Aeros Update

Published on December 23, 2005 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Houston Aeros News Release


Five things you need to know

Every week, Aeros D Curtis Murphy continues to reach milestone after milestone, and his next point will give him more points than any other Aero since the team joined the AHL in 2001-02. Murphy and Stephane Veilleux are tied for first place on the team's AHL points list with 124. The veteran blueliner, who has an assist in six of Houston's last seven games, has moved into a tie with Jeff Tory for fifth on the team's all-time assist list with 86. Last week, Murphy became the assists leader in the Aeros' AHL years, passing Travis Roche (85). Murphy and Veilleux are tied for ninth overall on the all-time points list, only three behind Mike Yeo and David Oliver for seventh place. Murphy's 23 points (3-20=23) this season are fifth in the AHL among blueliners. Aeros C Erik Westrum (13-29=42) and RW Kirby Law (17-23=40) rank first and second overall in the AHL in scoring. They are trying to become the first duo from the same team to finish 1-2 in the league's scoring race Paul Gardner (112 points) and Jody Gage (99) turned the trick for Rochester exactly 20 seasons ago - in 1985-86. As the Aeros play their 32nd game tonight, Westrum needs one more point to top his career-high of 42, set in 2001-02. Westrum also carries a seven-game point streak (3-7=10) into tonight's game. It marks Westrum's second seven-game run of the season. Law had 49 points (25-24=49) in 80 games last season for Houston. Law has notched at least two points in six of his last nine games, and he has 15 points (7-8=15) in his last seven contests alone. Rookie LW Roman Voloshenko, who is currently playing for Team Russia in the World Junior Championships, has 30 points (19-11=30), tied for second among AHL rookies. Voloshenko's 19 goals and 11 PPG rank him tied for first overall in the league, and he had points in seven straight games and in 13 of 14 before leaving for British Columbia. At least one of the three has scored a goal in 25 of the Aeros' 31 games. Aeros rookie C Patrick O'Sullivan has 21 points (11-10=21) in his last 15 games to move into sixth place among AHL rookies with 28 points (14-14=28). The Aeros have continued their domination on home ice this season, especially the last four games, having scored 24 goals since getting shut out by Milwaukee 11/27. Houston, 12-2-1-1 at Toyota Center this season, is 18-2-1-3 in its last 24 regular-season home games, and 26-4-1-3 in the last 34. The Aeros' .813 home points percentage ranks second in the AHL this season (Manchester, .846) and first in the Western Conference. Beginning with their 12/16 game vs. Peoria, the Aeros won't travel out of the state of Texas - away from Toyota Center or SBC Center in San Antonio - for a span of 37 days, until they go to Chicago 1/22. If their power play was supposed to slow down when D Kurtis Foster and his 101 mph slapshot was summoned by NHL Minnesota 11/16, no one told the Aeros. Houston is up to fifth in the league on the power play at 20.5 percent after going 20-of-83 (24.1 percent) since Foster's recall and having scored eight times on 22 chances (36.4 percent) over their last three games. The Aeros are 14-for-43 (32.6 percent) with the man advantage in the last seven games, having scored at least one PPG in each of the games to tie a season-high. The Aeros also scored a PPG in seven straight to begin 2005-06. Houston's 47 PPG are halfway to the team record of 94, set in 1998-99. Since missing five games due to injury in late October and early November, Aeros second-year G Josh Harding is 11-3-0 with a 2.25 gaa to move to 16-6-0 with a 2.57 gaa on the season. Harding, who leads the AHL with 16 victories, has 37 wins with the Aeros, tied with Derek Gustafson (37) for the most victories in the team's AHL history. Frederic Chabot leads overall with 126 wins. Harding, a native of Regina, Sask., is an amazing 31-1-1 in his last 33 decisions when the Aeros score three goals or more in support of him. Harding's 16 victories through the Aeros' first 31 games puts him on pace for 41 wins this season. In 2004-05, current Buffalo Sabre Ryan Miller became the first AHL goalie to reach 40 wins since Gerry Cheevers set a league-record with 48 in 1964-65. Miller had 41 "W"'s last season. Harding thrives when seeing a lot of shots - he's 6-1-0 when making 35 or more saves.

Knights at Aeros (Aeros are 4-0-0-0 overall, Aeros are 2-0-0-0 at Houston) The Aeros and Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights, the AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames, meet for the fifth time ever after the Aeros swept the first four games. After tonight the teams don't meet again until 3/12 in Omaha. The Aeros then play the Knights three times in a 10-game stretch through 3/31. Houston has won its first four meetings ever with a team on just two other occasions. The Aeros opened up 5-0-0-0 against the San Antonio Rampage, and 4-0-0-0 versus the IHL Las Vegas Thunder.

Scouting the Aeros The Aeros (21-8-1-1) lead the Western Conference and rank tied for second overall in the AHL with 44 points...Their West Division lead is four points over Milwaukee, which has two games in hand...A victory tonight would give the Aeros more wins (22) than any other season in franchise history through 32 games...The 1998-99 Turner Cup team was 21-5-6 after 32 contests...C Erik Westrum has 42 points (13-29=42) to lead the AHL in points and assists...Westrum has a team-best 13 multiple-point games...RW Kirby Law is second in the league with 40 points (17-23=40)...Rookie LW Roman Voloshenko is tied for first in the AHL with 19 goals, and he ranks tied for second among league rookies in points (30)... Rookie C Patrick O'Sullivan is sixth among first-year players in points with 28 (14-14=28)...D Curtis Murphy is fifth among AHL defensemen with 23 points (3-20=23)...G Josh Harding is 16-6-0 with a 2.57 gaa to rank first in the league in wins, sixth in save pct. (.922) and tied for 12th in gaa...Harding is 21-6-1 in his last 28 regular-season games, and one of the losses was in OT...G Seamus Kotyk is 4-2-1 with a 3.23 gaa.

Scouting the Knights Omaha (13-13-0-6), AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames, fell to 1-4-0-2 in its last seven games with a 3-2 road shootout loss in San Antonio last night...The Knights, who rank 26th in the league in team offense (2.33 gpg), have scored exactly one goal in four of the last seven games, and two goals in two of the other three...RW Carsen Germyn leads Omaha in goals (15) and is tied for the team lead in points (24)...No other Knight has more than nine goals...D Mark Giordano is tied for third among AHL blueliners in scoring with 24 points (4-20=24), and he leads the Knights in assists...Rookie G Curtis McElhinney is 6-5-1 with a 2.09 gaa and a .920 save pct...McElhinney is tied for second in the AHL in gaa...G Brent Krahn, a former first-round pick, is 7-8-6 with a 2.65 gaa and a .912 save pct.

2005-06 meetings (5th of 10 meetings, Aeros are 4-0-0-0 overall, Aeros are 2-0-0-0 at Houston) October 18 Houston 6 at Omaha 5 (SO) October 20 Houston 4 at Omaha 3 (SO) November 9 Omaha 1 at Houston 2 November 11 Omaha 1 at Houston 5 Tonight Omaha at Houston March 12 Houston at Omaha March 23 Houston at Omaha March 31 Houston at Omaha April 11 Omaha at Houston April 14 Omaha at Houston

Quick Hits Houston LW Josh Olson has nine points (4-5=9) over his last 10 games. His three-game point streak (2-2=4) ties a career-high, set 2/15-2/18/04 with San Antonio. Aeros RW Matt Foy tied a team record Saturday with three assists in a period. RW Kirby Law also equaled the mark 10/29. Foy had a career-best four helpers in the game. The Aeros are 20-1-0-0 when scoring three goals or more, but 1-7-1-1 when scoring two or fewer. Three is also the magic number defensively, as Houston is 18-2-1-1 when allowing three of fewer goals and 3-6-0-0 when yielding four or more. Houston is 11-1-0-0 when outshooting an opponent. The Aeros are 6-0-0-0 when allowing 30 shots or fewer. The Aeros are 9-2-1-1 in one-goal games, and an impressive 13-3-1-1 in games decided by two goals or less.Thirteen of the Aeros' first 21 games were decided by one goal. Since then, however, 10 straight games have been decided by at least two goals, with nine of them seeing at least a three-goal margin. Houston has trailed at some point in 10 of its 21 victories. The Aeros had 16 come-from-behind victories in 2004-05. The Aeros have rallied from early 1-0 holes in each of their last two victories. They are an impressive 8-4-0-0 when allowing the game's first goal. The Aeros have scored at least one goal in eight straight periods, including five stanzas with two or more goals. Omaha has scored a league-low 27 goals on the road this season, while Houston is tied for third in goals scored at home (63). The Aeros are on pace to score 158 goals at home, and the team record is 160, set in 1998-99. Overall, Houston is on pace to score 315 goals, which would break the 1998-99 team record of 307. The Knights have a league-high seven shootout losses. Last night marked the first one on the road. Houston has allowed only 19 first-period goals - second in the AHL - and its plus-11 goal ratio is tops in the league. Omaha has seen an eye-popping 28 of its 33 games be decided by one or two goals.

Power play update Houston is fifth in the league on the power play at 20.5 percent. The Aeros are 14-for-43 (32.6 percent) with the man advantage in the last seven games, having scored at least one PPG in each of the games. The Aeros also scored a PPG in seven straight to begin 2005-06. The Aeros are 13-1-0-0 when scoring at least two PPG, with the lone loss coming 11/18 in Manitoba. Omaha is fifth in the league on the penalty kill at 85.6 percent. The Knights have killed off 31-of-37 (83.8 percent) of their shorthanded chances in the last five games. Houston has scored five times on 36 chances (13.9 percent) versus Omaha this season, but just 2-for-26 (7.7 percent) in the last three meetings.

Penalty kill update Houston is tied for 12th in the AHL on the penalty kill at 84.6 percent. The Aeros have killed off 58-of-62 shorthanded chances (93.5 percent) in their last 11 home games. Houston has allowed just 10 PPG on 104 chances at Toyota Center this season, good for a 90.4 percent kill rate. The Aeros were second in the AHL last season with a franchise-record 92.5 percent kill rate at home, allowing just 12 goals on 161 chances. Houston is 7-1-0-1 when not allowing a power play goal. The Aeros are 15-3-1-1 when allowing one power play goal or fewer. Omaha is 18th in the AHL on the power play at 14.9 percent. The Knights are 5-for-34 (14.7 percent) with the man advantage over their last five games. Omaha is 4-for-32 (12.5 percent) with the man advantage versus the Aeros this season, but just 0-for-13 in the last two games and 1-for-23 (4.3 percent) in the last three meetings.

Last Game (Saturday) Twenty-year-old rookie sensation Patrick O'Sullivan and veteran Rem Murray each tallied two goals and an assist, and linemate Matt Foy added a career-best four helpers, as the Houston Aeros ruined former NHL All-Star Patrick Lalime's Peoria debut with a 7-2 victory over the Rivermen. Nineteen-year-old rookie Roman Voloshenko notched a goal and an assist in his final game before leaving for the prestigious World Junior Championships, and Erik Westrum and Josh Olson also scored for Houston.

Aeros/Knights connections Knights defenseman Steve Bancroft played for the Aeros for part of the 1999-2000 season. He and Houston's Joel Ward each hail from Toronto, Ont. Aeros goalie Josh Harding and Omaha's Darren Lynch each call Regina, Sask., home. Lynch is currently with ECHL Las Vegas.

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American Hockey League Stories from December 23, 2005


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