeros 20-year-old rookie goalie Josh Harding missed 17 games due to a concussion, but he has returned with a vengeance, going 3-2-0 with a 1.78 gaa since 1/29 vs. CHI.
· Harding earned his third shutout in only 15 starts Saturday, making 34 saves against Milwaukee, which entered the game with the league's second-best offense. No other Aeros rookie goalie had more than one shutout.
· Harding is 8-6-1 with a 1.74 gaa since an 0-3-0 start to his pro campaign.
· Harding ranks third in the league in gaa (1.95) and is tied for fourth in save pct. (.932).

Smith establishes franchise mark
· Aeros goalie Mike Smith appeared in 19 straight games - 17 of the appearances starts - from 11/26-1/25. Smith's 19-game run was a new franchise record, eclipsing Frederic Chabot's old mark of 15, set 12/8/99-1/21/00.
· Smith recorded his third shutout of the run and fourth overall 1/19, making 39 saves in a 2-0 win over Edmonton. It marked the third-highest save total for an Aeros goalie in a shutout, trailing only Chabot's 43 and Josh Harding's 40. Smith is one of five Aeros goalies ever with four shutouts in a season.
· Smith is 3-1 in his AHL career in OT and 3-1 in shootouts, and he went 3-1 in shootouts with ECHL Lexington in 2002-03.
· The 6-foot-3, 210-pounder is 6-1-0 with a 2.37 gaa on the road but 8-11-1 with a 2.55 gaa at Toyota Center.

PP unit fifth
· The Aeros are fifth in the league on the power play at 18.4 percent.
· Houston is 3-for-13 on the power play in its last two games after going 0-for-5 in its previous two games.
· In their last 29 games, the Aeros have outscored their opponents 34-14 on the power play.
· The Aeros are 17-11-3-1 when scoring a PPG and 5-8-0-1 when not scoring a PPG.
· Overall, the Aeros have outscored their opponents 45-23 on the power play.
· The Aeros have allowed seven shorthanded goals, the last by Norfolk's Quintin Laing 12/18.
· Milwaukee is 10th in the AHL on the penalty kill at 85.8 percent.
· The Admirals have allowed seven PPG on 38 chances over their last eight games, just an 81.6 percent kill rate.

Houston first on PK
· Houston is first in the league on the penalty kill at 88.9 percent.
· Houston has killed off 26-of-27 shorthanded chances in the past seven games (96.3 percent) and 79-of-86 shorthanded chances in the last 19 games (91.9 percent).
· The Aeros have killed off 145-of-159 (91.2 percent) of their shorthanded chances over the last 36 games.
· Houston is 15-11-1-1 when not allowing a PPG and 7-8-2-1 when allowing a PPG.
· The Aeros are tied for eighth in the AHL with six SHG, all by different players.
· Milwaukee is third in the AHL on the power play at 21.0 percent.
· The Admirals were 10-for-26 (38.5 percent) with the man advantage over a four-game stretch before failing to score on seven opportunities in two games against Houston last weekend.
· After going 5-for-16 in the first three meetings, the Admirals are 0-for-16 in the last four games with Houston.

First and last two minutes are crucial
Houston has scored 17 goals in the first or last two minutes of a period this season. The Aeros' opponents, meanwhile, have 25 goals in this crucial time. Houston is 1-7-0 this season when allowing a goal in the opening two minutes of a period.

Aeros/Admirals connections
· Houston's Stephane Veilleux and the Admirals' Simon Gamache were two of the leading scorers for QMJHL Val d'Or from 1999-2001.
· Houston defenseman Erik Reitz played two seasons (1999-2001) with Milwaukee goalie Brian Finley at OHL Barrie. Finley was the 1999-2000 team MVP, while Reitz won the award in 2000-01.
· Milwaukee's Dan Hamhuis and Houston's Derek Boogaard were teammates for two seasons with WHL Prince George in 1999-2000 and 2000-01.
· Houston's Junior Lessard (2004) and Milwaukee's Tony Hrkac (1987) each won the Hobey Baker Award for being college hockey's top player, albeit 17 years apart. Hrkac and Houston's Todd Reirden were teammates with the Atlanta Thrashers in 2001-02.
· Milwaukee's Cam Severson played parts of two junior seasons for Houston head coach Todd McLellan in Swift Current. Severson was also teammates with Houston's Todd Reirden for the past two seasons in Cincinnati.
· Houston's captain Kirby Law was teammates with Milwaukee's Brad Tiley from 2000-2003 at AHL Philadelphia.
· Milwaukee's Jeremy Yablonski and Houston's Kyle Wanvig were junior teammates in WHL Kootenay in 1998-99.

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