Aeros Split Slow Week

Published on March 24, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Houston Aeros News Release


The Houston Aeros split the first two games of the season's final road trip. The Aeros downed the San Antonio Rampage on Thursday 5-4 in overtime. The win snapped a six-game winless streak on the road for Houston (0-4-1-1) and was the first win since Feb. 11 away from Compaq Center. Houston had a chance to draw even with Grand Rapids in the Western Conference, but fell to nemesis Marc Lamothe and the Griffins on Sunday, 3-1. Lamothe has given up only seven goals in six games with two shutouts against Houston.

THE WEEK THAT WAS:

MARCH 20: On Thursday in San Antonio, the Aeros let a 3-0 lead slip away, but prevailed in overtime, defeating the Rampage 5-4. It was the seventh win for Houston over San Antonio this season. Houston got two first period goals from Jean-Guy Trudel, the second short-handed. Rickard Wallin scored early in the second for a 3-0 lead. But the Rampage then scored the next three. Juraj Kolnick wrapped two goals around Mike Green's score, and just 34-seconds into the third period it was tied at 3-3. Houston regained the lead on Hnat Domenichelli's power-play goal. But Ryan Jardine tied it again with an unassisted goal with more than six minutes left. It took just 12-seconds into the overtime for Houston to win it. Domenichelli scored his second of the game to make 5-4 winners of the Aeros. Derek Gustafson made 30 saves to score his 23rd win of the season.

MARCH 23: On Sunday, the Griffins' jinx continued for Houston. The Aeros allowed a franchise record-low 10 shots but lost 3-1. Michel Picard scored twice in the first period, and then Darryl Bootland tallied to put Grand Rapids up 3-0. Shortly after that goal, Jay Henderson scored for Houston but the Aeros couldn't get another past Griffin goalie Marc Lamothe. Lamothe stopped 31 of 32 shots. In addition to only allowing the franchise record 10 shots on goal, the Aeros did not allow one shot on goal in the third period. It's the first time in team history, they've allowed no shots in 20 minutes of action. Houston has managed just two goals against Grand Rapids in the last 12 periods of play in the series.

GETTING READY FOR THE BIG DANCE: Houston clinched a berth in the 2003 Calder Cup Playoffs last week and are down to their final seven games of the season. The Aeros are in a fight with Grand Rapids for the Western Conference championship and the right to hold home ice advantage through the conference finals. Houston is currently seeded second in the Conference, four points behind Grand Rapids. Houston needs six points to clinch the West Division crown and secure one of the top three spots in the conference. The points can be a combination of Houston wins or Chicago losses, making Wednesday's match-up in the Windy City an important one.

DYNAMIC DUO, INDEED: Four was a lucky number for Aeros' linemates Jean-Guy Trudel and Hnat Domenichelli Thursday night. Trudel, the Aeros leading scorer, had a four-point game in San Antonio Thursday, and now has collected 3-5-8 in his last five games after scoring only two points in his previous 11 games. Domenichelli also had a four-point game in San Antonio. He recorded points in his first three games back (2g-4a) from an injury before being blanked on Sunday. "Dom" now has points in ten of the last 13 games in which he has played, and in 13 of his last 17 games (10g-11a).

HEAD OF THE CLASS: Several Houston Aeros are among AHL leaders. Houston's top scorer, LW Jean-Guy Trudel is for second in the league in scoring with 76 points and is fourth in assists (48). Curtis Murphy leads AHL defensemen with 21 goals and is second in points with 48 points (21g-27a). D Travis Roche is in 9th place (12g-30a-42p), and Mark Cullen ranks 17th in scoring (17g-22a-39p) among AHL rookies. G Derek Gustafson is tied for fourth in the league with 23 wins and Johan Holmqvist ranks 17th in GAA at 2.61.

HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT: The Aeros have set several team single game records this season when it comes to shots. First, they took a franchise record-high 59 shots in a 4-1 win vs. San Antonio on March 9. In the second period of that game, they took 25 shots in one period for the first time. On the defensive side, they allowed the fewest shots in team history in Sunday's 3-1 loss at Grand Rapids. The Griffins managed just 10 shots on goal the entire game and none in the third period. It was the first time Houston had held an opponent to no shots on goal in a 20-minute period. The Aeros currently rank second in the league with an average of 34.5 shots per game and lead all teams defensively, allowing only 26.5 shots against. Houston only needs 66 shots over the next seven games to set a new record for most shots in one season (2,584 - 1998-99; 2,519 - 2002-03). They also are on pace to allow the fewest shots in one year in team history (2,173 - 1999-00; 1,933 -2002-03).

GROUP CONTRIBUTIONS: Balance is the name of the game for Houston. All 20 skaters currently on the roster have at least four points and 16 players are in double-digits in scoring. Also, 16 players have collected at least one point on the power play, including goalie Derek Gustafson who has an assist.

BATTERY CHARGED: Houston's power play ranks 14th in the league at 16.6 percent (77 of 464) but is much better on the road. The man-advantage clicks at 18.1% (43 of 238) when the team is traveling and ranks third in road success rate. Also the Aeros have registered the second most individual power play opportunities (464) in the league (Providence - 475).

RECENT TRANSACTIONS: 3/20 - Goaltender Peter-Emmanuel Brady signed to PTO; 3/21 - G Peter-Emmanuel Brady released from PTO.

NEWS AND NOTES:

* LW Jean-Guy Trudel has 3-5-8 in his past five games, and leads the Aeros with 28 goals and 76 points;
* LW Hnat Domenichelli has 2-4-6 in four games since missing eight with an injury, and has 27 goals;
* C Rickard Wallin has 2-3-5 in his past six games;
* D Travis Roche has 1-3-4 in the past five games;
* RW Jeff Hoggan and C Sylvain Cloutier each have collected two assists in the past three games;
* LW Jay Henderson has two goals in the past three games;
* The Aeros snapped a six-game road winless streak (0-4-1-1) with Thursday's win. The previous road win was 2/11 in Milwaukee;
* The Aeros PP is 2-21 in the past four games and for the season is 77 of 464/16.6%, ranks 14th;
* The Aeros PK allowed Grand Rapids one goal in four chances, and overall is 331 of 395 (64)/83.8%, ranking 15th.

SERVING UP THE BEST FOR CHARITY: Last Tuesday, the Aeros traded in their sticks and skates for aprons and wine openers for the 5th Annual Celebrity Waiter Dinner and Auction. Aeros players waited on tables for tips that benefited Houston Aeros Charities, T-CARE and Cornerstone Recovery. The event raised over $80,000, including over $10,000 in player earned tips alone. Celebrity Waiter capped a great week for Houston Aeros Charities. The culmination of "Jerseys off Their Backs" and Kiss-A-Pig were the previous Saturday. The two events raised $85,000 for HAC, Muscular Dystrophy Association and American Diabetes Association.

WILD WATCH: The Minnesota Wild have clinched a playoff berth for the first time in the club's three year history. They currently are in sixth place in the Western Conference standings with a record of 39-25-10-1, 89 points. They picked up a point in all four games they played last week (3-0-1-0) including wins against Dallas and Detroit. This week, Minnesota plays at Detroit on Tuesday and then hosts St. Louis on Wednesday and Chicago on Friday.

ICEGATORS REPORT: The Louisiana IceGators enter their final week of regular season play in second place in the Southwest Division, one point behind the division leader with a game in hand. Louisiana boasts a record of 40-22-8, 88 points. This week they play four times. They start at the Jackson Bandits on Wednesday, then travel to play the Baton Rouge Kingfish on Friday. Saturday they are at the Arkansas RiverBlades. The season finishes up on Sunday when the IceGators host Jackson.

UPCOMING GAMES

WEDNESDAY 3/26 AT CHICAGO

The Aeros visit the Chicago Wolves for the 10th and final time. Six of the nines games played so far have gone into overtime with Houston posting 2 wins with 3 losses and a tie.

FRIDAY 3/28 AT UTAH Houston plays its final two road games of the season in Utah. This weekend features a three-in-three, all against the Grizzlies.

SATURDAY 3/29 AT UTAH

The Aeros and Grizzlies play the middle game of a three-in-three against each other. This is Houston's last visit to Utah this season and final road game of the year.

SUNDAY 3/30 VS UTAH

Houston flies home from Utah but the Grizzlies travel with them to finish off the weekend full games against each other. This is the 10th and final match-up of the year for the division rivals.

WEDNESDAY 4/2 VS SAN ANTONIO

The Aeros host San Antonio this and Friday. Houston is undefeated against the Rampage at Compaq Center, going 4-0 thus far.

ON THE AIR: Houston Aeros games can be heard on AM 700 KSEV "The Voice" with "The Voice of the Aeros" Ken Double calling the action. The games are also available via the internet at www.aeros.com. The game against the Utah Grizzlies on March 30 will be televised Fox Sports Southwest at 7:30 PM. Troy Gamble will join Ken Double in the broadcast booth.

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American Hockey League Stories from March 24, 2003


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