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Aeros' road trips continues in Milwaukee tonight

April 5, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Houston Aeros News Release


Five things you need to know
· With less than two weeks left in the AHL's regular season, the Aeros are tied for third place with Cincinnati at 83 points, three points up on fifth-place Grand Rapids. The top four teams make the post-season. Houston plays five games this week, while Cincinnati plays four and Grand Rapids only three, meaning both the Ducks and Griffins will have games in hand going into the final week. Cincinnati is in Chicago tomorrow, while Grand Rapids next plays Thursday in San Antonio.

West Division standings/schedule (3-5 only)

3t. Houston 73 GP, 83 PTS
3t. Cincinnati 73 GP, 83 PTS
5. Grand Rapids 73 GP, 80 PTS

HOU
4/5 @ MIL
4/6 @ UTA
4/8 @ CIN
4/9 @ SAN
4/10 vs. SAN
4/15 vs. CHI
4/17 vs. UTA
7GR (3H, 3R)

CIN
4/6 @ CHI
4/8 vs. HOU
4/9 vs. CLE
4/10 @ CLE
4/15 @ GR
4/16 vs. MIL
4/17 vs. GR
7GR (4H, 3R)

GR
4/7 @ SAN
4/8 @ UTA
4/9 @ UTA
4/12 @ MIL
4/15 vs. CIN
4/16 vs. SAN
4/17 @ CIN
7GR (2H, 5R)
· Houston has won a season-high four straight games, and it is unbeaten in regulation in its last six (5-0-0-1). During the win streak, Houston has outscored its opponents 6-0 in the first period and 8-1 in the second. The Aeros, who haven't trailed for one second during the winning streak, are a season-best 10 games over the .500 mark (36-26-6-5). Four wins in the last seven games would clinch Houston's second 40-win season in four AHL seasons. The Aeros last won four in a row during a season-best, six-game streak 12/5-12/17/03. Houston was unbeaten in regulation in six straight games earlier this season (4-0-2-0), 2/26-3/3.
· The Aeros have scored the first goal in a season-high five straight games, after going nine of 10 games allowing the first goal. The Aeros are 12-22-4-4 when allowing the first goal, but 24-4-2-1 when scoring it.
· Milwaukee netminder Brian Finley is 14-6-1 with a sharp 2.21 gaa in his career against the Aeros. He has more wins versus Houston than any goalie in history. Finley is 6-3-0 with a 1.90 gaa against the Aeros this season, including two shutouts. He has blanked Houston three times in his career, one of four netminders to accomplish that feat. Aeros goalie Josh Harding is 1-1-0 but with a 0.99 gaa against the Ads. His one loss came in overtime. Harding went 3-0-0 with a 1.00 gaa and a .970 save percentage last week.
· Aeros captain Kirby Law has a goal in each of his last four games, tied for the team season lead with Mikko Koivu and Matt Foy. Law trails Cincinnati's Joffrey Lupul's seven-game goal streak for the active AHL lead. Law leads the Aeros with 24 goals, and he needs six goals over his last seven games to become the ninth 30-goal scorer in team history.

Aeros at Admirals (Aeros are 29-32-7-1 overall, Aeros are 13-17-3-0 at Milwaukee)
· Houston and Milwaukee, the last two Calder Cup champions, meet for the 70th time tonight - 34th in Milwaukee.
· The Aeros are 3-12-2-1 in their last 18 games against the Admirals, but all three of those wins have come this season, when Houston sports a 3-5-1-0 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.
· Despite a 1-5-2-0 mark in their last eight trips to Bradley Center, the Aeros are 12-7-2-0 in their last 21 trips to Milwaukee after a 1-10-1-0 start there.
· The Aeros have scored only two goals total in the last three meetings.
· Four of the teams' first nine meetings this season have ended with one team getting shut out.

Scouting the Aeros
Houston plays game two of an important five-game, seven-day road trip tonight, after beating San Antonio 4-1 Sunday to open the trek...Houston, which is playing game two of a stretch of seven games in nine nights, is 2-4-1-1 in its last eight road games and is looking for its first set of back-to-back road sins wince 11/19-11/23...Pierre-Marc Bouchard (12-40=52) leads the Aeros in scoring and has 33 points (7-26=33) in his last 35 games...Bouchard joins Jean-Guy Trudel (2002-03) as the only Aeros with 40 assists in a season since the team joined the AHL in 2001-02...Mikko Koivu has 47 points (19-18=47) in his first season in North America...Kirby Law has a team-best 24 goals, including one in each of the last four games...Veteran Ray Giroux (12-19=31) anchors a well-balanced blueline along with 20-year-old prospect Brent Burns (9-14=23)...Giroux is tied for fourth among AHL defensemen in goals...Mike Smith is 18-15-3 with a 2.42 gaa and five shutouts, while Josh Harding is 18-16-2 with four shutouts and a 2.02 gaa to rank tied for fifth in the AHL but first in the Western Conference and among all rookies...Harding has allowed two goals or less in 10 of his last 12 starts...Harding is on pace to better Houston's franchise-records in goals against (2.13 by Frederic Chabot in 1999-2000) and save percentage (.921 by Chabot in 1997-98).

Scouting the Admirals
Second-place Milwaukee, the AHL affiliate of the Nashville Predators, is 7-2-1-1 in its last 11 games and trails Chicago by four points but with three games in hand...The Admirals have a league-low two regulation losses when scoring first (31-2-3-3)...Aero-killer Simon Gamache is tied for third in the AHL in scoring with 81 points (27-54=81), including 15 PPG...The Admirals sport two of the league's top scoring blueliners in Dan Hamhuis (12-46=48) and Andrew Hutchinson (10-34=44)...Brian Finley is 33-18-4 with a 2.29 to rank third in the league in wins...Backup Seamus Kotyk is 9-6-1 with a 3.06 gaa.

2004-05 meetings (10th of 10 meetings, Aeros are 3-5-1-0 overall, Aeros are 1-2-1-0 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
February 10: Houston 1 at Milwaukee 2 (OT)
March 10: Houston 0 at Milwaukee 5
Tonight: Houston at Milwaukee

Quick Hits
· Houston has scored four or more goals in three straight games for the first time all season. The Aeros are 19-1-1-0 when scoring four or more goals.
· Through the season's first 65 games, the Aeros allowed only 41 third-period goals, but in the last eight games, they've given up 10 while scoring seven. Houston is still second in the AHL with its 51 third-period goals allowed. Only Hartford (43) is better. In its 36 wins, Houston has allowed just 15 third-period goals, but in the remainder of its 37 games, it has yielded 36.
· The Aeros have scored five goals in their last seven losses (0-5-0-2), but 36 in their last seven wins.
· The Aeros' six-game unbeaten in regulation streak has been aided by an offense that has outscored its opponents 25-7 in that span, not counting one shootout goal. Houston's Kirby Law has a goal in four straight games, and six points (5-1=6) in his last six games. Mikko Koivu has totaled six points (2-4=6) in the last three games. In the six-game run, Pierre-Marc Bouchard has eight points (2-6=8), with a point in four of the games.
· The Aeros are tied for seventh in the AHL, allowing 2.44 goals per game. That puts them on a pace to yield only 195 goals, which would be a franchise record by two. Houston allowed 197 in the 1998-99 season. The Aeros are also on pace to eclipse their team records in home goals allowed (92), and they are just behind the pace in road goals allowed (104).
· Goalies Josh Harding and Mike Smith have each won 18 games, marking just the second time in Aeros history two goalies have done that. Frederic Chabot (23) and Jason Elliott (19) accomplished the feat in 2000-01.

Last Game
Mikko Koivu scored his ninth goal in 10 games against San Antonio, Kirby Law extended his goal streak to four games and Josh Harding made 30 saves for his third straight win, as the Houston Aeros knocked off the Rampage 4-1 at SBC Center. Jeremy Reich and Ray Giroux also scored for Houston, which has outscored San Antonio 19-2 in the last three meetings.

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 strong, going 13-9-1.
· Harding is tied for fifth in the league in gaa (2.02), but he leads the Western Conference and all AHL rookies.
· Harding, the second youngest goalie in the AHL behind WBS' Marc-Andre Fleury, has four shutouts. No other Aeros rookie goalie had more than one shutout.
· Harding has allowed 28 goals in the first period, but only 20 in the second and 21 in the third. He's allowed only five third-period goals in 15 Toyota Center appearances.
· Harding is 9-3-1 with a 1.73 gaa at home, but 8-13-1 with a 2.20 gaa on the road.
· Harding is 3-0-0 with a 1.00 gaa and a .970 save pct. in his last three starts.

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 joins Frederic Chabot (seven) and Ryan Bach (five) as the lone Aeros netminders with five shutouts in a season, and his five overall trail only Chabot (18) and Derek Gustafson (six) for the most in team history.
· The 6-foot-3, 210-pounder is 7-4-2 with a 2.60 gaa on the road but 11-11-1 with a better 2.31 gaa at Toyota Center. Each of Smith's five shutouts have come at home.
· In his last four Toyota Center appearances, including a no decision in relief, Smith is 3-0-0 with a 1.09 gaa. He is unbeaten in regulation in his last four starts overall, going 3-0-1 with a 1.47 gaa. Smith's recent run has improved his record to 18-15-3 with a 2.42 gaa and a .913 save percentage. After going winless (0-2-1) with a 2.89 gaa in February, Smith went 4-2-1 with a 2.21 gaa in March, his second lowest gaa of any month this season.

PP unit eighth
· The Aeros are eighth in the league on the power play at 16.9 percent.
· Houston is 4-for-44 (9.1 percent) on the man advantage over its last nine games after scoring six times in three games.
· Houston's Pierre-Marc Bouchard has been on the ice for seven of his team's last eight PPG, and nine of the last 11. Bouchard leads the Aeros with 27 power play points (7-20=27).
· The Aeros have outscored their opponents 61-40 on the power play.
· Houston is 24-12-5-2 when scoring a PPG and 12-14-1-3 when not scoring a PPG.
· Milwaukee is 13th in the AHL on the penalty kill at 84.7 percent, but it is tied for eighth at home at 86.3 percent.
· The Admirals are killing just 75.0 percent (18-of-24) of their shorthanded chances over the last five games.

Houston tied for third on PK
· Houston is tied for third in the league on the penalty kill at 87.6 percent. The Aeros have yielded 40 PPG, three off the league lead.
· The Aeros have killed off 23-of-24 shorthanded chances (95.8 percent) over the last six games.
· Houston is 25-13-2-3 when not allowing a PPG and 11-13-4-2 when allowing a PPG.
· Milwaukee is third in the league on the power play at 19.2 percent, but it has scored a league-high 80 PPG.
· The Admirals have clicked on 8-of-33 power play chances (24.4 percent) over their last six games.

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