Aeros play in Grand Rapids tonight

Published on February 9, 2005 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Houston Aeros News Release


Five things you need to know
· Aeros centerman Pierre-Marc Bouchard has a seven-game assist streak, one off the AHL season-high and two away from Brian Wiseman's team record. Manchester's Brad Smyth and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's Kris Beech each have eight-game assist runs this season, while Wiseman had 13 assists over a nine-game span from 11/23-12/12/97. The diminutive Bouchard has 10 points (3-7=10) in his streak, and his seven-game point streak is tied with Mikko Koivu for the team season-high.
· 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 3-1-0 with a 1.72 gaa in four 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 8-5-1 with a 1.72 gaa since an 0-3-0 start to his pro campaign. He is 8-8-1 overall with a 1.95 gaa - second in the league behind Hartford's Steve Valiquette (1.78). His .933 save pct. is .001 behind Valiquette's league lead.
· Grand Rapids goalie Joey MacDonald sports the sixth-best gaa versus the Aeros since the team joined the AHL. MacDonald is 7-6-0 with a 2.01 gaa and three shutouts versus Houston. MacDonald joins Jason LaBarbera as the lone netminders to shut the Aeros out more than two times in AHL play. This season, McDonald is 2-1-0 with a 1.30 gaa and .960 save percentage against Houston.
· A win tonight would move the Aeros to 23-18-3-2, five games over the .500 mark for the second time this season. Houston was 15-10-2-1 on 12/23 before losing four of five and six of eight. A victory over the sixth-place Griffins combined with a San Antonio loss in Syracuse would also put the Aeros in fourth place with 51 points, just three behind Cincinnati with five games in hand.
· The Aeros open up a three-game road trip tonight. They haven't played three straight on the road since 12/30-1/8.

Aeros at Griffins (Aeros are 22-22-7-1 overall, Aeros are 10-14-2-0 at Grand Rapids)
· Tonight is the 53rd all-time meeting between the teams - 27th in Grand Rapids.
· The Aeros are 2-1-0-1 this season against the Griffins, including a 2-1-0-0 mark at Van Andel Arena. All four meetings have been decided by one goal.
· Each of the three meetings in Grand Rapids this season has been decided by one goal. Houston won 4-3 in OT 11/5, and the teams split 1-0 decisions later in the month. Tonight marks the Aeros' last trip to Michigan this season.
· Houston went 5-5-0 against Grand Rapids in 2003-04 and was the only AHL team with five wins against the Griffins.
· The Aeros are 7-4-0-1 in the last 12 meetings after a 1-6-0-0 and 2-7-1-0 stretch.
· Since joining the AHL, Houston is 15-14-6-1 against Grand Rapids, including a 7-10-2-0 road mark
· In the last meeting, Joey MacDonald made 46 saves and Eric Himelfarb followed a regulation goal with the game-winner in the shootout, as the Griffins held off the Aeros 4-3 at Toyota Center 1/23.

Scouting the Aeros
Houston has won two straight and has points in seven of its last nine games (5-2-1-1)..Stephane Veilleux (14-17=31) 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 8-8-1 with a 1.95 gaa to rank second in the league.

Scouting the Griffins
Grand Rapids, the AHL affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings, has lost seven of its last eight home games and has lost five of seven overall...The Griffins are 6-16-0-1 in their last 23 games since an 18-7-1-0 start...Defenseman Niklas Kronwall leads Grand Rapids in scoring with 33 points (11-22=33), ahead of rookie Eric Himelfarb (13-14=27)...Joey MacDonald, who along with Kronwall will participate in Monday's All-Star Game, is 17-19-1 with a 2.25 gaa, while Drew MacIntyre is 6-4-0 with a 2.30 gaa.

2004-05 meetings (Fifth of 8 meetings, Aeros are 2-1-0-1 overall, Aeros are 2-1-0-0 at Grand Rapids)
November 5: Houston 4 at Grand Rapids 3 (OT)
November 6: Houston 1 at Grand Rapids 0
November 12: Houston 0 at Grand Rapids 1
January 23: Grand Rapids 3 at Houston 4 (SO)
Tonight: Houston at Grand Rapids
March 7: Grand Rapids vs. Houston (at Saint Paul, Minn.)
March 25: Grand Rapids at Houston
March 27: Grand Rapids at Houston

Last game
Defensemen Brent Burns and Patrick Traverse each scored a power play goal, leading the Houston Aeros to a 5-2 victory over the Utah Grizzlies in front of 9,062 fans on Chronicle in Education Field Trip Day at Toyota Center. Kirby Law, Kyle Wanvig and Mark Cullen also scored, Stephane Veilleux, Mikko Koivu and Ray Giroux each notched two assists and Josh Harding made 22 saves for Houston. Law also added an assist.

Quick Hits
· The Aeros have allowed 31 third-period goals, second to Rochester (29) in the AHL. Grand Rapids, meanwhile, has scored a league-low 24 times in the third.
· Houston has been involved in five 1-0 games - four with Josh Harding in net - one more than the franchise record set in 1999-2000.
· Aeros winger Derek Boogaard had a team-record 44 PIM's in yesterday's 5-2 win over Utah. The old record was 32, set by Clayton Young, 1/20/95 versus Milwaukee.
· In two games against Utah, Houston has scored 10 goals in support of Josh Harding. In the remainder of his 14 starts, the team has scored just 27 times.
· Aeros veteran defenseman Todd Reirden is quickly approaching a new milestone. He's played in 696 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.

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 3-1-0 with a 1.72 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 8-5-1 with a 1.72 gaa since an 0-3-0 start to his pro campaign.
· Harding ranks second in the league in gaa (1.95) and is tied for second in save pct. (.933).

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 14-8-1 when allowing zero or one goal in the first period, but he's 0-4-0 with a no decision when yielding two or more.
· 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.
· In 21 home games, Smith has allowed 38 goals in the first two periods but just nine in the third.

PP unit fifth
· The Aeros are fifth in the league on the power play at 18.5 percent.
· Houston erupted for a 2-for-7 performance on the power play yesterday after going 0-for-5 in its previous two games.
· In their last 28 games, the Aeros have outscored their opponents 33-14 on the power play.
· The Aeros are 17-10-3-1 when scoring a PPG and 5-8-0-1 when not scoring a PPG.
· Overall, the Aeros have outscored their opponents 44-23 on the power play.
· The Aeros have allowed seven shorthanded goals, the last by Norfolk's Quintin Laing 12/18.
· Grand Rapids ranks 11th in the AHL on the penalty kill at 85.3 percent.
· The Griffins have killed off 24-of-29 (82.8 percent) of their shorthanded chances over the last five games.

Houston tied for first on PK
· Houston is tied for first in the league on the penalty kill at 88.8 percent.
· Houston has killed off 77-of-84 shorthanded chances in the last 19 games (91.7 percent).
· The Aeros have killed off 143-of-157 (91.1 percent) of their shorthanded chances over the last 35 games.
· Houston is 15-10-1-1 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. Only Lowell and Manchester also have six different players with a SHG.
· Grand Rapids is 14th in the AHL on the power play at 15.5 percent.
· The Griffins are 2-for-17(11.8 percent) with the man advantage over their last five games.

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 23 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/Griffins connections
· The Aeros' Stephane Veilleux and Grand Rapids' Danny Groulx played together in 1999-2000 with Victoriaville of the QMJHL.
· Houston's Rickard Wallin and the Griffins' Niklas Kronwall both hail from Stockholm, Sweden.
· Aeros defenseman Todd Reirden was teammates with Grand Rapids' Bryan Helmer briefly with the St. Louis Blues in the 1999-2000 season.
· The Aeros' Josh Harding (38th) and Marius Holtet (42) and the Griffins' Jiri Hudler (58th) were all selected in the second round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. Houston's Pierre-Marc Bouchard went eighth overall in that draft.
· Houston's Kyle Wanvig and Grand Rapids' Derek Meech were teammates for two seasons with WHL Red Deer, including the team's 2001 Memorial Cup championship.
· The Griffins' Blake Sloan was an Aero from 1997-99 and 2000-01, totaling 44 points (17-24=44) in 165 games.
· Houston defenseman Patrick Traverse played 10 games for Grand Rapids during the Griffins inaugural 1996-97 season.

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American Hockey League Stories from February 9, 2005


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