Aeros Still Perfect

Published on October 29, 2002 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Houston Aeros News Release


IT'S GREAT! 8-0: The Houston Aeros have started the 2002-03 season with eight straight wins, for 16 points, the best start in club history. They also are the only undefeated team in the American Hockey League.

SILVER I-10 GALLON HAT SERIES IS OFF AND RUNNING: The Aeros defeated the San Antonio Rampage by a score of 5-4 on Saturday to earn the first win in the Silver I-10 Gallon Hat series. The team with the most points following the final of the 12 match-ups on Friday, April 4, 2003 will be presented with the trophy. On Saturday, Houston jumped out to at 3-1 lead by the end of the first on goals by C Mark Cullen, LW Hnat Domenichelli and RW Kyle Wanvig. Cullen and C Rickard Wallin scored in the second period as San Antonio collected their second in between there. The Rampage fought back and got within one after scoring a power play goal with 1:06 remaining, but the Aeros stood tough to continue the winning streak. G Derek Gustafson stopped 19 of 23 shots to earn his fourth win. Houston was an impressive 3 for 6 on the power play.

TRIP WRAP-UP: The Aeros wrapped up their five game road trip where it began in Grand Rapids on Thursday with a 4-2 win. In winning their second game against the Griffins, Houston was outshot for the first time this season, 33-26. G Dieter Kochan was strong in net turning away 31 of 33 shots. LW Hnat Domenichelli scored the game-winning goal shorthanded and had an even-strength goal. Cullen and Wanvig tallied the other two goals.

DON'T STOP NOW: LW Hnat Domenichelli has a three game point streak going, collecting 4-2-6. He scored the team's lone shorthanded goal this season on Thursday at Grand Rapids. He has recorded a plus/minus of +2 in each of his past three games. After missing the first two games of the season, RW Kyle Wanvig has collected 4-3-7 in six games and has been held off the scoresheet only once.

NEWS AND NOTES:

· C Rickard Wallin had scored a point in seven of the first eight games (2-5-7), including the first six in a row.

· D Lawrence Nycholat collected three assists on Saturday, giving him six assists in the last five games and is tied for eighth in defenseman scoring with 0-6-6;

· RW Jean-Guy Trudel continues to pace the Aeros in scoring with 3-8-11 in eight games;

· C Cory Larose has yet to score a goal, but is among the team leaders in scoring with 8 assists;

· C Mark Cullen is tied for ninth in rookie scoring with 4-2-6;

· Balance has been key as 17 different players have scored points for the Aeros;

· G Dieter Kochan is now 2nd in Save Percentage at 93.8%, 1st in Wins with four, and 4th in GAA at 2.00;

· G Derek Gustafson is tied with Kochan for the league lead in Wins with 4.

HITTING THE NET: Houston has a distinct advantage in shots this season, 299-224 and have only been outshot once in Grand Rapids on Thursday. They are averaging 37.4 shots per game, second highest in the league. In the first period, they have averaged 4.3 more shots then their opponents, averaging 13.9 while allowing only 9.6. The Aeros have taken a total of 111 first period shots and given up 77.

RED LIGHT DISTRICT: Not only has Houston outshot its opponents, they have outscored them through each period. The Aeros have allowed a total of 19 goals, while scoring 31. Houston's average of 3.88 goals per game is fifth in the league. They rank second in goals allowed at 2.38 per game.

FOR THE WEEK OF 10/28/02

UPCOMING GAMES Wednesday 10/30 AT UTAH Houston travels to Salt Lake for two games against the Stars top prospects. The Aeros topped the Grizzlies on opening weekend with two 3-1 wins.

Thursday 10/31 AT UTAH The Aeros and Grizzlies finish up their second back-to-back set of the season on Halloween. This is the fourth of 10 meetings between the division rivals.

Friday 11/1 VS. SAN ANTONIO Houston wraps up its second three-in-three with a game against the Rampage. This is the second of three meetings between the two teams in eight days.

Sunday 11/3 AT SAN ANTONIO The Aeros travel to San Antonio for the Rampage's home opener at the SBC Center. This is the first of six visits to the Alamo City.

Thursday 11/7 VS. GRAND RAPIDS The Griffins make their first trip to Houston after the teams played two games at Van Andel Arena in October. Houston has won both games this season by a 4-2 score.

ON THE AIR: Houston Aeros games can be heard on AM 700 "The Voice" KSEV this season. All Aeros games are also available via the internet at www.aeros.com. SPECIAL TEAMS: POWER PLAY: Houston's power play came alive on Saturday, going 3 for 6 against the Rampage. For the season, Houston has scored 11 goals in 62 chances for a 17.7% success rate, ranking ninth in the league. The team has allowed one shorthanded goal. PENALTY KILLING: The Aeros rank 12th in the league in penalty minutes at an average of 25.1 minutes per game. Overall, the Aeros have killed off 45 of 53 shorthanded chances, an 84.9% success rate, ranking 15th in the league. The team has collected one shorthanded goal.

ALL IN THE FAMILY: The NHL, AHL, ECHL combination of Minnesota, Houston and Louisiana has a record of 20-2-2, for a sparkling .875 winning percentage. All three teams either lead or are tied for the lead in their division.

WILD WATCH: Minnesota currently leads the National Hockey League's Northwest Division with a record of 6-1-2 for 14 points and has the most points of all 30 NHL teams. G Manny Fernandez is a perfect 5-0 on the season. LW Stephane Veilleux, who was recalled from Houston on October 17th, has played in four games with the Wild and has scored a power play goal and collected an assist. They host the Colorado Avalanche, San Jose Sharks and Vancouver Canucks this week.

ICEGATOR UPDATE: Louisiana is tied for the lead in the Southwest Division with 12 points, and a record of 6-1-0. The lone loss came this past weekend in the middle game of a three-in-three. F Shawn McNeil is currently third in the East Coast Hockey League in scoring with 8-5-13 in 7 games. The IceGators travel to Columbus, Georgia for games on Friday and Saturday and then visit Mississippi on Sunday.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from October 29, 2002


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central